“When it was whites who made up the majority of U.S. immigrants, it really mattered if you were Irish, Italian, or some other white ethnicity. … Once the distinctions no longer mattered and the stigma of being Irish had faded, then Irish dance could be something anyone did and others would want to do. And, so, now anyone does. The three-time winner of the All-Ireland Dancing Championship in Dublin is a biracial, black, Jewish kid from Ohio.”
Category: dance
The Hot New Dance In New York? A Dance From Jane Austen’s Time
“Derived from English country dancing—think of the long paired lines of couples crisscrossing and partner-swapping in all those Jane Austen country-manor balls, now press fast forward—contra offers young urbanites an inclusive atmosphere where they can work up a little sweat away from the gym and touch human beings instead of screens.”
Whatever Happened To Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, It Doesn’t Mean Dance Is In Danger
“But even with no conclusive sign that Cedar Lake’s issue is one of funding, the dance community is positioned to jump on the ‘arts is dying’ bandwagon immediately. … Why do we chalk this up to just another financial failure? Perhaps because as a dance venture, we are used to being on a respirator, scraping by season to season.”
Nederlands Dans Theater’s Do-It-Themselves Fundraiser For NGOs
“Switch is an evening conceived, choreographed and produced fully by the NDT performers … all profits from [which] go entirely to a community need the dancers hunt down themselves. … When they’ve targeted an organization, they look for ways to get involved beyond financial contribution. They volunteer their hours, they show up to teach free workshops, they raise awareness.”
How A Bharatanatyam Choreographer Is Remaking French Ballet’s Great Chestnut About An Indian Temple Dancer
When Shobana Jeyasingh first heard of La Bayadère, she was excited at the idea of a classic ballet about someone like her. Of course La Bayadère bore no relationship to real Indian classical dance or dancers – until, that is, Jeyasingh got her hands on the piece. (includes video)
Dance USA/Philly May Be Gone, But Its Portable Dance Floor Lives On
Small news? Practically speaking, it’s a godsend. One of the service organization’s great services was renting the sprung wood floor at affordable rates to companies performing all over the city. But Dance USA/Philadelphia is closing next week. Happily, one ballet troupe has rescued the floor.
The Last of India’s Jagannath Temple Dancers Is Gone
“Like most devadasis, or maharis, as the dancers in Odisha are known, Sashimani came from a poor family and was initiated into service at the temple when she was a small girl – in her case, at the age of 7 or 8, she said. After she reached puberty, she was considered a ‘living wife’ of Lord Jagannath, the god whose timber image is worshiped at the temple, and was not expected to marry.”
An Era Passes As Three Of The American Ballet’s Principal Ballerinas Retire
As Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes retire, “the greater burden is on ABT, losing one-third of its roster of top-rank ballerinas. Casting for its spring-summer run in New York suggests soloists Misty Copeland and Sarah Lane may be in line for promotion. But there is no replacing the veteran ballerinas.”
A Shadow Ballet Between Human Dancers And Dancing Drones
“It’s more than a cool gimmick. Instead of having drones on stage just for the sake of having them, the clip shows how the machines can be used in subtler, more expressive ways. Being able to choreograph the three independently-moving light sources around a performer presumably lets you create all sorts of visual effects you simply couldn’t achieve otherwise.”
New York Contemporary Ballet Company Founded By WalMart Heiress Closes Up Shop For Good
“Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet seemed like the dance company that had it all: a wealthy benefactor, generous contracts and benefits for its dancers, and a snazzy Chelsea home. But on Friday company officials announced that the troupe would shut down.”