In its first performances since 1965, the recent Performa revival of Rainer’s Parts of Some Sextets prompts considerations of how we can safeguard the choreographer’s visionary oeuvre while staying true to her vision.
Performance
Kia LaBeija Shelters a Queer, Black Femme Story of Collective Liberation
The strength in LaBeija’s Performa debut comes from her ability to use Oskar Shlemmer’s Bauhaus ballet as an outline, while organically combining the talents of people in her community.
A Live Podcast Centers Stories From Bosnia, Palestine, and Mexico
In its best moments, Radio Live made the world feel smaller with rich vignettes from lives we might have little intimate access to.
A One-Man Show Repackages Michel Foucault for the Age of Trump
This boldly minimalist production — a co-presentation of FIAF’s Crossing the Line festival, the Invisible Dog Art Center, and The Cooper Union directed by Fanny de Chaillé — revisits a text written for times of upheaval.
Engaging With the Lives of Teen Immigrants in an Interactive Play
The experimental play Manmade Earth, a co-presentation of FIAF’s Crossing the Line festival and The Invisible Dog Art Center, demanded that its audience listen to the experiences and anxieties of adolescents from around the world.
Bringing a John Cassavetes Classic to the Stage With a Volcanic Performance
In Opening Night director Cyril Teste and actor Isabelle Adjani went to lengths to present their protagonist with psychological depth and intimacy at FIAF’s Crossing the Line festival.
A Celebration of Opera Affirms Its Relevance
From a monologue on death to a story about a police shootout, Opera Philadelphia’s productions showed us the many things opera can be.
One Woman, 100 Men, and 100 Arguments
This 24-hour performance resembled a social psych experiment designed to test our patience and desire for change.
A Performance Investigates Domesticity and Power via Simone de Beauvoir
Carrie Ahern’s Sex Status 2.0 is a performance of desire in all of its expressions — anguished, flirty, direct, sorrowful, desperate, awkward, joyous — and, as such, essential viewing.
What Properly Addressing the Migrant Crisis Might Look Like
Artist Alicia Grullon performs the role of a UN representative for refugees to address the migration crisis at the southern US border.
Performing the Legacy of Caribbean Junkanoo
Through “Junkanooacome” (“Junkanoo is coming” in Jamaican patois), Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow offers an adaptation of a pan-Caribbean festival with a parade of masked dancers.
A Political Opera With Big Ambitions Feels Off-Key
Despite a gorgeous, impressively conducted score, David Lang’s prisoner of the state felt overstuffed, unsatisfying, and contradictory.