Category: dance

“I studied classical ballet for sixteen years. I was never a prodigy, but I was good enough to seriously consider it a career option. I genuinely love ballet in all its forms. And I despise the “ballet body” fitness trend.”

The network will be a direct-to-consumers. subscription-based operation available on web browsers, iOS and Android devices and on Roku, with plans to expand later to set-top boxes, video game consoles and other platforms.

“More than half of professional dancers [in Britain] earn less than £5,000 a year from their performance work, according to a new survey. The statistics also show that around 50% of dancers’ jobs pay less than the minimum wage, and that 70% of dancers have performed in ‘unsuitable work environments’ in the past 12 months.”

“These extraordinary dancers have breathed new life into Balanchine’s legacy. And suddenly, once again, as in the old days, I want to follow what they’re up to.”

“After Ms. Homans’s book was published, her assessment burned through the industry, sparking arguments and some resentment. It also caught the attention of the Mellon Foundation, which began a series of conversations with Ms. Homans about what could be done to change things. The idea of actively drawing in new thinkers won because ballet, in its very nature, can be cloistered.”

“While the ball honors vogueing’s pioneers, it also reflects the ways that the dance has evolved stylistically and demographically: its global expansion; the increasing participation of women; and a shift to bolder, more acrobatic dancing.”

“When the Bolshoi unveiled its take on a Russian literature classic this week, among the dancers was a Paralympian who lost his leg to frostbite while serving in the Russian army, swirling on stage in his wheelchair.”

“A pole, like most props on a dance stage, doesn’t mean much on its own. It stands ready and waiting for the bounds of a choreographer’s imagination, a means to provide a vertical space and fresh vocabulary for a story spelled out in movements. In this capacity, pole dance as an abstract art form is taking shape, growing in a starkly contrasting direction from its place in strip clubs and competitions.”

“Cuban dancers and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, founded by Alicia Alonso, are known all over the world. … Here & Now’‘s Meghna Chakrabarti spoke with José Manuel Carreño, a Cuban-born former principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, who is now artistic director of Silicon Valley Ballet.” (audio)

Jennie Somogyi, now 37, made her debut as Marie in Nutcracker and went on to spend 21 years as a grown-up company member – despite several major injuries that sidelined her for months at a time.