Cindy Sibilsky

Athens arrived in Brooklyn and transported myth and magic interwoven with the beauty & grotesqueness of humanity. Conceived & directed by Dimitris Papaioannou, dialogue-free and comprised of non-linear vignettes, Transverse Orientation is a dynamic dance theater tableau that creates a veritable feast of sumptuous delights & constant metamorphosis.

Like a hallucination or fever dream, it's a feat of artistic achievement that seems unreal. The MOMIX cast are called dancer-illusionists for a good reason; what they pulled off in this show seemed superhuman. All of the magic is a product of visionary ideas, creative costuming and props, and bodies with extraordinary ability.

Akram Khan's Giselle leaves one speechless, breathless and gasping for air. The piece transcends the rigidity of any genre or style and elevates the story of heartache and consequences to a spiritual level. It's a testament to the possibilities of the human mind, body and spirit. Talking about it could never do it the justice it merits. It must be witnessed and allowed to wash over you, sink beneath the surface, and enter your soul. Giselle is the art that wakes up the dead parts inside of you and kindles them back to life again.

Four groups from Japan, Korea & Taiwan presented two epic evenings at Japan Society on January 14 & 15. From freestyle moves in the lobby to cinematic butoh, and from the use of humor & technology to make monotonous choreography thrilling to combining dance and physics through the journey of an electron, East Asian dance is innovative & inspiring.

You don't have to be from Belfast to appreciate the themes explored through raw physicality in Oona Doherty's Hard to Be Soft — A Belfast Prayer. Any “city body” possessing collective trauma from an urban environment will recognize and relate to the thick shells worn to conceal perceived weakness.

Nightcrawlers (NY Premiere) is a moody piece showcasing three couples in hot pursuit filled with passion, drama, and stunning choreography by Peter Anastos. The performance is as uproariously funny as it is dazzling to watch, they fling themselves at each other, swap partners, fly through the air, trot like a pony, and are swept across the floor.

The season features premieres, favorites, and a “greatest hits” retrospective of Robert Battle’s choreography. Battle 10th Anniversary is a sample platter of current Artistic Director River Battle’s decade in that role. Like a master chef, the selections of his dance offerings spanning ten years are palatable and varied yet complimentary. 

The kooky Christmas show marks the pair's return to the boisterous characters, a boozy aging chanteuse, Kiki, and her loyal accompanist, Herb. In SLEIGH, traditions are turned upside down. Don't expect a Christmas revue. Many of the songs are Christmas-adjacent or Christmas-obscure, but they suit the myriad moods of the season remarkably well.

While watching SNATCHED BACK, it hit me; Complexions is the ultimate American Contemporary Dance company. The choreography, choices, and dancers are diverse, raw, honest, emotional, proud, and full of attitude. The movements and music speak the truth of humanity and the concerns of today. Complexions is unparalleled and unabashedly all-American.

Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is magical, sweet as honey, and full of humor. It's a wholesome, delightful, enchanting piece of theatre for the young and young at heart to celebrate the seasons, friendships, adventures, and the wonders of the imagination.

Tammany Hall is an immersive theatrical time machine that transports the audience to New York Election Night in 1929. The setting is Club Huron, the actual Tammany Hall clubhouse that is now SoHo Playhouse, where performers portraying real historical characters guide attendees through 15 rooms as scandal, corruption, and intrigue are revealed.

The combined talents of Bond and Costanzo compliment and increase the level of artistry and ability in each other. There’s a perfect balance and harmony between them. Both performers can comfortably transition from hysterical comedy to heartfelt emotions, make you laugh one moment and cry the next, but never lingering in one place too long. 

In 600 Highwaymen’s A Thousand Ways (Part One: A Phone Call) and (Part Two): An Encounter, you and a stranger are the show. Through a series of seemingly impersonal questions with an unknown person, these intimate encounters force you to examine your emotions and how connections, or lack thereof, during this time have affected you.

One Whale Tale's Persou transforms The Cell Theatre in Chelsea into the Temple of Aphrodite and invites audiences into a sensual, immersive experience celebrating the beauty and bounty of spring. The interactive theatrical event is extended through June 12th.

In Taxilandia — a solo show that a maximum of three audience members at a time watch from the backseat of a cab — Modesto Flako Jimenez is the charismatic guide unveiling the hellish and heavenly aspects of Bushwick’s past, present, and uncertain future.

David Byrne is no stranger to creating theatre, quirky immersive experiences, or ushering people to the dance floor. So perhaps it's fitting that he's acting as a Pied Piper for a return to all three in SOCIAL! The Social Distance Dance Club at Park Avenue Armory.

All of these companies were planning to premiere their works live in the U.S. this year but shifted to adapt. One takeaway is clear, the continent of Africa is producing some of the most exciting and innovative dance worldwide while remaining true to their roots. From Africa at Battery Dance Festival is available to watch online through August 30.

Quince may not have been ground-breaking or earth-shattering, it was quirky, charming, celebratory, and delightful, filled with sincerity and warmth. The grassroots style and non-pretentious ‘let’s put on a show!’ vibe was welcoming, refreshing, and well-suited to the surroundings.

Hideki Noda's powerfully dynamic, physically demanding, utterly engaging and thoroughly entertaining works have been seen across the world's stage and now he returns to one of the most significant homes of the underground theatre movement in NYC -- The Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa -- in One Green Bottle, playing from February 29-March 8th. The three-person gender-swapping show puts an absurdist spin on the current self-driven, self-obsessed 'selfie' society. One Green Bottle is unmissable, uproariously hysterical and absolutely delightful with depth that lingers long after the last 'one green bottle should accidentally fall...' as the song goes.

The astounding, unnerving and transfixing new production of Medea, set in present times and starring the real-life couple with a pair of boys of their own -- Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne -- written and directed by Simon Stone, now playing at Harvey Theater at BAM Strong on an extended run through March 8th, leaves the audience pondering and works backward to attempt to shed light on the process that could lead to such inconceivable atrocities.