After 53 years at the helm, he is turning Garth Fagan Dance over to principals Natalie Rogers-Cropper (executive director) and Norwood “PJ” Pennewell (artistic director). Fagan himself — best known as choreographer of The Lion King on Broadway — will continue to create dances for the company. - Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
Karon Davis - daughter of Ben Vereen and Nancy Bruner - says, "I want to show what happens before you get to that point — all the labor, all the sacrifice, all the bloody toes and the sore muscles." - The New York Times
"'I am going to spend more time with my family, and I am going to focus on my health,' he wrote, but he did not specify those health concerns or give further reasons for the suddenness of his departure, … (though he) noted recent deaths in his family." - The New York Times
Choreography is a way to start conversations about how bodies make meaning, whose bodies matter, how bodies interface with technologies. Dance is a way of demonstrating how agile, how kinesthetically intelligent, how capable today’s robots are. Making robots dance is astonishingly hard. - Dance Magazine
Artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe and president/CEO Michael Krasnyansky, who are married, are alleged to have fired a teacher at the company school's outreach program after seeing a photo of her in class, and then to have fired the outreach program's manager after he complained to HR. - WKYC (Cleveland)
A writer and spoken-word artist as well as musical entrepreneur, "Dworkin will work with Complexions founders and co–artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson to develop poetry that will be used in company repertoire or recited as an additional performance element." - Pointe Magazine
In the Largest 50 contemporary and modern companies, there are 30 female artistic directors (56%) and 24 male artistic directors (44%). Whereas, the Largest 50 ballet companies, include 13 female (24.5%) and 38 (74.5%) male artistic directors. - Dance Data Project
That is the question that video and performance artist Liz Magic Laser and her mother, choreographer and dancer Wendy Osserman, explore in their exhibition "Convulsive States." - The New York Times
Making ballet accessible to those with low vision or those who are blind isn't simple. It's so much more than just the movement - but it's that too. - The New York Times
Trajal Harrell (Zurich and Athens), Esther Cowens (Berlin), and Wanjiru Kamuyu (Paris) tell a reporter how they found themselves working across the Atlantic, the work that keeps them there, and how they build lives in Europe and keep connections stateside. - Dance Magazine
"Chelsie Hill, 27, is the founder of the Rollettes, a dance team … formed in 2012 (which) performs all over the country. … More than a decade after she started the Rollettes, Ms. Hill’s story has spread far beyond the group to include mentorship and education." - The New York Times
Jessica McCann of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre suffered hip pain for years, but by last year's Nutcracker, she reached the breaking point. Doctors said she had the right hip of a 90-year-old and needed a replacement. She was back onstage last month. Here's the story of her surgery and recovery. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
