Author Archives: Dorothy Samachson

AN EVENING OF STRAVINSKY at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago July 16 The Artist in the Park program is a unique project sponsored by a large apartment building in Hyde Park. Each year since 1984, the managers of Regents Park, assisted by a knowledgeable jury, have chosen an outstanding young talent as their artist in […]

BALLET CHICAGO at the Civic Opera House May 21 Ballet Chicago, latest applicant for the position of Chicago’s resident classic dance company, made a promising debut with a calling-card benefit performance at the Opera House. judging from the modesty, intelligence, and care with which artistic director Daniel Duell prepared the company for this event, it […]

WENDY PERRON DANCE COMPANY Columbia College Dance Center May 13 and 14 It’s an old theatrical truism that a performer should never share the stage with children or animals; they’re surefire attention grabbers. That old warning holds as true today as it ever did, and I regret that Wendy Perron, an extraordinarily imaginative dancer/choreographer, didn’t […]

CHICAGO REPERTORY DANCE ENSEMBLE at the Civic Theatre March 3-6, 1988 The Civic Center gambled that a seven-year-old local group, Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, could attract a broad public to this large downtown venue as part of the Civic’s Spring Festival of Dance. And the past full weekend of performance showed the risk was worth […]

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE at the Auditorium Theatre February 2-13, 1988 American Ballet Theatre has shown that Pillar of Fire, Antony Tudor’s narrative, “psychological” ballet acclaimed as a masterpiece at its debut in 1942, has lost none of its dramatic power. Its poignance, searing exploration of sexual frustration and guilt, insight into the human spirit, and […]

DAVID PARSONS COMPANY at Triton College November 7, 1987 David Parsons, for eight years a principal with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, has now struck out on his own–and what a strike! The program he brought to Triton College was witty, imaginative, and technically assured. Parsons, all of 27 now, will be a major force […]

KIROV BALLET at the Civic Opera House May 27-31, 1987 The Kirov Ballet of Leningrad returned to Chicago after 23 years and I don’t remember such an outpouring of local dancers and students at any dance concert I’ve seen here. They came to watch and to learn from this fabulous company — which, apart from […]

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at the Civic Opera House May 7-10, 1987 TWYLA THARP DANCE at the Auditorium Theatre May 9, 1987 Although an Alvin Ailey engagement rarely offers a creative surprise, his strong sense of drama and his dedication to celebrating the black experience and to exploring ancient ritual generally combine to make […]

NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA Auditorium Theatre March 16-17, 1987 The last time the National Ballet of Canada appeared in Chicago was in 1979, when it performed Swan Lake at one of Geraldine Freund’s extravagant International Ballet Festivals of Stars. NBC finally returned last week with Alice, an absolute beauty of a ballet, danced with great […]

JOFFREY BALLET Civic Opera House March 17-29, 1987 In the opening moments of Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, the curtain raiser of the Joffrey Ballet’s current engagement, five women in filmy pastel costumes embraced dancer Glenn Edgerton in a circle. They tilted their heads backward and arched their pliant spines, resembling a glorious flower opening its […]