Excerpted Quotes from PRESS – Dance Reviews – Felicia Norton Dance Soloist
“Norton…an extraordinary dancer. One of those dancers who seem to perform without artifice, filling space with a presence motivated by the choreography and music alone, Ms Norton does everything with an appealing blend of quiet dignity and eagerness, stretching into a 180 degree leg extension as easily and appropriately as branches part in a wind.” Jennifer Dunning—New York Times
“The most successful piece presented at the DIA Art Foundation was Moonblind to a score by Jane Ira Bloom. Ms. Norton, a specialist in solos, danced the enigmatic choreography well. She also seemed bewitched.” Jack Anderson—New York Times
“ Dendy’s Frieze to a sound collage by Michael Mortilla, offered juxtaposed taut and twisted positions. Although not flattened like a frieze, the solo evoked statues of athletes, thanks to Felicia Norton’s sculptured shapes in a brilliant performance.” Anna Kisselgoff- New York Times
“Felicia Norton is an exquisite soloist for Mark Dendy’s Frieze, full of clear precise shapes. With her long extensions and calm, yet intense focus, Norton fully owns the solo, naturally carving her arms into birdlike shapes. The choreography is more careful and concerned with the body and with shapes than Dendy’s more recent large scale works; its simple, beautiful movements are more sensual”. Julia Holland- Show Business Weekly
“The highlight of the evening was Off Duty Dryad danced in a quite breathtaking manner by guest artist Felicia Norton. This was no ordinary wood nymph but a liberated creature who kicked up her heels in a way no self-respecting 19th Century dryad would have dared to do in public or private.” John W. Lambert—Duke University Spectator
“…Ms. Norton is a soft, sweet, luxuriant mover.” Jennifer Dunning-New York Times
“Felicia Norton articulated a wide range of feminine images in Tamar Rogoff’s Crossing to Safety. Norton’s interpretation enlarged the dance to a metaphor for life. Norton’s outstanding costume of burgundy crushed velvet gave her a timeless presence.” Rose Anne Thom—Dance Magazine
“In Off Duty Dryad Ms. Norton danced with and against Mr. Jenkins’ music. Demonstrating remarkable strength and flexibility this New York-based dancer combined acrobatic floor work with the occasional flippant gesture that matched the deflated classicism of the title.” Bo Emerson—Atlanta Constitution
“In Sunset Salome, dancer Felicia Norton, as Salome, is a dream.” ‘Goings On About Town’—The New Yorker Magazine
“ In Mark Dendy’s Frieze, Felicia Norton molds herself into poses, balancing tension with sensuously smooth control-a bacchante glimpsed in slow motion. ‘The amount of stylistic variation was unusual and heartening. You couldn’t pin any labels on this program, except, maybe excellent.” Deborah Jowitt – The Village Voice, Dance
“More to the point was Off Duty Dryad, a modern dance solo created by Robert Kovich for Felicia Norton. The extended solo suggested a good deal more about woman as symbol and as individual flesh and spirit. Leroy Jenkins who composed and performed the violin score, was an onstage presence of serenely understated intensity.” -Jennifer Dunning—The New York Times
“…the program began with the dazzling Felicia Norton in Tamar Rogoff’s solo premiere Crossing to Safety. Norton is every man’s dream of a dancer and she performed valiantly.” – Phyllis Goldman—Backstage, The Performing Arts Weekly
Felicia Norton performed a closing memorable solo… a dancer of such gentle radiance that she seems to draw in all the light of the stage about her.” -Jennifer Dunning—New York Times
“The collaboration of Felicia Norton dance soloist and Leroy Jenkins, violinist, was magical. One could simply enjoy the music and dance for both were very good.” -Jack Anderson—The New York Times
“Felicia Norton had to hold the stage on the strength of her dancing; that she did—subtly inflecting her movement with a radiant presence and great control.” -Susanna Sloat—Attitude Magazine
European Performances:
“…compellingly sensual” John Percival—The London Times, UK
” The best single dancer was Felicia Norton with a display of extraordinary sensual intensity; a lovely dancer.” John Percival—Dance & Dancers, UK
“The discovery of the evening was still without question Felicia Norton, guest dancer of Solid State Art Production; With three solos, and especially her Eastern inspired interpretation of Frieze, which gave moments of pure dancing pleasure.” The Latest News, Third International Dance Festival, Brussels, Belgium –‘Joyful Performance of Dance ‘
“Felicia Norton is a dancer of considerable stage presence and technique, particularly in Frieze, a statuesque piece for white Greek tunic, flowing tresses, splashing water and Miss Norton’s incredibly flexible body.” Alan Hulme—Manchester Evening News, UK
Asia Review:
” ‘Solos and Duets’ …wove a magical spell infused with the poignant poetry of longing. A sensitively constructed and achingly beautiful production with sheer breadth of emotion.”
“Tamar Rogoff’s Crossing to Safety, danced by the blonde, broad-shouldered Norton, is the distillation of a woman’s physical and metaphysical journey through a war zone.”
“A highlight of the second part of the performance was a white-clad Norton in Molissa Fenley’s Icho: Solitary Butterfly, a gorgeous piece vibrating with the ethereal, fleeting beauty of one of nature’s lovely creations.” –Jason Gagliardi—South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Reviews of ‘NOOR’ Performances
“NOOR is performed as a solo by Felicia Norton; an extraordinary dancer. ….Choreographed by Felicia Norton and Sasha Spielvogel, NOOR is an absorbing 40-minute contemporary dance piece. Set to a recorded score by David Majzlin that brilliantly combines evocative music, dialogue, Morse code, political speeches, excerpts from personal letters, and dramatic sound effects, the work tells the gripping true story of Noorunnisa Inayat Khan, a Sufi pacifist- turned Allied spy who was eventually betrayed to the Gestapo and executed at Dachau.” -Lisa Jo Sagolla – BACKSTAGE
“NOOR, created by Felicia Norton and Sasha Spielvogel, is a remarkably poignant and exciting piece of dance/theater. Felicia Norton is a brilliant dancer whose embodiment of Noor Inayat Khan’s character and should be seen at all major International Festivals. ” –Rose Hartman, Panorama Magazine
“Felicia Norton captures the spirit of Noor Inayat Khan and tells her moving story with passion and intensity in a stunning work of dance theatre.” –Shrabani Basu, author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan
“Felicia Norton’s dancing in NOOR was nuanced and subtle.” -Amiel Clarke, Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
“Labyrinth Dance Theater’s production based on the life of Noor Inayat Khan is an incredibly riveting and inspiring story. I saw NOOR at the New York premiere and what was so amazing was the palpable sense of connection between the audience and Felicia Norton, who gives a 40-minute tour de force as Noor. I cannot praise this piece enough.” – Ellen McKey, Director, Foreign Fulbright Student Programs
“The highlight of the show was Labyrinth Dance Theatre’s NOOR. Performer Felicia Norton’s outstanding physical storytelling told the true life story of a brave woman who worked in occupied France as a spy for the Allies during the Second World War until her execution in Dachau. All three of the pieces are well-executed, providing an entertaining initiation into the contemporary dance scene in the US.” – Three Weeks, Edinburgh Weekly