“…Julia Sasso's gutsy and highly physical Beauty… ”

“…The work treats states of loss and longing: the dance becomes a crucible, firing emotion into gesture. The dancers give themselves to the intricate emotional connections of the work. The dancing is sensual, physicalS the dancers' relationship unfolds with a painful inevitability. The gestures are tender and trueSThe range of texture in the work is sophisticated; the tensions, sensuality and nuance, subtleS one of the strongest works I see at the FestivalS Sasso¹s work speaks with craft, musicality, investigation, maturity and passion.”

“…one of the foremost dance artists in the country.”

“Sasso is one of perhaps a dozen contemporary modern dancers in Canada who is simply breathtaking in motion.”

“The closing item, an excerpt from Julia Sasso's work-in-progress, Beauty, made for the most impressive choreography of the day: a poetically composed exercise in group dynamics featuring an outstanding cast: Justine Chambers, Mike Moore, Ron Stewart, Heidi Strauss, Michael Trent and Michael Sean Marye.”

“Julia Sasso's Beauty used the title word as an umbrella to examine the beauty of life, from birth to death, and took great risk in presenting the five dancers in vulnerable situations, whether as mewling and puking babies, or depicting graphic sexual encounters replete with appropriate orgasms. Sasso¹s gutsy piece has been the surprise hit of the festival thus far.“

“…wonderfully rendered…bold, muscular movement and tightly controlled poses…a dance of strength that became more vulnerable…angst dissipated by a kind of empowering acceptance.“

…about It was like this. (2001)

“…excellent…a portrait of lived-in reality…a community brought together and torn apart by shared experience…exquisitely articulating, through finely honed gesture…an expressionistic portrait of a life characterized by cries and whispers.”

Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail

…about DUST (2000)

“…gutsy, full-blooded movement that sweeps and rolls across the stage…contrasted with quiet moments of gentle tenderness as the dancers’ bodies wind and unwind.”

Michael Crabb, National Post

...about THE WHIRLPOOL (2000)

"...one of the most original dramas in years."

"Guided by Sasso's choreography, the actors move with the uncanny waywardness and grace of objects- sticks, bottles, bodies- being manipulated by powerful and complex currents. Their contortions fracture and emphasize their speeches in strange ways, giving the effect of a new language struggling to be born- one more deeply embedded in the natural world. THE WHIRLPOOL...points, excitingly, in fresh directions."

John Bemrose, Maclean's , Canada

"...a theatrical work of haunting beauty. The push and pull of this triangular relationship finds its most articulate expression...during choreographed sequences...The tension, both in the story and the way it is told, is between the explicit and the sublime. The performances are composed and fluidly synchronized. THE WHIRLPOOL, like the natural phenomenon from which it takes its name, has the force to draw you in."

Vit Wagner, The Toronto Star

...about MAA (1999)

"Sasso's choreography is marked by a fluid elegance that gives the work its surreal quality, a dream play where lives search for the meaning of existence. Always interesting is her double stage pictures where behind or beside the main dance focus, is another meant to be viewed as footnotes."

"...sensuous...enigmatic...violent...intriguing...

Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail, Toronto

"In MAA... Julia Sasso used her Dancemakers legacy of clean craft and athletic movement as a frame for messy, organic glimpses of life. It was as if the seams of the dance had been ripped open in places, like skin stripped from a body to reveal the organs underneath."

Rebecca Todd, eye Weekly, Toronto

about BOY MEETS GIRL (1998)

"...one of the most charming dance sequences in all of Canadian film..."

TAKE ONE, Canada

...about SCHMERZEN (1998)

"The work that touched me most was Julia Sasso's SCHMERZEN, a wise, beautifully realized duet ...Sasso is so expert a dance maker she has rubbed it clean of extraneous detail and any hint of preciousness. Full of dignity and pain, Sasso herself is as strong-featured and redoubtable at centre stage as Glenda Jackson in her prime.
SCHMERZEN reminds us of what magic the best dance can weave, showing us tales from our own lives, sanctified and ennobled."

Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun

...about SPORTING LIFE (1996)

" A stunning discovery!...exceptional performers, elegant (in the best sense of the word) choreography...I can't wait for the next installment."

ZONE Outaouais, Ottawa

"...captivating...the movement seems to create a wind that comes through and caresses our faces. Glued to our seats, we want more and more...an absolute success"

"...striking...with a stifling lucidity...passionate and violent..."

"The intent...has such clarity that it is easily identified and appreciated at a full value by the spectator."

"...powerful choreography, one of the most enjoyable since the beginning of the (1996, Canada Dance) Festival ..."

Le Droit, Ottawa

"...who could forget the impact of SPORTING LIFE...?"

"...deceptively understated...alive with aggressive energy...high-impact dancing in the Montréal manner, yet imbued with a humanistic concern."

William Littler, The Toronto Star

"Sasso's unique spin on male violence and aggression…one can understand why the piece made such a splash (at the 1996 Canada Dance Festival). In shifting encounters of physical ferocity, they repeatedly hurtle themselves through space like canon balls…Sasso has absorbed well the lessons learned from the films of Martin Scorsese, Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino- that depicting brutality can become an art form in itself. The delight of Sasso's choreographic exploration is that it raises as many questions as it answers. Kudos should also go to Sasso and Eric Cadesky for the inventive soundscape…"

Paula Citron

...about MAXINE (1993)

"...almost in a class by itself."

"Sasso, relentlessly expressed personal tragedy with the full range of emotion, from moments of tenderness to times of sheer terror."

Dance Connection, Canada

"...strongly accented movement...powerful text."

The Globe and Mail, Toronto

"...exciting art...powerful text. Sasso attempts to embody Maxine rather than illustrate her story.
...a subtle characterization...it expands rather than mimics the narration."

eye Weekly, Toronto

"...Maxine, her extraordinary solo journey...hailed by capacity audiences...compassionate...and compelling..."

NOW Magazine, Toronto

" A gorgeous piece...filled with pathos and compassion...Sasso's angst-filled movement captured the tormented free spirit of the lost girl..."

Dance International, Canada

...about THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF RIVERS (1992)

"...the most accomplished piece at fFIDA (fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists, Toronto)...twenty solid minutes of intellectual and provocative philosophy via dance..."

stepTEXT, Toronto

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