"Ahern's 'Red' was a rich tapestry of densely layered images of pent-up ferocity... . her own striking investigation."
Sarah Maxfield, Culture Catch (Feb 2006)
With rich vocals, visuals, and dancing, Carrie Ahern's "Red" explores the placid surface and the turbulent, eruptive underbelly of a society.
Carrie Ahern chose the right color for the title of her evening-length piece Red. Think overwhelming red with some of the creepy but gorgeous visual richness of The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover. Then add music with primal vocals and the stark simplicity of the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Throw in beautiful lighting design and strong performers, and Ahern's Red works.
... this piece is exceptional... almost impossible variety... .Red is a rich piece, full of unique movement. The stellar music is composed and performed by Kristin Norderval,
... a dance feast
Quinn Batson, offoffoff.com (Feb 2006)
"Her (Carrie Ahern) all-female ensemble includes some of the city's most interesting dance artists."
Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times (Feb 2006)
"Exploding Plastic Acorns! was high-spirited female insanity danced extremely and well. Carrie Ahern and Jennifer A. Cooper put together a well-developed show that ran the gamut from impassive stillness to full-throttle partnering. It certainly achieved lift-off and flew quite well, a thoroughly fun yet filling evening of dance with every element working well together-dancers, music, lighting, costumes and choreography."
"'Postcard from the City' was a strange but effective mix of quiet glamour and intensely physical dancing. A recurring motif was a frantic, crawling escape, bodies clawing past others, a sort of survival scramble after an apocalypse."
"'It goes to Eleven' was an aptly titled piece set to the Beastie Boys, a high-energy sports/martial arts mélange of perpetual motion ending with flying kung-fu kicks, all danced well by Ahern and Cooper"
"'Orphan' was an unsettling and strong piece, showcasing the dancing of Bessie award winning Carolyn Hall, with an effectively haunting soundtrack by Matt Darriau and Ivan Goff."
Quinn Batson, offoffoff.com (Sept 2003)
"The wonderfully lush Carrie Ahern has a mysterious role... dancing like a bacchante."
Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice (March 2003)
"Part two of the program began with "Nostalgia," a quirky, sardonic dance by guest choreographer Carrie Ahern... The tinkly ragtime jazz [music] was the machine which powered this strangely self-conscious doll and masochistically forced her to repeat tricks for her audience."
Faith Pilger, The Dance Insider (May, 2001)
"Carrie Ahern choreographed 'The Greeting,' which was performed by Carolyn Hall and Catey Ott. Both expressive and theatrical performers, Hall and Ott made great use of facial expression to portray the changing emotions of conflict resolution. The opening stance- legs in parallel second, holding hands- conveyed the childhood sense of 'me and my best friend against the world.' As that unity dissolved, however, from initially playing patty-cake to whispering to each other, to poking at each other, it occurred to me that even for adults, the evolution and escalation of emotions during conflict often follows the same, simple path of children. A pointedly exaggerated balletic section proved both performers to be technically proficient, very clean dancers that made a nicely matched duet."
Darrah Carr, The Dance Insider (June 2002)
"I've never seen a dancer eat cigarettes, fried chicken, and a fly before. And this was all in one dance! 'RAW(hide)' cracked me like a whip. Carrie Ahern provided campy entertainment with a western theme. She's brilliant with physical comedy."
Jill Emerson, The Dance Insider (January 2001)