The renowned troupe “strongly encouraged” star dancer Ashley Bouder, 38, not to perform in its star-studded fall gala because of her “appearance,” Bouder posted this week on Instagram. “I have hit my proverbial wall,” Bouder wrote. She accused the company of longstanding “systemic” and “institutionalized” body-shaming. - New York Post
Plus, Jennifer Weber choreographed a Disney+ movie. "Dancers appreciate how Weber runs rehearsals — her clear authority, her directorial eye — but also how she allows them the freedom to be themselves." - The New York Times
"While I was in ballet training, I was often told that Black people did not have the physique, cultural interest or right hair type for classical ballet." So she founded her own dance school. - Metro (UK)
"After my amputation, it's kind of the same way. I don't look the same as other 21-year-olds my age, but I can still make my body look beautiful, I can still do the things that other kids do." - People
The dance festival's second stage was destroyed by a fire almost exactly two years ago. A lead grant of $10 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, plus insurance payouts and further donations, will fund a new $30 million theater to open in 2025. - The New York Times
"There's a lot of storytelling ability in dance, but in musical theater, people champion words first. And so many times as a dancer, you don't feel integral. You don't feel like you are helping the story really come around." So he created Only Gold. - MSN (The Washington Post)
"This Data Byte examines artistic & executive director reportable compensation increases (or decreases) in relation to the overall budget of the largest 50 U.S. ballet and classically inspired companies ... from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2020." - Dance Data Project
"It wasn't until ballet came into my life that I started to feel that I could be a person, a person in the world, like I could express myself. It was like I'd gone 13 years of my life without truly expressing what was inside of me or feeling comfortable in my skin. And it was ballet." - NPR
"His four previous works, each two or three years in the making, have combined dance, music and storytelling to preserve LGBTQ history and illuminate the past, drawing on archival research and oral histories. ... Now, for the first time, his dance is looking to the future." - San Francisco Chronicle
Imagine making a ballet of this: "The novels that constitute the MaddAddam trilogy are set in a world where genetic engineering has produced a variety of new creatures: raccoon-skunk hybrid pets; guard dogs who look sweetly domestic but are as ferocious as wolves; and supersized pigs." - The Globe and Mail
Xander Parish, a star at the Mariinsky Ballet, fled at the start of the war. Last weekend, he led Ukrainian and Russian ballet exiles in a performance. "I wanted to gather us all, to be able to reunite us in our love of dance," he said. - The Observer (UK)
Prescious Adams credits the time spent training in lockdown with giving her technique more clarity – “I think of my body as this geometrical puzzle; the physics of dance makes much more sense to me now” – and says the pandemic humanised the ballet world. - The Guardian
"When Kent arrived in Washington, she brought a radiant star power that was undeniable. ... While praise for Kent is uniform in the dance community, it's not clear that the company has always risen to her expectations, or that audiences have been able to grasp her vision." - Washington City Paper
Atwood says, "I just want to know how you are going to get around the giant blue penises." McGregor's only response (other than laughter) is "It's not a literal interpretation but a leap of faith." - Financial Times
Eileen Kramer started dancing professionally in 1939 and lived in India, Europe, and the US before returning to Australia at 99. She now lives in a care home and, due to balance issues, can only perform while seated, but her latest dance film was made this year. - The Sydney Morning Herald
