Category: dance

The announcement comes nearly 15 years after Kain assumed the creative reins in 2005 and 50 years after joining the company as a dancer in 1969. Kain commissioned and acquired 65 works for the company, and is directing and staging a new “Swan Lake” in June 2020. – Toronto Star

“The figures are still shocking in terms of people who don’t exercise or who are not aware of the reality that diet is actually extremely important,” she said. “If you want to have a future, you’ve got to provide for that now.” – The New York Times

The organization — which used to be called the American Dance Institute until it moved from Rockville, MD into a huge former lumberyard in Catskill, NY — lets dance artists spend one or two weeks at its specialized facility holding advanced technical rehearsals before a new work’s premiere. Lumberyard director Adrienne Willis says that “there hasn’t been a single artist who didn’t say that if they didn’t have this time at Lumberyard, this piece wouldn’t have happened.” But she’s having a very hard time getting funders to agree. – Dance Magazine

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s artistic director, Patricia Barker, “says she realized that a season devoted to women’s works shouldn’t be seen as a huge undertaking, but something that could and should be commonplace. ‘It’s just as easy to hire a female choreographer as a male one.'” – Pointe Magazine

“Touring with a message is not for the faint of heart. From considerations about how to market the work to concerns about safety, touring to cities where, in general, that message may not be so welcome requires companies to figure out how they’ll respond to opposition. Yet many artists find that venturing away from their typical audiences offers an unparalleled opportunity to raise awareness, spark conversations and, in the best cases, even change minds.” – Dance Magazine

Her dancers, she tells Marina Harss, “are very excited. I want to give them confidence, a sense of security and, above all, justice. I think there are dancers who haven’t had an opportunity to prove themselves. … They’re so young, so impatient, and if you don’t motivate them, they lose their drive. You have to know how to lead them, how to be just. There are roles for everyone. That way, the company will feel loved and cherished.” – Dance Magazine

“Ms. Abrera, 41, joined Ballet Theater in 1996. Five years later she was promoted from the corps de ballet to the rank of soloist. A serious injury in 2008 made further advancement difficult, but she fought her way back to health and was made a principal dancer in 2015. Ms. Abrera, who was promoted on the same day as Misty Copeland, became the company’s first Filipino-American principal.” – The New York Times

Neda Ulaby on the woman who shaped the course of ballet in the US and also, famously, in Cuba: “To this day, says American Ballet Theatre’s Kevin McKenzie, young ballet dancers who want to learn extraordinary techniques should do one thing – watch videos of Alicia Alonso.” – NPR

In Columbus, Ohio, ballerina Rachael Parini was the inspiration for a 90-foot billboard that advertises the BalletMet company, but it means more than that to her – it means that young dancers of color might be inspired to try, and stick with, ballet. – 10TV (Ohio)