"Senior breaking is one of a growing category of sports tailored to Japan’s large population of older people who, thanks to the country’s extraordinary longevity statistics, are determined to keep popping and locking for as long as their bodies will allow." Their inspiration: breaking as an Olympic sport. - The Guardian
A dancer's day is all about discipline, be that in relation to movement or intake (even healthy, appropriate eating: food is fuel etc). So when it comes time to leave the constrained environment, is it any wonder if things go off the scale in the opposite direction? - Gramilano
When you’re dancing with another person, or folk-dancing in a big group circle, or country line-dance, or disco dance—that’s how I started—you’re concentrating on being with other people, and realizing what your body is doing. You’re not scheming power trips. - Dance Magazine
"After negotiations between the SFA-CGT union representing performers, Paris 2024 organizers and Panam 24 (the producers of the opening ceremony) ended in a stalemate and a continued strike notice Tuesday, the union said Wednesday it accepted an offer involving increased pay for performers’ broadcasting rights." - USA Today
"(They) worry this is yet another attempt at gentrifying their art form and ways of life. (Breaker) Anne Nguyen … argues that the 'sportification' of breaking will push dancers to forego improvisation and individual spirit. 'Instead, they will be strategic, planning everything from A to Z, to get high scores.'" - Condé Nast Traveler
"This year’s theme is 'We Humans,' a title that might conjure fleshy bodies and emotional connection, but the opening weekend’s performances focused as much on physics, formal systems, busy brains and interactions with technology, in keeping with (artistic director Wayne) McGregor’s own preoccupations." - The Guardian
“There is something so special about being the first to see something. These fresh new works are in progress, developing and that draws an audience into it." - CultureOC
Why is the State Ballet of Georgia travelling for a long residency in London? Well … “with the Bolhoi and Mariinsky - both of which used to visit London regularly - now persona non gratae in the West, there’s a void begging to be filled.” - The Telegraph UK (MSN)
"Sadler’s Wells East is due to open later this year in London’s Queen Elizabeth Park, site of the 2012 Olympic Games. The 550-seat auditorium, which sits opposite the Olympic Stadium (now home to West Ham United football club), will be the fourth stage programmed by Sadler’s Wells." - Dance Magazine
Last Sunday, as dancers carried heavy sheets of metal and glass in Joan Jonas’s Mirror Piece I & II, audience members from Los Angeles's performance community held signs saying "Fair Pay 4 Dancers" and "Getty We C U Paying Performers Poorly" (meaning about half what MOMA paid for the same piece). - Hyperallergic
The youngsters who studied with Gene Medler at the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble remain devoted to him and his teaching methods for years after they graduate, and among his alums is Michelle Dorrance. One key is Medler's "student mind-set": he didn't start learning tap until age 27. - The New York Times
"The 2024 Olympics could be a turning point for dancers who are accustomed to making a living performing and teaching." What's more, "like dancers, athletes have short professional careers, but Olympic success can extend their shelf life: There’s a well-constructed off-ramp for Olympic athletes." - Dance Magazine
"Now known at the highest level as 'artistic swimming,' it was for decades one of the few athletic activities women could pursue, albeit in uncomfortable, baggy, not-exactly-aerodynamic attire. Despite — or perhaps because of — its popularity, synchronized swimming’s status as a legitimate sport would be contested for just as long." - The American Scholar
Dance “people” will recognize the innate beauty of her pose that is rooted in the cartoon version of OO as gangly. Even in her clodhopper shoes, this Olive Oyl is luscious. - ArtsMeme
But seriously: “Sophisticated imaging technology has helped reveal that dance’s multifaceted demands engage the mind as intensively as the body; that dance can root our minds more firmly in our physical selves; and that dancing together can help us relate to each other.” - The New York Times
