We’re finally in the last act of 2020—just a couple more numbers left before we can bow and breathe a hopeful sigh of relief that 2021 will be better. This year has been challenging in ways that we could never have imagined, but it has also shown how flexible (pun intended) the dance community can […]
Picture this: It’s Thanksgiving morning, you’re still all snuggly in your fave fuzzy pajamas, and you’re posted up in your living room to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The kitchen already smells like all your fave Thanksgiving foods, and the news anchors are announcing performances from all the Broadway hits you’re obsessed with this […]
Most full-length classical ballets feature several character dances—troupes of dancing peasants, parades of visiting princesses. Today, those dances are often seen as “filler,” interludes to give the principals a breather between classical variations. But back in the 19th century, when many of these ballets premiered, character dances had deep cultural significance. Ballerinas, equally versed in […]
In many ways, the planet we live on is like a dance partner. It provides for us, inspires us, and supports us. And like in any good duet, both partners benefit when support and respect go both ways. Did you know that there are choices you can make as a dancer to lessen your impact […]
Podiatrists and physiatrists and pulmonologists, oh, my! There are a lot of medical subspecialists out there—and many of these professionals can make a real difference to a dancer’s health and career. With the help of Virginia Wilmerding, PhD (dance science researcher and research professor for the exercise science and dance programs at the University of […]
Between travel restrictions and the economic burdens of COVID-19, you may not find yourself able to convention-hop every weekend as per usual (or you might find yourself attending virtual, rather than IRL, convention events). But that doesn’t mean your dance training has to suffer—especially if you’re conscientious about applying your convention lessons and corrections to […]
Everyone has a Taja Riley story. Janet Jackson has a Taja story. (When Taja was just 17 and was hired to perform alongside her, Janet Jackson picked Taja up in a limo and they spent a day—seven hours, to be exact—together at a hair salon.) Rihanna has a Taja story. (She hand-selected Taja for her […]
If you are a non-Black dancer, you likely want to be an ally to Black dancers, but you might not know where to start. You might even be thinking, “What does it mean to be an ally?” Allyship, says Melanie Person, co-director of The Ailey School in NYC, is “the process by which people build […]