CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
To mark the 25th anniversary of his self-titled dance company, Stephen Petronio called on Dorothy. Like every good gay boy, The Wizard of Oz was my first storm, the venerable dancer-choreographer says, explaining the spark for I Drink the Air Before Me, his abstract paean to the chaos and emotional force of meteorological phenomena. Borrowing a line from Shakespeares The Tempest, the piece features 12 dancers re-creating that holy spiral often seen on Sam Champions storm-watch screens during hurricane season -- but this is not my response to Katrina, Petronio clarifies. His second squall, magical if not literally transporting, was Tropical Storm Carla, which hit his hometown of Nutley, N.J., in 1956. I remember being on the street with my mother -- garbage can in one hand, flying, me in the other. Fun!
Scoring the thunder, lightning, and wind is avant-garde composer Nico Muhly, whose mash-up of classical arrangements and pop sensibility shoved Petronio out of his comfort zone. Meanwhile, after several years offstage, Petronio will be joining his ensemble to perform in a top-secret costume designed by legendary shape-shifter and photographer Cindy Sherman. He isnt worried about the other timely, albeit accidental, metaphor for destructive forces beyond our control: the economy. Dancers make things out of nothing and then disappear, Petronio says. Were good at that.
I Drink the Air Before Me is playing April 28May 3 at the Joyce Theater in New York City.Send a letter to the editor about this article.
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
How one gay man recovered from cancer—in 8 steps
June 19 2025 10:30 AM
Kevin Aviance's 'Beautiful' return to life
June 19 2025 6:00 AM
Dear straight people: Stop identifying as tops and bottoms
June 18 2025 8:03 PM
FDA approves breakthrough drug that reduces risk of contracting HIV by 96 percent
June 18 2025 5:25 PM
Q&A: Inside the exclusive world of gay matchmaking
June 18 2025 4:56 PM
12 pics of Wet Hot Sniffies Summer merch
June 18 2025 3:10 PM
U.S. volleyball star Erik Shoji comes out as queer
June 18 2025 12:51 PM
Trump administration to close LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline in 30 days
June 18 2025 11:34 AM
Jinkx Monsoon's next act? Playing Mary Todd Lincoln in 'Oh, Mary!'
June 18 2025 11:02 AM
22 portraits that prove drag is high art and punk rock
June 18 2025 10:00 AM
Meet the gay couple leading Fire Island's architectural revival
June 18 2025 8:30 AM
Release date set for 'The History of Sound' gay romance
June 17 2025 3:46 PM
A trans woman, forced to compete against men, swims topless in protest
June 17 2025 2:33 PM