“The show opened with a specimen of white European ethnic dance, a smooth 19th century ballroom party, dispatched with much elegance by members of the Academy of Danse Libre. In context, all those gloved couples yielding to the charms of the waltzes and polkas of the time really do suggest a historical era.”
San Francisco Chronicle, July 9, 2017
Ethnic Dance Festival Revelations Mark Festival Opening
“They were all mesmerizing, from the swirling Academy of Danse Libre couples displaying Polish, Czech, German and Russian social dances of the 19th century (accompanied by a 10-piece ensemble with piano, flute, horns, strings and percussion) who opened, to the closing festivities of Fogo Na Roupa Performing Company, which colorfully re-enacted an Afro-Brazilian coronation of the king and queen of the Congo.
SF Examiner, July 12, 2017
SF Ethnic Dance Fest Lights Up War Memorial
“[B]oth weekends were blazing with energy. The first was more political, with respect shown for all traditions but a strong undercurrent of protest against the European cultures who had subjugated the Americas. These were contemporary dances created from traditional materials. The satirical dancers of De Rompe y Raja (Peruvian) followed a Stanford group of antiquarians who revived European ballroom steps (beautifully, with great style) then flat-out mocked the minuets of the conquistadores with grotesque parodies of steps we had just seen.
The Bay Area Reporter, July 20, 2017
Ethnic Energies
“Opera San Jose didn’t skimp in staging Cinderella. Late 18th-century costumes by Johann Stegmeir and sets by Steven Kemp dazzle. The ballroom scene (for which Deutscher wrote a toe-tapping waltz) is choreographed with stately grace by historical dance expert Richard Powers.”
San Francisco Classical Voice, December 19, 2017
Deutcher’s Cinderella is a Melodious Surprise
Kimber Rudo 