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DANCE

After Three Decades As Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie To Retire From ABT

"The company announced on Thursday that McKenzie, 68, will continue to oversee programming and performances through 2022 while a search for a successor begins this summer. … A former principal dancer with the company, McKenzie is a direct link to the founders of Ballet Theater, which was formed in 1939 by Richard Pleasant, and partially financed by a dancer,...

Connecting Dance And Nursing

Devynn Emory, 40, sees nursing as “not so far away from dancing,” they said in a video interview. “It’s really just another understanding of how the body works.” - The New York Times

She Took Over A Ballet Company In The Middle Of The Pandemic

Susan Jaffe was announced as the new artistic director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre last April, near COVID's first peak in the U.S., and she started July 1. Since then, she's gotten her dancers back into the studio with safety protocols, presented live-streamed productions, and had the company purchase a mobile stage for outdoor performances. Here's a Q&A on how...

The Unusual Places Dance Went Out This Year

From parking garages to lakes and rooftops, outdoor performances can be exhilarating for artists and audiences alike. Vistas that would be impossible to re-create onstage are now more available. - Dance Magazine

Dance Was An Integral Part of Christian Worship For Centuries

In the earliest period of Christianity, dance was frowned upon as pagan. (St. Augustine, in his typical way, was particularly scornful.) But when folks want to dance, it's hard to keep them from it, and by the 9th century the church was permitting and even encouraging dance; by the 13th, it was being formally incorporated into liturgy. (Then came...

How “Dance Marketing” Helped An Indian Clothing Company Flourish

Telling us how the team came up with the idea of dance marketing, Lekhinee shared, “We were going to launch our Saris. We were known for our Kurtas and our fabrics before then. We wondered, how can we really break the clutter…My friends would come for the photoshoot because we always believed in showcasing real women (not models). So...

How Did This Ballet Company Keep Its Dancers Working Throughout The Pandemic? Giving Them Other Jobs

The St. Paul-based Ballet Co.Laboratory has " dual-contract structure provides its dancers with administrative employment, whether in management, communications, development or teaching — a framework that became especially useful in keeping the dancers employed during the pandemic." - Pointe Magazine

Twyla Tharp @80

The choreographer’s eclectic inspirations wind like a scenic highway through American culture, from ballet to figure skating, from Frank Sinatra to Philip Glass. - Washington Post

Indoor Dance In New York Goes On Delay Once Again

The plan: Audacious, but careful. The space: The Park Avenue Armory, with an extremely limited audience. The issue: "The eagerly anticipated performances, which were set to begin on Wednesday for a sold-out seven-day run, had to be postponed after several members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company tested positive for the virus." - The New York Times

A Paris Ballet Star Dances With Memories, And Anselm Kiefer Paintings

Hugo Marchand's new memoir speaks of feelings that seem to beset nearly every dancer - of not belonging, of self-doubt, and of stage fright. And his newest pandemic project brought him into close contact with artist Anselm Kiefer. "I like the way loops and matches Kiefer’s work which uses recycled and repeating materials. We were lucky to meet...

Oh Great, Now They’re Turning Dance Into NFTs, Too

With Non-Fungible Tokens taking the visual art world hostage by storm, it was only a matter of time before other art forms turned to them. The NFTs made by blockchain platform Enjin and street dance group Beauty in the Streets "represent signature moves and mannerisms of various performers which, in turn, can then be sold to fans via online...

NBC Cancels “World Of Dance”

The show had been a strong performer for NBC over its first three seasons, but the fourth season ebbed and flowed in the numbers. The format, which is owned by Universal Television Alternative Studio, also has been remade in a number of territories globally including Thailand, Philippines and Poland.  - Deadline

Dog Dance Competitions (Yes, They’re A Thing)

The sport is called canine musical freestyle. "At a typical competition, you might see dogs weaving through their handlers' legs, rolling over, spinning on their hind legs or leaping triumphantly into the arms of their humans, tails wagging all the way through. Some routines are more skit-like and tell a story, while others are more abstract." - Dance Magazine

As Ballet Companies Move Toward Reopening Without Knowing What The Rules Will Be, How Are They Hiring Dancers?

"'What would you do if you had no idea when a season would begin, what venue capacity you could perform in and what the cast size can be for repertory?' says Larissa Saveliev, founder and artistic director of Youth America Grand Prix of roster building. 'The old rules don't apply anymore.' With all the uncertainty, what is hiring and...

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Will Happen This Year, But Outdoors Only

"Even by the standards of 2020, Jacob's Pillow had a tough year. Not only did the dance center in Becket, Mass., have to cancel its annual summer season for the first time in its history, but it also lost one of its theaters, the Doris Duke, to a fire. But 2021 has begun more brightly: it will hold...

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