The dance itself, and Irish dance in general, is obviously older – but it débuted as an interval act at Eurovision, and its appeal has never gone away. Its newest star says, “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was a tiny little girl. I wasn’t even born yet when Riverdance began.” – BBC
Category: dance
Nearly 100 Luminaries Sign Letter Threatening Boycott Over Ballet Director’s Firing — But Some Of Them Say They Never Agreed To Sign
The open letter, published in the French newspaper Libération and originated by choreographer Maguy Marin and theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine, threatens to withhold rights to all signatories’ work from the Lyon Opera Ballet unless it reinstates ousted director Yorgos Loukos. But several individuals whose names are on the letter, including choreographers William Forsythe and Benjamin Millepied and former Paris Opera Ballet director Brigitte Lefèvre, say they did not agree to sign it. (This, by the way, is the second scandal Libération has been involved with this month.) – The New York Times
How A Co-Founder Of Black Lives Matter Uses Dance For Change
“I’m trying to have a bigger conversation about social conditions, and sometimes I’m having that conversation in a really pensive, sort of introspective kind of performance. And then sometimes it’s really extroverted—like, let’s get up and dance together.” – Artsnet
Why The U.S. Department Of Defense Is Interested In Dancing Robots
The now-famous video of Spot the Robot dancing to “Uptown Funk” was created (as was Spot) by a contractor for DARPA searching for new ways to make robots useful to the military. “Considering the military applications of dance and choreography may seem peculiar, but there is abundant history to examine here.” – Dance Magazine
The Rise Of Queer Tango In Buenos Aires Makes Perfect Sense
“Tango first emerged on the outskirts of the city, as the perfect poetic and musical medium for the outcast and marginalized to tell their stories. With this in mind, perhaps queer tango is just a new way of living up to the dance’s traditional roots.” – Atlas Obscura
Amar Ramasar Is Not Leaving Broadway’s ‘West Side Story’. Neither Are The Protesters Who Want Him Fired
Ramasar, who was sacked from, and later rehired by, New York City Ballet following his role in the nude photo-sharing scandal at the company, is playing Bernardo in the new production by Ivo van Hove. Protesters at the theatre most nights, and their fellows on social media, want West Side Story‘s producers to fire Ramasar and for audience members to boo him; the producers say they’re not going to discipline him for an incident that happened somewhere else two years ago. Neither side seems inclined to budge. – The New York Times
One Of Britain’s Top Dance Companies, Tired Of The Money Struggle, Gives Up And Packs It In
Marina Harss: “Imagine if one of America’s most respected modern-dance companies realized that its funding model was no longer sustainable and had to cease operations. This despite having name recognition and a highly identifiable style, and still regularly producing new work. That, in a nutshell, is what has happened to the Richard Alston Dance Company, in England.” – The New York Times
Learning Technology Through Dance
Dance as a basis for problem-solving is a growing field within psychology research. It underlies some of the theories behind dancing as therapy for people with Parkinson’s Disease, for example, but it has also been used to encourage creative thinking among school children. And it seems to work for STEM From Dance. Their programs’ participants reported feeling more confident about STEM courses, and some could even see themselves considering a career in the field. – Forbes
La Scala Ballet’s New Director: Manuel Legris Of Vienna State Ballet
As rumor has had it for months, Legris, a 55-year-old former étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet who has been at the helm of the Vienna State Opera’s ballet company since 2010, will become ballet director at Milan’s opera house at the end of this year. – Gramilano (Milan)
New Director Is Making Britain’s Oldest Dance Company Hot Again
The mission of Benoit Swan Pouffer, formerly artistic director of the now-closed Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and now at the helm of Rambert, “is to reinvigorate a repertory company founded in 1926, and he is well on track.” – Dance Magazine