Category: dance

“Q: Did you ever write something that you later regretted or reconsidered?
A: I’m not complacent. I regret commas, adjectives, clumsy turns of phrase, even if nobody else is bothered by them. Worse, I’m dismayed by the factual inaccuracies I’ve committed. Opinions I regret less. So what if you hated the world premiere of The Rite of Spring or Waiting for Godot? Those are tough pieces that are easy to misunderstand even now.”

“[Artistic director Mikko] Nissinen [has] established the new ChoreograpHER Initiative. It begins Thursday and Friday with sold-out performances in the company’s BB@home series — a showcase hosted at Boston Ballet’s South End headquarters — that, for the first time, will feature six emerging women choreographers who are dancers within the company.”

“Waltz says that the Staatsballett dancers’ initial resistance to her leadership was rooted in miscommunication and fear. ‘After we met them and answered, like, 50 questions, there was a big change and an opening up,’ she says. ‘Now it’s a different atmosphere, there’s a strong engagement in the company. There’s a lot of new dancers and they’re all willing to transform and be active in this practice.'”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan: “I am determined to ensure that all Londoners get the opportunity to experience our cultural riches regardless of their background or where they live, and to increase the level of participation in culture across London.”

“So how do you compete in this kind of vocabulary? According to the rules, judges are looking for performers who are ‘fluent in contemporary concert dance vernacular.’ Dancers are given separate scores for their artistry, technique and future potential, with particular attention paid to physical expression, response to the music, use of space and technical skill as well as strong choreography and movement invention.”

“The postmodern choreographer and director came to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s, first with Judson Dance Theater and then with her own eponymous company. She shut down her troupe almost two decades ago to work as a freelance director, relaunched it nine years later to stage a couple of revivals … and then just kept going.” Rachel Elson talks to Childs about how having her own company has been different the second time around and why she’s decided to stop.

Sure, there was a voiceover saying it was, er, a “tribute” to the Day of the Dead, but “many fans on social media called out the theme and branded it ‘cultural appropriation,’ observing that the Day of the Dead is not the same as Halloween. Others were unhappy with the use of a Calypso song against traditional Mexican traditions.”

“Jacques d’Amboise, Patricia Wilde, Allegra Kent and Edward Villella talk about the roles they danced at the theater, which is celebrating George Balanchine and its 75th anniversary as a palace of the arts.”

“The Cincinnati Ballet is pressuring FC Cincinnati to pay it $1 million for land it doesn’t own, knowing the team needs at least some of the land it uses for a Major League Soccer stadium, the team president says. … ‘This sure feels like a shakedown to me.'” Responds the CEO of the ballet company, “This is patently false.”

After 20 years with American Ballet Theatre, Gomes resigned last December after someone (not with the company) accused him of sexual misconduct eight years earlier. In a Q&A, he discusses building a life as a freelancer and the colleagues who’ve been inviting him to perform with them.