Category: dance

The Nutcracker, which is the source of much funding for ballet companies across the Western world and especially in the U.S., is a huge tradition – and one that, increasingly, audiences are finding disturbing. So ballet companies are making changes for this year’s and future productions. “On Friday, the Kansas City Ballet announced the company has signed on to a national campaign called Final Bow for Yellowface, a pledge to remove outdated caricatures.” – KCUR

Last week in Montreal was the annual conference of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. Kathleen McGuire was there’s and she brings news of nine interesting pieces of research presented there, answering questions from “What effect does training load have on injury?” to “How does perfectionism play out in dance?” and “Do padded socks work?” – Dance Magazine

Paul “liked watching the dancer figure it out. He liked giving you a challenge or an obstacle or a directive and then sitting back and seeing what you would do with it. He was also famous for giving you two notes that contradicted each other. Like “I want you to crawl slower but get off faster.” For him, there was something in the spirit of the try, the spirit of the effort. I intend on keeping that.” – The New York Times

Of course, age creates physical limitations. But there is artistry in their dancing and musicality, in the way they hang a fraction behind the beat to create the lilting sensation of floating. It’s soulful. By the end of their sessions, which do involve breaks — cookies and coffee are essential for recharging the body — they seem to transform into lighter, younger versions of themselves. – The New York Times

“A Chorus Line” is the ultimate ensemble musical, a compilation of autobiographical material about the emotional travails and aspirations of Broadway dancers, as they audition for spots in the singing and dancing chorus of a new musical. – Washington Post

Ever since Michael Smuin founded Smuin Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco in 1994, the company has had to scrounge rented studio space as it could, sometimes even ending rehearsals so that children’s classes could use the space. Now, at last, they own their own building — in a former ballroom that was spotted by a former company dancer who became a real estate agent. – The San Francisco Chronicle

“Indeed, the world’s love of flamenco has long created problems within Spain, where the performance was once considered a vulgar and pornographic spectacle. Over the years, many Spaniards considered flamenco a scourge of their nation, deploring it as an entertainment that lulled the masses into stupefaction and hampered Spain’s progress toward modernity. Flamenco’s shifting fortunes show how Spain’s complex national identity continues to evolve to this day.” – Zócalo Public Square

“That question took us on a journey from Appalachian front porches, to dance classes across our nation, to the halls of Congress, and finally a Kansas City convention center. And along the way, we uncovered a secret history of square dancing that made us see how much of our national identity we could stuff into that square, and what it means for a dance to be of the people, by the people, and for the people.” (audio) – Radiolab

A spokesman for the University of South Wales said “projected recruitment figures for the degree mean that we will not have enough students in future to be able to continue to provide a high quality education”. – The Stage

Jacques d’Amboise started the nonprofit organization while he was a principal dancer at New York City Ballet to expose children to what he feels is the transformational power of dance. Today 6,500 children in New York City participate in N.D.I. school programs each year. The N.D.I. Collaborative teaching program will offer on-site intensive training and professional workshops to teaching artists, dancers and classroom teachers at the institute’s Harlem headquarters. It will also provide consulting services to other dance education organizations. – The New York Times