Muscle Memories

Cincinnati Ballet celebrates 45 years with its audience-picked Greatest Hits

From the glut of reality shows and the Peoples’ Choice Awards to blogging and Twittering, now more than ever audience members feel entitled to voice their opinions.
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Truth and Legends

Cincinnati Ballet presents a faithful re-creation of Twyla Tharp's 'Sinatra Suite'

Following last season's 'Baker's Dozen,' Cincinnati Ballet again presents a piece choreographed by Twyla Tharp and restaged by veteran Tharp company member Shelley Washington. This time it's 'Sinatra Suite' from 1984, a series of four duets and a solo set to well-known Sinatra standards. The program also features new works from the Ballet's Associate Artistic Director Devon Carney and New York City-based choreographer Jessica Lang alongside Balanchine's 'Tarantella.'
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Sole Survivors

Eight visions with a local connection merge on stage

Small Streams-2, the newest offering from Cincinnati Choreographers’ Collective this weekend at Contemporary Dance Theater’s College Hill Dance Hall, features the diverse work of eight highly regarded choreographers in two full-length evening performances.
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Body of Work

Maureen Fleming explores archetypes and universal questions through movement

Transcendent, spellbinding and dreamlike could all describe Maureen Fleming’s solo performances. But none would precisely capture one’s response to experiencing her work. Though presented as part of Contemporary Dance Theater’s Guest Artist series, Fleming’s mesmerizing choreography offers a world apart from general expectations of dance.
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The Occidental Tourist

Divine Performing Arts tour offers a fascinating home away from home

As the world grows smaller in the wake of global media, China is hot. The recent Olympic Games in Beijing underscored the country's emerging presence on the world stage. Locally, the Cincinnati Art Museum's current exhibition, 'China Design Now,' showcases contemporary design work, from architecture and fashion to pop (sub)culture, graphic design and more. And now the world tour of Divine Performing Arts brings some of the country's ancient artistic forms (dance, music and elaborate set visuals) to Music Hall on Dec. 23.
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Variety Shows

After nearly four decades of dance, Philadanco still promises a fresh mix of material

Philadanco's Founder and Executive Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown has a big, warm, sunny-sounding voice. She speaks to me from a Boston tour stop, where her modern dance company is booked for a three-night run. Mobile phone to mobile phone, we chat.
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Brave New World

Expect the unexpected at Cincinnati's "New Works"

One aspect of contemporary dance I appreciate is that, for the most part, you can never really be certain of what you're going to see. This notion also becomes a reason why too many people avoid it: They don't know what to expect; perhaps they fear they won't get it.
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Jacoby & Pronk 'do their own thing' at the Gala of International Dance Stars

Whatever the style, dance -- like life -- constantly calls for changes and shifts. As summer shifts into the dog days, it's already August and time for the season's splashiest dance treat

Dance: Close Encounters

Aspiring dancers tackle the Tango, Argentine-style

Dance: Bringing It Home

Local roots and longtime friendships enrich annual dance festival