News

Putting the spotlight on the Utah dance ecosystem, Ballet West’s Choreographic Fest VII set for Donald Byrd world premiere, works by guests Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, SALT Contemporary Dance

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In Utah, dance wears the empress crown in the performing arts. Choreographers and guest dance artists from around the world know well just how broad and deep the dance ecosystem in Utah is, as evidenced by the numerous commissions that have been set on local companies in ballet and contemporary dance over many decades. For … Read more

With bustling, brilliant musicianship, Pioneer Theatre Company’s Utah premiere of Come From Away sparkles in hospitality

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Back in its heyday before jets capable of making the transoceanic long haul became common, Canada’s Gander airport was “basically a pump-and-go station,” as journalist Andrea Sachs described in a 2019 Washington Post feature. “Locals would hitchhike up to the airport to buy ice cream and search for famous faces waiting to reboard, such as … Read more

PYGmalion Theatre Company set to close season with world premiere of Andrea D. Peterson’s (plan c)

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When she was writing (plan c), which the PYGmalion Theatre Company will open this weekend in a world premiere production, playwright Andrea D. Peterson originally thought of titling this new dark comedy, The Day My Vagina Met Richard Gere. In a recent Stage Whisper: Whisper in the Wings podcast interview, she said,  “I was at … Read more

Torment in finding the ‘threshold of the divine’: Exceptional collaboration by Sackerson, Lil Poppet Productions of John Logan’s Red

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I think of my pictures as dramas… They have been created from the need for a group of actors who are able to move dramatically without embarrassment and execute gestures without shame. Neither the action nor the actors can be anticipated, or described in advance. They begin as an unknown adventure in an unknown space. … Read more

Two excellent dance productions: Repertory Dance Theatre’s Link Series, Thayer Jonutz, Out of the Ashes; Samba Fogo’s Chama Do Coração (The Burning Call Of The Heart) 

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The first part of spring has brought numerous dance productions of note. The Utah Review features two recent examples. REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE’S LINK SERIES: THAYER JONUTZ, OUT OF THE ASHES It always is an audacious enterprise for modern dance artists to perform truly as their authentic selves in works choreographed by others, but that sense … Read more

Salt Lake Acting Company’s regional premiere of Murder Ballad delivers the musical goods with provocative, feisty flair; the right lurid touches

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One does not go to Murder Ballad, the wonderful musical by Juliana Nash and Julia Jordan, looking for meaty inventive and intelligent plot elements of a whodunit story. Man and Woman end their relationship, Woman meets New Man but still has feelings for first Man, cheats, and yada yada yada, the situation escalates, ending in … Read more

Capping a blockbuster 60th anniversary season, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Anthology set to be dramatic tribute to history, farewell to dancers Ursula Perry, Caleb Daly

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Capping a blockbuster 60th anniversary season, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Anthology takes on the challenge of curating a handful of works from a catalog approaching 450 in number to emphasize the historical significance of modern dance that is more than 125 years old. With 40% percent of works of historical significance that have been restaged on … Read more

A ravishing evening filled with heart-bursting emotion and endless adrenaline in West Side Story: Broadway and Beyond, Ballet West’s quadruple bill of Utah premieres

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For the ravishing opening night of Ballet West’s quadruple bill connecting the Broadway stage to classical ballet, one could not have launched this unforgettable evening of Utah premieres better than with Alison Olsen playing the last ten bars of Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute as the prelude for Jerome Robbins’ Antique Epigraphs.  Intimate, delicate and … Read more

Set to close Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company Season, Vantage Point will feature world premiere by Leslie Kraus, along with outstanding repertoire works by Keerati Jinakunwhiphat, Tzveta Kassabova

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Vantage Point, the forthcoming season closer for Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, will feature works by three women choreographers, including a world premiere by Leslie Kraus, the company’s artistic director, which will feature live sound design by Harrison Lind, a local musician-actor, and an avant-garde floral sculpture and costuming by Galore Floral artist Meagan Bertelsen. Vantage Point … Read more

Each having experienced skyrocketing careers, piano duo Lukas Geniušas and Anna Geniushene set to bring Heart to Heart to Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation concert on April 13

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The history of musical marriages is rich in fascinating stories, and the husband-and-wife piano duo of Lukas Geniušas and Anna Geniushene certainly stands out among the most compelling examples. Both were born in Moscow separated by a year and the couple, now in their mid-thirties, have been together for more than half of their respective … Read more