“What mattered most to him, Royal III said, was the idea of unity. ‘I kept coming back to that word,’ he said, ‘and asking myself, How can I show this concept of unity through dance?’” - The New York Times
Company management posted on Instagram on Monday that last Friday's abrupt mass sacking happened because "a video surfaced that violated their contractual terms and our standards of artistic excellence." The union, AGMA, is not at all convinced and has issued a rare "do not work" order for DBDT. - KERA (Dallas)
Dr. Rachael Gunn — whose nom de breaking is "Raygun" — knows that, at 36, she can't compete against the spins and strength moves of younger breakers. So the Australian university lecturer gets creative — and gets attention. "Sometimes it speaks to the judges," she says, "and sometimes it doesn’t." (In Paris it didn't.) - The Guardian
“Some observers view breaking’s evolution as most apparent in the development of its female athletes, a far cry from the early days when male gatekeepers sidelined women who wanted to throw down.” - The New York Times
The most recent post on DBDT’s Instagram is an audition call. “All of it comes after filed unfair labor practice charges last weekend against DBDT, Dallas’ oldest continuously operating professional dance company.” - Dallas Morning News (MSN)
"Hip-hop first landed in France in 1982, when an elite group of ambassadors from New York City, including ... popular breakers the Rock Steady Crew, toured the country. Crowds were often small, but by the time they had left, a contingent of French fans was hooked.” - The New York Times
"The judges will score on five criteria: vocabulary, technique, execution, originality and musicality. … Judges will use digital sliders ... to represent each scoring criterion, moving a slider toward the breaker they believe is ahead in, say, originality at that moment. There are penalties for crashes, wipeouts and falls." - The New York Times
She was one of the Bolshoi's biggest stars and in demand as a guest all over the world. Yet the president of Georgia himself called and asked her to come home to Tbilisi and revive the national ballet company, then in a desperate state after years of post-independence civil war and shortages. - Bachtrack
In this long-time coming collaboration, seven choreographers worked in pandemic-created “isolation to create choreography to tracks from Williams’s albums MartyrLoserKing and Encrypted & Vulnerable, … exploring themes of exploitation, mystical anarchy, and the intersection of technology and race.” - San Francisco Classical Voice
"Understanding the intricacies of the judging system — and how it’s been adjusted to work in the Olympics, while still honoring breaking’s history — offers a window into how an art form will be incorporated into one of the most-watched sporting events worldwide." - Dance Magazine
"This spring, at Red Bull’s Lords of the Floor competition, we watched Olympians bust out some of the moves they’ll showcase at the Summer Games and asked experts how some of breaking’s roots will be on display in Paris." - The New York Times
No, this doesn't mean the breaking competition. This is free performance before 13,500 spectators at the Trocadéro Champions Park, where the Algerian-French hip-hop choreographer's latest work combined hip-hop with circus arts, visual arts and martial arts. - AP
“To be dancing in the spotlight for that long, and also making sure it’s funny,” says actor Janelle James. But she was also considering "how the song affects people, particularly Black women. ... A lot of thought went into that little dance.” - Los Angeles Times (AOL)
"His job is huge. His friends and fellow artists ask him how he finds time to create when he is in charge of so much — planning seasons, devising programs for children and even overseeing a major renovation. And then there’s his own work." - The New York Times
What if the sport, and its judges, actually valued dance? “That would involve thinking of each floor routine as a miniature choreographic work: an organic whole that deserves to be enjoyed fully by every audience, live or on TV.” - The New York Times
