ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

DANCE

How Pacific Northwest Ballet Became One Of The Most Diverse Ballet Companies In America

While Boal emphasizes that changes at PNB go beyond numbers, the numbers do reflect the company’s cultural shift. PNB’s current roster of 45 dancers (expanding to 47 in November) is now more than 50% Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). - Crosscut

Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Next Artistic Director Is, For A Change, From New Zealand

After 11 years under three successive leaders from overseas — Ethan Stiefel, Francesco Ventriglia, and Patricia Barker — and a certain amount of discord under the last two, the company has appointed Ty King-Wall, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who was, for a decade, a principal at the Australian Ballet. - Stuff (New Zealand)

Who Benefits From Dance Company Apprenticeships?

As trainees and apprentices, dancers may perform on professional stages for years without being compensated. Not everyone can afford to work for free—much less to pay for the privilege. - Dance Magazine

The Punk Trio That Co-Directs France’s National Ballet Of Marseille

"They may only be three but they are a horde. They are (La)Horde. … How did the threesome end up as artistic directors of Ballet National de Marseille? While they were visiting Los Angeles, …" - The New York Times

How Alexei Ratmansky Became One Of The Most In-Demand Choreographers

Because he makes ballets so quickly and in little bits, only at the very end of the process does it all come together. Sometimes he’s willing to take risks and even drag people along who aren’t fully on board—and then only at the end, they’re like, “Okay, now I get it.” - The Observer

Former Dancers Say The UK’s Top Ballet Schools Constantly Body-shame Students

More than 50 former students told the BBC about issues, saying they had developed eating disorders, "while some said they had been left with mental health problems." - BBC

Balanchine Thought His Ballets Would Dissipate Quickly

Instead, "they have become classics, cornerstones of the international repertory, ... danced everywhere by all the major ballet companies and most of the minor ones, too." - The New York Times

The Revival Of City Ballet

In 2022, New York City Ballet was considering a grim spiral of loss. Now young audiences are helping grow the budget. What happened? - The New York Times

‘N Sync: Dance And The Communication Between Bodies

In new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we show how the strength of synchronisation in a network depends on the structure of the connections between its members – whether they be brain cells, fireflies, or groups of dancers. - The Conversation

“Swan Song” — Filming The Tumultuous Gestation Of “Swan Lake”, Karen Kain’s Farewell To The National Ballet Of Canada

"'Nothing was going well!' (director Chelsea) McMullan recalls. 'Sean (O'Neill, the writer and producer) and I were terrified: 'We're filming Karen Kain's production as a nosedive bonfire!'' … Yet both projects miraculously came together." - The Globe and Mail (Canada)

A New Director Is Expanding Lyon’s Already Busy Maison De La Danse

Tiago Guedes says that Lyon "is known as a dance city, but it was designed for touring rather than creation: The Maison de la Danse only has one stage, with 1,000 seats to fill and no space for residencies." That is soon going to change. - Dance Magazine

Two Years After A Stroke, Choreographer Ronald K. Brown Is On The Road To Recovery

"'At one point I couldn't move my left leg at all, and my therapist told me, just move it on a molecular level.' It was an interesting reply to a choreographer who would often give this same rehearsal note to his dancers. 'We forget how many things the brain controls.'" - iNews

A Rock Writer Watches The Gestation Of Carlos Acosta’s Black Sabbath Ballet

"While others try to persuade me that Acosta is a diehard Sabbath fan, he's a little more careful. He's Cuban, and Sabbath meant nothing to him as a kid because rock'n'roll was taboo, he explains. But he understands what they represented. 'I'm working class – I am Black Sabbath." - The Guardian

“The Floor Is Moving!” The Challenges Of Performing Ballet On A Cruise

"The dancers on this unusual summer voyage" — English National Ballet was performing in the 1,000-seat theater aboard the Queen Mary 2 last month — "were accustomed to the laws of aerodynamics. But here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hydrodynamics were their newfound adversary." - MSN (The Washington Post)

Martha Graham Dance Company Is 100 Years Old In 2026. The Party is Starting Now.

"The result is Graham100, a three-year celebration that starts this fall at the Soraya. The (timing) is deliberate. 'We couldn't fit it all into one season,' (artistic director Janet) Eilber says. 'The company and Martha Graham's influence is just so pervasive that we needed three seasons.'" - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');