Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's groundbreaking contributions have become both mainstream and topical. "An experimental dance company in Brooklyn? Nothing unusual about that now — yet Zollar was forging a new path when she founded Urban Bush Women in 1984." - Washington Post
"Maybe it’s because of the advent of COVID-19 vaccines. Maybe it is because feet can be repressed for just so long. But it seems that everywhere, dancers are letting loose." - St. Paul Pioneer Press (AP)
During the pandemic, tango suffered more than most other dance forms. "There is no distance between bodies; partners lean into each other, faces and chests touching, an arm wrapped around the other’s back, communicating through fingertips and subtle shifts in weight." - The New York Times
"From the comical horseback-riding step in PSY's 'Gangnam Style' to the carefree peace-sign–wielding grooves in BTS's 'Permission to Dance,' K-pop choreography often goes viral. … Nearly every K-pop song has corresponding choreography that hits each accent in the track." - Dance Magazine
ÜNI, as the site is called, wasn't created to stream the company's live performances: each work on the platform was choreographed especially for digital video, and a few of them includes VR versions that can be controlled by the viewer. - The Boston Globe
A couple of working contemporary choreographers offer ideas about how to get a foot in the door — and then what to consider in order to actually create in the piece in the two or three weeks you'll probably have. - Dance Magazine
Abby Phillips Maginity of Ballet Arizona was diagnosed while she was rehearsing for her first principal role — and just as the pandemic was getting serious. The first months stuck at home were hard, but, in treatment, with support from the company, she's back at work. - Pointe Magazine
Australia Ballet conductor-in-training Alexander Rodrigues says conducting an orchestra for ballet is a true challenge, thinking about the music's past, present, and future - "And you’re balancing the music with the dance, the tempos of that." - Sydney Morning Herald
Seven plaintiffs who attended UNCSA as undergraduates during the 1980s give detailed descriptions of predatory behavior, including long-term affairs, by instructors in the school's dance department. - The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Among the key finds in this new study are that, in the aggregate, contemporary dance in the U.S. operates with less than a quarter of the money that American ballet has, and that gender parity in leadership is achieved. - Dance Data Project
Gia Kourlas: "To get a better understanding of what this strange time has been like, I checked in with … a member of the corps de ballet, a soloist and a principal to track their experiences … as they made their way to opening night." - The New York Times
"Short for 'Making a Difference Dancing Rhythms,' the tap dance company marks its 20th official season this year. … Today, M.A.D.D. Rhythms remains deeply committed to improvisation, circling up to jam every time the dancers step onto the wood." - Dance Magazine
Some dance departments have found that lecture courses such as dance history and anatomy work perfectly well virtually (and give students some scheduling flexibility as well). Others say that video conferencing opens new possibilities for artist residencies. - Dance Magazine
She tried to defend herself by saying that she was “creating art,” and insisting that her daughter was “simply taking beautiful sporty poses in the pictures.” But, critics charge, “the only goal the mother had was to sell the photographs to sexually obsessed people.” - The Daily Beast
Serious choreographers, pandemic, cruise ship? Yes: "The creative team has plunged into the challenges of making a work at sea as part of a large corporate enterprise." - The New York Times
