Dance in a Musical Jewel Box
By • July 30, 2025 0 544
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Co. at the Kreeger Museum
On Saturday, July 26th at 3 p.m., the acclaimed Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) triumphantly returned to The Kreeger Museum.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Roberto Lopez Fernandez Her Excellency Angeles Moreno Bau Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the United States Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo. Photo by Sueraya Shaheen.
Kreeger Museum Director, Helen Chason and choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess welcomed the sold out audience; a group of 55 enthusiastic museum and dance patrons. The audience was treated to the intimate DC premiere of Burgess’s newest choreography, Sudden Snow – a dance homage to the titular work by abstract expressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011). The breathtaking 35-minute dance for eight dancers flowed seamlessly through the main exhibit hall of the Kreeger Museum filling the space with the curvilinear shapes, high soaring lifts, leg extensions, and full body rolls. Full ensemble sections were juxtaposed to intimate adagio pas de deux and quick playful quartets.
Sudden Snow was accompanied by a musical compilation of Romantic era compositions by Claude Debussy and Domenico Scarlatti performed live by DTSBDC’s resident pianist Dana Nichole Scott, and violinist Holly Nelson and cellist Marcus Gee. The stunning hand painted silk costumes were a collaboration between Taos Pueblo fashion designer Patricia Michaels, who hand painted the fabric and Icelandic costume designer Sigrid Johannesdöttir, who cut and hand finished each costume. The lush movements of the costumed dancers were akin to watching bold brush strokes in motion. Sudden Snow was perfectly placed in the Kreeger Museum, surrounded by sublime Claude Monet paintings, soaring ceilings, and grand picture windows; dance in a musical jewel box.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Co Pianist Dana Nichole Scott and dancer William Robinson. Photo by Sueraya Shaheen.
Following the performance, the audience enjoyed a wine reception with the artists. Attendees included Her Excellency Ángeles Moreno Bau Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the United States and her husband Mr. Roberto López Fernández, artists Kelly Dinglasan Minton and Marcia Hilton, and DTSBDC board members Ellen Kwotnoski, Mary Eccles, Jan Tievsky and Marcia Lim.
