Personal revelations of an ex-Ailey dancer: States of Hope

Jessica Amber Pinkett in States of Hope

HopeBoykinDance in States of Hope

Jessica Amber Pinkett with HopeBoykinDance in States of Hope

By Carla Escoda, 19 October 2023

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“verbal impasses are marked by eruptions of dance that convey anguish, vulnerability, steadfastness”

Reviewed at Joyce Theater, New York City on 17 October 2023

States of Hope (Hope Boykin)

HopeBoykinDance

Jessica Amber Pinkett, Dancer

Terri Ayana Wright, Dancer

Lauren Rothert, Dancer

Bahiyah Hibah Sayyed, Dancer

Fana Minea Tesfagiorgis, Dancer

Martina Viadana, Dancer

Hope Boykin, Dancer

Ballet Black at 25: irrepressible talent

Maggie Foyer, 4th March

Ballet Black presents a double bill at the Linbury that showcases the strengths of its very fine dancers as well as the depth of choreographic innovation in its vast repertoire.

****1

Parsons Dance brings the fun to modern at the Joyce Theater

Ivy Lin, 1st May

Six works, including two world premieres, made up the latest program from Parsons Dance. Thoroughly joyful, the audience were sent home buzzing.

*****

Johnny Loves Johann, unevenly at the Joyce Theater

Carla Escoda, 14th April

Acclaimed violinist and 2024 MacArthur Fellow Johnny Gandelsman invited four choreographers to join him on a marathon through Bach's six cello suites. His musicianship was the highlight of the evening.

***11

Exhibitions of style: Hubbard Street Dance returns to New York

Carla Escoda, 31st March

Aszure Barton, Matthew Rushing, Bob Fosse and James Gregg make for an eclectic and mostly intriguing night with Chicago's Hubbard Street Dance at New York's Joyce Theatre.

****1

Ailey II dancers shine in ambitious mixed bill at the Joyce Theater

Carla Escoda, 18th March

In their penultimate stop on a US tour, Ailey's second company produced exceptional performances in an Ailey classic and four handsome new works.

****1

In New York, immersed in Noé Soulier’s The Waves

Carla Escoda, 4th March

A hypnotic evening with two percussionists and six dancers in Noé Soulier’s The Waves, inspired by the Virginia Woolf novel.

****1

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Carla Escoda

Born in the Philippines, Carla trained as a ballet and modern dancer with the Alice Reyes Dance Company in Manila. She has lived and worked in Asia and the U.S. and has written about the arts for Bachtrack, KQED (the northern California public media broadcaster), Dance International, dance journal/hk, the Huffington Post, Dance Europe and ballettothepeople.

Personal revelations of an ex-Ailey dancer, ingeniously staged in States of Hope