Category: dance

After years of performing with some of the greats of modern dance, Emmanuele Phuon “had begun wondering whether she might apply modern Western techniques to the traditional Khmer styles of her homeland. After all, Phuon observes, the two styles have more in common than what might be immediately apparent.”

“[The] chaos of the renovation project [has] seemed to mirror disquiet inside the Bolshoi company. The troupe has long been riven by battles for control between competing cliques, and has been accused of losing direction and stagnating artistically while bureaucrats jostled for influence.”

“BBC charity the Performing Arts Fund has unveiled details of its first ever schemes supporting the dance sector, with a total of £350,000 to be awarded to individuals and companies in 2011.”

“Taylor enjoys observing people – he has described himself as a kind of reporter on human behaviour, less interested in expressing his feelings or imagining worlds than in revealing how people are. Famously, at company auditions, he always looks at how applicants walk.”

“I think the hard part was moving from New York to Denmark and going from being a dancer to a director. I didn’t miss the dancing, it was the new job. And the culture shock. I was 17 years in New York. I knew the language but I was self-conscious about speaking Danish. I didn’t know the country and the ins and outs anymore.”

“After 18 years as principal dancer for the Boston Ballet, Larissa Ponomarenko (above) has retired from the stage without fanfare. She gave her final performance May 8.” She will continue to work with the company as a ballet master.

“Dance medicine is a relatively new field, pioneered by those who dared to understand the art form, to unravel its idiosyncratic aesthetics and its effects on the human body.” A visit with the two physical therapists, two orthopedists and massage therapist on staff at American Ballet Theatre.

“The Art of Dance pole dance and burlesque school in Plymouth, Devon, has been accused of teaching children to ‘parade like strippers’. But it insists that the classes are simply aimed at making the youngsters fitter and stronger.”

The Guardian‘s Judith Mackrell looks at the various movement vocabularies – modern dance, Indian dance, flamenco, and so on – that the Moroccan-Belgian choreographer uses to create his work.

This 12-city, three-week trip is the ensemble’s second major overseas tour this season (following a 20-city tour of Russia last fall). These travels are milestones for the Los Angeles-based multi-ethnic ensemble, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.