With long, lithe, limber legs, impossibly arching feet, and enviable turn-out, Michael Clark's physique resembles that of a ballerina. He has even pushed that comparison himself by donning a tutu. On the other hand, he's also danced around in an "I Hate NY" T-shirt and his birthday suit. Clark exp

Body politic/identity dance, Classical, Dissonant, Erotic, Expansive, Grand, Gritty, Manic, Pure movement

In the mid-'80s, Pina Bausch's Dance Theater Wuppertal, from Germany, began to make a racket on the international scene with exhaustive, often violent forays into sex and gender. One person paying special attention was Lloyd Newson. Unhappy with the way dance emphasized technique at the cost of meani

Athleticism, Body politic/identity dance, Homoerotic, In-your-face, Masculine, Phallic, Physical force

Courageous dancing is no anomaly in Japan, but the particular kind of bravada that H*Art*Chaos brings to the Western dance world is definitely a new import. Sakiko Oshima formed her all-woman dance company in 1989 with the intention to overturn traditional concepts of female bodies and their modes of

Agitated, Athleticism, Body politic/identity dance, Euro-surreal expressionism, Kinetic, Sexy, Visceral

As the paradoxical name suggests, the dance troupe Urban Bush Women combines the spiritual elements of traditional African and Caribbean dance, song, and music with contemporary, Western dance forms. Artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar describes UBW as "an ensemble dedicated to using cultural ex

Body politic/identity dance, Improvised, Joyful, Open-ended, Political, Spiritual