“Everyone can have a bad day at the office. But for most of us, it doesn’t take place in front of millions of viewers,” argues Lyndsey Winship, who points out that objecting to Rachael Gunn being a white academic amounts to gatekeeping who’s allowed to do what kind of dance. - The Guardian
“The layoffs leave unclear the future of the performance genre, which is a subscription driver for the arts venue. … Notably, the dance package no longer includes the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a reliable crowd-pleaser of past seasons.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
The first problem was that the producers didn’t realize they’d need a choreographer until after a band was assembled, rehearsed, and on set for shooting. The second problem was that they wouldn’t show him the script until he got there. Here’s how Andrew Turtletaub made it work. - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
Mohamoud Osman Mohamed, director of the Somali Museum of Minnesota, and his father founded the Somali Museum Dance Troupe a decade ago. At first its members were recent young immigrants sharing the dances from back home; now there’s a new crop, mostly US-born, who were impressed by the Troup’s TikTok videos. - Sahan Journal
The hand not only guides the eye but is the body’s finishing touch. When the hands are unintentional and artificial, they become soulless, dragging a dancer down and interrupting the flow of the dance. - The New York Times
“When I choreograph for dancers, I put a lot of thought into it. But for the Bananas, I’m quick. I have to (remember) the KISS (‘Keep it simple, stupid’) method. If I make something up that's easy to me, I break it down a bit to make sure everybody looks good.” - Dance Spirit
The dances they make “hinge on an evocative, slippery-fish ambiguity. Their dreamlike montages are often turbulent and disorienting, but can also feel unnervingly familiar.” - The New York Times
This latest list of the 150 largest (by expenditure) U.S. ballet and classically-based companies includes comparative rankings by company revenue, and surplus or deficit status. - Dance Data Project
“Hands not only guide the eye but are the body’s finishing touch. ... They also offer a way into how to look at a dancer — and a dance. A dance isn’t just about what you see. It’s what you internalize: emotionally, intellectually, sonically, spiritually. Those hands? They lead the way.” - The New York Times
For 30 years the Twin Cities-based company has focused on the choreography of its founder and artistic director, Mathew Janczewski. Beginning this season, Arena is switching to a repertory model, keeping older works by Janczewski in its portfolio but adding new pieces by other choreographers. - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
But perhaps the most important thing these two artists had in common was the fact that they each left the Soviet Union in search of artistic opportunity. Balanchine left in 1924 and Baryshnikov in 1974, exactly fifty years later. - Hudson Review
Julianna Slager, artistic director of Chicago’s Ballet 5:8, crunched the numbers and realized that using the dancers to do administrative office work which had been done by part-time non-dancing employees would be no more expensive and, since benefits would be included, would make a huge difference in the dancers’ lives. - Dance Informa
“Black Swan felt magical to me. It offered this picture of being in New York and dancing for a professional company. I don’t remember being alarmed or scared. Which is pretty funny, now.” - The New York Times
“Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram … (have) given access to many different forms of dance styles, and it’s had an impact on the years-long process of training. While students find inspiration, instructors worry they might hurt themselves by moving too fast.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
“It has been over a year since Minnesota Dance Theatre paused its performances and shifted its focus onto its school. On Wednesday, MDT announced that not only is it moving to a new home …, but it also plans to … (launch) a new professional company in about 10 years.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
