{"id":287089,"date":"2025-10-08T17:43:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287089\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T17:43:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:43:27","slug":"impressions-fall-for-dance-at-new-york-city-center-program-1-akram-khan-jamar-roberts-dario-natarelli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287089\/","title":{"rendered":"IMPRESSIONS: Fall For Dance at New York City Center- Program 1 – Akram Khan, Jamar Roberts, & Dario Natarelli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Features<\/a> > Impressions <\/a>The Dance Enthusiast’s Brand of Review\/Thoughts on What We See \n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"IMPRESSIONS:\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Published on October 8, 2025
Sara Mearns,Jamar Roberts; Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tFalling In Love AgainProgram One\u00a0 Fall for Dance September 17th at New York City Center<\/p>\n

For 22 years, Fall for Dance at City Center <\/a>has spectacularly opened NYC’s dance season. The festival offers unbelievably affordable tickets (this year’s general admission ranged $23 to $30), and on every bill you will experience a top-tier lineup of dance artists from the United States and around the world. Bar none, it’s the hottest dance ticket in town. This year, I scored coveted press tickets to Programs One, Two, and Three and was thrilled.<\/p>\n

Being in the house for such a diverse range of dance encourages one to reflect on their tastes \u2014 what appeals, what doesn’t, and why. What I relearned about myself is that I find the most successful and pleasing dance works (and artists) to be the ones that make me forget I am watching dance altogether.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a detailed who’s who of artists associated with each performance,\u00a0 click here<\/a><\/p>\n

special Thanks to Steven Pisano for the use of his photographs<\/p>\n

\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The standout work of Program One was Akram Khan’<\/a>s\u00a0Dust (2013), a New York premiere originally set on the English National Ballet, and performed brilliantly by the San Francisco Ballet<\/a>.\u00a0 Khan doesn’t simply create dance; he crafts an epic where movement is the primary vehicle of expression. With an uncompromising eye, he guides us through the details of his landscape, devising memorable images and seamlessly transitioning from solo stories to group ones, compelling us to follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"man,<\/p>\n

“Dust” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

A topless male dancer seated downstage, facing away from us, flexes and grabs at his spine; he appears tortured. As we become engrossed and curious, we realize, with the lights rising, that a vast crowd, rocking back and forth, is gathered before this man, peering at him as if mesmerized by his suffering. Behind them lies a mountain. We don’t know as yet what is happening, but Khan has our attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

“Dust” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

As the story develops, the men in the group desperately ascend the mountain to its other side; the atmosphere suggests they’re in the midst of war. The women, left behind, fend for themselves, dancing determinedly in their community for survival. Amidst a stage filled with powerful females, Khan shifts our focus to a lone soldier descending the mountain, returning from battle. As the group dissolves, one woman, (Katherine Barkman)\u00a0and this soldier (Victor Prigent) make love, through dance, as if they are the last two people on the scorched earth. A far off scratchy recording in the background plays to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, “we’re here because, we’re here because, we’re here because, \u2026.” emphasizing the desolation.<\/p>\n

Kahn and all the artists associated with this masterwork remind us of the seduction and horror of war, as well as the profound need, even in the most inhumane circumstances, for human connection.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Dust” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

\"grabbing<\/p>\n

“Dust” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

Dance Is\u00a0 A Mother (2025), which opened the evening, was choreographed earlier this year by Jamar Roberts<\/a>, a commission by NY City Center for Sara Mearns<\/a> l Artists at the Center. The dance brims with statuesque movement often generated from flowing arm gestures. The most alluring dance artists (though all are first-rate) are Roberts and Jeroboam Bozeman<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Dance Is A Mother” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

Fully in their element, the two men appear to swim through the air, commanding it. Carolyn Shaw’s music played live on stage by the Attacca Quartet<\/a>; vocalist\u00a0Raquel Acevdo Klein’<\/a>s lyrics riffing Shakespeare’s “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”; the duet between Mearns and Roberts, a poignant contrast of her lightness of being with his unwavering solidity; the ticking clock in the score towards the end as Mearns walked toward a beam of light, are all intriguing, but,\u00a0 how these elements fit together and what they were trying to say, I wasn’t sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jeroboam Bozeman in”Dance Is A Mother” Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Musicians and Dancers in\u00a0\u00a0“Dance Is A Mother” ; Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

Dario Natarelli <\/a>taps away to George and Ira Gershwin’s The Man I Love in a 2023 choreography of the same name created by himself and tapper extraordinaire, Michelle Dorrance<\/a> (another City Center commission). Derek Louie<\/a>, on the cello, enters once the piece begins, accompanying the recorded music and the dancer, almost in a dreamlike state. Indeed, Natarelli reaches toward the musician in luscious, pleading arabesques as if approaching the unattainable.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dario Natarelli in “The Man I Love”; Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

When he can’t have the cellist or his instrument, Natarelli’s inner frustrations erupt into an audience-rousing, full-bodied, virtuosic symphony. I wish the guy GOT his dream guy in this scenario. I longed for more interaction between these two talented\u00a0 artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dario Natarelli in “The Man I Love”; Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dario Natarelli\u00a0 and\u00a0Derek Louie\u00a0 in “The Man I Love”; Photo: Steven Pisano<\/p>\n

Look out for Part 2 of\u00a0 IMPRESSIONS: Fall for Dance at NY City Center<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Is A Mother\u00a0
Choreography JAMAR ROBERTS\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0 \u00a0Music: CAROLINE SHA
Lighting Design: BRANDON STIRLING BAKER\u00a0 \u00a0\/\/\u00a0\u00a0Costume Design: MARC HAPPEL
Dancers: JEROBOAM BOZEMAN,\u00a0 ANNA GREENBERG , JACQUELIN HARRIS,\u00a0SARA MEARNS, JAMAR ROBERTS
Musicians:\u00a0 ATTACCA QUARTET- AMY SCHROEDER, Violin\u00a0RACHEL SHAPIRO, Violin\u00a0 NATHAN SCHRAM, Viola\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0FELIX UMANSKY, Cello,RAQUEL ACEVEDO KLEIN, Vocalist<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Man I Love
Choreography: MICHELLE DORRANCE and DARIO NATARELLI\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Staging: MICHELLE DORRANCE and DARIO NATARELLI\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Music: GEORGE and IRA GERSHWIN\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Lighting Design: KATE ASHTON
Dancer:\u00a0DARIO NATARELLI\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Musician:\u00a0DEREK LOUIE, Cello<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Dust (NY Premiere)<\/a><\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0 Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director
Direction and Choreography AKRAM KHAN\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Music JOCELYN POOK\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Dramaturg RUTH LITTLE
Staging CRYSTAL COSTA\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Coaching MAVIN KHOO\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Lighting Design FABIANA PICCIOLI\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Scenic Design SANDER LOONEN\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Costume Design KIMIE NAKANO\u00a0 \/\/\u00a0\u00a0Production Stage Manager KATIE ORR
SEP 17 | KATHERINE BARKMAN VICTOR PRIGENT
JIHYUN CHOI, THAMIRES CHUVAS, JACEY GAILLIARD
CARMELA MAYO, NICOLE MOYER, HUI-WEN PENG
ELIZABETH POWELL, LEILI RACKOW, JAMIE ADELE STEPHENS
MAGGIE WEIRICH ,SEOJEONG YUN
RUB\u00c9N C\u00cdTORES NIETO, LUCA FERR\u00d2
ANDRIS KUNDZINS JO\u00c3O PERCILIO DA SILVA, DYLAN PIERZINA
NATHANIEL REMEZ ,JASPER TRUE STANFORD, ARCHIE SULLIVAN
MINGXUAN WANG, ADRIAN ZEISEL<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Dance Enthusiast Shares IMPRESSIONS\/our brand of review, and creates conversation.
For more IMPRESSIONS, click here<\/a>.
Share your #AudienceReview<\/a> of performances. Write one<\/a> today!<\/p>\n

The Dance Enthusiast<\/a> – News, Reviews, Interviews and an Open Invitation for YOU to join the Dance Conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Features > Impressions The Dance Enthusiast’s Brand of Review\/Thoughts on What We See Published on October 8, 2025Sara…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":287090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[147693,147692,147700,5229,40646,147695,147699,10929,147694,3095,147701,147691,14839,3765,147698,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,147696,147689,32921,11853,82405,147690,147697,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,989],"class_list":{"0":"post-287089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-a-day-in-the-life","9":"tag-a-day-in-the-life-of-dance","10":"tag-african-dance","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-ballet","13":"tag-barefootnotes","14":"tag-contemporary-dance","15":"tag-dance","16":"tag-dance-up-close","17":"tag-features","18":"tag-flamenco","19":"tag-from-the-press","20":"tag-hip-hop","21":"tag-impressions","22":"tag-modern-dance","23":"tag-new-york","24":"tag-new-york-city","25":"tag-newyork","26":"tag-newyorkcity","27":"tag-ny","28":"tag-nyc","29":"tag-nyc-dance","30":"tag-postcards","31":"tag-qa","32":"tag-reviews","33":"tag-tap","34":"tag-the-dance-enthusiast-asks","35":"tag-the-dance-enthusiast-hits-the-streets","36":"tag-united-states","37":"tag-united-states-of-america","38":"tag-unitedstates","39":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","40":"tag-us","41":"tag-usa","42":"tag-video"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}