“Stopping at sites including the Harriet Tubman Memorial and the former Lenox Lounge — now a Wells Fargo — the 16-part ritual tells the story of a tribe fighting for its freedom with the help of Libra, a time-traveling descendant of Tubman who flies in from the future. As it progresses, the work grows more interactive; at Amsterdam Avenue, for instance, audience members write their hopes on slips of fabric and attach them to a sprawling ‘dream net.'” – The New York Times
Category: dance
Without Warning, Britain’s NHS Closes Its Sole Dance Injury Clinic
“The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in north London, where it was based, … said it had planned to close the centre in 2020 as part of a wider plan to concentrate specialist services in fewer centres, but had accelerated the process following the resignation of the centre’s sole consultant.” – The Stage
Meet America’s Leading Trans Choreographer
“[Sean Dorsey] is an openly transgender choreographer and activist with a professional dance company that has been thriving for 15 years. His company is more in demand than ever. … His mission has always been to honor the lives and stories of the forgotten and censored LGBTQ and transgender elders before him.” – Forbes
Want To See A Ballet Company That’s Serious About Programming Female Choreographers? Go To Cincinnati
“56 percent of the works Cincinnati Ballet commissioned for the 2019-2020 season are created by women. Female choreographers will be featured in 71 percent of Cincinnati Ballet’s programs. [And] among the nation’s top 50 ballet companies, only 13 of the most prestigious full-length works are by women. Of those 13, two were commissioned by Cincinnati Ballet.” – The Cincinnati Enquirer
San Francisco Ballet Recruits Two Stars
“Longtime Boston Ballet star Misa Kuranaga will be joining the company as a principal dancer for the 2019-20 season, while Dutch National Ballet principal Sasha Mukhamedov will join as a soloist. They join a slew of newly promoted SFB principals and soloists, announced earlier this year.” – Pointe Magazine
Backstage With The Very Butch Boys Of The Bolshoi Ballet
“In Russia, that most macho of societies, male ballet has never been a sniggering joke about guys in tights. There is no finer expression of manly patriotism than to dance, especially for the Bolshoi.” Reporter Janice Turner goes to the theatre to watch the company’s men rehearse (what else?) Spartacus. – The Times (UK)
At This Ballet School, They Are Empowering Their Students With Important Life Skills
“The after-school program at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet in South Miami … provides ballet, reading, math and etiquette classes along with access to mental health professionals. The program delivers professionally taught dance classes in multiple genres, at little or no cost to 500 students ages 5-11.” – Miami Herald
Again, Sergei Polunin Tries, And Fails, To Explain His Way Out Of The Doghouse
He told Italy’s Corriere della sera, “Men must get up and rediscover the force to assume responsibility, whether they are gay or straight, and not become lazy. If women start to think that they can do without men, then they lose their purpose in life.” (And there’s more.) – Gramilano (Milan)
Why Is There Still A Stigma About Males Dancing?
Data compiled by Doug Risner, a professor of dance at Wayne State University in Detroit, shows that only 32 percent of male dancers have fathers who support their desire to dance. Typically, American dads only want their sons to be athletic on the sports field. Adding music and ballet technique—or tap dancing, contemporary movement, ballroom or jazz steps—to physicality somehow makes that pursuit unforgivably girlish. – Dance Magazine
Pilobolus: A Shadow Of Itself?
Brian Seibert: “It all feels, in the end, like what it is: a late-generation copy. After a five-year absence, the fungus is still alive but not showing many signs of growth. ” – The New York Times