Category: dance

“Lincoln was the only white man I was allowed to love unconditionally growing up. But he was also hiding in plain sight. Sure, he’s on the $5 bill. But who is he? There’s George Washington and Ben Franklin too, connections from third-grade social studies class … But as an adult, what does this man Lincoln have to do with me?”

“The rules for Expo Zéro were simple: there would be no exhibition as such, no objects or costumes, scores or scripts, videos or photographs. There wouldn’t even be furniture. Instead, visitors would navigate the museum to find the participants adrift in the space, shifting from improvised interactions with each other and the public.”

With New York City Center undergoing renovation, ABT is doing its Manhattan fall season at (of all places) Avery Fisher Hall. The home of the New York Philharmonic presents challenges for ballet (relatively small stage, no wings or orchestra pit); rather than adapting its repertory, ABT has commissioned new works specifically for the Fisher stage.

“[M]ore than any other art form, [dance] is constantly being lost to history. To build a body of knowledge, you need to gather bodies of evidence, reference material, records. There is an obvious way forward – record more dance on video and put more of it on the internet.”

“Theyyam dance is a spectacular form of possession dance from northern Kerala, in the southwest of India … During the season, the theyyam dancers bring stories of the gods to life, and overturn the caste barriers in Hindu society. For once it’s the Dalits, the Untouchables, who are in control.”

“Thanks to a promised $1 million gift, the ballet is seeking a new facility and hopes to share space and services with one or more other groups.”

The expanding reputations of British dancers and choreographers and the uptick in dance study and amateur participation are laudable developments. But the notion of dance as a vocation “has been exploited for too long, and it’s a grim fact that even the lucky few who make it to the top still earn very little.”

“The Rose Theater announced Tuesday that it plans to discontinue its Omaha Theater Ballet and School at the end of the 2009-10 season. The demise of the company, known for its annual production of The Nutcracker, means neither Nebraska nor Iowa will have a full-time professional dance company.”

“The United Nations on Wednesday declared the tango tradition of Argentina and Uruguay a world cultural treasure, adding its sultry dance steps and melancholy song lyrics to UNESCO’s heritage list.”

Emily Molnar: “I had to completely build a season, build the rep, hire the dancers … and look at what our next steps are going to be, in that there has to be someone who has the desire to look at what the future of the company is. So to me, that’s not interim.”