Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa: “He seemed caged because of the fame he encountered at a very young age. … I decided to make a mosaic portrait of his persona, music, inspirations, beliefs and struggles. Ultimately, fame alienated him from reality and destroyed him.” - Bay City News
There aren't many open calls anymore; the first audition today is usually a self-shot video. Otherwise? "Please, God, I need this job" is as true-to-life as it was 50 years ago. The difference nowadays, says one former dancer, is that "we’re trying to make the industry a better place." - The Guardian
"Reasons for the closure (of the Cowles Center) … include the lingering financial effects of the pandemic shutdown, lower ticket sales since 2020, and changes in funding priorities from both individual philanthropy and the education world. But the biggest factor? The owner of the building." - Dance Magazine
The technique uses a wave-like visualization of model dancers, enabling learners to anticipate and execute dance moves without prior rehearsal. - Neuroscience News
"That commingling has Atlanta’s stalwart skaters concerned about keeping their distinctly energetic and percussive style alive. They say Atlanta’s newer skaters, who have wide access to regional variants, increasingly practice a hybridized type of skating that’s not rooted in any one tradition." - The New York Times
"Briony’s idea of being able to rewrite someone’s life for the better is, for any sensible brain, a ridiculous notion. Yet there's scientific evidence that we feel our experiences differently according to the stories we tell about them. … Whether we change the truth through stories we tell is a very relevant topic." - Pointe Magazine
The £40,000 Rose International Dance Prize, administered by Sadler's Wells in London, will be awarded biennially starting in February 2025. As with the Turner, all of the finalists (four have been named for this cycle) will be on view (for two weeks at Sadler's Wells) before the winner is announced. - BBC
Brazilian dancer and choreographer Daniela Cardim, who performed with the Dutch National Ballet before retiring from the stage in 2010, will take the helm at the Phoenix-based company on July 1. She succeeds Ib Andersen, who served as artistic director for 24 years. - Phoenix Business Journal
A new ballet so popular it got an extra seven performances at the end of the season. Big — and younger — crowds. Conga lines in the lobby at after-parties. In her first four months of programming, Rojo has transformed the vibe at War Memorial Opera House. - The San Francisco Standard
Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis's hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. - Pointe Magazine
Stanislav Olshanskyi fled Putin's invasion of Ukraine for the Netherlands, where he was discovered by choreographer Alexei Ratmansky; later that same year, he found himself joining Miami City Ballet. He's relieved, but the adjustment from his solid Slavic schooling to MCB's fleet Balanchine style hasn't been easy. - The New York Times
Bizarrely, Paris 2024 may well be the only time we will see breaking in the Olympics in the foreseeable future, although the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) is determined to ensure it returns in Brisbane 2032. - The Conversation
Celia Fushille is stepping down after 17 years as artistic director (the first after founder Michael Smuin), passing the reins to Amy Seiwert. "Seeing these artists I've worked with for so long, and what Amy is pulling out of them, it just brought tears to my eyes," says Fushille. - Bay Area Reporter
“Keeping track of these female-founded ballet companies is vital in understanding the pivotal and often unknown role of women in shaping the American ballet sector,” said DDP Research Consultant Aanika Khansaheb. - Dance Data Project
"Unlike Black Swan, the darkly funny Abigail — which follows a band of kidnappers as they discover that their prisoner, supposedly an adolescent ballet student, is actually a centuries-old vampire — doesn’t aim for profundity. But entertainment-world depictions of ballet, even in campy romps like Abigail, carry weight." - The New York Times
