Marin Heinritz

Contributor - Arts Critic

I’ve lived in Kalamazoo since 2003 and I’ve been writing about the vibrant arts scene here since then. For Revue, I primarily write live performance reviews of dance and theater. We are so fortunate to have so many professional companies doing extraordinary work in Southwest Michigan—and plenty of national tours that come through, too.

What's a particular show that stands out to you as a highlight?

It’s so hard to choose just one, especially given the phenomenal diversity of artists and their offerings. Even though they’re very different, I loved the sheer poetry of “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea”, a collaboration between Face Off Theatre and Western Michigan University’s Theatre Department as much as I was wowed by the national tour of “MJ” that came to De Vos through Broadway Grand Rapids. They were both pieces of theatre that made me see it anew, that elevated the possibilities of the art form, though on very different scales.

If we took a peek into your weekend, where would we find you? 

Checking out a new restaurant or gathering ingredients at a local farmers market, hiking woods on a well-worn trail, going to a show—either to review it or just take in the magic that’s in the room, or if it’s a Sunday, cozied up on my couch with a hard copy of the New York Times in hand while also watching CBS Sunday Morning.

What's a piece or collection of media that really shaped you? 

Many years ago I was a student of classical ballet, and having had the opportunity as an adult to interview and see some of the greatest dancers of our time, from Alvin Ailey to Mark Morris to Twyla Tharp, has fundamentally influenced the way I understand art, technique, beauty, lyricism as wordless poetry in motion, and what it means to be human and literally as well as figuratively move through the world.