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DANCE

How The New York And California Wage Transparency Laws Will Affect The Dance World

"In the dance industry, where gigs are often underpaid or unpaid, and where most performers string together many opportunities over the course of a year, the lack of wage transparency can be particularly fraught."  (E.g., learning only after accepting a job that you won't be paid for rehearsals.) - Dance Magazine

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Artistic Director Announces His Departure

"André Lewis, 68, has been (at the company) for nearly 50 years, first as student, then as company dancer, then as artistic director and CEO. ... In the spring of 2025, Lewis will step down from his position at the RWB after nearly 30 years at its artistic helm." - Winnipeg Free Press

Four Promoted Dancers At City Ballet Signal A Change

The times are changing, with the youngest, and first Asian American woman principal, being 21, and the oldest a 32-year-old who said, "I’m freaking out ... I’ve worked my entire life to get here." - The New York Times

The Special Skills, And The Special Performers, You Need To Bring Back “Bob Fosse’s “Dancin'”

"There’s more to it than fishnet tights, bowler hats and thrusting hips. Fosse's dance language — subtle and internal — is fueled not just by physicality but by the intention behind it. .... Gwen Verdon used to say it was like putting a car in neutral while flooring the gas." - The New York Times

The Joyce, A Leading New York Dance Venue, Gets A Second Space

"The Joyce, which since 1982 has presented dance companies from all over the world at its home in Chelsea, has signed a yearlong lease on a multilevel building on East 10th Street that it hopes to purchase and operate permanently" as rehearsal and studio space. - The New York Times

In Washington State, Exotic Dancers Have To Pay To Perform. Here’s Why, And What May Fix It.

The Evergreen State forbids the sale of alcohol in strip clubs; without that revenue source, club owners instead charge the talent for access to the stage and take a big cut of tips.  A proposed law will allow the sale of liquor and institute legal protections for the dancers. - Crosscut (Seattle)

Cambodian Classical Dance On The Minnesota Prairie

"Founded by refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge regime, which sought to eradicate most religious institutions, (the Buddhist temple) Watt Munisotaram and its troupe hope that teaching young children sacred dance will strengthen their ties to both Buddhism and Cambodian traditions." - AP

Alvin Ailey Dance Turns 65

The troupe's third artistic director says it's been a real challenge during the past few years, and now is a time for joy and some experimentation. "We often have different generations of audience members at the same performance, and so everybody has something they can connect to." - NPR

The Energy Crunch In Europe Means Ballet In The Car Factory

"In a converted conference room on Thursday, the dancers honed their pliés and pirouettes, while row upon row of new cars could be seen in a distant lot through the ceiling-high windows, and workers passed by outside dressed in bright red coveralls." - NPR

The Girls Who Dance, And Gather Coal

"Before sunset, in the 110-square-mile mining region of Jharia in eastern India, an ensemble of girls dances near an opencast coal mine. Come sunrise, they'll be back at the mines for another reason: survival." - WSIU (Illinois)

Why So Many Choreographers Want To Set “The Rite Of Spring”

Since Nijinsky created the original in 1913, there have been, starting in 1920,  more than 150 different dance settings to Stravinsky's score.  Most follow the original scenario, but they draw on such varied genres and vocabularies as American modern dance, flamenco, bharatanatyam, and African dance.  - The Guardian

Rio’s First All-Female Samba School

"The community-tied music and dance clubs have always included women, commonly as seamstresses and dancers. They've played the schools' smaller instruments; Carnival queens lead processions in elaborate outfits. But rarely do women call the shots on finances, themes or even costumes."  Except, that is, at Turma da Paz de Madureira. - AP

The Critic-Hating, Dog-Poop-Smearing Choreographer Is Officially Fired

After the incident last Saturday in which Marco Goecke, enraged over a harsh review, smeared the face of critic Wiebke Hüster with the feces of his pet dachshund, the Hannover State Opera, where he directed the ballet company, has terminated his contract. - BBC

There’s A Company On Tour Pretending To Be The “Ukrainian National Ballet Of Odessa”

Said an official at the Ukrainian Embassy to Ireland, "Neither the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Odesa nor any of its dancers are involved in the impostor project called the Ukrainian National Ballet of Odessa." (Note the fake company's use of the city's Russian name.) - The Irish Times

Why We Still Need Classic Old Story Ballets

 “If it’s lasted more than fifty years, it’s for a good reason. Think Mozart, Beethoven or The Beatles, they’ve stayed with us for a long time." - BachTrack

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