Exotic “Grupo Corpo” Troupe Combines Exceptional Dancing with Brazilian and African Rhythm for a Spectacular Evening of Excitement and Adventure

October 30, 2023November 15, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

“Grupo Corpo” Artistic Director – Paulo Pederneiras; Choreographer – Rodrigo Pederneiras; Presented by Celebrity Series at Boch Center Shubert Theatre. Run has ended.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Founded in 1975 by Paulo and Rodrigo Pederneiras, the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo (meaning “Body Group” in Portuguese) is renowned for its unparalleled blend of popular Brazilian culture, African rhythms, and classical technique.

At last Saturday night’s performance, the troupe treated its audience to a mesmerizing evening of ingenious choreography, tireless, virtuoso dancers, inventive lighting and stage design, and pulsating, tribal-tinged music by Bahian songwriter Gilberto Gil and the Brazilian jazz band, Metà Metà.

The concert was as thrilling, riveting and entertaining as it gets.

Alvin Ailey Will Rocka Your Soul

May 6, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Wang. Presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston*

by Linda Chin

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston. Robert Battle, Artistic Director. At the Boch Center Wang Theatre, Boston, through May 7, 2023.

Whether it’s your first-time seeing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (like my adult son), or the umpteenth (like my plus-two, Boston dance legend/educator-extraordinaire Adrienne T. Hawkins), or a dozen or so times like me, you will feel uplifted by the experience. Prepare to be astounded by the impeccably trained company members’ artistry and physicality, to be swept up in the emotions and energy that leaps off the stage. The carefully curated program we saw on opening night (the repertoire and dancers vary at each performance) blends music of a range of genres, new and old works (two world premieres and two pieces choreographed in the sixties), adding to its inter-generational appeal.

Sassy, Somber and Sensual — Paul Taylor Dance Company Covers All the Bases

April 15, 2023April 16, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Full cast of Paul Taylor Dance Company at Boch Center — Shubert Theatre. Photos by Ron Thiele

Paul Taylor Dance Company – Artistic Director Michael Novak; Founding Artistic Director – Paul Taylor; Resident Choreography – Lauren Lovette; Lighting Designer – Jennifer Tipton; Costume Design – Donald Martiny; Costume Design – Mark Eric and Santo Loquasto. Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston at Boch Center — Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St., Boston, through April 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Paul Taylor, whose imagination, emotional breadth and sheer physical ability helped shape and define the purely American art form known as modern dance, never fails to amaze and enchant. The thunderous opening night applause from the standing audience shows that, if anything, the company has only increased its seductive power over its Boston fans.

A Thrilling, Imaginative “Sacre” by CIRCA

February 11, 2023February 11, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Sacre’ at the *Boch Center Shubert Theatre*

by Michele Markarian

“Sacre”. Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble. Directed by Yaron Lifschitz. Music by Philippe Bachman and Igor Stravinsky. Presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston, Boch Center Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont Street Boston, through February 11.

Watching “Sacre”, I couldn’t help but think of my first trip to India. The streets were crowded with activity – tuk tuks, people four or five deep on motorbikes, cars, regular bicycles. My colleague and I stood on one side of the road, jittery, panicking, eventually darting tensely across the street like rabbits on steroids. The people who lived there, though, had no such fear. They calmly and serenely crossed the street, as if they were working with the chaos and motion, and not against it. “Sacre” has a similar flow to it, a synergy between cast members of safety, trust, and belonging that’s only frightening if you’re on the outside looking in.

Q & A with Benjamin Knapton of ‘Sacre’, ‘The Rite of Spring’ Performance Re-Imagined as Circus

February 5, 2023February 5, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of “Sacre”, being presented by Celebrity Series of Boston February 9-111

Next weekend (February 9-11) the Celebrity Series of Boston will present “Sacre”, a re-imagining of “The Rite of Spring” by Australian contemporary circus company Circa, at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre. Theater Mirror had an opportunity to speak with acting artistic director Benjamin Knapton, who directed “Sacre”, last week.

TM: Tell us about Circa and how they differ from other circus arts troupes?

BK: In the early 2000s, Yaron Lifschitz (artistic director and CEO of Circa) took over a troupe called Rock n Roll Circus, and that company was doing some real different circus in Brisbane, Australia at the time. Yaron has a theater background, and when he started working with the (troupe) he essentially stripped it back, taking away the fancy costumes and lighting and set design, and really started to focus on the acrobatic body and what it could do, as well as the personalities and the emotional capacity of the performance. Since then, we’ve brought back sets and lighting and we do children’s shows (“Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus”), but the heart of that intent is still focused on the acrobatics, the acrobatic body and who the are performers are as people. With ‘Sacre’ for instance, there’s nothing on stage, it’s an empty black space lit by this one light. And it really focuses in on these extraordinary 10 acrobats who are in the show.

Monica Bill Barnes & Company’s ‘Happy Hour’ Comes to Boston – Interview

March 6, 2019March 11, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass in ‘Happy Hour’)

By Mike Hoban

‘Happy Hour’ – Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston and Monica Bill Barnes & Company, March 12-16, District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue in Boston’s Seaport. All performances at 6 p.m. with a Friday 8:30 PM show added to accommodate additional demand Tickets available at www.celebrityseries.org.

Celebrity Series of Boston will bring back Monica Bill Barnes & Company to Boston with their two-woman dance/comedy piece, Happy Hour, an immersive show that promises to “blend cringe-worthy humor with socially awkward empathy in an after-work get-together.” Part office party, part dance show, and part karaoke event, performers Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass, dressed in men’s suits, crash an office party playing two utterly feckless would-be alpha males who attempt to seduce their way through the office happy hour. The performance is preceded by a 30 minute pre-show warmup hosted by Robbie Saenz de Viteri, who serves as MC for the event. Happy Hour features a potpourri of American dance styles – jazz, theater dance, tap and a bit of ballet and modern for good measure – along with a massive dose of broad physical humor. Theater Mirror caught up with Barnes and Saenz de Viteri by phone as they prepared for the upcoming performance March 12-16 at District Hall in the Seaport.