Category: dance

“Douglas Steiner, one developer struggling to sell units in the vastly overbuilt Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, is betting it pays to keep artists in the neighborhood even after wealthier buyers move in. He is hoping the deal he struck with the choreographer Elizabeth Streb will help the sales of his $1 million-plus town homes and apartments.”

“The world of urban dance is both competitive and popular; other teachers are guilty of allowing their students to perform sexualized material at too young an age, simply to make a big impression at competitions.”

“Though the information there is meant to support full stagings of the works themselves, it will also serve to familiarize those interested in the choreographer with components of his individual works. The hands-on choreographic setting for contracted dances will be done only by foundation-approved Cunningham personnel, former dancers with the ability to teach Cunningham’s choreography.”

“I don’t envy the Tony judges their task this year: there’s no clear winner. The nominees are ‘Come Fly Away’ (at the Marquis Theater), ‘Fela!’ (Eugene O’Neill Theater), ‘Promises, Promises’ (Broadway Theater) and ‘La Cage aux Folles’ (Longacre Theater).”

“Erotic is not a word usually associated with physics, but that is one of the ways Karole Armitage describes the complicated subject she explores in her new work Three Theories.”

“The Immigration Service had delayed visa renewal and has asked for specific evidence that [Liang] Fu has achieved ‘distinction’ through a high level of achievement in his field, substantially above that ordinarily encountered, and an explanation of why an American dancer could not bring the same ability to the stage as Fu.”

“In [the dance style called] footwork, an individual, usually a boy, strides out into the centre of a group and starts jittering with his feet in fluid slides and taps, sometimes jabbing forwards to provoke an opponent. With the music usually played at aggressive tempos of 155-165 bpm, footwork is an exercise in speed. Dancers’ feet blur beneath their static torsos, keeping balance in hypnotic burst of rhythm.”

Says one National Ballet of Canada principal, “People ask me a lot of times what’s my hobby. I’ll tell you my hobby is icing. You take a bucket, you fill it up with ice all the way to your knee and you stick your feet in it. … It’s like a daily maintenance for everyone here.”

“[Robyn] Astaire, the performer’s widow, filed a suit on Friday … seeking to block what she says is unauthorized use of the Astaire name by the coming Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. The ceremony, a regular event in New York for the last 28 years, recognizes dance performances and choreography on Broadway and in films.”

Graham “Lustig, 55, served as artistic director of the New Brunswick-based company for 11 years and had raised the profile of the ballet with new productions and innovative programs. His position — and that of executive director — were eliminated in a cost-cutting move….”