Janice Berman

Janice Berman was an editor and senior writer at New York Newsday. She is a former editor in chief of Dance Magazine.

Articles by this Author

Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  Pure Magic in San Francisco Ballet <em>Cinderella</em>
May 3, 2013

San Francisco Ballet’s new Cinderella, which had its U.S. premiere Friday night with a cast headed by Maria Kochetkova in the title role, is magic.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Performances  Paul Taylor: A Difficult Lottery of Riches
May 3, 2013

The Paul Taylor Dance Company chose a dry and difficult path to open its five-day San Francisco Performances engagement Wednesday.

More about San Francisco Performances »
Dance REVIEW
 Cal Performances  Alvin Ailey Brings Down the House
April 23, 2013

The return of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for its second engagement at Zellerbach Hall since Robert Battle took over the artistic directorship is, to judge from Tuesday’s opening, a rip-roaring audience success.

More about Cal Performances »
Dance REVIEW
   Alonzo King Lines: Double-Bass, Dance Party
April 19, 2013

Alonzo King Lines Ballet throws itself an elegant, if late, 30th-anniversary celebration, with a work in collaboration with virtuoso Edgar Meyer central to the occasion.

More »
Artist Spotlight
April 17, 2013

The much-lauded choreographer Paul Taylor reflects on rites of spring on stage and in his own garden, as his company readies for a series of San Francisco performances.

More »
Dance REVIEW
 Ballet San Jose  Keep Calm and Dance On
March 22, 2013

The presentation of neoclassical masters, the inspiration for Ballet San Jose’s performances, covered a lot of ground, and the artists rose brightly to the challenge.

More about Ballet San Jose »
Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  <em>Onegin</em>: Tour de Force in the Wages of Love
March 21, 2013

Onegin the evening-length extravaganza is back by popular demand at S.F. Ballet, with a prodigy of gorgeous dancing, stars to corps; an utterly gripping storyline, and a profoundly physical presentation.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Dance REVIEW
 ODC Dance Company  Rise Up for the Sexes
March 16, 2013

ODC Dance presents Program A, which tackles eternal life questions writ large with impressive dancing.

More about ODC Dance Company »
Dance REVIEW
 Cal Performances  An-Eight-Star Final From Trisha Brown
March 15, 2013

In a last dance of sorts, eight dancers perform works by Trisha Brown; offering a demonstration of beauty so shocking, underlining how difficult it is to absorb that its creator is never going to make another dance.

More about Cal Performances »
Dance REVIEW
   Daring World Tour by the S.F. Ballet
February 28, 2013

You can’t scotch S.F. Ballet’s vigor and its ever-venturesome choreography, whether old or young.

More »
Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  Possokhov's Extraordinary <em>Rite</em>
February 26, 2013

Yuri Possokhov's Rite of Spring is extraordinary, demonstrating his mastery of the rhythms and impulses of the score, conducted and played with beauty and precision by Martin West and the S.F. Ballet Orchestra.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Feature Article
February 22, 2013

In its centenary year, everyone will talk about The Rite of Spring as music. Maybe we should make time to talk about its more dangerous and electrifying aspect — the dancing.

More "The Rite Stuff" »
Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  Spectacular and Searing: <em>Nijinsky</em>
February 14, 2013

Nijinsky full-length spectacular, with its explosive, searing essence is clearly one of the closest ballets to Director John Neumeier’s heart.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  San Francisco Ballet to Treasure
January 30, 2013

A dazzling trio of works shows off the San Francisco Ballet in top form. A new Wayne McGregor ballet stuns and amazes.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Dance REVIEW
 Cal Performances  The Ever-Green Joffrey Ballet
January 26, 2013

The welcome return visit of the Joffrey Ballet to Berkeley features a mixed bill, both moving and wondrous, and beautifully danced.

More about Cal Performances »
Dance REVIEW
   Passion and Resonant Imagery From Robert Moses
January 25, 2013

Nevabawarldapece, a new, live dance-and-music-and-spoken-word extravaganza choreographed by Robert Moses, is fitfully brilliant, yet at times hard to read.

More »
Critics' Picks
Joffrey Ballet
  • Critics Pick
January 26 - 27

Artistic Director Ashley Wheater leads the venerable Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet into Zellerbach Hall Jan. 26-27 with Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Edward Liang’s Age of Innocence and Kurt Jooss’ antiwar classic, The Green Table.

More about Cal Performances »

Dance REVIEW
 San Francisco Ballet  S.F. Ballet Reigns With <em>Nutcracker</em>
December 7, 2012

In the S.F. Ballet's opening night of the Nutcracker, a beautiful stage was set, and standout dancers delighted the crowd with this seasonal classic.

More about San Francisco Ballet »
Dance REVIEW
 Ballet San Jose  Ballet San Jose's <em>Nutcracker</em>: A Hard Nut to Crack
December 7, 2012

A new ballet born at Ballet San Jose includes a little playlet within the ballet that is sometimes a headscratcher, but nevertheless delivers the magic that audiences flock to the Nutcracker for.

More about Ballet San Jose »
Dance REVIEW
 Alonzo King LINES Ballet  Alonzo King: Lost in the Stars
October 19, 2012

Alonzo King's new evening-length work Constellation takes his Lines Dance Company ballerinas off-pointe and away from the naturalistic environment of last year’s stunning Resin.

More about Alonzo King LINES Ballet »