Category: dance

Liv Lorent, who created BalletLorent 25 years ago: “Being in the north suited me very well. There was a small clutch of very sincere artists working across disciplines, whereas in London the dance bubble was big enough that I didn’t explore outside it. I liked the light and the weather in Newcastle. … People in the north are less precious generally. There’s much more self-censorship and affectation in London, worrying about what’s the most current thing.”

There are, for instance, “numerous nods to [Martha Graham’s] work in Suspiria — even the floor-length dress Tilda Swinton’s character, Madame Blanc, favors in the movie.”

When I left NYCB I was looking at my decision as very black and white: either dance or school, with nothing in between. I imagined I’d go into a career completely separate from the ballet world. It would have relieved some of the pressure to have known that you can marry the two. Sometimes it’s a bit of a struggle, or even entertaining, to run from coding school to rehearsal, put your pointe shoes on, and be up and moving. But it is possible.

Margaret Selby: “I work with small and mid-sized companies, so what they need is different than big companies with a lot of infrastructure. It’s not just booking dates — I always say I’m a strategist and booking is a side product. It’s really about developing an artist. … It’s important to trust your own gut. It’s about seeing something before other people recognize it, and jumping on it because you believe in it.”

“Yabin Wang converts movement into liquid that spills across the stage. A celebrity in her home country of China, this choreographer, dancer and actress has helped to pioneer modern dance there by blending Chinese classical and contemporary dance. … This month, she is back stateside for the U.S. premiere of her Moon Opera, Nov. 3 in Pittsburgh.”

“Not only does [the episode] ‘Mac Finds His Pride’ contain heartfelt dialogue — like Mac admitting to Frank, ‘I don’t know where I fit in as a gay man and it’s starting to get to me. I’m not feeling very proud.’ — but it ends with a five-minute, show-stopping contemporary-dance number featuring Rob McElhenney and professional ballerina Kylie Shea.” Here’s the inside story of how McElhenney, who insists to this day that he cannot dance, pulled it off.

“[Five] renowned defectors from the Cuban National Ballet took the stage at the 26th Havana International Ballet Festival as part of a wide-ranging and profound reconciliation between Cuba and its millions of expatriates and exiles around the world. … Asked about his feelings upon performing once again in Cuba, [one of the returnees] began to cry.”

“[Eddie] Nixon is a former associate director and more recently director of theatre and artist development at the Place. … He takes over from Richard Alston, who leaves the role this month after 24 years at the helm of the contemporary dance venue.” (Alston’s eponymous dance company, which has been headquartered at The Place, will be shut down.)