CELEBRATING ST. LOUIS’ VIBRANT DANCE COMMUNITY

St. Louis Dance HQ’s Blog is a compilation of writings and performance reviews from a variety of St. Louis based dance writers. If you’re interested in sharing your writing on our blog, please email stlouisdancehq@gmail.com.

Meet Our Contributors
HQ Review: Space Station’s Winter Weekend with Miller, Halm, and Sapozhnikov
SpaceStation Residency, Performance Zoe DeYoung SpaceStation Residency, Performance Zoe DeYoung

HQ Review: Space Station’s Winter Weekend with Miller, Halm, and Sapozhnikov

Launching Space Station’s 2026 season, Winter Weekends assembled six seasoned artists for a split-bill evening. Touring from Illinois with her collaborators, Anna Sapozhnikov presented “Good House Keep.” St. Louis-based artist Melissa Miller presented “Daphne” alongside her collaborator Laura Halm visiting from Baltimore, Maryland. Each work surfaced questions embedded in the subtle—yet pervasive—aspects of the feminine experience. 

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HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre and Jazz St. Louis present “Gaslight Dreams”
Saint Louis Dance Theatre, Performance St. Louis Dance HQ . Saint Louis Dance Theatre, Performance St. Louis Dance HQ .

HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre and Jazz St. Louis present “Gaslight Dreams”

In its second such collaboration, Jazz St. Louis and Saint Louis Dance Theatre, under the direction of Victor Goines and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, respectively, presented Gaslight Dreams at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts. Joined by special guest Denise Thimes, this holiday-themed production featured some Christmas classics as well as a reimagining of The Nutcracker Suite by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

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HQ Review: Ballet 314’s “The Nutcracker and the World’s Fair”
Ballet 314, Performance Melissa Miller Ballet 314, Performance Melissa Miller

HQ Review: Ballet 314’s “The Nutcracker and the World’s Fair”

This season marked Ballet 314’s seventh production of their particular version: “The Nutcracker & The World’s Fair.” In this clever retelling, choreographers and directors Rachel Bodi and Robert Poe incorporate an exciting chapter of St. Louis’ history into the ballet. The World’s Fair serves as an ideal backdrop for this magical story—a real-life event that engendered wonder and novelty, catapulting people of the time out of their everyday lives and connecting them with exciting new ideas and cultures. The fair offered everyday people a chance to engage with wonder: miniature Ferris wheels, colorful banners, towering exhibition halls, exciting inventions,

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HQ Review: RESILIENCE hosts local arts’ new works at Seen: STL
Performance, RESILIENCE Dance Company, Seen: STL Adriana Britto-Pereira Performance, RESILIENCE Dance Company, Seen: STL Adriana Britto-Pereira

HQ Review: RESILIENCE hosts local arts’ new works at Seen: STL

This past weekend, I stepped foot into Intersect Arts Center in order to watch a showing of Seen: STL. The semi-annual viewing is both financially accessible and ruleless, with dancers signing up to show pieces that they have been working on. No rules, no time limit, just pure artistic movement made accessible for the Saint Louis community.

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HQ Review: Grace Meraki Dance Company presents its first performance “Finding Home”

HQ Review: Grace Meraki Dance Company presents its first performance “Finding Home”

Encircled by stained glass and pews, Grace Mareki Dance Company made its performance debut at Hope United Church of Christ. The church served as a poignant setting for the Christian dance company’s first show, “Finding Home.” Director and choreographer Nina Serigos began incubating the idea for the production through conversations with her mentors while deliberating about her next steps in her career.

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Holidays in STL: Dancer Roll Call
Colin Ellis Colin Ellis

Holidays in STL: Dancer Roll Call

The magic of the Holiday season has just begun in St. Louis. With many fun and festive times ahead, Saint Louis Dance HQ would love to share with you how some of the dancers from around the St. Louis area celebrate during this time of the year and where you can see them perform.

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HQ Review: STAGED presented by Karlovsky and Company Dance

HQ Review: STAGED presented by Karlovsky and Company Dance

On November 21-22, 2025, Karlovsky and Company Dance showcased 5 pieces, each created by a different choreographer: Corpus Missa, Last Train Home, Catching, How Come We Never Talked About It, and Seeing You, Seeing Me. With the collaboration of nine company artists, twelve guest artists, three musicians, and one set designer each piece was filled with a unique voice and powerful emotional resonance.

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HQ Review: Washington University Dance Theatre presents “Something is Happening”

HQ Review: Washington University Dance Theatre presents “Something is Happening”

On November 14, 15, and 16th, WashU’s WUDT performed their annual concert, this one entitled Something Is Happening, at Edison Theater. The talented students had the amazing opportunity to work with choreographers Elinor Harrison, Liz Lloyd, David Marchant, Ron K. Brown, and Xi Zhao. The dancers performed in works of many different genres including classical/neoclassical ballet, contemporary, West African and modern dance influences. 

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HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s Love Languages Fall Series

HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s Love Languages Fall Series

On Saturday, November 15, 2025, Saint Louis Dance Theater (STLDT) celebrated its 15th season by hosting its “Movers and Shakers Ball: Cristal Anniversary” gala. Many donors, dancers, and patrons came adorned in glittery themed formal wear. The night began with champagne toasts, a buffet, and a cocktail hour. The audience was already buzzing with excitement for what STLDT has to offer when the performance began for the first installment of their Love Language season, aptly titled Fall Series

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HQ Review: SIUE presents Timeless Reflections Fall Dance Concert

HQ Review: SIUE presents Timeless Reflections Fall Dance Concert

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville presented their fall dance concert, Timeless Reflections at Dunham Theatre in Edwardsville, IL, featuring choreography by Carly Vanderheyden, Maria Majors, Kristin Best-Kinscherff, Geoff Alexander, Omar Olivas, Lindsay Hawkins, Snack Break Movement Arts, and Brenda Serrata Tally.

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HQ Review: Webster’s New Works Concert
Webster University, Performance, HQ Review Adriana Britto-Pereira Webster University, Performance, HQ Review Adriana Britto-Pereira

HQ Review: Webster’s New Works Concert

On November 6th through the 7th, Webster University's dance department performed original choreography at their annual New Works Concert. The talented BFA students learned challenging choreography from both alumni and faculty, with styles such as jazz, contemporary, and modern being highlights of the show.

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HQ Review: Chew+Spit presents WHATEVERFEST!
chew+spit, SpaceStation Residency, HQ Review Will Brighton chew+spit, SpaceStation Residency, HQ Review Will Brighton

HQ Review: Chew+Spit presents WHATEVERFEST!

Since its inaugural performance in January 2025, chew & spit – a dance residency created by Marlee Doniff and sponsored by Space Station Dance Residency – has sought to actively lower the stakes of performance by creating a space that prioritizes process over product. That essence of low-stakes performance billowed through every aspect of chew & spit’s first annual fundraiser event, Whateverfest, presented on Saturday, October 18, at Webster University’s Department of Dance. A myriad of mismatched living-room lamps framed the makeshift performance space and offered a soft, homey glow that, along with the steady patter of rain on the roof, wrapped the afternoon in a sense of warmth and community.

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HQ Review: Saint Louis Ballet presents Take Five…More or Less
Performance, HQ Review, St. Louis Ballet Adriana Britto-Pereira Performance, HQ Review, St. Louis Ballet Adriana Britto-Pereira

HQ Review: Saint Louis Ballet presents Take Five…More or Less

Red, orange, blue, and purple leap out onto stage as Henri Matisse-inspired costumes paint their way into live performance danced by Saint Louis Ballet. On October 11th and 12th, Saint Louis Ballet debuted Take Five…More or Less, a captivating show featuring three unique works by both guest artists and faculty.

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HQ Review: Webster BFA Concert
Webster University, Performance, HQ Review Josiah Gundersen Webster University, Performance, HQ Review Josiah Gundersen

HQ Review: Webster BFA Concert

80s rock and roll, a disappearing moon, a thunderstorm, a trickle of laughter, a prop gun, and the indecisiveness of being a libra. All disparate elements that collectively contribute to the daring artistry of Webster University’s BFA concert “The Paradox.” Featuring three works by BFA candidate Ally Lamkie, as well as four works by recent Webster alumni, “The Paradox” is a fitting title to illustrate how these imaginative works existed beside each other. At times dramatic absurdity took hold as comedic expressions were undercut by tensions of seriousness. Elsewhere, the ecstasy of dance reigned supreme as the electricity of movement bounced from one dancer to the next. Though containing a hodgepodge of dance theatricalities, this concert’s contradictory features depicted the reality of existing in an illogically serious world.

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Behind the Movement: MADCO “SETs” the Stage with its 50th Anniversary Performance
MADCO, Before You Go St. Louis Dance HQ . MADCO, Before You Go St. Louis Dance HQ .

Behind the Movement: MADCO “SETs” the Stage with its 50th Anniversary Performance

Behind the Movement: MADCO “SETs” the Stage With its 50th Anniversary Performance. This weekend, The Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) celebrates that legacy with SET: The Legacy Concert. The performance will bridge the company’s past and its present. In rehearsals leading up to opening night, the studio has been buzzing with energy! Alumni have visited, stories have been shared, and dancers have been connecting with the roots of the work they now carry forward.

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HQ Review: Space Station Dance Residency
Melissa Miller Melissa Miller

HQ Review: Space Station Dance Residency

Space Station, an annual dance residency showcasing experimental works, featured seven choreographers and six new pieces this year, including two guest artists from out of state. The 2025 edition had a special focus on audience participation, deployed in a variety of ways by the evening’s artists. In a pre-show video, viewers were even given instructions on how to decline performer interactions—simply by shaking our heads. 

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HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre presents Norbert De La Cruz III’s world premiere “THE NORTH STAR”
Saint Louis Dance Theatre, HQ Review Josiah Gundersen Saint Louis Dance Theatre, HQ Review Josiah Gundersen

HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre presents Norbert De La Cruz III’s world premiere “THE NORTH STAR”

There is a gnawing tension that aches within the body of Norbert De La Cruz III’s newest work “The North Star.”  De La Cruz’s previous work for Saint Louis Dance Theatre, “Cloud 9,” found the dancers of this company in an ethereal world, emulating utopia amongst the clouds of COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre. While their gaze still reaches towards the heavens, in “The North Star” the dancers have fallen from the clouds, finding themselves among the debris of this earth. The sun is dimmer, the stakes are higher, yet this community of dancers continues to resonate amongst the residue of this newly inhabited world.  

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