Audiences love big, stage-filling choreography with dramatic music and luscious dancing. But every once in a while, a short, spare dance packs a punch. And that’s what people remember when they walk out of the theater.

In the November 2023 issue of Dance Magazine, Samm Wesler asks: Where are dance history’s queer women? Wendy Perron responds.

Watching Jackie Carlson perform daredevil stunts with Streb Extreme Action, few would guess she used to be a professional ballet dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. “My appetite for the pursuit of perfection that ballet requires was my drive,” says Carlson, who grew up studying many forms of dance, plus gymnastics. When DTH went on […]

There’s a lot to take in over the 11 days of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, from Ann Carlson’s Doggie Hamlet (five dancers, three dogs, lots of sheep) to Elizabeth Streb’s SEA (Singular Extreme Actions), both local premieres. One that will be tough to miss: a nightly performance by French troupe Compagnie Transe […]

Although she constantly pushes the level of risk in her work, Streb Extreme Action Company artistic director Elizabeth Streb surprisingly looks for more than just a passion for physicality when recruiting dancers action heroes. We went to S.L.A.M (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics) to get an inside look at a rehearsal, and quickly learned that […]

When you’re performing with a whirling cinderblock or giant hamster wheel as your partner, there is no time for second-guessing your physical fitness. Fortunately, STREB EXTREME ACTION member Cassandre Joseph knows exactly what her body needs to stay safe, even when flying off 30-foot platforms. What are the five habits that prepare her to tackle […]

To create great work, choreographers need the freedom to tackle difficult subjects and push physical limits. But when your instruments are human beings, is there a limit to how far you should go? Five choreographers open up about where they draw the line. Elizabeth Streb ioulex, Courtesy Streb “I ask dancers to be 100 percent […]

A STREB Extreme Action show is nothing like a typical dance performance. Instead, it’s a full-on battle between gravity and humans. There will be risk-taking, you will probably gasp (multiple times) and you might even clench your jaw. That’s because artistic director Elizabeth Streb likes to push her dancers action heros to the max. What […]