“A video advertisement for a clothing company [in Lahore] featuring women dancing in public to Beyoncé’s ‘Run The World (Girls)’ has sparked a backlash from both feminists and religious conservatives.”
Category: dance
The Ghostly Dance That Marks Each 9/11
The 9/11 Table of Silence Project by choreographer Jacqulyn Buglisi in collaboration with the Italian visual artist Rossella Vasta made its debut at Lincoln Center for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in 2011 and has returned each year since. The organizers call it “a public performance tribute to 9/11 and prayer for peace and healing.”
At City Ballet, Young Women Make The Leap From Ballerina To Choreographer
“I like the stuff that happens when I’m at that mental-empty place. That’s so cool, because in already a short amount of time, I’m learning to trust myself. It’s empowering. It’s because when you do something scary, you get stronger. Always.”
Can Dancing Make You A Better Person?
“The evidence suggests that training in the physical expressions made the dancers more sensitive to them. And this indicates an interesting possibility, that the neurocognitive mechanisms that make people more sensitive can be trained.”
Seven Stars Remember Their Mid-Dance Disasters
“Darcey Bussell was very friendly with the floor in rehearsals. Kevin Clifton’s Thriller-style tango tanked on live TV. And Thomas Whitehead got trapped in his ballerina’s underwear.” (And that ballerina was – uh-oh – Sylvie Guillem.)
Brian Eno Denies Permission For Israeli Dance Company To Use His Music
“Eno, a prominent supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign aimed at Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, wrote to the dance company last month to deny them permission to use his music. Eno is also one of 1,200 artists who have signed the Artists’ Pledge for Palestine, refusing funding from or cultural contacts with Israel’s government.”
American Dance Institute Rebrands Itself As Lumberyard (Lumberyard?)
After closing its dance school in order to focus on developing and presenting new choreography and moving from metro D.C. to New York, the organization is preparing to open a four-building performance and residency center – called Lumberyard (hence the new name) – in Catskill, New York in 2018.
Nacho Duato Out, Sasha Waltz In At Staatsballett Berlin
“Nacho Duato is on the move again. After two years as artistic director of Staatsballett Berlin, Duato has announced that he will be handing his post over to a co-directing team of choreographer Sasha Waltz and Johannes Öhman, who is currently artistic director at Royal Swedish Ballet.”
Ballerinas, Here Are Some Tips About Partnering From The Guys Doing the Lifting
“Communication is key – but there are also some mistakes that your counterpart may not think to mention.” Here are half a dozen of them.
Six Months On, Benjamin Millepied Talks About His Stormy Tenure At The Paris Opera Ballet
“I hadn’t accepted this assignment for the prestige, but to bring about long-term change. I realize that things could not happen as I envisaged. … Although I regret that the adventure did not last longer, it could not end otherwise.” In an extended Q&A, the now-former artistic director of the world’s oldest and most august ballet company talks about what he found frustrating – and what frustrated others about him. (in French; Google Translate version here)