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.
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.
HQ Reveiw: Ballet 314 presents THE ACCUSED
For their final production to wrap up their 6th season, Ballet 314 presented The Accused at the Skip Viragh Center of the Arts. The night was a triple bill with The Lark Ascending, Envy of Angels, and the headliner, The Accused. The three pieces presented did not have a general theme that created a tether between each piece. But that did not matter as they were strong as standalone pieces, highlighting different strengths of the dancers.
HQ Review: Dancers Making Moves inaugural event “Living Gallery”
Dancers Making Moves, a project conceived and spearheaded by Carly Vanderheyden, describes itself online as “a multimedia series capturing the essence of a dancer through photography, videography, movement, and storytelling.” The project began after Vanderheyden received an artist grant from the Regional Arts Commission and used the funds to create a platform and support system for a selected group of performing artists. It culminated in an evening-length experience of dance viewing, wherein the twenty-four artists involved were spotlighted as valuable members of our vibrant dance community.
HQ Review: STLDT’s Trainees present their (Em)Power Spring Concert
Spearheaded by STLDT’s Director of Education Brandon Fink, Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s Spring Trainee Concert was performed at Nerinx Hall in collaboration with the Nerinx Hall High School Dance Department. The evening’s performance consisted of seven pieces by six different choreographers. Though each piece offered unique insight into this particular group of dancers, the standout works of the evening were Murmuration by Brandon Fink, Meld by Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson, and IAN/IVE by Hui Cha Poos and the dancers.
HQ Review: Leverage Dance Theater presents “Refractions of Being”
Beneath the hallowed sanctuary of Hope United Church of Christ, the audience of Leverage’s concert “Refractions of Being” finds themselves. Illuminated by the sterile white lights of the church’s basement, Leverage’s fourth concert in their series “Spiritual Architecture & Sacred Spaces” began. The unconventional use of space that Leverage is well known for is immediately made evident as the audience is corralled into a corner facing a rectangular hole in the wall that looks into the church’s cafeteria space. There is a stark informality to being shepherded into such a space to watch dance. Though the program speaks of inviting people “to participate in an experience of shared spiritual intention,” it feels discordant to begin the concert in a space that is charged with such mundanity. However, there is spirituality even in the commonplace, and the mundane will soon bubble with vibrancy as the dancers of Leverage enter the space.
HQ REVIEW: Pack Dance presents Disruption
The May 2nd premiere of Disruption at The Marcelle Theater in St. Louis’s Grand Center arts district marked a notable milestone for Pack Dance as their first concert since officially rebranding from Consuming Kinetics Dance Company in the summer of 2024. With over 15 years of history and evolution at its heels, Pack Dance may be most recognized for its educational programming at its home studio in Central West End that caters most notably to adult dancers of all backgrounds and abilities in dance. Pack Dance’s annual spring dance concert, presented by its professional and junior companies of dancers, has built a tradition for itself of tackling topical, often darker political themes. In the past three years alone its concerts have centered around gender politics, gun violence, and climate change. This time around, the six choreographers chose to cast an even wider net, tackling a much wider range of themes centered around societal, cultural, and biological disruptors.
HQ Review: Saint Louis Ballet presents FEELS LIKE BROADWAY
Saint Louis Ballet’s recent production, Feels Like Broadway, presented at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, ambitiously sought to bridge the worlds of classical ballet and the showmanship of Broadway’s golden age. Featuring works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Christopher Wheeldon, the program leveraged some of the biggest names in ballet to explore where these two categories converge and contrast. While the evening showcased moments of brilliance, particularly in Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance), it also highlighted a shared conservative approach to gender, sexuality, and romance.
HQ Review: RESILIENCE Dance Company presents its spring performance “Instead of waiting, they weave”
I expected the night to begin with opening remarks from Artistic and Executive Director Emily Haussler. If you’ve been to a Resilience performance, you know that their commitment to their people is at least as important to the ethos of the company as their commitment to presenting interesting art, and Emily wisely takes time before each show to ensure the audience knows about their mission. I recommend taking time to read their mission statement on their website, as it encompasses an impressive and lofty set of goals that I think more companies could aspire to. Tonight’s show, however, was different. After purchasing a reasonably priced beer to help support the company, I was handed a scroll that contained a summarized version of the Greek myth of Persephone and her involvement in the creation of Winter. Upon entering the performance space, I was greeted by dancers already on the stage, prancing and chuffing like… horses? Oh my, what had I gotten myself into?
HQ Review: MADCO presents “Evolve: Courage in Motion”
This past weekend, to end their 49th season, The Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) presented, Evolve: Courage in Motion at the Staenberg Performance Lab at the Center of the Creative Arts (COCA). This triple bill was to commemorate the late Sarah Ann Johnson, a beloved teacher who impacted thousands of children through her passion for reading. Her unfortunate passing due to follicular lymphoma and the remarkable legacy she left behind sparked the curation of the program. Each piece tackled incredibly profound concepts such as grief, love, and hope.
Q&A with Jacob Henss, Artistic Director of Space Station Dance Residency
A look back at Space Station Dance Residency’s Fundraiser Performance via a Q&A between blog contributor Calvin Windschitl and Space Station Artistic Director, Jacobs Henss.
HQ Review: STL Rhythm Collaborative presents “Pockets of the Big Easy”
STL Rhythm Collaborative’s newest production, “Pockets of the Big Easy” featuring Al Holliday & The East Side Rhythm Band Horns premiered on the final weekend of March at Missouri Baptist University.
HQ Review: TAPESTRY presented by Karlovsky and Company Dance in collaboration with Divadlo Štúdio Tanca
After two years since its initial conception, Karlovsky and Company Dance with the collaborative effort from the Slovakian dance company, Divadlo Štúdio Tanca (DŠT), premiered their production, Tapestry. As the title suggests, Tapestry envelopes the audience in intricate works not only through its physical feats but also through the complex topics each piece presented. This was evident since the beginning of the performance, before any dancer even entered the stage. When the audience settled in their seats, they were presented with an electronic, re-imagined version of Debussy’s famous Clar de Lune followed by ambient sounds of bird calls and instrumentation. This set up the audience for what was to come.
HQ Review: Saint Louis Dance Theatre presents their Winter Concert (RE)BUILD
Sunday night’s performance of Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s newest production, (RE)Build opened with Notes on a Farewell, originally premiered by the company in May 2024 and choreographed by Tommie-Waheed Evans. The piece is a rush of virtuosic movement and bold unison sections typical of the company’s repertory. A handful of thin lights were suspended along the back of the stage dimly lighting the nine dancers in alternating warm tones. After breaking into various combinations of duets and solos with, among other familiar love ballads, “A Song For You” cycling in and out of a disjointed and echoing soundtrack, the work culminated with a pulsing electronic beat and high energy unison: tossing limbs, stomping feet, and undulating spines peppered with elongated positions of the arms and legs amid impressive turns, lifts, and leaps. Slowly, the lights looming above the dancers disappeared, and we were left with a single performer dancing alone in dim light as the curtain lowered. Notes on a Farewell serves as an apt example of the athletic prowess of this particular group of dancers.
HQ Review: RESILIENCE Dance Company presents “Collective Realities”
Since its inception in 2019, Resilience Dance Company has strived to not only platform and spotlight its own cohort of artists, but to uplift and support the work and livelihoods of the growing community of dance artists that have made St Louis their home. Through Collective Realities, an evening of dance choreographed entirely by six of Resilience’s eight company dancers and performed by an ensemble of seventeen local dance artists, Resilience has managed to double, even triple down on this mission. While the greatest sentiment of the evening was undoubtedly the wonderfully diverse range of voices in our community and the beauty that comes with pure creative inhibition, it would be a disservice not to acknowledge the impressive and generous feat of an organization (one only in its sixth year at that!) not only offering time and space to its own artists to develop and grow their own creative ideas, but being able to provide equitable financial, career, and health resources for a group of over 15 local artists, particularly in the face of such tumultuous times in arts funding.
HQ Review: Saint Louis Ballet presents “To Love!”
Over Valentine’s Day weekend, Saint Louis Ballet presented "To Love!," featuring three pieces choreographed by Justin Peck, Christopher D’Amboise, and artistic director Gen Horiuchi. While the program notes highlight how the evening’s performances draw a through-line between ballet and Broadway—perhaps a foreshadowing of Saint Louis Ballet’s spring performance, "Feels Like Broadway"—and while the name of the show and its Valentine’s weekend timing may have suggested a romantic theme, the evening’s true intrigue stemmed from how the show order showcased growth in multiple forms. The trio of works asked audience members to consider the growth of the organization, the development of dancers within it, and the transformation of dance in popular culture.
HQ Review: chew + spit’s “say la V”
chew & spit’s stated aim was to be a residency for St. Louis based artists which would prioritize process over product. The collaboration resulted in a dance piece called say la V, which incorporated movement, text, music, and sound. say la V was performed in-the-round at Hope United Church and produced by Space Station Dance Residency, a hub for experimental performance work in St. Louis. chew & spit was conceived and directed by Marlee Doniff.
HQ Review: Karlovsky and Company Dance presents PLAYFUL PAIRINGS
Fresh movement, sounds, foods and drinks were the buzzwords for “Playful Pairings,” a truly collaborative site-specific concert by Karlovsky & Company Dance at .Zack. First occurring in 2017, the event features light fare and strong drinks — with mocktail options — crafted to pair with each work’s movement qualities, live music and environment.
HQ Review: MADCO presents Hope Alive: Moving Stories
“Community. How do we show up for each other?” In her opening speech, artistic director Arianna Russ states that themes of community have been central to the work of MADCO’s concert “Hope Alive: Moving Stories.” Russ continues to remark that this concert was produced in collaboration with MS Bright Spots of Hope, an organization that seeks to “educate, empower, spark creativity, and enhance wellness for the MS (multiple sclerosis) community.”
HQ Review: RESILIENCE’s “Entry Points”
Dancers enter the stage slowly, house lights still up, softly taking the shape of cluttered furniture, discarding belongings in a scrap pile of junk one might find in a broom closet or unfinished basement. As the gentle strumming of the intro music fades into roaring chatter, the stage is prepared with a gentle fervor - a construction ladder is taken off stage right, a dry-mop swept across the floor - before the dancers and the music both climax into a melodic scream, relenting only out of shock of their own volume. This act of preparation serves as an eloquent metaphor for the meticulous groundwork and constant growth that has paved the way for Resilience Dance Company’s explosive entry into its fifth anniversary season. The 2024 edition of Entry Points, Resilience’s annual fall repertory concert, holds absolutely nothing back in its physicality, artistry, and production. Featuring five pieces, all by female choreographers, Entry Points is a thundurous, contemplative, and inspiring journey that digs into and showcases the undoubted range, power, and humanity of Resilience’s eight-person ensemble.
HQ Review: Leverage Dance Theater’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes
A haunted house turned immersive dance theater thrill ride, Leverage Dance Theater’s third installment of Nightmares and Dreamscapes serves as a fitting grand finale for both their 2024 production season and the Halloween season at large. Filled with classic horror tropes from ghoulish twins to haunted dolls (and ample screams), the production showcases what Leverage has become best known for - bringing meticulously crafted immersive dance experiences to unconventional spaces. Presented at 2715 Cherokee Street, a near blank slate of a building located steps away from The Luminary, Nightmares and Dreamscapes journeys the audience through every inch of the building’s chilling crevices.