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DANCE

Stephen Petronio Company To Give Its Last-Ever Performances At Jacob’s Pillow Next Week

The 69-year-old choreographer announced earlier this year that this season, the company’s 40th anniversary, is its last. Two years ago, he announced that the dance center he had opened in upstate New York would shut down after only six years. Both closures are fallout from the COVID pandemic. - MassLive

Wisconsin Has A New Professional Ballet Company

Wisconsin Dance Theatre, based in the southern part of the state between Milwaukee and Madison, just opened its debut production — A Hero’s Homecoming, a World War II story which artistic director Samuel Huberty believes is more resonant with today's audience than are classic story ballets about royalty and the supernatural. - Wisconsin Public Radio

Jacob’s Pillow Gets A New Modern Addition

It is unmistakably a work of contemporary architecture, a radical departure for Jacob’s Pillow. As such, it must be judged not only on how successfully it performs its programmatic duties but also on its implications for the character of the campus. In other words, is it a good neighbor? - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

The Power Of Cutting Loose On The Dance Floor

“A new season at London’s Southbank Centre is inspired by Emma Warren’s book Dance Your Way Home, about the potency of communal movement. She and other artists involved explain why the dance floor is their happy place.” - The Guardian

Mark Morris After 45 Years

Morris’s dance impulse is still very much alive. “We’re far from that time, 40 years ago, when it was a group of my peers,” Morris said. “But my way of working hasn’t changed that much.” - The New York Times

The Latest Korean Pop Culture Phenomenon? Swing Dancing

“For a vintage American cultural practice to spread overseas and thrive there more robustly than at home is a story at least as old as jazz. Not in every case, though, does the transplanted form evolve into a local variant. That’s what has happened in Korea.” - The New York Times

Milwaukee Ballet Will Use Live Orchestra For “Nutcracker” After All

Less than two weeks after the company announced that, due to financial troubles, it would use a recording of Tchaikovsky’s music for the next three seasons, an anonymous contribution by a first-time donor will fund the use of live musicians this year. The following two seasons, however, are not (yet) covered. - Urban Milwaukee

The New Zealand Men’s Rugby Team Had A Problem With Their Toes – Until They Studied Ballet

The issue with “turf toe” (a ligament stress, or tear) was ending careers - until a coach visited the New Zealand Ballet and asked pointed questions. - New Zealand Herald (Internet Archive)

The Struggle For Pregnancy Protections And Parental Leave In The Ballet World

“Because the policies that do exist vary so widely, dancers can be impacted in different ways depending on which company they’re a part of; whether they’re freelancers or full-time; and, in some cases, what their role is within the company.” - Elle

Japan Has A Big Ballet-Fan Community. Now It’s Working On Homegrown Ballet.

“Until recently, that audience lavished attention mostly on prestigious foreign companies that tour Japan regularly, such as the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet. The country has struggled to build world-class companies and hold on to the top talent it trains. The National Ballet of Japan wants to change that.” - Financial Times

Training A New Generation Of Dancers For A Different Kind Of Career

"Today’s young adults have also been through the Covid shutdown, and they’re starting their careers at a time of huge financial uncertainty." - ArtsATL

Doris Duke Theater At Jacob’s Pillow, Literally Risen From Ashes, Is Now One Of World’s Highest-Tech Dance Venues

With an advanced acoustical system, plenty of fiber-optic cable, responsive lighting, spatialized audio capabilities, virtual/augmented reality infrastructure, and a trippy immersive exhibition called “Dancing the Algorithm” in its gallery, the theater should be thrilling visitors at its opening this week. - The New York Times

India’s Most Progressive State Is Arguing Over Zumba Classes

“Some 14,000 state-run schools in Kerala have been asked to organise daily Zumba sessions as part of an anti-drug campaign launched by the government last month. The decision has been bitterly opposed by some Hindu and Muslim organisations in the state, who say the dance is a form of ‘cultural invasion’.” - BBC

Can Japan Build A National Fandom Around Home-Grown Ballet?

Fans are actually pretty dialed in, but to international touring companies. "The country has struggled to build world-class companies and hold on to the top talent it trains. The National Ballet of Japan wants to change that.” - Financial Times

The Revived London City Ballet: Director Christopher Marney Talks About Its Second Season

“It was fascinating to get to the end of year one and evaluate our successes and pitfalls. … We had a week of sold-out shows at the Joyce Theater in New York and then half-full houses at the Theatre Royal Windsor. It’s important to work out why that happened.” - Gramilano

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