Category: dance

“Dominic Antonucci was attacked as he strolled in a park just before going on stage for a performance. The 40-year-old dad needed surgery to repair a damaged retina and spent two months off work recovering from his injuries, which also included a broken nose.”

“Surrounded by an all-white stage, sprinkled with black computer monitors facing the audience, the three dancers and their accompanying drones put on a mesmerizing and eerie display. … Upon first viewing, I had so many questions. What does it mean to make beauty with drones? Why is this tension between human dancer and robot so palpably moving? Is this a gimmick?” (includes video)

“In a rehearsal, he micromanages every last nuance of expression – the curve of the fingers, the gestures, musical timing – as he coaches dancers through a pas de deux. He runs from corner to corner, with Chudin following, and (Filin can’t help himself) he demonstrates how Chudin should jump. Quick and light, like a jackrabbit. Watching him, his mother covers her eyes.”

“I used to think that modern dance turned into contemporary dance, that it evolved naturally. (In my own evolution as a dancer, I passed through Graham, Limón, Cunningham, Tharp, and Trisha Brown.) But I see now that the work of Graham and Limón is still very much with us. Modern and contemporary dance co-exist.”

“It started off as a novelty and now it’s becoming a trend, as Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev have joined the list of top-flight ballet dancers who are opting to expand their performing (and earning) potential by presenting their own independent projects. In recent years that list has included Darcey Bussell, Carlos Acosta and the all-male Kings of the Dance ensemble, all of whom have moonlighted from their home companies to present and star in programmes of works they’ve personally selected or commissioned.”

“Kan’s influence — over her art and her life — led Stern to abandon everything she once treasured: her husband, her parents and her closest friends, according to the lawsuit.”

“Imagine a Gatorade ad where a kicker misses every field goal, or a Nike spot where a runner trips over hurdles. It would be a little bizarre. Something similar, though perhaps not as obvious to the average viewer, happens in this ad from Free People clothing, and it has many trained dancers in an uproar.”

“The 54-year old New Jersey native was executive director for 17 years at the Pennsylvania Ballet, where he led a successful $12 million effort to boost the company’s size, start an endowment, and fund new ballets; as well as an ongoing $25 million campaign to fund new headquarters for the Philadelphia-based troupe.”

It’s “a drama of conflict, comedy and sex” that plays out in the American West every April, as groups of male sage grouse strut, fan their tail feathers, and puff the twin yellow sacs on their chests as they try to impress the hens. (includes video)