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DANCE

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

Dance Data Project Looks At Gender Imbalance In Leadership Of Ballet Companies Worldwide

"This report examines the gender distribution of critical leadership positions including artistic directors, executive directors, assistant artistic directors, heads of schools, and artistic directors of second companies. DDP has also expanded to include rehearsal directors for the first time." - Dance Data Project

A Dance Dream Fulfilled

As Jawole Willa Jo Zollar fully lets go of the reins, 40 years after founding the dance troupe Urban Bush Women, she’s created one last work to serve as a sort of origin story for the group. - The New York Times

This Professionally Trained Ballerina And Scientist Uses Dance To Teach

To teach … about food safety, that is. “Science and art have several things in common,” says Eleonora Moratto, “and specifically ballet and science have storytelling.” - BBC

“Just What Ballet Is Right Now Has Become Confusing”: Gia Kourlas

"Its branches seem to be growing at different speeds with different textures. Some are thick and sturdy, while others are wispy, frizzled at the ends. It sometimes seems as if live performances are just extensions of TikTok." - The New York Times

Consider The Physics Of Breakdancing

The dancers competing at the Olympics in Paris this summer may not know the theoretical physics or mathematics on which their moves depend, but they have a thorough, intuitive understanding of friction, inertia, linear momentum, angular momentum, torque, and axes of rotation. - The Conversation

Puerto Rico Considers A Law Regulating Professional Dancing, And Some Dancers Are Very Worried

"PC2170 would make dancers pay a fee to receive a certification and be able to practice professionally. Its purpose is to make dance a more legitimate profession and improve the working conditions of dancers, who have struggled with unfair wages and poor working conditions." Not everyone is convinced. - Remezcla

Reviving London City Ballet, 28 Years After It Closed

Christopher Marney "wants a company of dancers that reflect the present: a diverse lineup in age, ethnicity, experience and body type, and … an environment that treats dancers like grownups. (Yet) it’s a company that’s staying connected to the past, with a specific remit to revive forgotten gems by genius choreographers." - The Guardian

Oregon Ballet Theatre Has A Record Season At The Box Office

I think that we have adjusted some of our programmatic models. You know, some of the data had been showing us that post-pandemic audiences have been really attracted to going to shows that are recognizable, that they know, that are the classics. - Oregon Public Broadcasting

What Next For American Ballet Theatre?

Susan Jaffe has some ideas, some plans, and some hopes. But “the challenges facing Ballet Theater, which begins its summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House this month, are daunting. Costs are rising, donations have declined and audience habits are rapidly shifting." - The New York Times

Here’s Benjamin Millepied’s First Big Event With His Paris Dance Project

"The Paris Dance Project, which Millepied formed last year with Solenne du Haÿs Mascré, is not a dance company, but an organization that creates educational programs and accessible performances. La Ville Dansée ('the dancing city'), part of the Cultural Olympiad ..., is its biggest splash yet." - The New York Times

Paris Opera Ballet Is Creating A Junior Company

"Led by director of dance José Martinez, the inaugural ... cohort will include 18 dancers — 9 males and 9 females — ages 17 to 23. The paid contracts will be for two seasons, and they are open not just to current Paris Opéra Ballet School students but to dancers from all backgrounds." - Pointe Magazine

This Brave Choreographer Has Created The Fourth Movement Of “Jewels” That Balanchine Never Got Around To

Mr. B's initial plan for Jewels included, along with the now-standard "Emeralds," "Rubies," and "Diamonds," a section titled "Sapphires." Balanchine said he never finished "Sapphires" because the blue was too hard to get across onstage. Yet Lincoln Jones, director of American Contemporary Ballet, is giving it a try. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Meet The First-Ever Winner Of The $50,000 Knight Choreography Prize

Rosie Herrera, who founded her own company in Miami in 2009, will receive $30,000 in an unrestricted cash reward and $20,000 in programmatic support over two years. The prize, funded by the Knight Foundation, is administered by the National Center for Choreography-Akron. - Miami New Times

Exit Interview: Stoner Winslett On Her 44 Years As Artistic Director Of Virginia’s Richmond Ballet

"In the decades since she founded Richmond Ballet in 1980, she has grown the organization from a local troupe of 12 dancers with an operating budget of $164,000 to a 20-dancer-strong, internationally recognized company with a budget of just under $7 million." - Pointe Magazine

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