Speaking in Dance

An exploration of movement and choreography, chosen by The Times’s dance critic, Gia Kourlas.

Watch Three Dancers Pony Step Into the Sunset
A jaunty trio prances across the stage in Pam Tanowitz’s new work for Little Island.

CreditMohamed Sadek for The New York Times
Watch a Sisterhood of Budding Ballerinas
Five students from the School of American Ballet perform an excerpt from George Balanchine’s classic “Serenade.”

CreditMohamed Sadek for The New York Times
Watch a Tap Dance That Transcends Time
For her improvised solo to Max Roach and Cecil Taylor, Ayodele Casel said “the way in is to honor what you’re hearing.”

CreditFletcher Wolfe for The New York Times
Watch: The Solo of ‘Solitude’
Click through as Joseph Gordon performs a section from Alexei Ratmansky’s new dance for New York City Ballet, a reaction to the horrors of the war in Ukraine.
By Gia Kourlas and Stephan Alessi
CreditStephan Alessi for The New York Times

Rugged, Physical Work With Durability
In Abby Zbikowski’s “Radioactive Practice,” a dancer says, “You’re seeing survival and community in real time.”
By Gia Kourlas
Telling a Story With Percussive Dance
Watch a portion of “Drumfolk,” the Step Afrika! show now at the New Victory Theater.
By Gia Kourlas
Migrating Across the Waters, Shoulder to Shoulder
Watch a portion of Keone and Mari Madrid’s “Beyond Babel.”
By Gia Kourlas
A Spinning Top in ‘Rodeo’
The New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht’s solo in this Justin Peck ballet is all about momentum — and clarity.
By Gia Kourlas
Menace Moving Through the Body
John Kelly plays the Devil in “L’Histoire du Soldat,” with choreography by Robert La Fosse.
By Gia Kourlas
Exploding Out of Shapes
Michael Trusnovec dances part of a solo in “Episodes” that George Balanchine made for Paul Taylor.
By Gia Kourlas
Complex Rhythms but No Music
Watch a portion of Melinda Ring’s “Strange Engagements,” created from improvisations.
By Gia Kourlas
In a Meditative Zone
New York City Ballet principals Joseph Gordon and Lauren Lovette dance part of a pas de deux from Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto.”
By Gia Kourlas
Lifting Off in ‘Porgy and Bess’
Watch a portion of Camille A. Brown’s choreography for the production at the Metropolitan Opera.
By Gia Kourlas
This Mortal Clay
Faye Driscoll performs the section of her piece “Space” that explores murder, death and mourning.
By Gia Kourlas

Helping the Dead Ascend
Jeroboam Bozeman of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dances part of Jamar Roberts’s “Ode,” about the effects of gun violence.
By Gia Kourlas
A Sugarplum Fairy, Caught in the Wind
Megan Fairchild of New York City Ballet performs a solo from “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.”
By Gia Kourlas
Dancing to (and Around) Bach
Watch a portion of “New Work for Goldberg Variations,” a collaboration between Pam Tanowitz and Simone Dinnerstein.
By Gia Kourlas
Dormeshia: ‘We’re Just Swinging’
Watch the tap masters Dormeshia and Jason Samuels Smith perform part of the introduction of their show at the Joyce Theater.
By Gia Kourlas

Mother Ginger’s Little Helpers
Eight students from the School of American Ballet are the polichinelles in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” at City Ballet.
By Gia Kourlas
Colin Dunne Can Dance to That
Mr. Dunne, an Irish dance artist, performs to the traditional music of Tommie Potts’s classic “The Liffey Banks.”
By Gia Kourlas
‘In Voguing, You’re the Author of Your Own Life’
Slim Xtravaganza and Pony Zion give a spontaneous performance for #SpeakingInDance.
By Gia Kourlas
The Raw Energy of Paul Taylor’s Early Work
Sean Mahoney and Maria Ambrose perform part of a duet from “Scudorama” (1963).
By Gia Kourlas
A Meditative World With Wendy Whelan (and Cello)
Ms. Whelan, Maya Beiser and Lucinda Childs collaborated on “The Day.”
By Gia Kourlas
A Young God Steps Into His Light
Calvin Royal III takes on the lead role of George Balanchine’s “Apollo” at American Ballet Theater.
By Gia Kourlas

Finding Her Cunningham Legs
Emilie Gerrity of New York City Ballet performs a portion of her solo from Merce Cunningham’s “Summerspace.”
By Gia Kourlas
A Searing Autobiographical Solo
Watch part of “Somewhere at the Beginning,” by Germaine Acogny, considered the mother of contemporary African dance.
By Gia Kourlas
Sara Mearns and Her Navy SEALs
In a in an exhilarating, diabolically difficult section of George Balanchine’s “Union Jack,” Ms. Mearns feels the power.
By Gia Kourlas
All Alone With Ronald K. Brown’s Moves
“I have to take everything that I’ve learned from him,” Annique Roberts says of this Brown solo. “For me it’s kind of a coming-of-age moment.”
By Gia Kourlas

Meet Li’l Gus, a Dancing Alter Ego
For Gus Solomons Jr., puppets relate directly to dance: “There’s no real personality there, but as soon as they move, you see one.”
By Gia Kourlas
A Pavlova of the Pool
“Dancing underwater is a form of meditation,” says Claire Friesen, an actress and synchronized swimmer.
By Gia Kourlas
At the Beach, Calling All Dancers
This year the Beach Sessions at Rockaway is about open classes, rather than performances.
By Gia Kourlas
The Storytelling Bodies of Flex
“Maze,” at the Shed, uses the Brooklyn street dance known as Flex to explore social issues.
By Gia Kourlas
A Goddess’s Tricky Balance
Portraying Durga, Ashrita Keshav dances on the rim of a brass plate: “The musicians perform and then I have to answer with my footwork and my hands.”
By Gia Kourlas
Tap Acrobatics in ‘The Black Clown’
In this musical adaptation of Langston Hughes’s poem, Darius Barnes and Evan Tyrone Martin play the electrifying tap duo the Nicholas Brothers.
By Gia Kourlas