About Dance Currents
My name is Jane Vranish and I am a former critic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where I primarily wrote about dance, along with occasional forays into classical music and theater, for 34 years. During that time, I have served on the board of the Dance Critics Association, written for Newsday, Ballet Review and The Chautauquan Daily and appeared as a panelist at the first National Performing Arts Convention. I am now an Adjunct Professor in the dance department at Point Park University. Favorite interviews have included international figures such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Merce Cunningham, Jiri Kylian, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Paul Taylor and Susan Jaffe. But local artists in Pittsburgh’s vibrant landscape have also tapped issues that reach to the heart of dance and, as a result, I still find great pleasure both in theater performances and the creative process to be found in the studio.
Dance Currents
Dance Currents is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, beginning with the unparalleled nighttime view of the city from atop Mt. Washington, surrounded by the tricky currents of its three rivers. The images associated with the title can also tap into the choreographic act itself, where dancers move in sometimes strange and often wonderful ways. It also opens the door for outside opinions and/or guest blogs on virtually any dance topic.
- Dance
- News & Events
- Performances
- Community
Latest Posts
On Stage: From the Classroom to National Recognition
Martha Graham may be gone, but she certainly is not forgotten. Jesse Factor is noted as a modern dance teacher, fluent in the Graham technique, at Point Park University. But by his own Instagram admission, he is an “Internationally Ignored Celebrity.” For he has gone...
On Stage: You Be the Judge at CRE8DANCE
So you thought that the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre season was done. But there’s a juicy postscript on tap for this weekend. Not strictly PBT, but with distinct support from company-associated dancers. It has a clever title, CRE8DANCE (get it, like a license plate on a...
On Stage: An Evolving PBT
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has had the most difficult transition of local dance groups, spanning a pandemic and three artistic directors over the past few years. The latest, Adam McKinney, armed with a wealth of new ideas, introduced a number of changes, both artistic...
jane@dancecurrents.com