“It took five years of active persuading, plus nearly two decades of water under the proverbial bridge, before choreographer Donald Byrd finally agreed to resurrect The Harlem Nutcracker. Instantly loved after its 1996 New York premiere, his Nutcracker was financially doomed by 2001 — and left some scars on its way out.” But this year, firmly ensconced at Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater, Byrd is at last ready to return to it. – The Seattle Times
Category: dance
Kyle Marshall On Dancing The Abstract Work Of Trisha Brown While Creating His Own Explorations Of Religion And Race
A Q&A with Gia Kourlas “about examining his religious upbringing, performing the dances of a postmodern master while choreographing his own works and developing a close-knit dance family.” – The New York Times
This High-Stress Competition Is The Only Way To Get Promoted At The Paris Opera Ballet
“Welcome to POB’s annual ‘concours de promotion,’ or competitive promotional exam. In a company that employs 154 dancers, it is the only way to climb the ranks. Outsiders are often baffled by this system because it is so different from how other companies promote their dancers. This year, Pointe was invited to take an inside look at this high-stakes event and spoke with two of the 14 dancers awarded promotions that go into effect in January 2020.” – Pointe Magazine
The Outsized Role Instagram Is Playing In Dance
Dancers who are already stars in their field, like American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside, have had their photos liked, commented on, and reposted by A-listers like Jennifer Garner and Sarah Jessica Parker. And today, SJP’s simple “like” carries far more cultural cachet than if she were, say, to catch a matinee performance of Giselle. Why? Because that appearance on SJP’s personal feed means that some Sex and the City fan (or, if you’d rather, The Family Stone fan), who has never seen so much as a pirouette, is suddenly introduced to the art form, with a trusted endorsement to boot. – The Observer
The First Gay Dance Company In Cambodia [VIDEO]
Khmer dance has ancient Buddhist, Hindu, and animist roots – and though it’s mostly performed by all female groups today, it used to be performed both by men and by women. Now, Prumsodun Ok wants to revive the male dances and to provide a means of expression for gay dancers. – BBC
Can Dance Make a More Just America? Donald Byrd Is Working on It
“The choreographer’s commitment to dance as a catalyst for social change can be seen at a museum show in Seattle and in a new work for the Alvin Ailey company.” – The New York Times
The English National Ballet Has Severed Ties With Prince Andrew
This seems like a pretty solid idea for a company that has a lot of young women involved. And, of course, “earlier this week the duke announced he would be not be undertaking public duties ‘for the foreseeable future,’ following a widely criticised television interview about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” – The Stage (UK)
Employee Steals Nearly $800,000 From DC-Area Ballet Academy
Listen, a ballet school with an extra $800,000? We don’t think so. Not surprisingly, the woman – hired to handle the accounts of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon-founded Kirov Ballet Academy in DC – was caught. – NBC Washington
How Are European Companies Dealing With The Racial Caricatures In Classic Ballets?
American companies have been looking hard at this problem in the past few years, especially in the annual cash cow that is Nutcracker. With ballet becoming ever more internationalized — “a performance in Moscow can be beamed to a cinema in Massachusetts” — Lyndsey Winship has a look at how dancers and choreographers in London, Paris, Moscow, and Monte Carlo are approaching the issue, from Nutcracker to the Indian temple of La Bayadère and the Ottoman pirate ship of Le Corsaire to the blackface Moor in Petrushka. – The Guardian
Using Dance As Therapy And Educational Tool For Children With Autism
“As soon as James Griffin gets off the school bus he tells his mom, ‘Go dance, go dance.’ James is 14 and has autism, and his speech is limited. He’s a participant in a program for children on the autism spectrum at the University of Delaware that is studying how dance affects behavior and verbal, social and motor skills.” – The New York Times