Category: dance

“Dance curators do a lot more than program a season. They spot raw talent, develop and shape careers, identify trends and create context around what they are presenting. But what does it take to get into this kind of wide-ranging work — and what do curators actually do on a daily basis?” Three of them tell us. – Dance Magazine

The recently interrupted tours, canceled premieres, locked studios and social distancing requirements have hit the financially fragile, socially enmeshed dance world hard. When your life revolves around lifting, leaping, catching, jumping and otherwise spending time (often literally joined at the hip) with your dance partners, how do you deal with solitary confinement? – Washington Post

Brian Seibert: “She calls it Passing and Jostling While Being Confined to a Small Apartment. It’s a dance history exercise [for Seibert’s class at Yale], but it occurred to me that it might double as a diversion for people now cooped up at home; it’s something that anyone can attempt, carefully. Ms. Rainer agreed. So here I can present her first dance for the socially isolated.” – The New York Times

The move comes after an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Scarlett, who had been artist-in-residence, with students at the Royal Ballet School. The company also said, in what seems a carefully worded statement, that “there were no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students.” – The Guardian

Debbie Allen, star and choreographer of Fame, has been hosting dance lessons and classes since Wednesday. “‘While all of us are dealing with this uncertainty and darkness, we will bring the light right here on the dance floor,’ she told her class which amassed to over 89,000 students, as she blasted Fame‘s titular song.” (And don’t forget about #QuaranTunes.) – The Hollywood Reporter

It seems all too obvious to compare flamenco virtuoso/a Manuel Liñán’s all-bio-male show Viva! to Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. But, writes Marina Harss, the dancing here is quite traditional, “less satire than declaration of love for flamenco, pure and simple.” – The New York Times

“The idea came from the dancer Miranda Quinn: The opening sequence of The Brady Bunch popped into her head. ‘How they’re all in little squares,’ she said. ‘That made me think of how we’re all being quarantined and are supposed to stay separate, but this was a way for all of us to still be dancing together and creating together even though we’re apart.'” – The New York Times

“We polled contributors from around the country to put together a very subjective and not at all comprehensive list.” In addition to Best Dance Theater Work and Best Dance Film, there are such categories as Best Story Ballet Remake, Most Exciting Reinvention of Neoclassicism, Most Satisfying Confusion, and Most Creative Use of Tables. – Dance Magazine

Marina Harss talks to four dancers from across the country about how they’re staying in shape and in touch despite being more or less trapped in their houses. – The New York Times

Garnet Henderson’s guide includes more than just obvious advice such as “keep three to six months’ worth of income in savings” (which, she acknowledges, is impossible for many dancers). One key point: be sure to save documentation of every gig you’ve lost because of the epidemic, because you’ll need it when you apply for aid. – Dance Magazine