VIEWPOINT – 2018’s Best in Dance

Rosas dances Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's "The Six Brandenburg Concertos" at the Park Avenue Armory.

Rosas dances Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s “The Six Brandenburg Concertos” at the Park Avenue Armory.

2018 was an eclectic year in dance. Indeed, my “best of” list this year can be described as being an uncommonly diverse set, with classical ballet, contemporary dance, dance theater, and the avant-garde all sharing the spotlight fairly equally. The year was additionally notable for what happened offstage (e.g., City Ballet’s tumultuous year, the loss of the great Paul Taylor). Also, curiously, American Ballet Theater had a lackluster year and is not represented; here’s hoping that 2019 will prove to be more artistically fruitful. In no particular order, here are my picks for 2018’s top ten dance performances.

 

THE SIX BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
At the Park Avenue Armory

I was initially resistant to the severity of The Six Brandenburg Concertos at the Park Avenue Armory. But as I sunk into Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s severely disciplined choreography (set to Bach’s music from which the piece draws its title), I increasingly marveled at the influential Belgian contemporary dance-maker’s subtle and unconventional response to the music. Suffice to say, I’m keenly curious about Ms. De Keersmaeker’s revision of Jerome Robbins’ iconic choreography in the upcoming Ivo van Hove-helmed Broadway revival of West Side Story.

KREATUR
Sasha Waltz & Guests
At BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

Notable German avant-garde choreographer Sasha Waltz was well-represented in 2018, when her Kreatur was mounted via BAM’s Next Wave Festival. I found it to be simultaneously challenging and terribly stylish. The piece haunted me with its bleak view of humanity and its limitations. As much as I was disturbed and even frustrated by the work, I could not extract my gaze from Ms. Waltz’s grim vision.

THE HARD NUT
Mark Morris Dance Group
At BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

Mark Morris’s delectable version of The Nutcracker, entitled The Hard Nut, made a welcome return to the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, also as part of the Next Wave Festival. The piece remains as striking as I remember it, a refreshing and beguiling combination of smirking wit and a genuine affection for the holidays. Also, the MMDG dancers remain the ideal ideal purveyors of the human experience through movement.

VISIONS OF BEAUTY
Heather Kravas
At Performance Space New York

2018 marked the final year of the excellent Coil Festival. Luckily, it was a strong (albeit truncated) showing for the late festival, which included Heather Kravas’s mesmerizing visions of beauty, a moving dance depicting the potency of human connection and trust. Ms. Kravas’s dancers were idiosyncratic and fearless; it was a joy to watch them.

FERDINAND: BOYLESQUE BULLFIGHT
Company XIV
At Théâtre XIV

Austin McCormick finally got it completely right with Ferdinand: Boylesque Bullfight, which his troupe Company XIV performed at its wonderfully immersive (relatively) new permanent home in Bushwick. By mostly eschewing theatrical storytelling in favor of a straightforward burlesque format, Mr. McCormick showed his sexy company in the most confident and sophisticated light.

ANNA KARENINA
Eifman Ballet
At David H. Koch Theater

In the past, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Boris Eifman’s works. His hyper-emotive, pseudo-gothic sensibility have at times struck me as simply too melodramatic. Luckily, he showed some restraint with his visually striking dance adaptation Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (thankfully featuring lushly played live Tchaikovsky score); the result was smashing theater. The sold-out, mostly Russian audience at the David H. Koch theater ate it all up with relish, as did I.

MINIMALISM AND ME
Twyla Tharp
At the Joyce Theater

What a unique experience it was to see the legendary Twyla Tharp herself narrate (dryly, wittily, and fondly) her early career, complete with amusing samples and of her primordial choreography, in Minimalism and Me at the Joyce Theater. To see her unmistakable aesthetic come together in the initial guise of minimalism was a fascinating and informative evening of documentary theater.

MIXED PROGRAM
Paul Taylor American Modern Dance
David H. Koch Theater

In 2018, American Dance lost one of its indisputable giants when Paul Taylor passed away. A few months before his death, I was luckily able to attend two excellent mixed bills performed by his superb company (i.e., Paul Taylor American Modern Dance) at the David H. Koch Theater. All over again, I was reminded of the abundant brilliance, boldness, and prolific scope of this master. He will be missed tremendously.

JEROME ROBBINS CENTENNIAL
New York City Ballet
At David H. Koch Theater

The most ambitious endeavor in dance in 2018 was New York City Ballet’s epic celebration of Jerome Robbins’ Centennial. In six completely different All-Robbins programs, the revered company (which had a much-publicized turbulent year offstage) performed about two dozen of Robbins’ dances. Seeing his comprehensive output for ballet revealed his innate knack for theatricality and storytelling, even within the context of pure dance.

XENOS
Akram Khan
At the Rose Theater

As part of the Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, Akram Khan performed his compelling solo dance Xenos. Allegedly, the piece marks the important Bangladeshi-English choreographer’s final appearance in a solo performance. What a way to go; Xenos was soulful, beautifully structured, and a complete and satisfying theatrical experience.

Special Mention(s):

NAHARIN’S VIRUS performed by Batsheva – The Young Ensemble

Batsheva – The Young Ensemble revived Ohad Naharin’s intensely personal and honest Naharin’s Virus at the Joyce Theater, and it proved to be vintage Naharin. That is, a raw, uncompromising, and pulsating experience.

Next up: My picks for the top opera experiences of 2018!

Categories: Dance

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