Dilip Barman
By Dilip Barman
As I write in mid-July, the 2026 season of American Dance Festival is in its closing days. By the time it finishes on July 25, 2026 there will have been 49 performances by 26 dance companies.
If you have never seen contemporary dance, give it a try. I love watching professional dance of all kinds. What I like about modern dance is its freshness and unpredictability. Often grounded in other forms like ballet or hip hop, it adds elements that often surprise.
So far my favorite performance has been by Camille A. Brown & Dancers. I’ve also seen Pioneer Winter Collective, Charlotte Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company (one of my all time favorites along with Pilobolus), and soon will see Shen Wei Dance Arts and Guangdong Modern Dance Company (together), Li Chiao-Ping Dance, and the season closer, Pilobolus.
On June 20, my high school-aged daughter and I attended Camille A Brown & Dancers and both loved the performance entitled I AM. It was 60-minutes long with no intermission and non-stop energy, and was accompanied by a live trio of violinist, drummer, and keyboardist. Brown is known for her work exploring “Black joy”, and this piece was a great example. The dance forms were drawn from a swatch of African and African-American sources. I was excited when the live musicians played a version of The Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”!
In late June, my wife and I attended Charlotte Ballet’s Kamuyot by Ohad Naharin. It was a true experience, immersing the audience into an unusual setting for a performance: a lit gym with audience sitting in bleachers around the dancers. Dancers would move around the gym and frequently usher audience members to the dance floor. Sometimes dancers would slowly move around the perimeter distantly staring for a few seconds at a time at folks in the audience. The music was infectious and from varied sources including Lou Reed, Beethoven, and a version of Bobby Freeman’s 1958 “Do You Want to Dance”. It was a special, intimate, memorable, and fun event.
In July 15, my wife and I saw Paul Taylor Dance Company for perhaps the 20th time. They performed four dances but one really resonated with me, the second, Clair de Lune. Set to music by Claude Debussy, dancer Emmy Wildermuth had a white dress which, as explained when I asked in the question-and-answer session afterwards, consisted of over 30 yards of fabric (a commonly used size for a sari is about 6 – 7 yards). As she danced, the dress billowed and fluttered beautifully, giving the impression of the dancer being the body of a large moth and the fabric being the wings. It was a bit surreal and very engaging, but only lasted a few minutes.
If you enjoyed ADF this year, drop me a note to let me know what your favorite show was. Some dances are pure movement that inspire with their aesthetics. Many if not all have a message or story. What that story is, especially in modern dance, varies widely and is defined by the observer.
I’ll leave you with a challenge, and that is the attitude that I take with me when I attend modern art programs. Attend a show with the goal to be moved, inspired, and entertained. Next year, if you only go to one or two shows, pick ones that sound particularly appealing and from troupes that have been around for some time – Pilobolus, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Camille A Brown & Dancers, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, Twyla Tharp, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago are a few great examples. But if you can attend at least four or five performances, pick at least one that sounds less “accessible” or conventional.
The ADF website americandancefestival.org has the details on all the events, including ticketing. It offers something for varied tastes and ages, including children. If you are on BlueSky, I post about the shows @dbarman.
Note: Images courtesy of Paul Taylor Dance Company and Camille A Brown & Dancers; used with permission.
Dilip Barman is a lover of culture and teacher of math and vegan food/nutrition teacher. Contact: dilip@trianglemathinstitute.com.
