Category: dance

It’s still difficult to be a male ballet dancer what with the social stigmas and stereotypes. But “in many ways, things look better than they did 15 or 20 years ago: New York’s School of American Ballet (SAB) and the school of the Dance Theatre of Harlem boast higher male student enrollment than ever before, and the number of gifted male dancers currently onstage indicates that more men are feeding into the pool, probably at younger ages.” – Village Voice

“Amalia Hernandez, the founder of Mexico’s Ballet Folklórico and a pioneer in the revival of traditional Mexican dance styles over the last 50 years, died Saturday at the age of 83.” – Dallas Morning News (AP)

Paul Taylor’s influence is felt throughout the dance world, and, at age 70, he’s still working strong. “Ultimately Taylor’s achievement is being 70 and still practising his art. While other dance groups fall victim to poverty and changes in fashion, the Paul Taylor Company has prospered since it was formed in 1955. Some of the dance world’s starriest names owe a debt to his extrovert style.” – The Guardian (London)

Eleven dancers are leaving the Australian Ballet. “It is known that among those departing are three of the eight senior artists and two of the three leading soloists.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Finally, maybe a plan to rescue the Martha Graham Dance Company, which went out of business in May. The company “is poised to reopen in temporary quarters as soon as January with a fresh infusion of private contributions and a promise of a $750,000 capital grant from the state senator from its home district. The state contribution comes with strings; the dance center cannot get the money unless it raises $750,000 in private donations for operating expenses. – New York Times

The National Ballet of Canada will lose only $165,000 this year, compared to the $1 million it lost last year. – National Post (Canada)

What happened to Anthony Tudor? He “made 57 ballets, four of them thought masterpieces by any lights, and a man whose worldwide influence on ballet is felt even today. So why, when you leaf through so many biographies and books, will you find Tudor given only the most clipped of mentions? For the older record-keepers of the art, Frederick Ashton is the good fairy at the birth of British ballet and Tudor the bad one.” – The Telegraph (London)

Why is ballet so expensive? In the wake of Cleveland San Jose Ballet’s death by red ink, the question needs to be raised. – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Crowds jam a performance by the Washington Ballet in Cuba. The performance is the first by an American dance company in decades. – Washington Post

“Inside and in front of Royce Hall, all the bottom-line strategies that once sent plenty of dance audiences and critics fleeing into the night reign again, newly revived and still as provocative as ever. Minimalism. Structuralism. Endless Repetition. Everyday Movement. Task-Oriented Choreography, Dances Anyone Can Do. And you know what? The simple honesty of this work looks awfully appealing compared to the desperate narcissism, salesmanship, emotional grandstanding and empty virtuosity of much Big Deal contemporary dance these days.” – Los Angeles Times