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DANCE

Misty Copeland On Connecting Dance With The World

You know, housing crisis, gentrification, homelessness, houselessness. And so, to me, it's, it's, it's a ballet. But, you know, we have different, we have contemporary dance and, and hip hop and, Turf dancing, which is the local street dance there in Oakland, California. you know, it's art activism. - Axios

The University Ballet Program Taking An Orientalist Ballet And Plopping It In The American West

Why not? “By setting in a movie-land far west, and swapping Orientalist clichés for American ones, Chan said, the team was creating 'a form of exoticism that is about us, not about ‘them.’’” - The New York Times

Despite Economic Turmoil And Slow-To-Return Audiences, Some Dance Organizations Are Spending Serious Money On New Buildings

For instance, the Joyce Theater in New York has purchased a six-story, 58,000-square-foot building in Manhattan's East Village. San Francisco's ODC bought its third building, one which is next door to its theater. The big risk, of course, is whether the organizations will always be able to afford upkeep. - Marketplace

Meet The First B-Girl (That’s Woman Breakdancer) To Represent The U.S. In The Olympics

As a tween, Sunny Choi was a serious gymnast on an Olympic track but decided she should get a real education and job — eventually becoming a senior exec at Estée Lauder. But when breaking was admitted to the Olympics, she decided to compete full-time. She's now ranked no. 1. - The Cut (MSN)

What Do We Do With All Those Mountains Of Worn-Out Ballet Pointe Shoes?

Pacific Northwest Ballet goes through 2,000 pairs per year; during Nutcracker season, New York City Ballet uses up 500 pairs a month. And they're not recyclable unless you pull them apart and separate individual materials. How to keep the shoes out of landfills? Well, here are three options. - Dance Magazine

What It Was Like To Be Martha Graham

Graham began her aesthetic experiments some 40 years before government arts funding was a gleam in anyone’s eye. The dancers sewed their own costumes, and Graham sometimes borrowed money from them. - Village Voice

Choreographer Arlene Phillips Is Still Working Full-Time At Age 80

"(Her) 60-year career … has included choreographing stage musicals, including Starlight Express and We Will Rock You, and films such as the 1982 version of Annie. She has created routines for music videos for a ridiculous number of superstars, including Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Freddie Mercury." - The Guardian

Ballet Dancers Are Not All Anorexic (Anymore) And Other Myths Busted

A principal dancer and the director of Munich's Bavarian State Ballet explain that dancers are athletes as well as artists, they're thin because they're exerting themselves for at least eight hours every day, and "ballet is a competitive sport in an artistic guise." - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Attributing The Provenance Of The “Just Ken” Dance

Dance makers of Hollywood are seeking recognition for their craft by pressing the Motion Picture Academy to add an Oscar for Best Choreography. That is understandable. But they must first recognize their own. - ArtsMeme

ABT Chooses A New Chief Exec — From National Ballet Of Canada

Ballet Theater’s leaders said they chose Barry Hughson, executive director at the National Ballet of Canada since 2014, because of his extensive experience in the field. He has held top positions at Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, among other organizations. - The New York Times

Ballet Ireland Drops An Ohad Naharin Piece Because He’s Israeli

"'We stand by the right to freedom of artistic expression, and despite our belief that art should not be drawn into politics, we feel the time is not right to be performing this work,' said Anne Maher, artistic director and CEO of Ballet Ireland," of Naharin's Minus 16. - The Irish Times

Cincinnati Ballet Gets A New Leader After a Year Of Upheaval

Artistic director Jodie Gates left after just 14 months on the job, followed six days later by then-president and CEO Scott Altman announcing that he would leave at the end of 2023. -Cincinnati Enquirer

“Bayadère” Is Awash In Cultural Appropriation. Should It Be Canceled?

Like so many of the 19th century ballets, it has been subject to some controversy in recent years. Set in a fanciful Hindu temple, choreographed by a Russian to music by an Austrian (Ludwig Minkus), it is accused of colonialist attitudes and insulting stereotypes. - Dance Australia

Pro Basketball Has A Set Of Dance Teams Made Up Of Dancers Over 40

Both the NBA and the WNBA have, in addition to their "regular" dance crews (the Raiderettes, the Laker Girls, etc.) with members in their 20s, a number of teams with "mature" dance crews. Here's a visit with the Ole Skool Crew, which performs for the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks." - The Cut (MSN)

Batsheva Dance Company Creates An Entire Piece About Cultural Appropriation

Choreographer Hillel Kogan calls the work, titled Appropriation, a ballet because "In a symbolic way, ballet is the major appropriator." Yet Kogan also incorporates, among other forms, breakdance, jazz, voguing, Chinese dance theater, various folk dances, Broadway, gymnastics, and capoeira. - The Jerusalem Post

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