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DANCE

Atlantic Ballet Of Canada Launches Professional Training Program For Indigenous Dancers

"The two-year program in Moncton, N.B. will accept eight Indigenous dancers in Grade 11. … The (instruction) will be in contemporary style, but also include traditional and ballet, making it a holistic format that will give students access to a wide range of opportunities in their professional careers." - The Canadian Press (MSN)

The Who’s “Quadrophenia” Is Being Turned Into A Ballet

"The ballet is set to tour Plymouth, Edinburgh and Southampton before its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London on June 24 next year. It will then move to The Lowry in Salford. … Choreographer Paul Roberts and director Rob Ashford are at the helm of the creative team." - Variety

BalletX Receives Its Largest Gift Ever — By A Factor Of Nearly Ten

"(Joan) DeJean ... died in December at age 75 and left BalletX a remarkable gift: $7.4 million. A donation of that size is substantial for any arts group. To BalletX, a bright but mid-sized star in the Philadelphia cultural firmament, it’s enormous." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

This New Ballet Company Features Women Lifting Other Women – Literally

“'It’s an amazing experience,’ Annia Hidalgo, one of the Queer the Ballet dancers, . ‘We all speak the same language. It’s movement, it’s art, it’s ballet, it’s queerness.’” - WPIX New York (MSN)

Of Balanchine And Graham: Important Lessons About Legacy

If the intertwined fates of Balanchine and Graham tell us anything, it should be that trajectories of dance styles and legacies of choreographers are just as much the products of money and institutional support as of artistic talent. - The Drift

BalletMet In Columbus, Ohio Appoints New Artistic Director

Remi Wörtmeyer, an Australian-born choreographer and visual artist and a former principal of the Dutch National Ballet, succeeds Edwaard Liang, now artistic director of Washington Ballet. - The Columbus Dispatch

When Director Eduardo Vilaro Brought Queer Elements Into Ballet Hispánico’s Work, He Got Real Pushback

"'I get hate mail. ‘How dare you use the Ave Maria with a drag queen in it?’ It’s music. It’s sacred for you, but it doesn’t mean that it’s sacred for everyone.' And it’s not just LGBTQ+ elements. ... There’s been ignorance when he’s introduced Afro-Latine dance and culture into his ballet." - Remezcla

The Ballet Star And The Sports Psychologist

Yasmine Naghdi, a principal at London's Royal Ballet, was cast as the lead in Swan Lake (complete with the 32 fouettés) for a performance to be simulcast to cinemas around the globe, and she could feel herself freaking out and self-sabotaging. So she turned to sports psychologist Britt Tajet-Foxell. - The Guardian

The Dance Equivalents Of Great Short Stories

"Audiences love big, stage-filling choreography with dramatic music and luscious dancing. But every once in a while, a short, spare dance packs a punch. And that’s what people remember when they walk out of the theater." Wendy Perron lists some of the greatest. - Dance Magazine

Bayadere Is Stuffed With Stereotypes. Should It Be Reinvented Or Put Away?

“As someone who’s interested in pushing the boundaries forward, we have to know what our past looks like and embody that. What do we really love about Bayadère? It’s the choreography to the music. So, we’ve kept it. We’ve made it better.” - JStor

After 40 Years, Urban Bush Women Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Bids Her Company Farewell

"In 2019, she handed over the role of artistic director ... to two company members, Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis. And (this weekend), she will debut what she has said is her final work for the troupe, Scat! … The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar." - The New York Times

Dance Data Project Looks At Gender Imbalance In Leadership Of Ballet Companies Worldwide

"This report examines the gender distribution of critical leadership positions including artistic directors, executive directors, assistant artistic directors, heads of schools, and artistic directors of second companies. DDP has also expanded to include rehearsal directors for the first time." - Dance Data Project

A Dance Dream Fulfilled

As Jawole Willa Jo Zollar fully lets go of the reins, 40 years after founding the dance troupe Urban Bush Women, she’s created one last work to serve as a sort of origin story for the group. - The New York Times

This Professionally Trained Ballerina And Scientist Uses Dance To Teach

To teach … about food safety, that is. “Science and art have several things in common,” says Eleonora Moratto, “and specifically ballet and science have storytelling.” - BBC

“Just What Ballet Is Right Now Has Become Confusing”: Gia Kourlas

"Its branches seem to be growing at different speeds with different textures. Some are thick and sturdy, while others are wispy, frizzled at the ends. It sometimes seems as if live performances are just extensions of TikTok." - The New York Times

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