The choreographic genius of Spectrum's Donald Byrd makes God-fearing folk swear and the irreligious cry, "Oh my god!" Partly that's because his dancers present as solid, sweating people, rather than mysteriously gesturing messengers. He consistently brings ideas back to the body--his pas de deux can have an X-rated quality--so you feel the argument he's making. Last night he was perched on the Moore's stage pre-show, mic in hand, "Okay, so it's not a full house......

Do dancers hibernate in winter? There's an explosion of dance activity coming up as January draws to a close. Had we but world enough and time, we'd go to all these shows, but time's chariot won't permit us to make up all the stops. Here's the wealth you have to choose from: January 25 - 27: The Bridge Project @ Velocity Dance Center. Two young Seattle choreographers and one team (Kristina Dillard, Kelly Sullivan, and......

Seattlest had high hopes for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company's interpretation of Jacob Lawrence's paintings, presented last night as a part of the UW World Series. Our expectations were met halfway.The evening was bookended beautifully, beginning with an iconic, stunning piece by local choreographer Donald Byrd and concluding with an energetic, celebratory hip-hop/modern dance mashup by Rennie Harris. You absolutely should go if only to see those two, both of which left us inspired and reinvigorated......

If you missed Reggie Wilson's group at On the Boards a few weeks ago, you have the chance to not only make up for it, but to add three other stellar choreographers and one of Seattlest's favorite dance companies to the bill. Opening this evening at Meany Hall as a part of UW's World Series, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company performs the Seattle premiere of colôr-ógrăphy, n. the dances of Jacob Lawrence. There have been......

This is Week 3 of Pacific Northwest Ballet's Celebrate Seattle Festival, and the busiest one. There's the cunningly named Program A, Program B, and Program C, all highlighting the work of locally born or spent-some-time-here choreographers. Plus, one of our favorite good times, 10 Tiny Dances is performing One Tiny Dance in the lobby at intermissions. Program A debuts tonight (repeats Thursday, Sunday matinee); on the bill are Kiyon Gaines' {SCHWA}, Robert Joffrey's Remembrances,......

As we mentioned the other day, Seattlest was very excited for the PNB production of Carmina Burana, but we left a bit perplexed and frustrated. To start, we enjoyed Mark Morris' Pacific, a light and dreamy piece that found our thoughts wandering in a pleasant way about halfway through, befitting of a day spent listening to the ocean advance and retreat while pretending to read a book. It was a short and "limited" (to borrow......

Monday THAT STARBUCKS "I WAS A CHILD SOLDIER" GUY: At twelve, Ishmael Beah found himself fleeing rebels, wandering from village to village. At thirteen, he was a soldier in Sierra Leone, hooked on drugs and capable of things he would never have imagined. Now, rehabilitated and living in the U.S., he tells his story in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, in an attempt to raise awareness of the child soldier......

First of all, despite what you read in the Times and the P-I about Donald Byrd's Never-Mind (which came and went over the weekend), it's not all that, as Brendan Kiley says over on the Slog. We've become fans of Byrd's "neo-expressionist" style, but Never-Mind (at this point) is short on style and substance. It came off like "Frank Miller's Never-Mind": an ugly cartoon of drug abuse, of dysfunction, of iconic fame. Not that......

Spectrum Dance Theater at the Moore Theatre 8pm tonight, tickets $15-$45 (plus fees) Spectrum Dance Theater's Never-Mind had its world premiere last night and ends tonight. It's a disturbing work, set to Kurt Cobain's perturbing music. If repeated shotgun blasts bother you, this is not your kind of show. If you're intrigued by the idea of Cobain getting a fix from Love, or seeing fans swept up into his tragic dance, then make plans.......

Here's a special Saturday post, to alert you about the Spectrum Dance Theater double bill, The Miraculous Mandarin / Petruchska; the last show is tonight at 8:00pm at The Moore Theatre. Tickets are $24.50-$29.50 (plus TM fees). SDT Artistic Director Donald Byrd is known for taking contemporary dance in unusual narrative directions. This is a frank exploration sex and violence: a remarkable variety of sexual positions and acts of violence. Be warned: Byrd says......

All music all the time wears us out, so we decided to hopscotch around Bumbershoot this year and take advantage of the talks, arts performances, and art exhibits. Thinking Globally I We arrived a little late, having forgotten about a little thing called traffic (about half the people on the #8 bus disembarked and hoofed it from Dexter). Ngugi Wa Thiong'o was reading from his Wizard of the Crow (which we think John Updike......