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DANCE

A New Company To Get Retired Dancers Back Onstage

Alice Topp and Jon Buswell, resident choreographer and technical director at the Australian Ballet, have just launched a Melbourne-based troupe called Project Animo, whose roster will be made up of performers in their 30s and up who have retired from the country's major established companies. "They've learned their craft," says Topp, "they've experimented, and now they're in a place...

After 25 Years Victoria Morgan Steps Down As Director Of Cincinnati Ballet

To right the organization's financial ship she had to make tough choices early on—the first task the company's executive committee gave her was to release a third of the company's dancers. - Pointe Magazine

Pennsylvania Ballet Changes Its Name To Philadelphia Ballet

"I by no means want anyone to think we're abandoning Pennsylvania," said executive director Shelly Power. "but it's about our identity as one of the most important cities in America." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui To Direct Geneva’s Ballet Company

Since 2015, the Moroccan-Belgian choreographer, one of Europe's most prominent contemporary dancemakers, has been artistic director of Ballet Vlaanderen in his hometown, Antwerp. At the end of next season, he will step down from that job to move to the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. (in French; for a Google Translate version, click here) - Le Monde (Paris)

Venezuela Is Down To Just One Ballet Company, And That One Is Teetering

"Ballet Teresa Carreño in Caracas … is the last ballet company remaining in the country, a hallowed institution that was already on its last legs due to politicization, lack of resources, absence of artistic direction, and now the COVID-19 pandemic. The absence of an artistic director sits at the core of BTC's challenges. ... After being a leader in...

A New Dance Company To Mine The Experience Of Older Dancers

“It can take a long time to work out what your voice is, particularly in ballet. After 100 Nutcrackers, 100 Cinderellas, to get to a point where you can make decisions yourself is incredibly empowering.” -Sydney Morning Herald

Choreographers Test Monetizing Their Work With NFTs

One NFT has been minted for each of the three holograms. The creators will receive a majority percentage of the auction sale, along with a percentage of any secondary sales. - dot LA

Five Pioneering Black Ballerinas Speak Up

Life as a pioneer, life in a pandemic: They have been friends for over half a century, and have held each other up through far harder times than this last disorienting year. - The New York Times

Using Dance To Heal Rape Survivors In Congo

"'I started doing this because of the girls who came to us in a state of silence. They were raped at a young age and they didn't know how to express themselves. They were so withdrawn,' said Lusambo. Now the same women line up in brightly coloured leggings for her classes, where they learn to reconnect with their...

How “In The Heights” Made NYC’s Streets Dance

The last time I felt such a sense of release watching dancers spill onto the streets in a movie was in “Fame.” - The New York Times

COVID’s Toll On Argentina’s Tango Scene Has Been Heavy

"The empty, dark dance floor at the Viruta Tango Club is a symbol of the pandemic-induced crisis facing dancers and musicians of an art form known for close physical contact and exchanging partners. … Equally damaging has been the closing of borders, preventing the arrival of tourists, the main source of financing for the local tango industry. Tango tours...

Choreographer Cathy Marston Will Be Next Director of Zurich’s Ballet

"Particularly noted for her narrative work, … Marston will take over as new Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer for an initial period of two years, starting from the 2023-24 season. … Marston has previous directorship experience in Switzerland, having been Ballet Director at the Konzert Theater Bern from 2007-2013. There, she created several world premieres including Wuthering Heights (2009),...

For First Time, Indigenous Australian Choreographer Will Lead Non-Indigenous Dance Company

Daniel Riley, who comes from the Wiradjuri people of central New South Wales, spent 12 years dancing with and choreographing for Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia's (and possibly the world's) most prominent indigenous dance company. At the beginning of 2022, he starts work as artistic director of the company's oldest contemporary dance troupe, the Adelaide-based Australian Dance Theatre. - ABC...

The Tango Is Just What We Need As Pandemic Eases

Watching audience members take to the stage of a Washington theater for a “milonga” — a gathering to dance the tango — one observes a moving milestone in the ending of the drought of human contact. - Washington Post

Accusations Of Drug, Psychological, And Sexual Abuse Rock Maurice Béjart’s Dance Company

"Switzerland's prestigious Béjart Ballet Lausanne company faces a probe as allegations of drug use, harassment and abuse of power raise the question why nothing apparently changed after an earlier investigation raised similar issues. … The Maurice Béjart Foundation announced the audit just a week after revealing that the affiliated Rudra Béjart ballet school had fired its director and stage...

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