Author: jason

Posted on

King Kong

I had an amazing time at the first preview of King Kong on October 5th!!!

Congratulations to Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Grant on your Broadway debut. You look incredible on stage, and I also can’t wait for your classes on contemporary partnering with Christopher & Lauren Grant to resume at Broadway Dance Center again!

Love the choreographies in the show; the use of movements and (the fairly minimal) props to paint the details in the narrative; and of course King Kong himself. The ginormous “puppet” weighs more than a ton. To raise its arm, a puppeteer needs to jump off 2-3 floors in height and use his/her body weight to pull the arm up. It’s both fascinating but also nerve wrecking to watch. The storytelling and the intimate bond between Ann and Kong almost moved me to tears in Act II.

Go see this magnificent show!!

Posted on

Comfort Women

So glad to see the talented Genevieve Shi as the star in Comfort Women tonight! Go see the show, playing until September 2nd at Peter Jay Sharp Theater (42nd Street).

The storytelling was incredible bringing humanity, compassion, and hope to a difficult chapter in East Asian history — when over 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

The movements and dance choreographies were absolutely stunning. The traumatic scenes of rape and death were powerful and well done. The singing was amazing. I also like the creative stage design and props (e.g., umbrella scene, bed check scene). Did I mention this Off-Broadway show features an all-Asian cast and is directed by an East Asian director?

While I went into the theater expecting a lesson on history, unfortunately, all the painful events of the 1940s are still highly relevant today.

First, the hatred of one race towards another (for no reason other than based on where a person is born) is not only on the rise but being amplified and celebrated by some.

Second, [SPOILER ALERT] in tonight’s story, the enslaved women escaped with the help of the American army. The United States’ actions in WWII earned the goodwill of many East Asian nations. The US has held unparalleled world moral leadership for the past 70 years. For anyone who wants to understand how the US got its world standing, come see this show.

Yet, it’s mortifying if not devastating to see the US throwing its own values, trashing its own image, and behaving today more like a plundering imperial army than the liberating force it once was.

Posted on

MOMIX

MOMIX is playing at the Joyce Theater through August 11. Don’t this group of incredible visual artists!!!

Here are some of my favorites from last Wednesday.

Aqua Flora — A gorgeous solo where the dancer spins nonstop throughout the entire choreography, creating beautiful visual illusions with the thousands of beads hanging off her neck.

Tuu — A stunning duet that’s aesthetically beautiful but also requires the strength of steel to perform, or at least more core strength than I ever thought was possible.

Dream Catcher — A unique acrobatic choreography unlike anything I’ve seen. Two dancers move through 3D space with the help of a kinetic sculpture (that’s about two stories tall). According to founder and artistic director, Moses Pendleton, the piece was so difficult to create initially, that the original cast wore football helmets (with a full face mask) to prevent themselves from being accidentally crushed by the moving sculpture.

Man Fan — A solo with the most outrageous but impressive costume, where a single person fills the entire Joyce Theater, literally.

If You Need Some Body — A light-hearted and unexpected comedy piece to chose the show!

Posted on

Batsheva Dance Company

Thought-provoking performance “Offending the Audience” by the Young Ensemble of the Batsheva Dance Company at the Joyce Theater.

I didn’t actually find the language to be particularly offensive except for the final minutes. Even then, it wasn’t too bad.

On the other hand, it was an odd experience to be called out for doing *exact* what we were doing. For example, that we, as the audience, were sitting in rows equal distance from each other.

I want to better understand the meaning of the scene about a girl dancing naked to provoke a beating from her mom though… among other unusual and puzzling moments in the choreography.

Posted on

Moulin Rouge

“All that matters in life are truth, beauty, freedom, and love!”

Gorgeous dancing, entertaining songs, and a touching love story at the preview of Moulin Rouge at the newly-renovated Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston.

Bravos to the cast for an amazing show. Special shoutout to Paloma Garcia-Lee who gave a wonderful talk to dancers at BroadwayCon. I’m so glad to finally see her perform live on stage!

Posted on

Whipped Cream

Whipped Cream by American Ballet Theatre.

I missed Whipped Cream last year, and was glad to finally catch the production this year. My favorite part of the night, though, came during the curtain bow. Catherine Hurlin was just promoted to a soloist over the weekend. Tonight was her first performance since the announcement. You could literally see the glee coming out of her, as she dances joyfully on stage during the bow. Congratulations!!!

Posted on

Angels in America

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. June 24th and July 1st at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Bravos to the cast for putting on this powerful and emotionally-charged play over two weekends… telling the complex and often shrouded stories about AIDS in the 1980s… and the public and private ways people tried to make sense of the unknown, the unforgiving, the “shame”, one’s impending suffering and death, or that of their loves ones.

Posted on

Don Quixote

Don Quixote by American Ballet Theatre.

Love Isabella Boylston as Kitri, and Catherine Hurlin and Cassie Trenary as the Flower Girls!

Posted on

Swan Lake

American Ballet Theatre. June 23rd at the Met Opera House.

A completely packed house to see Misty Copeland as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake this afternoon.