The after effects of the pandemic linger in the dance world, but important works, some purposely rough and others indelibly refined, have been unveiled in the first part of 2025. What these works share is the ability to puncture the anxiety of the times. Dance wisdom goes a long way, and the year has started with some mighty examples of it.
Alexei Ratmansky: ‘Paquita’
In “Paquita,” for New York City Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky reveals what makes classical dancing modern in a daring pairing of a 1951 pas de trois by George Balanchine with his own restaging of the Grand Pas Classique, the final act of “Paquita.” In this two part-experiment, dancers of all levels pushed beyond their limits to honor classical dance and, with it, the legacy of Balanchine. Gia Kourlas
Read our feature about “Paquita” and our review.
Florentina Holzinger: ‘Tanz’
The Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger brought her bold, feminist, witchy “Tanz” to N.Y.U. Skirball — and along with it, a star: the veteran ballet dancer Beatrice Cordua. At 83, Cordua and the rest of the all-female cast took an audacious and humorous look at ballet’s ephemeral sylph. Kourlas
Read our feature about “Tanz.”
Ayodele Casel: ‘The Remix’
In “The Remix,” the choreographer and dancer Ayodele Casel instills tap with the music and soul of the 1990s, when the dance form experienced a resurgence. But the show, directed by Torya Beard and performed at the Joyce Theater, isn’t mired in nostalgia. It swings — with joyful and effervescent generosity — into the present day. Kourlas
Read our review of “The Remix.”
Ralph Lemon and Darrell Jones: ‘Low’
The performances in conjunction with the excellent exhibition “Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon” at MoMA PS1, which ended in March, included the premiere of “Low,” a collaboration with Darrell Jones. A fierce mix of dancing — some bordering on frantic — and spoken word ranging from loud rants to whispers, “Low,” at a brisk 30 minutes, was a tirade of movement and sound — a heartfelt emotional release that also felt like a rescue. Kourlas
Read our feature about “Ceremonies Out of the Air.”
Monica Bill Barnes and Company: ‘Lunch Dances’
Starting in January, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, led by Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri, presented not one but two stellar new works: “Many Happy Returns” at Playwrights Horizons and “Lunch Dances” at the New York Public Library. Their collaborations, which grow more masterly over time, pair Barnes’s finely wrought everyday dance language with Saenz de Viteri’s witty and warm text, resulting in communal dance theater that is both grounding and gutting. Kourlas
Read our feature about “Lunch Dances.”
Twyla Tharp at City Center
“Slacktide,” the premiere on a program commemorating Twyla Tharp’s 60th year making dances, was one of her best new works in ages. But the main event was a revival of her little-seen “Diabelli,” from 1998: a master class in choreographic craft, cleverness and Tharp’s brand of American classicism. Brian Seibert
Read our feature about Tharp’s program and our review.
Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival
In this terrific new percussive dance series, the standout program celebrated the 25th anniversary of RumbaTap, a hybrid style and company created by Max Pollak. The wide-ranging collection of smart musical arrangements, executed by an extraordinary cast of dancers and musicians including members of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, made for a thrilling summing up. Seibert
Read our feature about the Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival.
John Jasperse: ‘Tides’
The 20th anniversary edition of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival opened with a winner. John Jasperse’s “Tides” was a bewitching composition woven around the dancers Jodi Melnick and Vicky Shick, who have been casting spells for decades. Seibert
Read our review of “Tides.”
Batsheva Dance Company: ‘Momo’
This year’s visit by the principal dance company of Israel was met with protests against the war in Gaza and couldn’t help but be weighted by politics and death. Ohad Naharin’s “Momo” withstood the pressure, its formally divided and interpretively ambiguous choreography expressing both the impossibility and the inevitability of coexistence, the connections and disconnections between art and life. Seibert
Read our review of “Momo.”
Akram Khan: ‘Gigenis’
For “Gigenis,” the British star choreographer made a welcome return to his roots in classical Indian dance. Joined by other classical artists, including the astonishing Kutiyattam master Kapila Venu, Khan approached grand themes through intimate storytelling about a mother and her grief, finding mythic resonance and a tragic sense of life. Seibert
Read our feature about “Gigenis” and our review.
Gia Kourlas is the dance critic for The Times. She writes reviews, essays and feature articles and works on a range of stories.
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