Contributions by  Adrienne Totino

Dance Review: PROGRAM C of the newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

Few cities have the audience for an entire festival of contemporary dance, yet Pittsburgh has arrived on the national scene as a place for this lesser known performing art to grow. Now, in its sixth year, newMoves is thriving with local and national dancers, and viewers from various artistic and non-artistic backgrounds. Program C of …

Dance Review: WRITTEN ON WATER and SNOW by Pontus Lidberg Dance

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

With only one remaining performance next month, the Pittsburgh Dance Council season is officially winding down. On Saturday night at the Byham Theater, Pontus Lidberg Dance brought uniqueness to an eclectic lineup. Lidberg is a Swedish choreographer and filmmaker whose dance work has garnered attention since the company’s debut in 2011. Lidberg’s experience in film …

Dance Review: CANDESCENCE by Gia T. Presents

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

Gia Cacalano has come a long way since her traditional Martha Graham training in New York City. Although she respects choreographed modern dance immensely, performing another artist’s rehearsed movement never felt comfortable to her. After quitting dance for seven years, Cacalano finally found the style that suits her best—improvisation. Over the last decade, she has …

Dance Review: WAYWARDLAND by Jil Stifel and Ben Sota

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

Each season, the New Hazlett Theater chooses a handful of local artists in multiple genres to perform as part of their CSA (Community Supported Art) series. Last Thursday, Jil Stifel and Ben Sota presented WaywardLand, an hour-long quartet also featuring Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight. The piece was a collaboration of styles; Stifel’s background is …

Dance Interview: Pittsburgh ballerina, Maria Caruso, premieres her final stage performance

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose

Pittsburgh ballerina, Maria Caruso, has had quite an impressive career as a performer, director, and educator. The path she took as a dancer was more of a circuitous pirouette than a straight arabesque. Now that she has solidified her role in the community, she is ready to step down from the stage. Caruso’s decision to …

Dance Review: PASSENGER by Shana Simmons Dance

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

In Pittsburgh, and other cities, site-specific dance has become commonplace. From small parks to large warehouses and everything in between, choreographers have taken their work outside the classical theater for many years. This past weekend, Shana Simmons and her dance collective brought their latest piece, Passenger, to the National Aviary on the North Side. The …

Dance Review: Loving Black by Anthony Williams

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

“I’m a man. I’m black. I’m queer. I’m skinny. I’m awkward.” Anthony Williams, a dancer and teacher in Pittsburgh, began his choreographic process by reflecting on himself. He chose labels that described him, then researched some of those labels for a more universal look at what it means to be a black man in our …

Dance Review: Kimono
by Mark Conway Thompson

By | Adrienne Totino, Prose, Reviews: Performing Arts

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater hosted its first “Fresh Works” showing of the season on Friday night. The program gives Pittsburgh-based artists eighty hours of rehearsal space and technical support, to work on mixed-genre collaborations. Kimono was directed by Mark Conway Thompson, who worked internationally as a mime for multiple decades. He performed the trio with …