Irina Kolpakova, who has worked with ABT for decades, "is a consummate coach, her skill evident in her rapid-fire suggestions delivered in an emphatic mix of Russian-English, her poses, her quick adjustment of a dancer’s chin or shoulders." - The New York Times
Okay, not ballet, strictly speaking. For the tenth anniversary of his company, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, artistic director Joshua L. Peugh has re-investigated his Southwestern roots and given them an LGBT twist to make the new piece Ten-Gallon. (The other half of the program is his queered Nutcracker.) - Dance Magazine
"If I’m making a piece, whether I’m meaning for it to be political or not, I have to be aware that if I have even just a singular Black body in space, it’s considered political, let alone if I have a white dancer (as well)." - W Magazine
"Now breaking is preparing for its biggest international spotlight yet when it bows as an Olympic sport at the Paris Games in 2024. … The new platform has left pioneers and younger breakers to grapple with issues of authenticity that some of hip-hop’s other tenets have already confronted." - The New York Times
Barbie director Greta Gerwig: "There was a big meeting that was like, ‘Do you need this?' And I was like, ‘Everything in me needs this.' They were like, ‘What do you even mean? What is a dream ballet?' And I was like, ‘A dream ballet? Where do I begin!'" - MSN (Variety)
This is 2023: On TikTok, "dancers are particularly adept at moving like a machine’s version of a human. That helps creators ... capture more of what makes video games distinctive, weird and funny." - The New York Times
Prolific and astonishingly versatile, he has absorbed a wide range of Western styles, from the fleet-footedness of Balanchine to the physicality and casualness of contemporary dance. He has also revitalized some of the great 19th-century story ballets. - The Wall Street Journal
The MacArthur Foundation's citation for Patrick Makuakāne called him a "cultural preservationist," but it's not that simple. "I don’t take traditional dance elements and turn them on their head. But there’s no law against creating a hula to Roberta Flack’s 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.'" - Slate
"Martins, who resigned as the organization’s ballet master in chief in January 2018 in the wake of sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse allegations, … earned more than anyone else employed by NYCB since resigning, according to the tax documents." - New York Post
She said she was motivated to create what she calls a "safe space" for young Black dancers because "when she was a child, teachers and assistants all but punished her for not fitting the traditional ballerina mould, as if she was using her race as some kind of rebellion." - Reuters
Palestinian choreographer Sharaf DarZaid decided to find out after befriending a Cameroonian dancer while studying in Paris. Now he performs and teaches Afro-Dabke in Ramallah. - Al Jazeera
Perez's "minimalist but wildly experimental work, marked by spare, precise movements, helped ignite a budding Los Angeles dance scene after he moved west from New York." - Los Angeles Times
