“The night could only be described in the way I overheard: Emotional, energetic, beautiful movements filled with grace and power, an electrifying performance that made the hair stand up on back of your neck. You never wanted it to end, and then it was over before you knew it.”

-Pasadena Now (2013)

 

“The entire night was full of stunning performances, but Maryanne Moses and Austin Ray danced a truly unforgettable number to Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. Maryanne participates in the dance class created for people like her with Parkinsons at the Lineage Dance Studio.  Austin Ray is a dance instructor who is still in high school and helps at the class that takes place on Wednesdays.

Maryanne simply dazzled the crowd as she danced with a joyful sparkle in her eyes with grace and agility. The duos deeply moving performance brought a tear to every eye in the audience.”

-Pasadena Now (2013)

 

“. . .tremendous athletic prowess and lyrical grace...In an excerpt from Thomas’ full-length ballet about women’s struggle with breast cancer, “Healing Blue,” dancers Michelle Kolb and Teya Wolvington explore the mutually supportive relationship of two sisters diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time.

The work, set to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” begins with Wolvington and Kolb sitting next to each other on chairs with their hands folded in their laps. They move their heads toward each other until they rest on each other’s shoulder in a sisterly embrace filled with hope and fear. As the battle with cancer begins, the two dancers lift each other, dance separately and balance together dangerously upon the lightweight chairs in a heart-breaking display of love and courage.”

-Glendale News Press (2011)

 

"Lineage opens Brand Dance Series with heart-breaking prowess.

Lineage Dance opened this year’s Brand Dance Series on May 15 with works that displayed the Pasadena-based company’s tremendous athletic prowess and lyrical grace, making the free, Sunday afternoon performance a lovely way to celebrate Leslie C. Brand’s 152nd birthday at the Brand Library and Art Galleries. The artistic director-choreographer of Lineage Dance, Hilary Thomas, creates dance works that tackle issues that touch our lives — body image, aging, breast cancer, mental illness and the workings of the brain — in her abstract, modern dance vocabulary.  As a choreographer, Thomas utilizes lifts and intricate balances to poignantly explore how people support each other and help each other overcome the unkind changes in their lives."

-Glendale News Press  May 20, 2011|By Vicki Smith Paluch

 

Blissful Sage: Benefit Concert for Belize

"The enchanting Raquel Battle teamed with Lineage Dance's electrifying choreography and her Belizean friends---drummers, singers and dancers--- to entertain and educate us about her country's vigor, rhythm and life. Raquel's dramatic rendering of one of Belize's poets,  "Drums of My Father", was a winning performance, the words perfectly floated on Lineage's dancing and the drumming of the Belize artists."

-Nov. 8, 2010 Don Thomas

 

"If anyone doubted the production prowess of Lineage Dance, the third annual Pasadena Dance Festival proved them wrong. Managing Director Peggy Burt and Associate Director Caterina Mercante, who served as festival coordinator, pulled off an extraordinary event. Between the obvious varieties in the audience, the marketplace of the lobby, and the stunning range and skill presented in the 10 concert pieces, the evening manifested both the educational mission of Lineage and the oft-overlooked value of dance arts in Los Angeles."

-Culture Spot LA (2010)

 

“Much of the choreography comes from Thomas’ knowledge in the sciences. But like most work in the Lineage repertoire, it is equal parts didactic and abstract. In previews, this balance of instruction and abstraction has been apparent. Dancers bound across the stage as firing synapses, but the overlaying details are distinctly Thomas’, expressing a more visceral understanding of the mind and of science.”

-Culture Spot LA (2009)

 

“The women of Lineage Dance are powerful athletes who lift and support each other with grace and ease. They dance with heart-breaking sensitivity and infuse their performance with abounding joy.”

-Pasadena Star News (2007)

 

“Their joie de vivre is unmistakable and their dedication to making dance both accessible and relatable to audiences of all ages is praise-worthy. . . an ensemble of seasoned professionals for whom the phrase ‘poetry in motion’ can’t begin to describe the symmetry, strength, unity, grace and passion involved in conveying the energy of the human spirit. It’s truly the marriage of athletics and aesthetics with a captivating score running throughout.”

-American Chronicle (2006)

 

“Lineage is breathtaking to watch for the first time, and mesmerizing every time thereafter.”

-Pasadena Now (2005)

 

“Hilary Thomas’ modern-dance “Flowers” for the women of her Lineage Dance Company did achieve a sense of buoyant, serene femininity — maybe not what Petipa, Ivanov and Tchaikovsky had in mind 113 years ago but a glowing millennial equivalent.”

-Los Angeles Times (2005)

 

“Most notable in Thomas’ choreography were sculptural lines, good groupings, and strong individual performances… Each strong woman contributes her fare share of the dancing. Solos, duets, and ensemble work all reflect an energetic camaraderie.”

-Beverly Hills Outlook (2004)

 

“Excellent choreographer Hilary Thomas shows a tougher side of her repertoire, in “the Breath That Reminds Me” using quick, precise, strong movements in this story of existence’s tests.”

-Easy Reader (2004)

 

“Nobody danced with anything less than secure professionalism…Hilary Thomas offered a solo titled ‘Season Beyond Innocence that hid technique behind the convulsive, fearful actions of a woman working through the aftermath of some mysterious ordeal.”

-Los Angeles Times (2004)

 

“The Breath That Reminds Me’ was more intricate choreographically…with arm movements drawn out with subtle nuances, with hip movements that were gentle yet significant and set to the music in an interesting manner that blended the two together forever. The dance was fun and flirty yet substantial at the same time.”

-Danceview Times, D.C. (2004)

 

“Soulful femininity…unique spatial configurations”

-Los Angeles Times (2004)

 

“Another impressive performance was offered by Leslie Odom in Hilary Thomas’ spare ‘Open Arms.’ Seesawing between movement of collapsing body parts and emboldened leaps and spins, the solo showcased Odom’s capacity for nuance and accomplished athleticism.”

-L.A. Times (2004)

 

“Beautifully danced by Caterina Mercante, this was a deeply felt piece of choreography…the dance clearly showed a person unable to call her body her own and yet trying to control the part that was running away… The emotional content that came through tugged at one’s heart… It was poignant.”

-Danceview Times, D.C. (2004)

 

“Thomas herself dances Pandora’s brief character with all the naivety and curiosity that you would desire.”

-Danceview Times, D.C. (2004)

 

“They cleverly condensed lifts and ballet turns to fit inside the four-foot cube until one dancer escaped to the outside.”

-San Diego Theatre Scene (2004)

 

"The best piece from this company last night was without a doubt the solo portion of “Healing Blue”. “Inspired by the life of champion surfer and activist Rell Sunn, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when just 32; Sunn was given only months to live” but “she chose to live life to its fullest”. Beautifully danced by Caterina Mercante, this was a deeply felt piece of choreography…the dance clearly showed a person unable to call her body her own and yet trying to control the part that was running away. The emotional content that came through tugged at one’s heart."

-Danceview Times, Tehreema Mitha Aug 9, 2004

 

“Pandora opened hauntingly with Thomas gliding on wings of elegant curiosity, unleashing a box of – you guessed it, – five more excellent dancers ‘troubles’ and ‘hope’.”

-Easy Reader (2003)

 

“Sophisticated Spatial Design”

-Los Angeles Times (2002)