Press Quotes
LA Dance Chronicle
“There is a hidden gem of the dance world in our midst and that is Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company. For more than forty years Ms. Bike has quietly brought modern/contemporary dance to the community “to encourage art through dance performance.” I can only imagine the young viewers she has inspired with her beautifully evocative choreography and lovely company of dancers.”
LA Dance Chronicle
“Nearing the conclusion of its 42nd season, on May 20-21, 2023 at Stomping Ground L.A., Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company presented an inspiring program. The majority of the works on the concert were created within the past three years proving that modern dance is alive and well on the west coast… One of Bike’s many choreographic talents is that she understands how to make dancers performing in unison look like choreography instead of classroom phrases facing the mirror. She takes the unison, reshapes it, and redesigns it all while not losing the unanimity of the performers. Other choreographers, take heed!”
LA Dance Chronicle
“Bike’s work here was very subtle which is becoming more and more scarce and going the way of the Dodo I’m afraid. What a pleasure to watch meaning unravel and fall through movement to land on our senses as audience members.”...“I must say that one of the aspects of this showcase for these four Dance Companies that I enjoyed the most was their obvious maturity in their Art. The work was satisfying on many different levels – solid and musical as well as creative and exploratory. It was a pleasure to sit and let all of their ideas and forms wash over me. I felt that there was someone driving the show and that they were seasoned and capable.”
LA Dance Review
"Griot Dances, featured four women dressed in watery blues, who performed with a stunning sense of composure, balance, flow, and elegance to music by Diabate, Higdon and Ensemble 3MA. The facile dancers (Nola Gibson, Micay Jean, Lydia McDonald and Skye Schmidt) performed with a refinement that superseded flashy use of technique as frequently seen in contemporary; for instance the opening soloist had an infectious joy and sensuality in her simple movement that was spellbinding. Smart musicality in Bike’s movement generation as well as rich dynamic range propelled the movement forward for the duration of the work. Bike continually renewed the energy of the quartet through craftily reorganizing the dancers in and out of duets rooted in satisfying spatial and temporal designs."
Dance Informa Magazine
“I am a classicist,” wrote Benita Bike in her program letter. I did indeed see classicism in her work, but also evident were many modern/postmodern elements — release into gravity within movement, inventive aesthetic choices, and unique structural approaches. Sometimes postmodern work can be conceptually and intellectually meaningful, yet the audience experience of taking it in isn’t as pleasurable. Classical work can be aesthetically very pleasurable, but lack conceptual substance. In this show, Ms. Bike’s work (all pieces to her choreographic credit) had both strengths... With a classical grounding, yet a modern daring, Benita Bike’s Dance Art was an insightful blending of many elements — leaving my eyes, my mind and my heart quite content."
LA Dance Chronicle
“On February 27, at 2:00 in the afternoon, we were treated to not only a beautiful balmy Saturday at Tierra del Sol’s horse country in Sunland, California, but to a much needed live Outdoor Dance Show...After Bike’s informative intro to the afternoon’s performance, she gave us a hint of her beginnings and vision of 'moving paintings,' and introduced her first piece called 'Benches.' This was a lyrical movement piece made up of three engaging vignettes. It soon became evident that it was a gift of effortless dance. Her well-chosen technically savvy dancers in their earth toned slacks and tops designed by Bryan Holmes and Diana MacNeil, allowed the dancers to show their individuality yet collective unity. The story shortly revealed to the audience that strangers can become friends… creating a lovely narrative of friendship."
SeeDance.com
“...Benita Bike’s Dance Art Company celebrated its 35 anniversary with a performance at the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater located in the CSU Long Beach Dance Center. Benita Bike should take great pride in her accomplishment of sustaining a modern dance company for that many years and she should be proud of the concert that she just presented at the Martha B. Knoebel...Benita Bike’s concerts have always had excellent production values and this performance was no different...Benita Bike has brought together a very strong group of performers, a brilliant Lighting Designer and an extremely talented Costume Designer. It is also clear that Ms. Bike is a demanding but kind rehearsal and artistic director.”
LA Dance Chronicle
"I especially enjoyed the siesta section [Schoenfield Dances] where Bike choreographed restful, lazy and restless sleeping habits. Another strength of this work was Bike’s not falling into stereotypical movement. Her Rag section felt angular instead of jazzy while Schoenfield’s Rag music sounded atonal, and Bike drove her dancers into a frenzied finale while the sweet boogie played."
"The tense undercurrent of Old Postcards from Europe was what gave this work its strength. The relationships between Bike’s characters, the forces from inside and outside their lives, coupled with the music and costumes, all crystalized into a united statement. It was, however, Bike’s simplicity in the choices of movement that gave this piece its power."
The Los Angeles Times
"If Georgia O'Keeffe's pastel landscapes were dances, they'd be the plains elegies of ...choreographer Benita Bike and her company, DanceArt. Sweeping and full of muscular femininity, her works take charge of the space and evoke the metaphysical power of ritual...."
"...Benita Bike makes artfully shaped, carefully constructed modern dance...At Cal State Long Beach on Saturday, Bike's four-woman, locally based DanceArt company explored gender issues and national identity among other contemporary subjects. But her four contrasting, essentially meditative pieces remained committed to the display of choreographic craft and dancer refinement..."
The Orange County Register
"...Bike has managed to hang onto some gifts of childhood - the ability to make the body be animal, vegetable, mineral or anything else. As a result, her dances are direct, kinetically varied, and visually interesting..."
The Malibu Times
“Benita Bike’s DanceArt wowed the audience attending the show at the Malibu Library last Wednesday evening.”
L’Echo Republican (Rambouillet, France)
“...Very spare surprising dances that attain a high level of intensity through the purity of the dancers' expression.”
The Beverly Hills Outlook
"The DanceArt Company waxed musical when it appeared at the Assistance League in Hollywood recently [4/10/10]. Its director, Benita Bike, is as interesting musically as she is visually in her choreography."
"Timeless Dance: Benita Bike’s Dance Art Company at the Brand Library and Art Galleries...cut across time lines. Whether transported back to the year 1850 or carried forward by original music, her company of six women pulled us through amazing emotional terrain. Their outstanding physicality was fluid and vibrant."
The Grunion Gazette (Long Beach)
"It was modern dance at its purest -- barefoot and earthbound, yet soaring in gesture and expression...DanceArt is a well-organized, polished little company whose delightful style of modern dance deserves to be seen and enjoyed."
The Hill News (St. Lawrence University)
"The third and perhaps most exciting moment about the Benita Bike Dance[Art] Company is the impact they made on us students over the past week. As eager as I was to chat with the dancers over dinner, taking yoga and jazz dance classes taught by company members throughout the week was even more exciting...Thank you to Benita and her company members, and I am looking forward to celebrating our week together on Friday night at 8:00 pm in Gulick Theater as we students enjoy your farewell performance."