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I started out as a political aide, working as a legislative assistant to Senator Mark Hatfield, moved on as special assistant to Nancy Hanks, who was then chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Married a college professor, worked on my own Ph.D., which remains uncompleted, because we kept moving. My topic, which I still hope will be a book, is a ballet analysis of Degas’s work.
In Los Angeles someone read a small dance item I’d written. The Los Angeles Herald Examiner called and asked if I wanted to review for them, and I said yes. I found reviewing had the same immediacy as political work. You see something, you think about it, you write about it and move on, building a mental bank to draw on.
That led to the Santa Monica Evening Outlook, Long Beach Press Telegram, and, when we moved East, to the Philadelphia Inquirer (Weekend section), Philadelphia Daily News (dance critic) and on to PBS Applause, Seven Arts Magazine and Philadelphia City Paper .
My husband is a professor of folklore. We live a couple blocks out of Chestnut Hill in Laverock. .
More articles by Janet Anderson, newest first
| BalletX Summer program at the Wilma (1st review) |
July 26 2010 |
BalletX celebrated its fifth anniversary with a program demonstrating just how sophisticated this small troupe of ten has become within a short time period. It was especially good to see Matthew Neenan back to being his movement funky self again.
BalletX Summer Series: Prescott, Journey of the Day; Hougland, Risk of Flight; Neenan, The Last Glass. July 21-25, 2010 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.balletx.org.
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| Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘Program IV’ |
May 07 2010 |
“We Can Do Anything” should have been Pennsylvania Ballet’s title for its May performance. In a well-balanced program the company performed works as wildly different and separated by time and choreographic sensibilities as can be imagined.
Pennsylvania Ballet: Program IV. Balanchine, Square Dance; Robbins, Afternoon of a Faun; Ochoa, Requiem For a Rose; Forsythe, In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated. May 5-9, 2010 at Merriam Theatre, Broad St. above Spruce. (215) 551-7000 or www.paballet.org.
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| Grofe’s lost ‘Café Society’ rediscovered |
May 04 2010 |
A missing piece of Philadelphia arts history was retrieved and revived when Philadelphia Sinfonia, a youth orchestra led by musical director and conductor Gary White, performed Ferde Grofe’s long-forgotten Café Society.
Philadelphia Sinfonia: Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture; Borodin, Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor; Grofe, Café Society. Gary White, conductor. May 2, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 351-0363 or www.philadelphiasinfonia.com.
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| BalletX’s Spring Series (2nd review) |
April 24 2010 |
Feisty BalletX’s Spring Series was sophisticated and polished, offering four new ballets, each from (mostly) new choreographers.
BalletX: Spring Series 2010. Carry Me, by Myra Bazell;
One Word Play, by Thang Dao;
Hide, by Lauren Putty;
X or Y, by Christine Cox. April 14-18, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S., Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 917-1513 or www.balletx.org.
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| Pennsylvania Ballet’s Chopin Celebration |
March 20 2010 |
Choreographers Matthew Neenan and Jerome Robbins both heard something in Chopin’s work that suggested movements far removed from gentle early 19th-Century dances. Combine the three of them, as Pennsylvania Ballet’s Roy Kaiser did, and you have an exciting program combination.
Pennsylvania Ballet, Program III: Chopin Celebration. The Crossed Line, choreography by Matthew Neenan; In the Night and The Concert, choreography by Jerome Robbins; March 13-14, 2010 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 551-7000 or www.paballet.org.
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| Elizabeth Streb’s ‘Brave’ at Annenberg (2nd review) |
February 09 2010 |
Streb is a dance company that’s more about physicality than dance. The choreography aspect simply means the movements have been staged so no one gets hurt. The drama lies in the chance that someone might.
Brave. Choreographed by Elizabeth Streb. February 5-6, 2010 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
(215) 898.3900 or www.pennpresents.org/tickets.
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| Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ |
December 14 2009 |
Anyone can stage a Nutcracker performance. But only the Pennsylvania Ballet and two other companies are authorized to perform the Balanchine version. It’s still the ideal antidote for the darkest weeks of the year.
Pennsylvania Ballet: The Nutcracker. Music by Tchaikovsky; choreography by George Balanchine. Through December 31, 2009 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 551-7000 or www.paballet.org.
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| ‘Fraulein Maria’ by Doug Elkins (2nd review) |
November 17 2009 |
Fraulein Maria is more than a terrific dance presentation; it’s great theater as well. Choreographer Doug Elkins has achieved something truly unique by combining an iconic old musical with today’s street movement and pure sass.
Fraulein Maria. Choreography by Doug Elkins. Through November 14, 2009 at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.pennpresents.org.
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| ‘Thank You, Gregory’ at Annenberg (2nd review) |
October 13 2009 |
Tap is a uniquely American dance form with black, Irish and street improvisation roots. But if you think tap dancing is a quaint relic from the past, think again. Thank You, Gregory, a fine piece of theater as well as an homage to tap dancing, literally wowed its audience.
Thank You, Gregory: A Tribute to the Legends of Tap. Directed by Anne Marie de Angelo; written by Tony Waag. Dance Affiliates Production October 6-10, 2009 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.annenbergcenter.org/tickets/?id=65.
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| On the fringe of the Fringe Festival |
September 21 2009 |
Philadelphia’s Fringe Festival increasingly sends performers and audiences to remote neighborhoods they’d never visit otherwise. This sense of geographical discovery adds to the adventure. But sometimes you get too much adventure, as happened to me this year.
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| Merce Cunningham’s final challenge |
August 11 2009 |
The late Merce Cunningham was ferocious about protecting his dry, acerbic, difficult, complicated and often downright incomprehensible work. Now his greatest challenge lies ahead— namely, can a choreographer preserve his vision from the grave?
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| BalletX ‘Hot Summer Series’ (2nd review) |
July 28 2009 |
BalletX has segued from an intriguing experiment into a mature local institution with a viewpoint and edge all its own, as this spunky little troupe demonstrated in its second summer program as the Wilma Theater’s resident dance company.
BalletX “Hot Summer Series”: Scenes View 2, choreographed by Jorma Elo; Broke Apart, by Matthew Neenan, and Le Baiser Inevitable, by Jodie Gates. Through July 26, 2009 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.balletx.org.
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| National Dance Company of Spain 2 at Annenberg (1st review) |
May 19 2009 |
National Dance Company of Spain is one of Europe’s most innovative troupes. However, it was the company’s second-tier troupe that visited this time. No matter: This jayvee ensemble deserved its applause.
National Dance Company of Spain 2: Duende, Without Words, Gnawa. Choreography by Nacho Duato. May 14-16, 2009 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street. (215) 898-3900 or www.pennpresents.org.
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| Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘Tango With Style’ (2nd review) |
May 12 2009 |
Not long ago the Pennsylvania Ballet was struggling. Today it’s a model artistic institution. Credit artistic director Roy Kaiser, who brings a dancer’s instincts, institutional memory and personal commitment to the job.
Pennsylvania Ballet: “Tango With Style.” Robert Weiss, Octet For Strings; Matthew Neenan, Keep; Hans van Manen, Five Tangos. May 6-10, 2009 at Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St. (215) 551-7000 or www.paballet.org.
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