Category: dance

The male-female binary is built into the formalized structures of dance at just about every level, from the very beginning of training through the conventions of professional-level choreography and even down to dancewear. As alienating as that can be, non-binary dancers find ways to make room for themselves. – Dance Spirit

“The internet may be exploding with resources for virtual classes, from top dancers teaching barre to free warm-ups courtesy of the Merce Cunningham Foundation, but in academia, teachers face many restraints. Copyright laws, federal privacy regulations, varying tech platforms and grading rubrics all make teaching dance online a challenge.” – Dance Magazine

“In this time of confinement, we have been given one immeasurable gift — the freedom to go outside. In exchange, we must abide by a simple rule: Stay six feet away from others. As choreographic intentions go, that’s not remotely vague. Yet during my runs and walks in Brooklyn over the past few days, I’ve noticed that six feet doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody.” Gia Kourlas looks at how (and why) social distancing plays out as it does — and gives instructions to the more oblivious among us. – The New York Times

In addition to calling off all events in the June 24-August 30 festival, Jacob’s Pillow administration is making staffing and salary cuts. However, said director Pamela Tatge, “[if] people are able to congregate again in August, we will make every effort to try to bring audiences together in keeping with the public safety guidelines in effect at that time.” – The Berkshire Eagle

Sharon Stern was a vivacious, popular, hard-working actor when she enrolled in the MFA program at America’s first Buddhist university. There she met Butoh master Katsura Kan and became his ferociously devoted disciple. That ferocity of devotion — to her teacher, to the art form and the idea of loss of self behind it — concerned her parents, her friends, and ultimately Kan himself. When Stern killed herself, her parents blamed Kan and sued him for wrongful death. – The New Yorker

The ballet says that, “We also recognized that while many of our dancers have made their homes here in Sarasota, and others would be able to easily return to their home states/countries, many of the Company were not going to be so lucky. With our dancers from countries like Italy, who are unable to return to their families, we have assured them that we will help in whatever ways we can.” They expect to lose around $800,000. – Ballet News

There’s no touring, no practicing for Coachella, no videos filming. There’s nothing. “As the entertainment business comes to a halt, commercial dancers and choreographers — the performers who animate film, TV and music videos — said the experience has been surreal and stressful.” – Los Angeles

Tuany Nascimento grew up in Complexo do Alemão, a poor and often dangerous group of hillside slums in Rio de Janeiro. She studied dance with hopes of becoming a professional ballerina, a dream she gave up in order to help support her family with a day job. But she kept dancing when she could, and enough neighborhood girls became curious that she started her own school, called Na Ponta dos Pes (meaning on pointe). (video) – Al Jazeera

“The employees who are to be paid and receive benefits through the dark season include the dancers, musicians, stagehands, costume designers, security personnel, ushers and administrators. … For now, their payment schedule is the same as it would have been without the pandemic: They will be paid until the end of the spring season, and then will face a short layoff.” – The New York Times

“So am I a dancer? The short answer is no. And people find this answer surprising. Many expect a dance writer to dance, despite not having the same expectations of other fields. For instance, most food critics are not chefs, and most film critics are not actors or directors.” – Broad Street Review