Gretchen Wollert McLennon, a former student at the company's school who succeeded company founder Dororthy Gunther Pugh in 2020, will depart at the end of the current season. She saw Ballet Memphis through the pandemic and increased main-stage ticket sales year-over-year. - Memphis Flyer
Azara addresses a gap in the dance world: the need for spaces where people who have autism, A.D.H.D. or other conditions that fall under the broad term “neurodivergent” can freely experience the art form. - The New York Times
Several past studies and subsequent clinical experience have shown that dancing can help with the physical symptoms of the incurable neurological disorder. A new study indicates that dancing can also help alleviate the depression suffered by many Parkinson's patients. - The Washington Post (MSN)
Rowan Moore: “The last thing choreographers and dancers want, I’m told by people who know, are spaces that swoop and curve in imitation of human movement. They want right angles, straight lines, fixed points and level horizons against which to gauge their actions.” - The Observer (UK)
"It was practised and watched everywhere, including during religious rituals, on the theatrical stage and in private houses. It was the object of nuanced reflections on the part of Roman philosophers and poets. Careful study of their texts yields hints as to what they thought dance accomplished." - Aeon
The star dancer has resigned as artistic director of Columbia (SC) Classical Ballet, at whose school he first studied dance and which he helped recover from the city's 2015 floods. His decision came in the wake of an abrupt 50% cut in funding from the city of Columbia. - Free Times (Columbia, SC)
"This (550-seater) is the fourth Sadler’s Wells stage, after the original site, with its 1,500-capacity main stage and 180-seat Lilian Baylis studio, and the more populist Peacock theatre in London’s West End. It’ll mean a significant boost in the amount of dance on stage in London." - The Guardian
Just in the past year, two of the metro's major companies closed, as did the area's keystone performance space for dance. The dance scene is precarious and the current situation seems grim, but some see signs of hope. - The Minnesota Star Tribune
"The data shows that from 2023 to 2024, overall artistic director appointments decreased. However, female artistic director appointments decreased by 36%, compared to a 7% decrease for male appointments." - Dance Data Project
Sara Mearns, who dances with startling presence and in-the-moment authority, has been open about her struggles with mental health, but her public posts about her hearing — and how long it has been an issue — were a surprise. - The New York Times
Dancer Kelly Bartnik: “It changes you as a performer. … It changes you as a creator. It changes the quality of energetic exchange between performer and audience member.” - Dance Magazine
"Charme" is a popular dance style which developed in the 1980s as the Brazilian way to party to American soul and R&B. When COVID shuttered indoor clubs, this spot in a working-class Rio suburb became the happening place for charme, and a new generation has discovered it. - The New York Times
"Whether or not you’re already familiar with these up-and-comers, our editors and contributors from across the dance world predict that we’ll be hearing a lot more from these artists on the verge of a breakout in 2025 and beyond." - Dance Magazine
Beginning in 1986, with funding from two foundations and the U.S. Department of State, American Dance Festival director Charles Reinhart sent American teachers to the Guangdong Dance Academy. Four years later, the country's first modern dance company was formed; among its alumni is choreographer Shen Wei. - The New York Times
