For eight years now, a pair of Yale professors, Sarah Demers (particle physics) and Emily Coates (ballet), has taught a course called “The Physics of Dance.” “Their partnership has involved everything from directing a short film to presenting a TedX Talk and performing a piece that Coates created, commissioned by Danspace Project. This month, they’re publishing a book.” — Dance Magazine
Category: dance
On Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’ (Alastair Macaulay Is Back)
With observations from three New York City Ballet alumni who learned the title role from Mr. B himself, the recently-retired chief dance critic of The New York Times looks at what makes this ballet different from the rest of Balanchine’s oeuvre. — The New York Times
Carlos Acosta Named Director Of Birmingham Royal Ballet
The 45-year-old Cuban was one of the (London) Royal Ballet’s most popular stars in his 17 years with the company, from which he retired about three years ago. He says he hopes to “look for choreographers that the Royal Ballet isn’t looking at, people and ballets that might not be obvious.” — The New York Times
Ballet Specifically For TV As A Way To Get Kids Interested In Dance
Shot as 40-minute films in vibrant high-definition colours, the Bite-Sized Ballets series will kick off with an adaptation of the Tortoise & the Hare, to be followed by Elves & the Shoemaker and Three Little Pigs. At the start of each film, the story is narrated on screen and dance instructors show children how to do some of the moves to create a sort of dancealong. – The Guardian
After His Anti-Gay Instagram Post, Sergei Polunin Gets Dropped By Paris Opera Ballet
It was only last Thursday that the company announced that Polunin would be making a guest appearance as Siegfried in Swan Lake. Saturday, artistic director Aurélie Dupont announced that he wouldn’t be appearing after all, because of certain “public statements … [that] didn’t correspond to her values or to those of the institution she represents.” — The New York Times
An Ad Gone Viral Tells The Story Of Race And Ballet
The English National Ballet ad for Swan Lake stars a Black American dancer – but the show sure doesn’t. “Ballet is interesting because it can be seen both as an enclave of whiteness and privilege, and as an outrunner of change.” – Quartz
The Brutal Toll Of Ballet
Want to see the reality of what dance does to a (male) body? Check out this story on The Royal Ballet’s top dancer. “Watson said living with injuries is the daily reality of a ballet dancer but the body slowly repairs itself.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Alastair Macaulay Takes Issue With Dance Magazine Over 180-Degree Leg Lifts Story
The newly-retired dance critic of The New York Times wrote an actual letter to the editor saying that, while he quite liked Emma Sandall’s article this week about the history of high leg lifts in ballet, there were a few historical assertions in it that he takes issue with. — Dance Magazine
Sergei Polunin Gets Himself In Trouble Again, This Time With Homophobic Instagram Post
“Though Polunin has long had a reputation for behaving inappropriately, in the last month his posts have been somewhat unhinged. … A troubling tirade about gender and sexuality remains on his feed, … though it’s hard to discern his point through his manic language.” In reaction, some Paris Opera Ballet dancers are objecting to his upcoming guest appearance in the company’s Swan Lake. — Dance Magazine
Once-Feted Dancing Girls Of Lahore Fall On Hard Times As Pakistan Becomes Ever More Conservative
“The dancing style is known as ‘nautch,’ and is a sophisticated art form that arose out of the Muslim Mughal empire and peaked in the mid-19th century.” After partition, many of India’s nautch dancers settled in Lahore, where the form had a new heyday. Now the Pakistani authorities have cracked down, closing venues and schools, and most of the best dancers have gone abroad. — The New York Times