Demis Volpi succeeded longtime director John Neumeier only last summer. Now almost half the company’s principal dancers have resigned, and more than half signed a letter to the city’s chief culture official complaining of bad management and a toxic working atmosphere. - Tageblatt (Stade/Hamburg) (via Google Translate)
The complaint itself alleges that children as young as 13 years old worked grueling 15-hour training schedules at least six days a week, in exchange for little pay and inadequate education. - NPR
“The identikit all-female spectacle we know so well is the opposite of how the cancan first began in the working-class dancehalls of Paris, where it was a social dance full of spontaneous improvisation – and performed primarily by men. It was much later that it became a theatrical spectacle for the well-to-do.“ - The Guardian
“Liz Roche, Artistic Director of Luail, Ireland's all-island dance company, (writes) about the beginnings of the company, as it prepares to make its highly anticipated debut this May with Chora, a triple bill of new dance works.” - RTÉ (Ireland)
The well-regarded author, critic and biographer has been appointed dance critic for The Hudson Review, a quarterly journal focusing on literature and the arts. - Marina Harss/Dancing Around
“The seven accused, of whom only one was present in court, were found guilty of sending hate messages, and even a death threat, to Thomas Jolly, 43, over a controversial scene in the ceremony” which some incorrectly interpreted as a parody of the Last Supper. - France 24
Dances that put artists and audience members in close proximity—whether they’re immersive, invite (or demand) audience participation, or have moments where the fourth wall is broken—can foster a powerful sense of intimacy and immediacy. - Dance Magazine
Sonja Kostich studied at Baryshnikov’s School of Classical Ballet and was 17 when he invited her to join ABT. She went on to dance with his White Oak Dance Project as well as San Francisco and Zurich Ballets. As an administrator, she has led Kaatsbaan Cultural Park and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. - CultureMap Houston
“Melissa Toogood, a Bessie Award-winning dancer who was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in its final years, succeeds Alicia Graf Mack, who is to become the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Toogood, who is Australian and lives in Sydney, will begin on July 1.” - The New York Times
When I scrubbed in for my first surgery, it felt strangely familiar—there was music playing, overhead lights shining, and a team working in synchrony, each person with a precise role. The energy reminded me of a performance. - Pointe Magazine
Mejia is an airborne dancer whose exuberance shines in joyful Balanchine ballets like “Stars and Stripes,” “Rubies” and “Western Symphony.” But his repertoire, especially in recent seasons, has expanded to roles that require him to be more subtle, more sophisticated. - The New York Times
“Ballet doesn’t have to be ‘boy meets girl, girl goes crazy, girl dies, becomes a fairy, boy chases her through the woods’. Audiences want to be taken somewhere a bit deeper.” - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)
“We spoke to four local company leaders about challenges unique to dance organizations that present shows, in addition to operating schools and serving the community through outreach programs.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune
“(Artistic) vision is most clearly expressed through the repertoire you do. It was really important for us, I felt, to go into contemporary full-lengths, like we did with The Handmaid’s Tale or Dracula or Jekyll and Hyde (or) Moulin Rouge — none of that existed in my days as a dancer.” - Winnipeg Free Press
