It was to be the first of the ballerina’s eight Dance Magazine cover appearances. Gregory was already dancing principal roles with San Francisco Ballet at age 19 when she decided to audition for American Ballet Theatre, which would be her home for the next 26 years. She quickly came to be recognized as the company’s prima ballerina—and, for many, “America’s prima ballerina, the reigning queen of classical dance,” as we noted when she was announced as the recipient of a 1975 Dance Magazine Award.

In a June 1991 cover story celebrating her retirement from ABT, she confessed to a preference for story ballets, saying, “I need a little drama to spur me on. With Grand Pas Classique, the pas de deux everybody loves watching me do, I got bored because it’s basically virtuoso technique. And there were a couple of years there when I was doing it an awful lot. So I would make up a character for myself. I’d be a different ballerina each night. Some of my friends would watch in the wings and try to guess who I was being. I’d be Suzanne [Farrell] or Carla Fracci or Violette [Verdy], and just do it in their style. It was fun.”

The post TBT: Cynthia Gregory Graces the Cover of <i>Dance Magazine</i> at Age 7 appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Weight and height discrimination have been cemented within the very building blocks of the dance world for decades. Overt or sly, targeted comments about the body have the ability to cause long-lasting pain, insecurity, and doubt. And dancers are no stranger to body policing; it’s what’s turned many away from the art form all together. All of this reaches a new level, however, when size discrimination becomes a norm in casting, as has heavily been discussed in recent years thanks to the growing body-positivity movement.

A recent win for size inclusivity has even cemented itself legally: On May 26, 2023, New York City mayor Eric Adams signed new legislation to prohibit height or weight discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, adding these two physical characteristics to the list of those protected, which includes race, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation. New York City is not the first to do so: Michigan—notably, since 1976—and Washington State have similar laws, as do cities including Washington, DC, and San Francisco. Such legislation has also been introduced in New Jersey and Massachusetts.

While not net-new, New York City’s ordinance, which is slated to go into effect on November 22, certainly feels like a step in the right direction given the employment opportunities for dancers in the city that’s home to Broadway and is also the largest hub for ballet and modern. The most immediate response could be the removal of all size-disqualifying terminology from casting calls and contracts. Preferences for certain body types—whether in written form or expressed verbally—should now be expunged. And any instance of such can be reported to the city’s Commission on Human Rights for further investigation into whether or not size discrimination has taken place.

However, the exact extent of the ordinance’s implications on the dance world are cloudy. It does state that certain exceptions are allowed when it comes to seeking certain weight/height requirements in employment should those qualities be necessary to perform the job. Could this be used as a loophole to continue casting the same thin and tall body types season after season? Could the need to fit premade costumes prevent replacement dancers of varying body types from being cast? The answers are unclear.

Similar questions arise when it comes to contracts: Over the years, some performers have shared contract clauses that indicate they must stay within a 5-to-10-pound range of their hiring weight or risk termination. Tragic tales of weigh-ins at colleges and professional dance jobs have also made their rounds throughout the industry.

When I began my dance training in high school, I was dumbfounded to hear that a close friend—who had starred in a popular youth-centric Broadway musical for several years—had her weight monitored regularly in accordance with her contract’s stipulations, stating she had to remain within a certain range. All of this took place while she entered puberty and her body began to naturally grow.

Her story was not the first one I’d been made aware of, nor would it be the last. Throughout adolescence and early adulthood, I’d experience my own. My entry point into the art form came through musical theater. I pivoted to dance—zeroing in on tap, jazz, and contemporary—in early high school, always feeling out of place when I stepped into what felt like thin-only studios. Because of this, a lot of my early training was done privately: taught by friends during our lunch period or via YouTube each evening.

Still, staying away from studios didn’t completely prevent this stigma from reaching me: Numerous times throughout my teenage years, I was told by fellow performers that my body was an instant disqualifier when it came to booking gigs. Even recently, after swinging into a production of 9 to 5: The Musical in Mesa, Arizona, a week before opening, I overheard an audience member’s pointed words mid-show: “Why did they cast a fat guy as the love interest?”

While New York City’s new ordinance will certainly alleviate a base level of the issue of discrimination based on weight and height, the problem is far too pervasive to be solved with a single piece of legislation. Size discrimination is rooted in intergenerational stigma, and that stigma is saturated throughout society as a whole. In the professional realm—ballet in particular—it’s conventional wisdom that dancers are often cut from auditions due to their body type, though not directly told such, allowing this quiet discrimination to occur unchecked. Young dancers of various heights and weights are turned away so early in life that they may never even feel the impact of this ordinance. This occurs in major ways, like being rejected from prestigious training programs or company schools, or in minor slights, like dancers having to figure out their own recital costume when those being ordered aren’t available in their size.

Much of this weeding out begins in small dance studios, where the comments of teachers can sting and prevent opportunities from reaching a more diverse pool of young artists. If local studios throughout the country refuse to embrace size inclusivity, the talent pool of professional dancers may never match the inclusive majority who have dreams of performing onstage.

Throughout my handful of years living in New York City and during frequent visits now, I’ve yet to take a dance class where I was not the only plus-size performer in the room. Are others like me not out there? Or were they turned away by the stigmas that have inundated them since childhood, as I once was and had to fight past? Now that I live in Arizona, where I kicked off my choreography career over the past year, I’ve noticed the issue is still as prevalent here as it was back in New York, though I’m taking every action within my control to fight against it.

Inclusivity is a “We’re all in this together” journey. Lawmakers are beginning to do their part—and that is commendable. But the work extends beyond that. To every small-town dance teacher who holds the hearts of hundreds of young ballerinas in their hand; to every Steps on Broadway instructor who helps to mold this generation’s top talent; to every ballet director whose obsession with clean lines and uniformity runs deep: The responsibility now lies with you—on how you speak, how you act, and how you evaluate dance.

We all play a central role in making dance size-inclusive. No change is stronger than the one we can accomplish together.

The post Will a New Law Combatting Height and Weight Discrimination Affect Hiring Practices in Dance? appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Finding Brazilian baião de dois, a traditional rice-and-bean dish, too heavy to eat in the middle of long rehearsal days, Cardoso experimented until she settled on a lighter version with the same familiar flavor, replacing beans with split peas, and rice with quinoa. “One day I decided to cook them in the same pot to save time and so I wouldn’t have to wash two dishes, and it came out great,” she says. Cardoso has been vegetarian for the past four years; she likes to rotate in different vegetables, like Brussels sprouts and squash, and occasionally adds tofu for an extra dose of protein. “I make it every week and take it to work,” she says of her take on baião de dois, which she calls “baião para todos.”

Kitchen Playlist

Cardoso finds cooking relaxing. “It helps me to wind down from the day,” she says. “It’s me time.” Music helps to set her mood: “I like anything that calms me down. I love to listen to Brazilian music, like bossa nova.”

Going Vegetarian

Living in a city known for barbecue can be challenging as a vegetarian. But Cardoso works hard to make sure her diet includes enough protein to sustain her daily dance schedule. In addition to split peas, Cardoso loves cooking with lentils and chickpeas. For dinner, she often pairs a dish like her baião de dois with stir-fried tofu or tempeh.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup green split peas (can replace with red lentils if desired); 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup white quinoa, rinsed
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced in rounds
• 1 zucchini, sliced down the middle lengthwise, then in half-circles
• 1/3 cup broccoli or cauliflower, chopped in medium-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsps canned tomato sauce (optional, adds extra flavor)

Instructions

1. In a medium high-walled pot, add the olive oil, cumin, coriander, and bay leaf, and heat over medium heat.
2. Add the split peas and 2 cups of water, cover the pot, and turn the heat up to high. Allow the peas to boil for 20–25 minutes, until they’re soft but not falling apart.
3. Add the quinoa, vegetables (carrots, zucchini, and broccoli or caulifl ower), and salt, and turn the heat down to medium low. If the mixture looks dry, add a bit more boiling water. Place the cover back on and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, or until everything is soft, checking occasionally. Add more salt to taste.
4. If using tomato sauce, stir it in now. Then turn the heat off and let the mixture sit, covered, for a few minutes.

The post Collage Dance Collective’s Luisa Cardoso Shares Her Vegetarian Baião de Dois appeared first on Dance Magazine.

The choreographer turns 67 in August, three months before his company turns 43, yet Mark Morris Dance Group has never appeared onstage at the venerable­ Manhattan venue—until now. MMDG’s first-ever Joyce engagement, August 1 to 12, features eight shorter works choreographed between 1980 and 2023, including a world premiere set to Bach’s keyboard partita no. 3 in A minor, mischievously titled A minor Dance.

A composition in seven sections from 1727, the partita is “a wonderful and thrilling piece,” Morris says. “It’s all dance rhythms, you know.” Bach is a composer whose music Morris keeps coming back to; the Joyce engagement also includes Italian Concerto (2007), for five dancers. “I could do nothing but Bach for the rest of my life,” he says. “I did a bunch of studies that were never performed, to [Bach’s] two-part inventions, which are fabulous and perfect. He took those and turned them into the incredible keyboard works that you get”—including, a few years later, six keyboard partitas.

Per tradition and MMDG’s longstanding policy, all music will be played live throughout the run, except in two cases. One is A Wooden Tree, from 2012, set to 14 songs by Scottish poet and songwriter Ivor Cutler. “It’s his voice, his arrangements, and him playing, and he’s been dead for 17 years,” Morris explains. The other exception is Castor and Pollux, last performed in 1981, which is set to a score with the same title by the late composer Harry Partch, who modified or invented dozens of unique musical instruments with names like Chromelodeon, Eucal Blossom, Mazda Marimba, and Zymo-Xyl. “They’re difficult to move and prohibitively expensive and it’s just a 16-minute piece, from a period of my life where I had to use recorded music more, because I didn’t have any money,” Morris says. “If I had another half a million dollars, I would do a whole Harry Partch show, which I would love to do at some point, so this is like a tease for that.”

Solo musicians and small groups will perform the remainder of the engagement’s scores, by Béla Bartók, Johannes Brahms, and Lou Harrison—who, like Partch, was an innovator and theorist known for utilizing non-Western musical intonation, tuning, and scales. “They’re composers whose work I love,” Morris says. A minor Dance was a great opportunity, he adds, for MMDG music director Colin Fowler “to play something exciting and virtuosic and not-that-well-known.”

Intimacy is a perennial selling point for companies appearing at The Joyce, which has just 472 seats and no orchestra pit. MMDG’s current programming echoes Paul Taylor Dance Company’s first Joyce engagement last summer, likewise a mix of premieres and rarely seen, earlier works. “One of the benefits for these larger companies is the opportunity to program pieces that might not make sense in massive houses,” says Andy Sheagren, director of marketing at The Joyce.

Smaller houses also make audience behavior harder to ignore. “Everyone has very short attention spans. No one can stay off their phones,” Morris says. “Neither of those things is new, of course, but they haven’t improved” since the pandemic. “Now, people aren’t used to talking to each other directly. And everything is more expensive and everything is less convenient. So we’re very delighted when people buy tickets and come see our shows.”

Not that the pandemic or its ripple effects have slowed Morris down. In fact, he’s been choreographing overtime to build a repository of Dances for the Future—new works the company won’t present until after his death. He says that he’s finished “about three” such “death dances” so far, though “I’ll start more than one at a time and work on them periodically, between other things,” he adds. “Sometimes I start one and then drop it if nothing is happening, if I end up not liking the music as much, or if something else comes up. That happens.”

Both choreographing and attending performances are more enjoyable than touring, Morris says, as long as an artist intends to share more than just their personal story. “A good show has to be given, to be proffered, to the watcher, to the listener—that’s what it’s for. If you want it to be about you, that’s great, and if people are interested in you, all the better. But, personally, I’m skeptical of self-expression, of journaling, in the theater. I don’t even have to like it for it to be a really good show. I just have to recognize, somehow, that it’s communicative and that it works.”

The post Mark Morris Dance Group Makes Its Debut at New York City Mainstay The Joyce Theater appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Moore is one of the many choreographers working in film who’ve been shut out of membership to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the honorary trade organization for film professionals that presents the prestigious Academy Awards. In fact, out of AMPAS’ more than 10,000 members, as of this spring there was only a single choreographer: Vincent Paterson, who is known for his choreography for movies like The Birdcage and Evita and who has been a member since 2001. (Though Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, and Rob Marshall are members of AMPAS, Allen is a member as an actor and the other two are members as directors, not choreographers.)

This spring, AMPAS announced the creation of a new branch that could be a step towards including more choreographers in the organization—and, perhaps eventually, a Best Choreography category. Unlike directors, music artists, writers, and other film creatives who each have their own designated branch, the few choreographers allowed entry in the Academy over the years have historically been members-at-large, a hodge-podge group consisting of professionals who didn’t fit into any of the existing 17 branches. Now, the new Production and Technology branch will give these former members-at-large, including choreographers, a home, albeit one that includes many disparate types of film professionals, like stunt coordinators, preservation and restoration specialists, and script supervisors. 

It’s somewhat unclear whether the new branch will pave the way for more choreographers in AMPAS or is just business as usual with a new name. (The Academy could not be reached for comment.) But for dancer and choreographer Claire Elizabeth Ross, who founded the popular Instagram account @creditthecreator, there’s hope in even the small semantic shift from a cate­gory of professionals who “don’t fit” elsewhere to the new branch where choreographers are explicitly named as potential members. “It’s saying that choreographers do fit, and we do belong, and we are important within the making of a motion picture,” says Ross. Notably, commercial dance legend Fatima Robinson was invited to join the new branch at the end of June.

Does this mean a Best Choreography category is imminent? Paterson, who, along with McDonald Selznick Associates co-founder and agent Julie McDonald, has been advocating for such a category for years, says he and McDonald were told by Academy leadership that getting more choreographers into the organization would be the first step to begin a conversation about an award. But while Paterson is hopeful, he sees the new branch as an attempt to organize the logistically messy members-at-large designation rather than an intentional step towards including more choreographers. He expects choreographers who apply will still face significant barriers: Eligible applicants must be sponsored by two current members from any branch (members may sponsor only one applicant per year), and applications are reviewed and voted on by elected members of the Board of Governors. Without other choreographers to sponsor and advocate for their peers, and with the many other better-represented film professions in the new branch vying for a limited number of spots, choreographer
applicants will have an uphill battle. 

“What’s not going to change is the need for all of us as choreographers to come together as a collective and keep advocating for us to be represented within the Academy,” says Ross. “Yes, now we have a space. But within that space, we still need to make sure our voices are being heard, because this is a massive industry, and it’s also a massive branch. I don’t think this is a win yet, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.” 

The post What Does a New Branch of the Film Academy Mean for Hollywood Choreographers? appeared first on Dance Magazine.

By the time they were competing for title awards, something definitely felt off. “I remember not knowing whether the award fully represented me as a person or a dancer,” says Reynolds, who is nonbinary. “It didn’t feel right competing in a separate, female-gendered category. And it made me ask: Why are these gendered in the first place?”

Winning the title of “Mr. or Miss [insert competition name here]” has long been considered the pinnacle of a competitive career. For decades, whether dancers actually identified with those gendered accolades—or the many other gender-based features of competition and convention weekends—was hardly ever questioned. Slowly, that’s beginning to change.

A Deep Divide

Transgender choreographer and educator Hayden J Frederick points out that a cisgender, heteronormative framework shapes nearly every aspect of the competition and convention world.

“Costumes, choreography, and concepts are all gendered,” Frederick says. In routines, girls and boys will come out to dance separately onstage. Partnering is almost always male/female. Convention teachers will call out boys to dance as a separate group, or gender movement by offering more “masculine” or “feminine” choreography options. And those are just the most obvious examples.

“Through all of this, queer or trans kids are made to feel like it’s inappropriate to speak about their experiences at all, when we’re literally allowing space for 6-year-olds to portray heteronormative love stories onstage,” Frederick says.

Making Spaces Safer

As discussions of safety and inclusivity at competitions and conventions mount, some directors have taken small but meaningful steps toward gender inclusivity.

In 2020, Starquest introduced two gender-inclusive title awards: Emerging Artist and Elite Dancer. Similarly, New York City Dance Alliance has also opted to award two to three Outstanding Dancer titles per age category. Reynolds, who is an emcee at Turn It Up Dance Challenge, explains that these changes benefit all participants: “Often there’s only one boy up for a male title award. Gender-inclusive titles give everyone an equal chance to compete.”

As an emcee, Reynolds is careful to always address competitors with gender-neutral terms. Gender-inclusive dressing rooms have also become more ubiquitous, although they often have to be requested in advance by studio owners. And at HEAT Convention & Competition, stickers with preferred pronouns are available and encouraged.

Some organizations—like Embody Dance Conference, where Frederick is on faculty—have taken a comprehensive approach.­ At Embody, “all of the educators on board are committed to creating safe spaces in their classes,” Frederick­ says. The conference holds mindset and mental health classes tailored­ for dancers, parents, and studio owners. “We’re attempt­ing to dismantle individual competitiveness and instead, with intersectionality as a framework, focus on community­ building,” Frederick says.

A New Normal

These changes are not always met with acceptance from customers and parents. “We sometimes get backlash that we’re talking too much about pronouns, or confusing the subject of gender with sexuality, which is totally not the case,” says Kobi Rozenfeld, co-owner and artistic director of HEAT. “But receiving one email from a parent about how our policies helped their kid feel more comfortable is worth dozens of negative emails.”

Unsurprisingly, the potential to lose out on sign-ups and profits is one of the largest perceived barriers to change. But Rozenfeld says the positives of gender-inclusive policies outweigh the losses. “I’m happy to be attracting clients that want to make a change in the industry,” he says.

Shaping a fully inclusive competitive world will take time, but the cause feels increasingly urgent. “As a country that’s in the middle of a mental health crisis and coming out of a pandemic that isolated our kids for a year,” Rozenfeld says, “we need to do whatever we can to make everyone feel accepted for who they are.”

Advice for Queer Competition and Convention Dancers on Navigating the Gender Binary

“Take up space. Do not change any part of yourself to adhere to restrictive standards and expectations. Please reach out when it feels too hard. There is community all around you, and we are here to hold you.”
—Hayden J Frederick

“Never be afraid to advocate for yourself. If something that a dance teacher or judge says makes you uncomfortable, vocalize it and correct them if you feel safe doing so. Little by little, society’s understanding of gender is changing, and we’re the generation that is making the change. Give yourself grace and be patient with the process.”
—Micki Reynolds

The post How can Competitions and Conventions Become Inclusive Spaces for Transgender and Nonbinary Dancers? appeared first on Dance Magazine.

During the creation process for Oh, I have to wash my hair, Hance asked the dancers to create gestures and movement phrases, which allowed Neimeyer and her choreographic partner to channel their personal experiences into the work. “It was the first piece where I got to contribute my own choreography,” Neimeyer remembers, adding, “That was a nice processing point for me.”

What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social anxiety disorder, according to Terry Hyde, MA MBACP, a psychotherapist specializing in dancers’ mental health, pertains to anxiety triggered by social situations or interactions. When exposed to such situations, individuals with social anxiety might experience physical symptoms like sweating, heart palpitations, or shortness of breath.

Hyde notes that SAD is often rooted in past triggers or traumas, leading affected individuals to want to avoid social interactions. Those with SAD may also have fears of criticism, embarrassment, or being judged negatively. Says Neimeyer, “I think at the heart of it, we really are afraid of being disliked, completely cast out, or completely annihilated in some way—that’s our base fear.”

How Does SAD Affect Dancers?

Social situations, especially those that are new in some way, can present difficulties for someone with SAD, Hyde says, so attending a new class, joining a company, or attending an audition could be an extra challenge. “An open class, they probably wouldn’t go into,” he explains. “But if it was a college or company class, they may go into that because they’re familiar. It’s the lack of familiarity that causes this type of anxiety.”

Conversely, Neimeyer says dance has often been a positive outlet for her—and has presented many opportunities that have been difficult yet supportive of her SAD recovery. Not only has she found community and belonging at Frame, but she also has found the structure of the dance environment to be comforting. “Dance can be wonderful for people [with SAD] because we want to connect,” she says. “Having a vehicle so you know what is appropriate and you know what is the acceptable way to present and express yourself helps.”

Although she has made strides in dealing with SAD—and has found a safe place to dance at Frame—she says some aspects of being in a dance company, like partnering, can still present difficulties. “It’s still really hard,” she says. “I have to break through so many things to touch someone else’s fingertip.”

Moving Toward Recovery

According to Hyde, social anxiety can be treated with a variety of therapeutic modalities. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for instance, aims to modify unhelpful thought patterns, while psychotherapy delves into uncovering the root causes of the trigger. In certain cases, hypnotherapy can be effective. Hyde further suggests that medication can also be helpful for some individuals.

Dancers can use a range of coping skills to help assuage anxiety in the moment. Hyde recommends deep-breathing exercises (see below for two examples) and suggests establishing a set of affirmations that can be repeated in challenging times. “Affirmations are confirmations of how you want to feel,” he explains. Simple phrases like “I am safe” and “I am okay” work particularly well, he says.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Deep breathing helps to slow the heart rate, making it easier to manage a stressful situation. Terry Hyde, MA MBACP, recommends these two exercises:

1. •Breathe in through your nose for four counts.
   •Hold your breath for four counts.
   •Breathe out through pursed lips for eight counts.
   •Repeat four times.
2. •Take one long breath in.
   •Follow the long breath with two quick, short inhales.
   •Exhale slowly for eight counts.

Resources

Anxiety & Depression Association of America: Learn about SAD and other topics surrounding anxiety and depression, connect with a mental health professional, find resources like webinars and mental health stories from peers at adaa.org.

Entertainment Community Fund: Connect with a mental health professional, find a support group, and get help with insurance coverage through this performing-arts–specific organization at entertainmentcommunity.org.

Counselling for Dancers: Founded by Terry Hyde, MA MBACP, counsellingfordancers.com (and corresponding Instagram account: @counsellingfordancers_official) provides dancers with resources like workshops, an Instagram live conversation series, and an app, Help4Dancers.

National Health Service (UK): Find information about SAD, support groups, and other resources at nhs.uk.

National Social Anxiety Center: Learn about SAD and treatment and find a provider near you at nationalsocialanxietycenter.com.

The post How Social Anxiety Disorder Can Impact Dancers appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Comings & Goings

Brandon Ragland has been appointed artistic director of Dayton Ballet and the affiliated Dayton Ballet School, succeeding Karen Russo Burke on August 1.

Following the retirement of sjDANCEco co-artistic director and founder Gary Masters, former co-artistic director Maria Basile has been named sole artistic director.

Robert Curran has stepped down as artistic director of Louisville Ballet. Former artistic director Bruce Simpson and associate artistic director Helen Starr are serving as interim artistic advisors while the search for a replacement is underway.

Celia Fushille will retire from her post as artistic director of Smuin Contemporary Ballet in June 2024. She will be succeeded by Amy Seiwert, who joins as associate artistic director in August.

Christopher Anderson will step down as artistic director of Alberta Ballet at the end of 2023.

Natasha R. Moreland Spears has been named co-executive director of the International Association of Blacks in Dance, alongside previously announced co-executive director Omar Ingram, following the departure of former president and CEO Denise Saunders Thompson.

Boston Ballet executive director Meredith “Max” Hodges will depart to join The Shed as chief executive officer in October.

Marianna Tcherkassky has retired as rehearsal director at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

At The Royal Ballet, Isabella Gasparini has been promoted to first soloist, Mica Bradbury, Hannah Grennell, Sae Maeda, Joonhyuk Jun, and Taisuke Nakao to soloist.

Sarasota Ballet principal Danielle Brown has retired.

Awards & Honors

2023 Princess Grace Awards, which include a $15,000 unrestricted grant, have been awarded to Alexandria Best, Mark Caserta, Naomi Funaki, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Madison Olguin, and Andrew Robare. Honoraria, which include a $1,500 unrestricted grant, have been awarded to Emily Adams and Emani Drake. Nancy Bannon and Marjani Forté-Saunders received Special Project Awards, while Chanel DaSilva and James Gregg received Works in Progress–Residency Awards.

Virginia Johnson will receive the 2023 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance and Michele Byrd-McPhee the award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance at the New York Dance and Performance Awards (“The Bessies”) ceremony on August 4.

Washington Performing Arts awarded 2023 Pola Nirenska Awards to Ralph Glenmore (Outstanding Achievements in Dance, which includes a $5,000 prize) and George Jackson (Lifetime Achievement in Dance).

Deborah Goffe received a 2023 Rebecca Blunk Fund Award, which comes with a $5,000 unrestricted grant, from New England Foundation for the Arts.

The post News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in July 2023 appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Maria Majors, Kelly Ging, and Tommy Wasiuta of STL Rhythm Collaborative opened the show with Wasiuta’s playful Three to Get Ready. Mikaela Santos followed with a masterful rendition of a variation from Petipa’s Le Talisman, and both Dominic Moore-Dunson and Andrew McShea performed world-premiere solos: In his eyes and You, a body, respectively. Madeline Maxine Gorman and Ashton Edwards each presented dance on video (Between Myself and Bright Young Things). The first-act performers then joined editor in chief Caitlin Sims onstage for a brief panel to discuss their pathways to dance, repertoire, and career aspirations.

Several “25 to Watch” artists from the previous 22 years that the feature story has been a popular part of the magazine attended the evening as audience members; they stood for a moment of recognition and applause.

After a brief intermission, Quinn Starner began round two with an homage to her competition-dance days in Jason Parsons’ Into the Storm. Tendayi Kuumba followed with a performance of her BlackBird solo. Erin Casale danced a cheerful variation from Leonid Lavrovsky’s Walpurgisnacht; Dandara Veiga brought heat and articulation in her premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Novo Começo; and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd presented his introspective Black Cherry. Finally, Cameron Catazaro and Ashley Knox closed out the night’s dance portion with an emotional performance of Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, followed by a second panel discussion.

Thank you to everyone who played a role in this inaugural 25 to Watch Live! event, from the incredible dancers to the audience members and sponsors, Bloch and the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.

The post Reflecting on 25 to Watch Live! 2023: Moving, and Being Moved appeared first on Dance Magazine.

We caught up with students, faculty, and staff from Arizona State University and the University of Utah—just two of numerous higher ed dance programs whose facilities are outfitted with industry-leading Harlequin floors. Read on to learn how their Harlequin floors provide the strong and stable foundation students need to build a sustainable dance career. 

University of Utah School of Dance (Salt Lake City, UT)

“The University of Utah School of Dance chose to install Harlequin floors after a period of in-depth research many years ago, and doing so has only enhanced our overall student experience. The sprung flooring and marley have proven more than appropriate and safe for all styles of dance. From classical ballet technique and pointe work to sock and bare feet contemporary dance, Harlequin flooring continues to support the development of well-rounded artists.” —Maggie Wright Tesch, Professor (Lecturer)

“High quality dance flooring in our studios and on our stage is a priority for the safety of our dancers and a must for the level of dance training we offer. Harlequin professionals are the best in the business—partnering with us to offer consultation, assessment, and maintenance support.” —Melonie B. Murray, Director

“The Marriott Center for Dance’s Harlequin floors hold a special place in my heart. Spreading out in a big ‘X’ on marley floors is one of my favorite feelings in the world. The perfect blend of smooth and sticky provides just the right balance for a satisfying class with or without socks. The added cushion in the sprung floors truly makes a difference when I am dancing all day. The durability of these floors is incredible, and it is so special to know that so many generations of dance students have cherished these floors as much as I do. I am grateful that they have supported the longevity of my dancing throughout my undergraduate career.” —Allison Schuh, Modern Dance BFA, Class of 2023

“I care deeply about my students. Watching them work on Harlequin floors gives me peace of mind as an instructor. While dancing on tour as a professional, the quality of flooring can be dangerously unpredictable from theater to theater. These inconsistencies can be an ever-present source of stress for entire companies. However, when my students work on Harlequin floors, we can all work without fear, and what greater gift can we give our students than the confidence to practice freely every day in pursuit of their craft? That is the confidence that can make a true artist.” —Melissa Bobick, Assistant Professor

“I vividly remember how much fun I had jumping at my audition for the University of Utah School of Dance, with the sprung floor being a welcome contrast to years of a solid floor and a few stress fractures along the way. The sprung floors have been a reliable support over the years as both a student and teacher. I feel that I can safely challenge my students and also continue to demonstrate full-out in my ballet, pointe, and character dance classes.”—Justine Sheedy-Kramer, Adjunct Associate Professor

Arizona State University School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Tempe, AZ)

“It’s a smooth floor with a good feeling for turns. One of my favorite things about the floor is the ease you have lying down or falling into it. The transitions onto and out of the floor make freestyle and improvisation a breeze. Concepts can be more fully explored when the ground feels like a comfortable best friend. I’m always happy to have the opportunity to share space with other dancers on the Harlequin floor.”—Tom Bullard, third-year dance major

“The ASU dance program features coursework in hip hop, Afro-Latin, Caribbean dance, and authentic jazz dance, as well as in contemporary modern, contemporary ballet, and contact improvisation. We needed flooring that could handle this wide variety of styles, and we knew that Harlequin was the best choice.” —Keith Thompson, Dance Program Assistant Director and Associate Professor

“The subfloors and marley floors in our studios provide the students and faculty with the support and safety to ensure a long career and minimize the chance of injury. We have Harlequin Studio, Studio B, Standfast, and Fiesta floors installed, which are perfect for our industry leaders to teach their unique styles of movement.” —Carolyn Koch, Production Manager and Clinical Associate Professor

“Harlequin floors are a dream for all of our educational needs here at ASU. It was difficult to find flooring that would be secure and durable for all types of footwear. Harlequin floors are a welcome addition to our classes and performances at Arizona State University.” —Carley Conder, Clinical Assistant Professor

The post On Campus With Harlequin Floors: Inside 2 Universities’ Dance Facilities appeared first on Dance Magazine.