Audrey Cahak

What did our critic think of RIVERDANCE 30: THE NEW GENERATION at The Kennedy Center Opera House?

Contemporary dance choreographer and company founder Dana Tai Soon Burgess produced the dance concert “An Asian American Dance Journey” for a three-day run at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. While it is the company’s 32nd year in production, it was their first year collaborating with and dancing in the Woolly Mammoth. 

Written in 1613 by Lope de Vega, Fuenteovejuna is widely considered a masterpiece by the most influential playwright from Spain’s golden age. The play depicts a town revolting against tyrannical rule during a period of countrywide political unrest, based on the real events of the Fuenteovejuna village uprising in 1476. Though overzealous rulers terrorize the town, the people are not so easily defeated, and they unify to become stronger than their enemies. 

The excitement was overflowing in The Kennedy Center Opera House as the annual Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater program began. The audience was so heavily anticipating the start that they found every excuse to cheer — they even applauded the sponsor acknowledgement. 

An Evening with Swan Lake, presented by Classical Arts Entertainment and performed by the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine at The Music Center at Strathmore, was a fantastic flurry of feathers and flawless footwork, but it needed more finesse in the finale.