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DANCE

Joffrey Ballet Will Remain At Chicago’s Lyric Opera House For (At Least) Seven More Years

“The Joffrey’s current lease was slated to end following the 2027 season, but this extension will keep the city’s top ballet company at the massive downtown opera house through 2034. Joffrey first began performing under Lyric’s roof in October 2021, after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Is Shutting Down Its Folklórico Program

The company will continue operating its Mexican traditional dance programming and instruction until the end of this year. - Aspen Public Radio

The Difficult Birth Of The Fokine/Ravel “Daphnis et Chloé” At Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes

Mikhail Fokine’s idea for a ballet on the Greek myth was summarily rejected at Russia's Imperial Ballet. Sergei Diaghilev, however, was happy to take the project at his new Ballets Russes, and he hired Leon Bakst to design sets and costumes and Maurice Ravel to compose the music. Then the problems began. - Bachtrack

What Made The Choreography In “A Chorus Line” And “Chicago” So Distinctive 50 Years Ago

The showbiz-cynical attitude of “Chicago,” a tale of 1920s murderers who go into vaudeville, was inseparable from its choreographic style. “A Chorus Line” was about Broadway dancers, built from their real-life stories and framed as an audition. - The New York Times

ABT Dancer Gillian Murphy Steps Down After 29 Years

Murphy joined Ballet Theater as a teenager in 1996 with technique that was glitteringly strong from the start and a clear joy for the stage. Murphy, whose vivid red hair gives her a Moira Shearer air, could make multiple pirouettes seem as natural as walking. Her aplomb was unassailable. - The New York Times

Stephen Petronio Company To Give Its Last-Ever Performances At Jacob’s Pillow Next Week

The 69-year-old choreographer announced earlier this year that this season, the company’s 40th anniversary, is its last. Two years ago, he announced that the dance center he had opened in upstate New York would shut down after only six years. Both closures are fallout from the COVID pandemic. - MassLive

Wisconsin Has A New Professional Ballet Company

Wisconsin Dance Theatre, based in the southern part of the state between Milwaukee and Madison, just opened its debut production — A Hero’s Homecoming, a World War II story which artistic director Samuel Huberty believes is more resonant with today's audience than are classic story ballets about royalty and the supernatural. - Wisconsin Public Radio

Jacob’s Pillow Gets A New Modern Addition

It is unmistakably a work of contemporary architecture, a radical departure for Jacob’s Pillow. As such, it must be judged not only on how successfully it performs its programmatic duties but also on its implications for the character of the campus. In other words, is it a good neighbor? - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

The Power Of Cutting Loose On The Dance Floor

“A new season at London’s Southbank Centre is inspired by Emma Warren’s book Dance Your Way Home, about the potency of communal movement. She and other artists involved explain why the dance floor is their happy place.” - The Guardian

Mark Morris After 45 Years

Morris’s dance impulse is still very much alive. “We’re far from that time, 40 years ago, when it was a group of my peers,” Morris said. “But my way of working hasn’t changed that much.” - The New York Times

The Latest Korean Pop Culture Phenomenon? Swing Dancing

“For a vintage American cultural practice to spread overseas and thrive there more robustly than at home is a story at least as old as jazz. Not in every case, though, does the transplanted form evolve into a local variant. That’s what has happened in Korea.” - The New York Times

Milwaukee Ballet Will Use Live Orchestra For “Nutcracker” After All

Less than two weeks after the company announced that, due to financial troubles, it would use a recording of Tchaikovsky’s music for the next three seasons, an anonymous contribution by a first-time donor will fund the use of live musicians this year. The following two seasons, however, are not (yet) covered. - Urban Milwaukee

The New Zealand Men’s Rugby Team Had A Problem With Their Toes – Until They Studied Ballet

The issue with “turf toe” (a ligament stress, or tear) was ending careers - until a coach visited the New Zealand Ballet and asked pointed questions. - New Zealand Herald (Internet Archive)

The Struggle For Pregnancy Protections And Parental Leave In The Ballet World

“Because the policies that do exist vary so widely, dancers can be impacted in different ways depending on which company they’re a part of; whether they’re freelancers or full-time; and, in some cases, what their role is within the company.” - Elle

Japan Has A Big Ballet-Fan Community. Now It’s Working On Homegrown Ballet.

“Until recently, that audience lavished attention mostly on prestigious foreign companies that tour Japan regularly, such as the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet. The country has struggled to build world-class companies and hold on to the top talent it trains. The National Ballet of Japan wants to change that.” - Financial Times

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