Category: dance

“As a cultural phenomenon, Riverdance has been closely parsed from top to bottom, hailed by some as an expression of a confidently globe-conquering new Ireland, dismissed by others as a pile of Celtic clichés. What has been ignored, however, is the gargantuan financial muscle that promises to make Riverdance the country’s biggest cultural export. The three Riverdance shows touring the world, along with their myriad merchandising spin-offs, have grossed an estimated £½ billion to date.” – The Sunday Times

“Dancers are flocking to classes in a number of ‘body therapies’ or holistic systems that explore different ways of moving effortlessly and efficiently. Many of them started as a response to performance strain and injury. But now ‘release technique’ has begun to fuel an aesthetic shift that could be the next great swerve for modern and postmodern dance.” – Los Angeles Times

Shutting down the venerable Martha Graham Dance Company a few weeks ago was only another example of the difficult time dance is having in America. Everywhere dance companies are floundering. – Cleveland Plain Dealer

Just days after a 15-year British study and a controversial new book were released both alleging that young ballet dancers’ training promotes eating disorders, the mother of former Boston Ballet dancer Heidi Guenther has filed a lawsuit against the company and its artistic director for being “recklessly and grossly negligent” in asking Guenther to lose weight to join the corps de ballet. Guenther died of anorexia nervosa in 1997 at age 22, weighing just 93 pounds. – National Post (Canada)

Filmmaker George Lucas has hired San Francisco choreographer Michael Smuin to choreograph scenes for the next “Star Wars” movie. “George envisioned the saber fight to be more dancelike this time,” said Smuin. “It took three people to accomplish this: a sword master, a Cirque du Soleil acrobat and a dancer with the Australia Ballet.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Tired of the administrative and financial burdens, twelve years ago Twyla Tharp dissolved her dance company and took to the road freelancing. Now she’s back with a new company. – New York Times

If you thought things were bleak for the Martha Graham Company last month when it disbanded, they’re even worse now. “The company board has changed the locks on the warehouse where it keeps its costumes and scenery out of fear that its former artistic director would take them. That artistic director, Ron Protas, whom Graham herself chose to carry on her work, operates by cell phone from a location he refuses to reveal and is working to prevent the company from performing any of Graham’s dances.” – New York Times

New York City Ballet has invested heavily in its Diamond Project to create new works. That should be cause for celebration. “What I feel instead is a profound sense of futility, watching a company that, despite the richest resources and the most compelling reasons to maintain its former glory, cannot find a viable contemporary identity and is, instead, steadfastly marching down a path to nowhere.” –New York Magazine

American Ballet Theatre survived an uncommon number of injuries and produced a season of surprises. – New York Times

Deborah Bull, a principal dancer with London’s Royal Ballet, has publicly criticized the controversial new book “The Student Dancer” and pulled out of her planned involvement in its launch. The result of a 15-year study, the book claims young dancers are mentally and physically damaged by their intensive training and are commonly pressured to become anorexic. – The Independent