Category: dance

Several lawsuits filed against Epstein’s estate “say that when [he] was luring teenagers into sexual exploitation in Florida, he was using a network of recruiters within New York City’s dance studios to procure aspiring performers into a similar scheme.” – The New York Times

In comparing Lara Spencer’s apology to a politician apologizing to an ethnic group, Arroyo is saying that he finds that practice laughable as well. But the most blatant example is Ingraham’s comment that the ballet class looks like “tai chi people.” – Dance Magazine

Sergey Chernyshev, 18, began learning breakdancing from his father, also named Sergey, who picked it up from VHS tapes that made it into newly de-Sovietized Russia in the 1990s. “In many ways, the story of the Chernyshevs … is the story of break dancing over the past three decades, with its unlikely journey from the streets of New York to every corner of the globe and to its surprising inclusion, pending a final vote in December, in the Olympics.” – The New York Times

“Shaker dance both embodied and performed a gender-egalitarian community, one whose primary method of reproduction was not sexual.” (They increased their numbers through recruitment, for which their singing and dancing were effective tools.) “But their worship practices were reviled as both promiscuous and racially aberrant.” – JSTOR Daily

“The dance field isn’t immune to the ‘gig economy’ that’s disrupting everything from buying groceries to getting a ride to the airport. … So it’s no surprise that artists feel anxious about making ends meet. But this can also be an opportunity to discard old ways of doing business.” Zachary Whittenburg looks at “three movements towards fair pay in dance [that] have gained the most traction.” – Dance Magazine

On Monday morning, as Good Morning America host Lara Spencer was trying to make amends for her faux pas of last week, Travis Wall (of So You Think You Can Dance) and Robbie Fairchild (formerly of New York City Ballet, now well on his way to a Broadway career) led about 400 dancers through a ballet workout. – The New York Times

“What qualifies as artistry is ultimately a subjective assessment. Winning medals – or not winning them – has little bearing on whether a dancer will progress to a successful career. Even so, the Genée competition maintains high standards. The coveted gold medal is sometimes withheld if the judges decide no one has achieved the required level.” – Toronto Star

On Pose, the actors – whose characters are fully part of New York’s ballroom scene – do a lot more than vogue and runway, though that’s essential too. “The show has an undeniable commitment to dance that is present even when the characters aren’t performing or rehearsing, just talking and laughing and crying. Pose is something of a peek into the private lives of dancers, in which the rigor is the same for all — it doesn’t matter if their work is done in a studio, on a stage or on the piers.” – The New York Times

When host Lara Spencer of Good Morning America decided to go after six-year-old Prince George for his studies, she made especial fun of his ballet classes. Her apology Instagram post (after the predictable outcry) didn’t go well either. “The dancer Barton Cowperthwaite said in a comment: ‘No one wants to see a hiking picture from deep in your photo library. We want to see you make an apology, on air, for publicly dragging a child and an entire art form through the mud.'” (This rather ugly episode has spawned a hashtag: #ballet4boys)  – The New York Times