Category: dance

For the first time in its history, the Genee International Ballet Competition is being held outside of London. The finals played out in Sydney over the weekend. The 16 finalists includes 10 Australians, five from Britain and one from Thailand. But “with two-thirds of the 89 aspirants coming from Australia, and the bulk of the remainder from Britain, how truly international was the competition?”

When Cleveland San Jose Ballet folded two years ago, it looked like Cleveland would be dry territory for lovers of dance. Instead, the audience has turned up for other dance offerings. Audiences are growing for the region’s smaller dance companies, and the main presenter of touring dance companies has seen its subscriptions triple in the past four years.

This summer when it opened in Chicago for tryouts, “Movin Out”, the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel collaboration got packets of bad reviews. Now it’s a star on Broadway. What happened? “It had been a long time since a show considered doomed on the road was able to turn itself around so quickly and completely. Faced with similar crises, countless producers have summoned teams of show doctors, ordered emergency set changes, delayed their Broadway openings and ruthlessly dismissed choreographers, directors, and even stars. But in this case the rescue job rested with one person, Twyla Tharp.”

“For the first time, the Genee International Ballet Competition – world’s major dance competition – will be held outside London. A record number of participants – more than 90 – have taken up the challenge, with the finals to be held on Sunday at the Sydney Opera House.”

“Mark Morris, the uppity squirt who got himself banned from the American Dance Festival eighteen years ago for crying ‘No more rape!’ during a piece created by Twyla Tharp, is now 46 years old. He performs in fewer dances these days; he’s even cut his trademark curls. His company, now in its twenty-second year, is filled with dancers young enough to be his children rather than the friends with whom he came of age.”

“Long regarded as a solid regional institution, San Francisco Ballet has vaulted forward in the past decade. Versatility and aplomb, distinctive stars from around the globe, depth in the corps, a clean and confident style and a broadly built repertoire now place San Francisco well ahead of the regional pack and into the first tier of major companies.”

Director Robert Altman wanted to direct a dance movie, and chose Chicago’s Joffrey Company to tell the story. “Artists steeped in the work of Vaslav Nijinsky, Antony Tudor and Frederick Ashton meet, or, rather, met Robert Altman, Neve Campbell and Malcolm McDowell during the three-month shoot took place all over Chicago as it focused on a story inside the life and times of the Joffrey.”

New York dance companies are in a building boom. Alvin Ailey and Trisha Brown are both building new homes, and Mark Morris built one last year. “It speaks to their ability to reach an audience that they are stable enough to afford their own homes. There’s a moment in the development of nonprofits where they institutionalize. It’s wonderful to know where your next rehearsal space is and what kind of amenities—showers and lockers—you’re going to have.”

Want to start a dance company? Former Martha Graham company principal dancer Jeanne Ruddy is doing it in Philadelphia. She’s building a company, a home and a school. All for $3.5 million. And an aggressive entrepreneurial business plan…

The Kennedy Center has been looking for ways to shore up its dance offerings ever since Michael Kaiser took over as director, and now, even as fundraising by arts organizations nationwide is suffering the effects of the stagnant economy, the Kennedy hopes that its patrons will help foot the bill. “In a letter this week, the center is asking patrons to join the Kennedy Center Ballet Circle by making contributions of $1,000 to $250,000. The money will support the annual season of ballet, and donors will receive ticket privileges as well as invitations to special receptions, rehearsals and discussions.”