New York Times: Best Dance of 2018 Makes Nods to Women
"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
New York Times: Best Dance of 2018 Makes Nods to Women
By Isabelle Vail
17 December 2018
In a collective review for the New York Times, the paper’s critics selected their favorite moments from dance in 2018. Mentioned first and to great esteem, Pam Tanowitz’s “Four Quartets,” which is set to the poetry of T.S. Eloit, was described as not just illustrating the poems, but letting “their words, spoken with a wide range of expression by Kathleen Chalfant, sound like emanations from the complex stage world created here.”
Tanowitz was a fellow at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, has her own company, Pam Tanowitz Dance, and her work will soon take the stage at New York City Center, where she joins pianist Simone Dinnerstein to showcase their “New Work for Goldberg Variations.” Tanowtiz has upcoming commissions from The Royal Ballet, Paul Taylor American Dance, and the Graham Company.
The review also mentions the New York City Ballet gala, praising the company and writing, “The solos danced by Taylor Stanley in Kyle Abraham’s “The Runaway” exemplified many American diversities, not least stylistic ones. And earlier in the evening, Teresa Reichlen’s moving “We, the dancers” speech, on behalf of City Ballet’s performers — who flanked her onstage — established fresh moral criteria for the company: “We will not put art before common decency or allow talent to sway our moral compass.” DDP is not the only entity apparently noticing NYCB’s apt reactions to scandal within the company. Tiler Peck, a famed principal dancer with the company and strong advocate for female leadership in her field, was mentioned with corps dancer Roman Mejia, who partnered Ms. Peck in “Allegro Brillante” and “Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux” this summer.
Further mention of women artists outside of the ballet circle was made, as Indian dancer Arushi Mudgal’s solo, ‘Murta-Amurta’ was described as “a thrilling range of religious thought and movement texture.” The team of critics for NYT has clearly considered dance in all of its forms and by its makers of both genders this December. Their voice carries far, and we hope the New York Times highlights will lead more companies to take note of the women earning praise and attention by this major entity.
Read the full article in the New York Times.
