Category: dance

“The complaint was filed on behalf of Alexandra Waterbury, against NYC Ballet and her former boyfriend Chase Finlay, and alleges … [that a] ‘fraternity-like atmosphere’ … led [him] to share naked pictures and videos of her in intimate situations with fellow dancers, NYC Ballet employees and donors.”

“This month, Naharin, 66, will transition from artistic director to house choreographer, handing the management reins to Gili Navot, a former dancer with the company. … Navot comes to the position as a longtime member of the Batsheva family, having performed with the troupe for nearly a decade, from 1999 to 2008, before serving as rehearsal director and as a senior Gaga instructor — teaching both that method and Naharin’s work at companies around the world.”

“An idea hits me and I think, Oh, that’s cool. I usually don’t follow it when it first happens. And then it will recur and recur, over and over again. It gets to the point of obsession. Making a dance will help me process it, think about it on multiple levels … Then I have to ‘get rid of it,’ which means incorporating it into my everyday existence. Then it stops being disruptive.”

Canadian choreographer Pite, Miami City Ballet artistic director Lopez, African-American choreographer Brown, and longtime Paul Taylor Dance Company stalwart Trusnovec are this year’s honorees, and the magazine has added a special Leadership Award for Redden, longtime director of both Spoleto Festival USA and the now-discontinued Lincoln Center Festival.

The increase in activity is exciting, but as more and more dance residencies and presenters crop up, some of the people in charge have begun to express concerns about overcrowding even as they float dreams of synergy. Will the competition for financial support and audiences be zero sum? Or might the influx be beneficial to all, turning the region into a cultural destination, like the Berkshires?

The Paul Taylor Foundation’s new artistic director, Michael Novak, and executive director John Tomlinson tell reporter Colin Moynihan about some of the measures the choreographer took in the year before he died and some of the particular plans they have to preserve both Taylor’s dances and his company.

“The dancers themselves meticulously organize these tours. They are in charge of fielding requests aligning schedules and flight itineraries, securing their own costumes and music, and then rehearsing for their guest roles — sometimes with an entirely new partner.” Meryl Cates talks to several of them, including such stars as Sara Mearns, about everything that goes into planning the tours and what makes them rewarding.

“We have to acknowledge that culture does change. It will affect how we present the Taylor canon. How do we take Paul’s work and curate it in a way that will serve its audience? Look at New York City Ballet and how they present Balanchine’s legacy. Balanchine created a range of works that need to be coached differently, and I see a lot of analogies to Paul’s work.”

“Today, the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have upended the public conversation about women’s issues around the world … Have these women’s empowerment movements extinguished the sexism and male patriarchy that women in tap have had to endure? [We] spoke to three stellar women in tap to get their take on the issue.”

Adi Boutros: “In my previous works, there was a text. But at some point I understood that I didn’t need to talk about it, but to experience and investigate it with the body. The body is a tool that has knowledge, and it also knows how to reflect this. All I had to do was investigate the body, and when I investigated it, my real identity got expressed.”