Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY Review
January 8, 2026 | Ailey Citigroup Theater – New York, NY, USA
International choreographer Joshua Beamish, creator of the NYC-based Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, was recently named Artistic Director of the newly founded Ballet Vancouver to “revitalize Vancouver’s access to professional classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet”.
The Pacific coast province isn’t a dance desert, already housing two premiere ballet companies: Ballet BC (a contemporary company formed in 1986) and Ballet Victoria (a small, but established company). However, Beamish’s regular collaborations with first-rate classical dancers, many from American Ballet Theatre, are sure to help Ballet Vancouver stand out.
You may also like...
Birmingham Royal Ballet Nutcracker Review: A Cinematic Delight at Royal Albert Hall
Birmingham Royal Ballet Nutcracker Review: Technical talent and impressive theatrical prowess make for an immersive and inspiring experience in this unique space.
Pacific Northwest Ballet The Nutcracker Review: Timeless with a Twist
Pacific Northwest Ballet The Nutcracker Review: The gorgeous spectacle delivers the instant magic and suspension of disbelief that draws sold-out shows year after year.
Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY Review
MOVETHECOMPANY’s performance of Solos & Duets, presented at Ailey Citigroup Theater, focuses on top-tier dancers and texture-forward movement. The essence of Beamish’s choreography is good. His signature approach infuses classical shapes with unexpected gestures (fingers rippling like chimes, a chin sliding across a forearm).
He makes full use of the stage, exploring width, depth, and height to create striking spatial patterns.
One minor quibble is that texture often took precedence over structure.
In Romeo and Juliet Op. 64, Act I: Balcony Scene pas de deux, the choreography itself is interesting and inventive but having few clearly defined anchors affected the overall arc of the story.
Danced beautifully by ABT dancers Tristan Brosnan and Fangqi Li, Beamish’s Romeo and Juliet taps into a revitalization of the classics, similar to his bold reimagining of Giselle in 2023. But the subdued narrative urges the question,
“Where is this going?”
The same tension between texture and structure carried into Lollapalooza, a jazzy, saccharine number danced by ABT dancers Patrick Frenette and Betsy McBride.
The dancers exuded sparkling attitudes, amplified by candy-bright costumes and a percussive John Adams score. Flexed hands, shrugging shoulders, and swirling hips nudge the work into comedy and the audience reacted with chuckles to a particularly effective section: a conversation of isolated hip and head movements between the couple.
Even with its playful tone, an abundance of new gestures and limited repetition kept the piece lively but at times meandering.
The closer, Sonata in G Minor, was a moody work set to Bach and featured dark navy costumes. Delicately performed by the husband-and-wife duo of Metropolitan Opera Ballet dancer Jonatan Lujan and former ABT soloist Luciana Paris, it offered a more refined tone. A repeated pumping passe promenade gave a hint of an anchor but needed more to solidify the point of view.
The message was more distinct in the no contact duet, Proximity, where Beamish took the stage dancing alongside Renee Sigouin, a meditative, fluid contemporary dancer in contrast to his powerful, crisp dancing. Pressure builds as the will-they/won’t-they scenario inevitably lands on “won’t they.” The audience understands that electricity can build without friction.
But it was the solo among the solos and duets that emerged the highlight.
In contrast to the other works, the introspection of Lost Touch welcomed the wandering nature of Beamish’s movement. Sigouin captivates in an almost prayerful approach with soft, hushed curves alternating between static expressions. She repeated a pose with outstretched arms and relaxed palms, evoking Jesus on the cross – reverent and heavy.
The music, Don’t You Forget About Me by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, progresses like a slow sunrise with a groovy downbeat. The result is a dynamic flow state where Beamish’s natural inclination to faceted movement shines.
Lost Touch feels clean, intentional, complete – a cue for the possibilities ahead in Vancouver.
Featured Photo of Renee Sigouin in Joshua Beamish’s Lost Touch. Photo by Jack Tupper.
