Four Utah premieres featuring works by two choreographers who have had a major impact on ballet and Broadway are on deck for Ballet West’s newest production West Side Story: Broadway & Beyond, which opens Friday, April 10, to start a run of six performances in the Capitol Theatre. In a literal storybook season for the … Read more
Editor’s Note: In extending its tradition, The Utah Review, with the assistance of Christal Jackson, an English teacher and ELL coordinator at City Academy, asked two students to review Ballet West’s world premiere production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Pamela Robinson-Harris, Ballet West’s rehearsal director, who has been the creative force behind Family … Read more
One of the greatest hallmarks in 20th century choreography was a broad movement of multi-media dance compositions performed by the Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Pilobolus and MOMIX. Influenced in part by the legendary choreographer Alwin Nikolais, these groups have honed elements including multimedia, costumes, music and lighting techniques. One example was Physalia, a … Read more
Published in 1820, Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow stands out as America’s first ghost story. The town’s residents enjoy telling stories of the supernatural and The Headless Horseman is among the most fascinating. The ghost of a Hessian mercenary hired by the British during the Revolutionary War who was decapitated by a cannonball, … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Repertory Dance Theatre’s 60th anniversary season is in full swing. This includes the 60 Years In Motion: RDT’s Archival Exhibition, on view March 2–7, 2026, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in the West Studio. On March 6 at 7:30 p.m, audiences are invited to a special guided experience through the exhibition … Read more
To borrow the words of Adam Sklute, Ballet West’s artistic director, Trey McIntyre’s Peter Pan becomes “almost a living pop-up book.” The company’s Utah premiere of this 2002 evening-length ballet affirmed these words, with sensational and touching impact in every facet of the production. It was a toy treasure chest: Wiliam Lynch’s raw charisma and … Read more
Puer Aeternus translates from Latin into eternal boy, a mythological description of an eternally young child-God. All children, except one, grow up. In J.M. Barrie’s timeless classic, Peter Pan’s eternal youth is preserved and in both the play and novel the author wrote, Peter teaches the Darling children to fly, thanks to sparking their imagination … Read more
The time for the 10th edition of Emerge, Repertory Dance Theatre’s annual showcase of original choreography by company dancers and staff, coincided beautifully with the company’s season-long celebration of its 60th anniversary. When RDT was founded with a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 1966, it included a commitment that the company’s artists would develop choreography. Emerge … Read more
Continuing its 62nd season. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company brings back the programming concept of Traverse, a collection of world premieres, including works by award-winning guest artist Annie Rigney and four current company dancers (Luke Dakota Zender, Fausto Rivera, Sasha Rydlizky, and Miche’ Smith). While the venue is the Jeanné Wagner Theatre in the Rose Wagner Center … Read more
Editor’s Note: In extending its tradition, The Utah Review, with the assistance of Christal Jackson, an English teacher and ELL coordinator at City Academy, asked two students to review Ballet West’s production of Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker. For a preview ahead of this year’s production, see this link to The Utah Review feature. Before turning … Read more