Category: dance

Boxing and (especially) American football have long histories and devoted fans, but there’s more and more unease as awareness grows of the brain damage athletes in those sports can sustain. Since gymnastics became popular in the 1970s, “we know more … the sport’s history of sexual and emotional abuse, its amplifications of adolescent body-image problems, and its complicated coach-gymnast relationships. The sport’s obsessive focus on the body and self-presentation is like kerosene poured on the flame of female adolescent self-scrutiny.”

Incoming executive director Vanessa Logan’s goals include “joining the national touring circuit and expanding the group’s presence in Dallas … [as well as making TBT] a tier-one ballet company within the next 10 years. For that, the organization will have to reach an annual budget of at least $14 million.”

“I’ve had so many issues throughout my career finding the right support – even in something like finding leotards to fit a larger butt. … With the conversations that I’ve opened up, people are more open to expecting the different body types that exist. Also, if you go back to the 1930s and ’40s you’ll see these ballerinas that had really soft physiques – they didn’t have muscles, they weren’t six-feet-ten, and had big breasts.”

“Dancers interviewed on the condition of anonymity confide that weight gain can get them fired while thinness can help them advance. Even though the field has made progress, and has become more aware of the health risks of dieting, directors having ‘fat chats’ to tell dancers to slim down remains routine.” Says one corps member, “In shape for us is being hungry. Eat nothing and see how far you can go.”

“On the heels of a series of successful pop productions, [Alberta Ballet] was working for a second time with singer Joni Mitchell, working to stage a production based on her love songs.” But an artistic disagreement with Mitchell and the consequent cancellation “cost [the company] about a million dollars … in single ticket sales that were budgeted for but were then lost.”

“For those used to the more reserved style of the French or the bravura of Soviet Russian ballet, the Cuban style can appear distinctly different. … Here are a few things to watch for.”

“Wellness among women in the ballet world is a complex and evolving subject. There’s the constant threat of injury ending an already short career, the mental pressure to excel within an elite company, the physical demands of ten-hour rehearsal days and evening performances — all being juggled by dancers who are in many cases still teenagers.”

“This almost feels like a performance in print. … It’s not just like, oh, that’s a nice photograph, but you’re actually watching something unfold.”

“I’ve kept my head on straight and kept my eye on the real prize which is having a career that is full and spans many different spectrums of dance and that I did this on my own. It took me a long time to get comfortable in my skin as a human. I don’t know that I would have had the strength earlier to step away from City Ballet had I been offered something like Cats.”

“Soldier Kim Joo-hyeok, 23, describes the activity as a way to ‘stay calm and find balance, as well as build friendships with my fellow soldiers.'”