Category: dance

Gina Gibney’s ever-expanding organization already operates two buildings (which include five theaters, 23 studios, a conference room and a media lab), a six-member dance company, and several performance-and-social-justice projects. Now a $2 million grant will support doubling the number of company dancers, forming what Ms. Gibney hopes will become a troupe on the lines of Nederlands Dans Theater and Ballet BC. – The New York Times

“Paris Opera has lost more than 12 million euros ($13.3 million) in a month-long strike by ballet dancers fighting to cling onto pension rights that date back to [King] Louis XIV. … While the opera has seen plenty of strikes by stagehands, it is almost unheard of to have dancers downing tutus. Their decision to take to the streets for the first time in the opera’s 350-year existence made international headlines.” – Yahoo! (AFP)

It’s true that dance history is particularly hard to preserve, and the desire to stay true to a choreographer’s original intention when restaging their work is a valid one. But treating these works like museum pieces can backfire. In the effort to stay painstakingly authentic to an original artist’s work, are we missing some of the spark that made it so exciting when it premiered, and losing the element that made it a classic in the first place? Are we preventing these works from resonating with new audiences? – Dance Magazine

Two 24-year-old monks have founded a breakdancing troupe that, they think, may bring Buddhism to other young people. “Break dancing has spread around the world due to its nature of getting everyone — regardless of race, age or gender — excited. … The duo came to think that Buddhist teachings and dancing share the same philosophy of peace and equality.” – Toronto Star (The Japan News)

Says one artistic director, “Addressing this issue can’t happen by simply replacing white bodies with those of color. ‘The storylines have to change,’ Vilaro says, noting that some narratives told onstage still uphold the stereotypical racial tropes.” That means new works, new narratives, and company-wide discussions about tough topics. – Dance Magazine

Uri Sands, who founded the St. Paul-based TU Dance in 2004 with his spouse, Toni Pierce-Sands (both are former Ailey dancers), after “a lawsuit was served on a member of the company’s board in October, alleging sexual misconduct by Sands involving a female employee between 2015 and 2017. The lawsuit also alleged negligent supervision of Sands by the company.” – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“I like it when the dancing doesn’t fall into the easy thing, the cliché, but gives off a whiff of humanity in a new way. This list is limited by what I happened to see this year. These are the (admittedly New York–centric) performances that have left me with that kind of imprint.” – Wendy Perron

Chipaul and Mille Cao, who grew up as members of wartime Vietnam’s ethnic Chinese minority, met at a dance party just six months before the Communist takeover of the entire country; they fled separately and were apart for years. They ultimately reunited in Southern California, married, and took up competitive ballroom dancing — and now a 20-minute film about them, Walk Run Cha Cha, has made the shortlist for the Best Documentary Short Oscar. – Los Angeles Times

He was fired, and, to his knowledge, nothing was done to protect the kids from the abuse he saw. The dance company didn’t have an HR team, for one thing. All of this brings up many questions that dancers need to consider: “What protocols are in place to protect dancers at companies that are too small to have a human resources department. Even beyond issues of abuse, how should dancers voice concerns about more routine dysfunction, like late paychecks or unsafe working conditions?” – Dance Magazine