DANCING INTO ROSES
Nov 2, 2026The American Dance Guild celebrated its 70th Anniversary and recognition as a 2026 NDEO Outstanding Dance Organization with a 4-day festival hosted at Ailey Citigroup Theater.
The lineup included both legacy pieces and emerging works, staying true to the organization’s motto of “Celebrating the Past. Inspiring the Future”.
Friday night honored Sally Sommer with the Excellence in Journalism and Dance History Award. In a touching and eloquent speech by Celia Ipiotis, another blazing force in dance journalism, Ipiotis touched on Sally’s immense knowledge of the field, explaining her own collaboration utilizing Sally as a resource for the Eye on Dance television series.
Upon taking the stage, Sally described the uninhibited dedication and time she poured into the dance community. A clip from Check Your Body At The Door was played. The film bottled the golden-era of NYC’s 90s underground dance scene’s essence in a special, unreplicatable way.
Tribute to Paul Sanasardo opened the evening, a 2007 interview from the late visionary woven into footage collected from the company’s past. After celebrating the past, up and coming choreographer Claude Cj Johnson’s Franchise was performed by Jeremy Villas. Villas’ stunning technique was displayed even as he suited up in a fluffy white body suit. Designed by Karen Young and Ura Ruiz, with the clap of his hands, a multicolored lightstrip appeared sewn into the suit. Going from the silhouette of his lean body to just the lightstrip outlining his body sent the movement into an imaginative 2d place.
Mourning After, a trio from DiMauro Dance’s repertory followed, joyful movement in unison and in canon. Then Skin, Flesh and Bone, Part II by LIFEDANCE/Gloria McLean and Dancers took the stage. A solo by FINA was accompanied by live drumming, composed and played by Takao Heisho. Ken Hiratsuka designed a geometric bodysuit that mimicked Fina’s geometric movement- in both shape and pattern. Her conversational riffing with Heisho begged the question- where did the movement begin and the music end?
Skin, Flesh and Bone better suited a description for Arthur Avile’s piece, “This Pleasant and Grateful Asylum”, which came placed two dancers centerstage, dressed by the highly sought-after costume designer: mother nature. Peter Elizalde and Nikolai McKenzie Ben Rema performed a circular, intimately close, humorous duet, their bodies merging, like true extensions of the other.
Sokolow Dance Theatre presented Preludes, from 1981, and Dances by Isadora showed Allegretto, an Isadora Duncan work from 1908, reimagined by Catherine Gallant. These pieces were similar in their tribute to generations of work, even including multiple generations in the performance troupes.
Iconic images of dancers in long black, striped dresses, with high buns rang bells of remembrance, as GRAHAM 2 brought excerpts of Martha Graham’s 1947 Night Journey. Group movement interspersed with solos guided by deep breaths commanded the space. It was a treat to see Martha’s legacy alive within these young performers.
The Seven Rules of the Circus a theatric, ghostly creation by Ara Fitzgerald and Behavioral Synchrony by EMERGE125, choreographed by Tiffany Rea-Fisher, were the final performances of the evening, complimenting each other in their purposeful defiance. Ara’s solo comedically and directly calls people to action, while Rea-Fisher paired dancers who, in her words, “do not typically share the stage”.
Defiance shows up in many ways and ADG will continue to be a place where dancers and choreographers will have a space to share their worlds.
EYEON THE ARTS, NY — Emma Edy Morris
