Category: dance

The next day, back home in Brooklyn, I watched the livestream of the Saturday evening show, curious about the difference. In truth, the virtual experience was in some ways an improvement. The frame of the camera, like the arch of a proscenium stage, brought a focus and a sense of proportion to the choreography that it had lacked outdoors. “Natural History,” I thought, is a theater dance without a theater. – The New York Times

Is it the community, the special bonds developed from years of rehearsals and auditions and performances? Is there something to be said for the pure athletic exertion of dance and the endorphins brought forth by exercise? Or does dance transcend other activities and provide us with a deeper connection to our own humanity? – Dance Magazine

“So what happens when there’s no ice and the rinks are closed? During the coronavirus pandemic, the figure skaters of Ice Theater of New York have found their flow by trading ice for concrete and blades for wheels. They’ve taken to the streets — and parks and playgrounds and basketball courts — with inline skates.” Gia Kourlas reports. – The New York Times

“The report spoke of failures in school leadership and oversight. While it did not describe individual incidents, it said physical and psychological abuse had been taking place for years without consequences. Current and former students spoke of ‘lots of drilling and physical stress’ including beatings, verbal attacks and humiliation by instructors. The expert commission demanded the SBB be fundamentally reformed and democratized.” – Deutsche Welle

“An Obie Award-winning director and founding member of the 1960s collective Judson Dance Theater, [he] may not grasp the ins and outs of TikTok, but it seems as though he’s been preparing for digital dance … his entire career.” Gia Kourlas talks with Gordon about The Philadelphia Matter — 1972/2020, a video collage, commissioned for this year’s virtual Philly Fringe festival, of 30-odd Philadelphia dancers performing various segments from three of his works from the 1970s. – The New York Times

“A Hindu rights activist based in Nevada is accusing the Houston Ballet of cultural insensitivity and is urging it to cancel its upcoming performances of La Bayadère, scheduled for February, saying the ballet set in India ‘trivializes Eastern religious and other traditions.'” (Of course, as the company’s executive director observed, thanks to the coronavirus, it’s still not entirely certain that the run will even happen.) – Houston Press

“Virtual rehearsals had been running for five weeks when [company members] got the news: Colorado Ballet’s PPP loan had run out, and [all] of Colorado Ballet’s dancers were being furloughed.” – Denverite

“[Multiple announcements of closures] paint a picture of a dance landscape in crisis. Without dance studios, professionals lose their places to train or work out new art before it appears to the masses. And amateurs lose their go-to outlet for creative expression or alternative to boring workouts.” – Los Angeles Times

“Whether the Juba or stepping, social dance has always been a big component of Ms. Brown’s choreography. … When the pandemic hit, … like many other dancers and choreographers, she turned to Instagram, where she has created a virtual version of a school she never attended, one in which social dance is the foundation from which everything else flows.” – The New York Times

Beyond navigating COVID-19, Ms. Jaffe has big ideas for PBT and its growing school. She wants more diversity in choreography, more collaborations with museums and other institutions and someday, perhaps a choreographic festival in Pittsburgh. In regards to the PBT School, additional satellite locations are being considered as a way to bring ballet into more communities. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette