"Founded by refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge regime, which sought to eradicate most religious institutions, (the Buddhist temple) Watt Munisotaram and its troupe hope that teaching young children sacred dance will strengthen their ties to both Buddhism and Cambodian traditions." - AP
The troupe's third artistic director says it's been a real challenge during the past few years, and now is a time for joy and some experimentation. "We often have different generations of audience members at the same performance, and so everybody has something they can connect to." - NPR
"In a converted conference room on Thursday, the dancers honed their pliés and pirouettes, while row upon row of new cars could be seen in a distant lot through the ceiling-high windows, and workers passed by outside dressed in bright red coveralls." - NPR
"Before sunset, in the 110-square-mile mining region of Jharia in eastern India, an ensemble of girls dances near an opencast coal mine. Come sunrise, they'll be back at the mines for another reason: survival." - WSIU (Illinois)
Since Nijinsky created the original in 1913, there have been, starting in 1920, more than 150 different dance settings to Stravinsky's score. Most follow the original scenario, but they draw on such varied genres and vocabularies as American modern dance, flamenco, bharatanatyam, and African dance. - The Guardian
"The community-tied music and dance clubs have always included women, commonly as seamstresses and dancers. They've played the schools' smaller instruments; Carnival queens lead processions in elaborate outfits. But rarely do women call the shots on finances, themes or even costumes." Except, that is, at Turma da Paz de Madureira. - AP
After the incident last Saturday in which Marco Goecke, enraged over a harsh review, smeared the face of critic Wiebke Hüster with the feces of his pet dachshund, the Hannover State Opera, where he directed the ballet company, has terminated his contract. - BBC
Said an official at the Ukrainian Embassy to Ireland, "Neither the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Odesa nor any of its dancers are involved in the impostor project called the Ukrainian National Ballet of Odessa." (Note the fake company's use of the city's Russian name.) - The Irish Times
“If it’s lasted more than fifty years, it’s for a good reason. Think Mozart, Beethoven or The Beatles, they’ve stayed with us for a long time." - BachTrack
As one commenter put it, "It looks like you've been living under a rock for the past year, but at least try to read the room. Russia has blood of innocent people on its hands." Tolstoy, of course, was a famous pacifist; the choreographer, Yuri Possokhov, is Ukrainian. - Chicago Sun-Times
"Oregon Ballet Theatre has announced that Dani Rowe will become its next artistic director, effective February 27, after an 18-month search. The company has been led by interim artistic director Peter Franc since June 2021, following the (firing) of previous director Kevin Irving." - Pointe Magazine
"Paper became a backbone for the project, and therefore a large part of the soundscore for Data. As dancers move throughout the piece, the sound of crushing paper and whispered numbers of COVID-19 cases in California prisons fills the space." - Los Angeles Times
On Saturday, enraged at her harsh review of his new piece In the Dutch Mountains (get it?), Hannover State Opera ballet director Marco Goecke yelled at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung critic Wiebke Hüster and smeared her face with feces. The theater has barred him from the premises. - The Daily Beast
Of course Tony Award-winning Garth Fagan, now 82, did a lot more in his career than The Lion King. He's "a Jamaican-born choreographer known for threading ballet training and discipline into his Afro-Caribbean movement." - The New York Times
"She is one of a growing, but small, community of female artistic directors, a title typically reserved for men, and she’s jumping in at a time when many of ballet’s social and racial norms are being challenged by a quickly evolving society." - Washington Post
