All stories by Gia Kourlas on BroadwayStars

Sunday, June 15, 2025

The Best Dance of 2025, So Far by Gia Kourlas and Brian Seibert

Our critics picked 10 performances that have offered a robust alternative to the here and now with a tonic of beauty, rage and wisdom.

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Friday, June 13, 2025

Lexee Smith, Dancer and Addison Rae’s Creative Director, Finds Her Way by Gia Kourlas and Erik Tanner

Lexee Smith, who works closely with Addison Rae, is an outlier: a commercial dance artist with an experimental bent.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2025

In “Life of Chuck,” Tom by Gia Kourlas

In “The Life of Chuck,” the actor known for spontaneous eruptions of joyful movement, lets loose with a feast of footwork.

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Monday, June 9, 2025

Raw and Untamed, a Paul Taylor Dance Gets a Second Chance by Gia Kourlas

The Taylor company revives “Churchyard,” a forgotten gem from 1969 that shifts from angelic to ferocious as it cycles from life to death.

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Sunday, June 8, 2025

Misty Copeland Broke a Ballet Barrier and Became a Star by Gia Kourlas

Copeland, the first Black female principal at American Ballet Theater, has announced she’s retiring. She made history, and then made it count.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Thursday, June 5, 2025

At New York City Ballet, Casting, Coaching and Dances Worth Watching by Gia Kourlas

The spring season of New York City Ballet didn’t seem to warrant much excitement — until it did, with a rush of dynamic debuts.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:04AM
Thursday, May 29, 2025

Review: Ayodele Casel Links Tap to Her Hip-Hop Beginnings by Gia Kourlas

The tap choreographer and dancer returns to the Joyce Theater with “The Remix,” a glorious gathering of artists, sound and soul.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2025

The Ballet Kids of ‘Midsummer’ Bring Magic to the Bugs by Gia Kourlas and Erik Tanner

It could be that the youngest dancers are the real stars of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at New York City Ballet.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:00AM
Monday, May 26, 2025

There Are Problems for Sure. But ‘Étoile’ Has Humor and Heart. by Gia Kourlas

Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new series, created with her husband, takes ballet somewhere it doesn’t usually go: the world of comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:02AM
Friday, May 23, 2025

Andrew Veyette of City Ballet Has One Last Chance to Leave It All Onstage by Gia Kourlas

The New York City Ballet principal Andrew Veyette is retiring after 25 years: “My path had a lot of peaks and valleys. Some very deep and some very high.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00AM
Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Dancing to the Beating Heart of New York Public Library’s Collection by Gia Kourlas

In “Lunch Dances,” which tells fictional stories of regular people pursuing personal research, Monica Bill Barnes and Company invades the New York Public Library.

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Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Review: At Gibney, a New Lucinda Childs Stands Out (No Surprise) by Gia Kourlas

Gibney Company brings an uneven trio of new works to the Joyce: a deft premiere by Childs and dances by Roy Assaf and Peter Chu.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:54AM
Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Melissa Toogood Named New Director of Juilliard’s Dance Division by Gia Kourlas

A member of Merce Cunningham’s final company, Toogood brings to the job years of experience as a dancer and educator.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:45AM
Monday, May 5, 2025

An Inspiration to Balanchine, Suzanne Farrell Now Shows Dancers the Way by Gia Kourlas

“There’s a time for everything,” said Farrell, who has returned to New York City Ballet to teach a new and eager generation of dancers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00AM
Saturday, May 3, 2025

The Young Virtuoso Roman Mejia Now Has the X Factor: Nobility by Gia Kourlas and Thea Traff

Roman Mejia, a New York City Ballet principal, shows how bravura and subtlety can exist side by side in a season that includes a sparkling “Apollo” debut.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Sunday, April 6, 2025

Review: Reclaiming the Past in a Dance of Simmering Power by Gia Kourlas

The choreographer Reggie Wilson premieres his latest, “The Reclamation,” a stark, formal dance for seven, at NYU Skirball.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:20PM
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Sara Mearns and Jamar Roberts Know This: Dance Is Tough Love by Gia Kourlas

Two of the art form’s best join forces in a program curated by Mearns at City Center that features a new work by Roberts, “Dance Is a Mother.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:02AM
Monday, March 31, 2025

In 50th Anniversary Shows, Danspace Project Pulls Past Into Present by Gia Kourlas and Brian Seibert

As part of its 50th anniversary, the East Village institution presents reimagined dances by Ishmael Houston-Jones and Fred Holland, Donna Uchizono and Bebe Miller.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00AM
Monday, March 24, 2025

Jenifer Ringer Is Back at the School of American Ballet in a New Role by Gia Kourlas and Amir Hamja

Jenifer Ringer, the celebrated New York City Ballet principal, is back at the School of American Ballet in a new role: teacher and guiding light.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:02AM
Tuesday, March 11, 2025

The Transformer: Twyla Tharp Dives Into the Future by Gia Kourlas

Tharp celebrates her 60th anniversary as a dance maker with a program pairing the monumental “Diabelli” (1998) and the new “Slacktide.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:00AM
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

At City Ballet, a Swan Is Born and a Firebird Flies Into the Sunset by Gia Kourlas

It was a busy winter: Ashley Bouder bid farewell, Mira Nadon dazzled in “Swan Lake,” Maria Tallchief was honored and Alexei Ratmansky had another winner.

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Friday, February 28, 2025

In Zoe Saldaña, a Choreographer Finds His Dream Dancer by Gia Kourlas

The Academy Award-nominated actress discovers her inner dancer in “Emilia Pérez” with the help of the choreographer Damien Jalet.

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Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Miriam Miller Steps Into the Spotlight as the Swan Queen at City Ballet by Gia Kourlas

Miriam Miller, newly promoted to principal at New York City Ballet, is set to make her debut in “Swan Lake.”

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Friday, February 14, 2025

The Highs and Lows of ‘Edges of Ailey,’ the Whitney Museum’s New Exhibit by Gia Kourlas

The performance portion of “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum of American Art was best when it stepped away from tradition.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:00AM
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Ashley Bouder Bids Farewell to New York City Ballet by Gia Kourlas

Ashley Bouder, the longtime New York City Ballet principal, is leaving with a final performance in “Firebird.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:02AM
Friday, February 7, 2025

In Ratmansky’s ‘Paquita,’ Worlds Collide to Make a Ballet Big Bang by Gia Kourlas

Alexei Ratmansky creates a joyful new “Paquita” for New York City Ballet, giving the dancers a classical frame in which to find new versions of themselves.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:15PM
Monday, February 3, 2025

Audacious Choreographer Florentina Holzinger Is Back With Ballet Horror, ‘Tanz’ by Gia Kourlas

Florentina Holzinger, the daring Austrian choreographer, is back with “Tanz,” a rendering of ballet horror featuring the 83-year-old dancer Beatrice Cordua.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00AM
Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Two Blistering Solos Raise the Stakes at Live Artery by Gia Kourlas

Highlights so far of the 2025 contemporary dance festival, spread across New York City, are Symara Sarai and Leslie Cuyjet’s outstanding dances.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:57AM
Friday, January 10, 2025

Review: She’s the Dancing Body, He’s the Restless Mind by Gia Kourlas

Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri ring in the New Year in their physical and introspective “Many Happy Returns.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18PM
Monday, January 6, 2025

A Ballerina Prized for Her Musicality Deals With Hearing Loss by Gia Kourlas

Sara Mearns, the New York City Ballet principal, announced her 10-year struggle on Instagram. She tested out her new hearing aids in “The Nutcracker.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:23PM
Wednesday, January 1, 2025