ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

DANCE

Without Its Festival, What’s The Future Of Tap Dancing In New York?

“Tap City has been an important gathering each summer, a hub on a circuit of festivals that combine performances with classes. These festivals have been pivotal to the passing on of a tradition, largely left behind in popular and commercial culture.” And now Tap City might die. - The New York Times

When Mikhail Baryshnikov Left Everything He’d Ever Known

“I remember feeling a sense of comfort and security after seeing some very friendly faces in the getaway car. But I also felt fear that it might turn out another way — that at any second, it could fall apart and become like a bad police movie.” - The New York Times

Is Alessandra Ferri Now Dancing Her Final Role?

"It’s not merely that she’s now 61 — albeit dancing exquisitely — and sharing a stage with dancers one-third her age. It’s also that she’s about to embark on an exciting new chapter as artistic director of the Vienna State Ballet, and plans to devote herself '200%' to the task." - AP

Daniil Simkin Begins A Pivot From Dancing Ballet To Filming It

"On June 25, his production company, Studio Simkin, unveiled one, a seven-minute dance film produced by (and starring) Simkin and choreographed by David Dawson. Shot during the pandemic in April 2021, one represents both a labor of love and where Simkin would like to see his career go eventually." - Pointe Magazine

Atlantic Ballet Of Canada Launches Professional Training Program For Indigenous Dancers

"The two-year program in Moncton, N.B. will accept eight Indigenous dancers in Grade 11. … The (instruction) will be in contemporary style, but also include traditional and ballet, making it a holistic format that will give students access to a wide range of opportunities in their professional careers." - The Canadian Press (MSN)

The Who’s “Quadrophenia” Is Being Turned Into A Ballet

"The ballet is set to tour Plymouth, Edinburgh and Southampton before its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London on June 24 next year. It will then move to The Lowry in Salford. … Choreographer Paul Roberts and director Rob Ashford are at the helm of the creative team." - Variety

BalletX Receives Its Largest Gift Ever — By A Factor Of Nearly Ten

"(Joan) DeJean ... died in December at age 75 and left BalletX a remarkable gift: $7.4 million. A donation of that size is substantial for any arts group. To BalletX, a bright but mid-sized star in the Philadelphia cultural firmament, it’s enormous." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

This New Ballet Company Features Women Lifting Other Women – Literally

“'It’s an amazing experience,’ Annia Hidalgo, one of the Queer the Ballet dancers, . ‘We all speak the same language. It’s movement, it’s art, it’s ballet, it’s queerness.’” - WPIX New York (MSN)

Of Balanchine And Graham: Important Lessons About Legacy

If the intertwined fates of Balanchine and Graham tell us anything, it should be that trajectories of dance styles and legacies of choreographers are just as much the products of money and institutional support as of artistic talent. - The Drift

BalletMet In Columbus, Ohio Appoints New Artistic Director

Remi Wörtmeyer, an Australian-born choreographer and visual artist and a former principal of the Dutch National Ballet, succeeds Edwaard Liang, now artistic director of Washington Ballet. - The Columbus Dispatch

When Director Eduardo Vilaro Brought Queer Elements Into Ballet Hispánico’s Work, He Got Real Pushback

"'I get hate mail. ‘How dare you use the Ave Maria with a drag queen in it?’ It’s music. It’s sacred for you, but it doesn’t mean that it’s sacred for everyone.' And it’s not just LGBTQ+ elements. ... There’s been ignorance when he’s introduced Afro-Latine dance and culture into his ballet." - Remezcla

The Ballet Star And The Sports Psychologist

Yasmine Naghdi, a principal at London's Royal Ballet, was cast as the lead in Swan Lake (complete with the 32 fouettés) for a performance to be simulcast to cinemas around the globe, and she could feel herself freaking out and self-sabotaging. So she turned to sports psychologist Britt Tajet-Foxell. - The Guardian

The Dance Equivalents Of Great Short Stories

"Audiences love big, stage-filling choreography with dramatic music and luscious dancing. But every once in a while, a short, spare dance packs a punch. And that’s what people remember when they walk out of the theater." Wendy Perron lists some of the greatest. - Dance Magazine

Bayadere Is Stuffed With Stereotypes. Should It Be Reinvented Or Put Away?

“As someone who’s interested in pushing the boundaries forward, we have to know what our past looks like and embody that. What do we really love about Bayadère? It’s the choreography to the music. So, we’ve kept it. We’ve made it better.” - JStor

After 40 Years, Urban Bush Women Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Bids Her Company Farewell

"In 2019, she handed over the role of artistic director ... to two company members, Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis. And (this weekend), she will debut what she has said is her final work for the troupe, Scat! … The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar." - The New York Times

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');