Category: dance

“I knew it was possible because our masters die with their shoes on. … You dance until your 90s. … To be able to be a dancer and a musician at the same time, there’s nothing like it.” (audio)

In Ilter Ibrahimof’s mind, this year’s Fall for Dance North is only the beginning of what he thinks the festival can do. In future years, he’s hoping to commission longer pieces and to add a second stage, allowing for more intimate performances. “Toronto is a great place for Fall for Dance because of its extreme diversity, its openness. In a way, it’s almost better-suited to this festival than New York.”

“A ballerina’s career is so short and it’s kind of hard for me to think that these are going to be the best years of my career and after that it’s just going to suck. You know? I don’t want to think about it like that.”

“With such an exceptional, international career, you’d think the sign in front of his arts center would have ‘Baryshnikov’ in lights, but actually you can barely see it. ‘Misha didn’t want this place to be called the Baryshnikov Arts Center,’ says Georgiana Pickett the center’s executive director. ‘He wanted it to be more global, and some wise people told him, “That’s not a good idea. Let’s put your name on it.”‘”

“720: Cans of silver sparkle body paint used by dancers playing the role of snowflakes in The Nutcracker.”

Marina Harss: “For many people, including me, the word tango conjures the image of a pantherlike milonguero, hair slicked back, in a breathless embrace with a lithe, rapt partner, skirt slit to her thigh, trembling at his every touch. … But, no surprise, this image has very little to do with the reality of the tango as it is experienced by those who dance it. … Men are dancing with men, women with women; women are leading and men are learning to follow. Often, these roles shift mid-dance.”

“One of James Anthony’s main aims was to create an atmosphere where boys and adolescent young men weren’t afraid or uncomfortable about expressing their interests, or practising their pastimes perhaps because of embarrassment, or logistical difficulties.”

“Dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet leave the stage behind and perform in the public space of the Palais Garnier for 20 Dancers for the 20th Century, conceived by choreographer Boris Charmatz as part of his project Musée de la Danse.” (slide show)

The Women in Dance Leadership Conference will feature speakers with varied backgrounds, including dance but also business, medicine, higher education and technology. “It’s using dance as a vehicle because of my profession, but I also wanted to touch base (in other fields) and how that aspect and those professions are being impacted.” Many observers tend to think of dance as a female-centric profession, Parks said, but those in leadership positions are about 70 percent male.

“The services of Career Transition For Dancers will be integrated into the ongoing programs of The Actors Fund, it was announced Sept. 21. … The Actors Fund’s full range of services are also available to the dance community and will serve to complement those of Career Transition For Dancers.”