"Dancers at a North Hollywood topless bar," Star Garden, "will become the only strippers in the United States to gain union recognition after the club's management withdrew challenges to their guild election, the union announced Tuesday. … The strippers join the ranks of the Actors' Equity Association." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"Next summer, the best 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls from around the world will face off in solo battles soundtracked by a live DJ on the Place de la Concorde, ... (and) there is a hope that breaking will bring the jolt of a new audience." - The Observer (UK)
"As they prepared for the leadership transition, (outgoing artistic director Virginia) Johnson and (successor Robert) Garland spoke with Dance Magazine about their deep, shared history with DTH, their commitment to continuing the work of Arthur Mitchell, and their hopes for the future of DTH's company and school." - Dance Magazine
The facility only opened in 2018, and by the following year, demand for its technical rehearsal residency was nearly outrunning supply. Then the pandemic hit. Now the organization's Catskill, NY property is for sale, and Lumberyard will focus on including neurodivergent audiences in mainstream theater. Why the change? - Dance Magazine
"If I have a rehearsal and she’s on spring break from school, for example, the dancers sit in the lobby and have lunch with her or play dolls with her. ... This is my tribe, and my co-workers are like aunts and uncles." - Pointe Magazine
"During his 25-year tenure as director he transformed the dozen-member troupe into the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee, with 33 dancers and a presence on the national stage." Here's an exit interview with journalist Steve Sucato. - Pointe Magazine
"The former 216-seat theater of about 8,500 square feet will be reimagined as a nearly 20,000-square-foot, 230-seat, multiuse theater with the same name and in the same location, with improved accessibility and technological features. It is expected to be finished in 2025." - MSN (The Boston Globe)
"Jesse Green, chief theater critic, was joined by the dance critic Brian Seibert and the contributor Elisabeth Vincentelli in a discussion about some of the choreographic shifts they've noticed in musical theater. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation." - The New York Times
During the past three years, we’ve caught glimpses of healthier ways to conduct business, produce more inclusive events and better support artists. Right now the dance community is teetering at a crucial edge. In an urgency to return to business as usual, there is a danger that we’ll do just that. - Dance Magazine
As of 2023, the tally, which includes some contemporary as well as ballet-based companies, is 36% women and 64% men. (Among US companies, the breakdown appears to be 50-50.) - Dance Data Project
Roslyn Sulcas: "As with the funeral rites for Queen Elizabeth II in September, the choreography of ritual surrounding the coronation was extraordinarily powerful. Almost no gesture was spontaneous; … the intent and meaning of each moment was as deliberate as an intricate dance." - The New York Times
Dancers and choreographers often become unintentional collectors, accumulating valuable records of an art form with few tangible traces. And once artists are gone, families are left to be caretakers of dance history. - The New York Times
"What’s amazing is how young looking and exuberant this ballet is. ... Mr. Balanchine did all these dark, morbid ballets toward the end of his life. Jerry was going on like he was going to live forever." - The New York Times
The Angkor Dance Troupe in Lowell was founded by refugees from the Khmer Rouge who were determined to keep Cambodian classical dance from being snuffed out. They've always had small budgets, but, thanks to COVID relief funding, they've emerged with both stronger purpose and more resources. - WBUR (Boston)
"Returning to New York City Ballet now, after working on Broadway and on Like Water for Chocolate for the more theatrically oriented Royal Ballet (a coproduction with ABT), made him wonder: Did he still want to make that kind of pure-dance piece?" - The New York Times
