Staff Picks No. 73
Racecar Racecar Racecar : Kallan Dana, Sarah Blush, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Jessica Frey, Julia Greer, Ryan King, and Bruce McKenzie
A.R.T./New York Theatres
December 6th-22nd 2024
The Hearth is always a company to follow — and not to be all now more than ever, but with the horrid Connelly fallout (as a Catholic I apologize on behalf of my people), the company had to relocate its December show. And this is one to see: Dance Nation's Camila, Grief Hotel's Bruce, Events' Julia Greer. Whatta cast, whatta company!
Staffer: Billy McEntee
Kinstillatory Mappings in Light and Dark Matter : Nour Annan, Raneem Ayyad, Emily Johnson, Tania El Khoury, Leil Zahra Mortada, Kai Recollet
Abrons Art Center
Thursday, November 21st 2024
Last of the season! Welcome winter and hold onto light and to grief at Emily Johnson and Kai Recollet’s monthly fire ceremony and knowledge sharing. This month is guest curated by the brilliant Tania El Khoury, who’s “Cultural Exchange Rate” at last year’s Under The Radar was a huge highlight. Come through!
Staffer: Joshua Dumas
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence : Janis Ian, Varda Bar-Kar
Village East by Angelika
Thursday, November 21st 2024
As a teen during the Greenwich Village folk/jazz/rock scene in the 60s, Janis Ian wrote wildly precocious progressive tunes about white supremacy, interracial love, body shaming, and gay marriage, that in hindsight feel decades ahead of their time. This documentary traces her life. Part of the NYC DOC fest. Come through!
Staffer: Joshua Dumas
Take Me To Dollywood : The Fool Volk
St. Lydia’s
Friday, November 22nd 2024
I obviously love St. Lydia's so I'm always thrilled to see the nifty storefront space transformed in new ways. Dollywood seems to be doing that with bombs of color and experiments profane enough to only happen in a church. There's a lot of havoc coming to Gowanus, as there should be!
Staffer: Billy McEntee
Yvonne Rainer: A Program of Film and Choreography : Yvonne Rainer with performers Emily Coates, Brittany Bailey, Emmanuèle Phuon, Elliot Mercer, and Irene Hultman
Judson Church
Thursday, November 21st 2024
A living legend of modern dance revisits some of her work (that you read about in textbooks) in the very venue in which is premiered! Not if, these walls will talk!
Staffer: Travis Amiel
Artist Talk: Ibrahim Mahama : Ibrahim Mahama
Dia Chelsea
Thursday, November 21st 2024
Textile and installation artist Ibrahim Mahama is the inaugural recipient of the Sam Gilliam award, a new award facilitated by Dia and the Sam Gilliam Foundation, honoring Gilliam’s legacy. The artist talks at Dia are always so brilliant, and Mahama’s work, at the intersection of cloth, commune, and reclamation is so smart and beautiful. Come through!
Staffer: Joshua Dumas
Dorrance Dance: The Nutcracker Suite : Dorrance Dance
City Center
November 22nd-24th 2024
After its Joyce premiere in 2019, I was sure Dorrance Dance’s “Nutcracker Suite” (from founder Michelle Dorrance, Josette Wiggan and downtown darling Hannah Heller), I was sure it would become an off-the-path NYC holiday staple. Now finally returning after pandemic hibernation, it’s the perfect way to kickstart whatever holiday spirit you’re hoping to muster this season. Set to a sensational 1960 Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn arrangement of the iconic Tchaikovsky, it’s a rich, fleet vehicle for Dorrance’s company, whose ebullient virtuosity always ranks amongst the best theater i’ve been lucky enough to witness.
Staffer: Eric Shethar