Category: dance

“‘We have been living our lives exactly as if nothing has happened,’ [said] Surupa Sen, Nrityagram’s artistic director of 23 years. … [The village] continues to be what it always has been, but more so: a dance haven, self-contained and single-minded in its focus, at a remove from a chaotic and sometimes frightening world. … For this piece, we asked the dancers to document their day, from dawn to dusk, capturing moments and places with disposable cameras.” – The New York Times

Following a manifesto signed by nearly one-fourth of its employees, the world’s oldest ballet company, and perhaps its most tradition-bound, has invited a pair of outside experts to write a report and make recommendations about matters onstage (eliminating blackface, dying tights to match dancers’ skin tones, reworking the traditional ballets blancs that use only white tutus) and off. – France 24 (AFP)

Jérôme Bel has been impressed with the activist streak of younger artists. “They want to work without travelling the globe in the way my generation did,” he says. “The dance community is going through drastic change right now. It’s for us to adjust in order to remain in sync with a world in need of transformation.” – The Guardian

“Regardless of who it is that you’re watching dance, whether they’re doing a classical ballet or a hip hop piece or a post-modern piece, who you are watching on stage is already a political statement, and it’s an artistic statement and those things are not mutually exclusive because we’re working with human bodies.” – KPBS

“The Joffrey said that the decision, sparked by the COVID-19 crisis, will cost the non-profit institution in excess of $9 million at the box office. … [The company] also announced a new virtual programming initiative, the Joffrey Studio Series, … [and] said it was beginning a new ’25 for 25,’ a year-long series of ‘free performances, programs, and partnerships with peer organizations’ from around the city, celebrating 25 years since the company arrived in Chicago.” – Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)

In which Sejal Shah reconnects with Rathna Kumar, with whom she took master classes in South Indian dance three decades ago, and joins “Vintage Kuchipudi Divas,” Kumar’s WhatsApp group for middle-aged former students who take video dance classes together every week. – The Guardian

“Departing her post as a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, she embarked on a multifaceted, bicontinental career as ballet master and principal dancer at Dresden Semperoper Ballett, and artistic advisor and school director at Ballet San Antonio — and then COVID-19 hit, sidelining performances and administrative plans at both companies. But ballet dancers are nothing if not resilient. In her new leadership roles, Sylve is determined to help shepherd ballet through this challenging time — and transform it for the better.” – Pointe Magazine

In 2018, after now-former City Ballet principal Chase Finlay sent nude images of his ex-girlfriend, Alexandra Waterbury, to two of his colleagues, Waterbury sued all three men as well as the company and its ballet school, where she had previously been a student. The judge on the case has now dismissed all claims against the company, the school, and the other two dancers as well as six of Waterbury’s seven claims against Finlay, allowing to proceed only the charge that Finlay violated “a city administrative code prohibiting unlawful disclosure of an intimate image.” – The New York Times

Such viewing from afar, once rare in concert dance, has become ordinary. But where most such performances these days are free and prerecorded, this one was ticketed and livestreamed. If you missed the show, you couldn’t catch it later, so it had immediacy. But, unlike most livestreams, this was not a static recording or a glitchy presentation over Zoom. Watching it felt more like watching a movie, immersive and absorbing, yet easily the most technically sophisticated live dance production I’ve seen since theaters closed. – The New York Times

To watch them, you have to subscribe to BalletX Beyond, which also gives you access to premieres later in the season, along with extras like interviews and making-of documentaries. The cheapest plan is $15 a month — less than a ticket to a live show but almost as much as premium Netflix. It’s a necessary experiment, especially for companies without huge endowments. Somebody has to figure out how to get people to pay for digital dance. – The New York Times