Though I'm the furthest thing from a bunhead without completely falling off the dance spectrum, I appreciate ballet and its importance in every dancer's life, including my own. I may not love executing (or attempting to execute) a challenging adage in class, but that doesn't mean I don't worship a great ballet performance. I was lucky enough to see the New York City Ballet last week at Lincoln Center, the night of Balanchine's birthday.
I'd never seen any of the pieces performed live, so I was super excited! Plus, I was sitting with Margaret, the newest editor at Dance Spirit, who happens to be a bona fide bunhead with great inside info about the amazing dancers. There was also a world premiere by Douglas Lee called Lifecasting. It was a cool experience to be present for the very first performance of a piece—it felt like I was part of history in the making. Alluding to the sculpture technique of making molds from human body parts, Lee's creation called for the leggiest dancers—Maria Kowroski and Kaitlyn Gilliand—I've ever seen!
Angelin Preljocaj's La Stravaganza was by far my favorite work of the night—probably because it strays far, far away from classical ballet in the style of the program's closing work, Theme and Variations.
La Stravaganza is danced to Vivaldi coupled with harsh electronic sounds that often made my skin crawl. There are two opposing groups. The first is neutral and gentle. The second group is violent and looks like they walked off the canvas of a painting from the 1600s. Though these are supposed to represent two worlds and time periods clashing, I can't help but see the first group as natives being threatened by a group of pilgrims, entering their sacred terrain and introducing violence into their vocabulary. Interpretations aside, the piece was certainly mysterious and fascinating to me.
It was definitely a great night and only heightened my admiration of the average professional bunhead!
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Mar 26, 2021
Protocol like mandatory face masks, temperature checks, and careful class staging have become the norm at comps and conventions like NYCDA (Evolve Photo & Video, courtesy NYCDA)
4 Industry Leaders Walk Us Through the State of the Competition/ Convention World
After a year of tumult, virtual events and constantly moving targets, it's more than reasonable to wonder: What exactly is the state of the competition world?
For months, we didn't see our favorite friends and teachers unless it was through a screen—now, against all odds, programs are rising from the ashes to bring you meaningful training and performance opportunities both in person and online. We asked four prominent competition/convention directors to give you the inside scoop on what to expect from this season (and, yes, that includes Nationals).
First: Things are going to be OK
<p>If you ask leadership from 24Seven, NYCDA, Showstopper or Radix Dance Convention, the trajectory of the dance convention/competition world is on the upswing. "As numbers improve and restrictions are eased, we're ready to kick it into high gear," says Radix director Eddie Strachan.</p><p>Programs have returned to their regional tours, tackling unique pandemic hurdles as they strive to create as "normal" an event as possible. "Things are definitely looking up," says 24Seven director Danny Lawn. "For us, an event this past weekend felt as close to normal as it has in a long time."</p><p>According to Nikki Cole, director of marketing and media relations for Showstopper, the competition world is an inspirational place to be right now. "The dance community has come together in remarkable ways to bring positivity, hope and light to dance studios by getting kids back onstage," she says.</p>Right, but what about Nationals?
<p>Good news! Every competition/convention we've spoken with is committed to hosting Nationals this year, one way or another.</p><p>COVID willing, Showstopper, Radix and The Dance Awards all hope to hold a normal Nationals (you know, in-person), but it's important to remember that things are always subject to change. "We are ready to hold Nationals as normally as possible, but if we still need to have safety protocols in place during that time, then so be it," Strachan says. "We are just trying to push through each month to see what the next one brings."</p><p>Capacity for both the Florida and Las Vegas Dance Awards is still to be determined by the tide of the pandemic, but as of right now, registration is open to those who are interested. Regardless, Lawn says dancers can anticipate something magical. "The directors are so good at shifting plans and making everything special," he says.</p><p>For NYCDA, things will look a little different. Rather than hosting one event in NYC, director Joe Lanteri has decided to hold two separate summer events: one in Phoenix, AZ, and one in Orlando, FL. "We are committed to making it feel like a true NYCDA Nationals," Lanteri says. That means it will still include award-winning choreographers, artistic directors and college-scholarship auditions. Safety precautions that have been a staple throughout the year will continue, but the details of how many dancers can attend are still to be determined by the ever-changing state of the pandemic.</p><img
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data-rm-shortcode-id="865e63390179925cfa119cdfe9bd8edb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A dancer at an NYCDA event receives a temperature check. The dancer stands in front of a registration table, and leans in slightly, eyes closed, with a face mask on, to receive a contact-free temperature check. The woman administering the temperature check also leans in slightly, and uses one arm to administer the test." />
Regular temperature checks are required to participate at the majority of events (Evolve Photo & Video, courtesy NYCDA)
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Okay, so what does "in-person" actually look like these days?
<p><strong>Schedule Shakeup</strong></p><p>In order to host as many dancers as possible, and avoid cross-contamination between studios, scheduling at conventions and competitions is a bit different this year.</p><p>"If you're only allowed 200 dancers in the venue at a time, that's really limiting for four different age groups," Lanteri says. NYCDA's workaround? In some venues, a split schedule. Morning classes are reserved for mini and junior dancers to take class, and the rest of the day is reserved for teen and senior dancers. "That alone doubles our capacity."</p><p>In order to avoid eating and congregating en masse, 24Seven is staggering lunch times, as well as class start and end times.</p><p><em>The takeaway?</em><em> First, pay close attention to the schedule the competition gives you: It's going to be different from years past. </em></p><p><em>Second, if you have a younger sibling, your parent or guardian will likely be running back and forth like crazy all weekend, so be sure to tell them how much you appreciate them.</em></p><p><strong>Mask Up, Temperature Check and Complete That Health Survey!</strong></p><p>These days, your mask is your golden ticket to any convention or competition. Other than the moments immediately before you walk onstage to compete, and immediately after you finish, your mask will be on your face for the entire weekend. (Some cities even require them onstage.)</p><p>"We completely understand that none of us like to wear masks," Strachan says. "But we all like to dance in person, so if that is what it takes, that is what we have to do."</p><p>Beyond masks, regular temperature checks are required to participate at the majority of events, as well. And NYCDA teachers and staff are going the extra mile to keep you safe. "We have a partnership with a testing lab, so every week, everyone on the NYCDA team is PCR tested before they get on an airplane," Lanteri says. "The lab sends someone out to the cities with us, and most of us test again while we're there. I personally also test every Monday when I get back to my home base."</p><p>NYCDA also requires each of their dancers and attendees to fill out a wellness survey every day along with getting a temperature check. This gives them access to a wristband that shows they're clear to participate. </p><p><em>The takeaway? </em><em>These competitions and conventions aren't messing around. Nothing is more important to them than your safety.</em></p><img
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data-rm-shortcode-id="e2e71e38ca120cf9d498216a102610aa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Dancers at a Showstopper event celebrate an apparent victory. All of the dancers wear gold dresses, face masks, and their hair in ballet buns. One dancer holds a large gold trophy, and several reach their arms up towards the multicolored confetti raining from the sky." />
We can practically promise that celebrating a win will feel just as good in a face mask (courtesy Showstopper)
<p><strong>Class Staging</strong></p><p>The current industry standard for conventions is to require six feet of space between each dancer. Events maintain this by taping 6-foot-by-6-foot squares on the ground that the students are asked to dance in. "I love looking out into a sea of clean lines with everyone in their spot," says Lawn. "In that sense, it's kinda fierce."</p><p>Most conventions begin the weekend by dividing the participants into combo groups that will be used throughout the weekend. This keeps the dancers from crossing paths as they move on and off the floor, and limits potential exposure between groups as they observe.</p><p>In a major shift from years past, dancers may no longer be asked to go onstage next to the teacher to demonstrate, depending on the size of the ballroom. "We keep the stage as clear as possible," Lawn says of 24Seven.</p><p><em>The takeaway? </em><em>You've practiced perfect spacing your entire life—you were born for this.</em></p><p><strong>Studio Blocks</strong></p><p>In order to avoid contact between studios and keep numbers in the venue low, most competitions currently have schools compete all their numbers, one right after the other during a single block of time.</p><p>"Studios A, B and C may compete during a three-hour chunk of time," Strachan says. "Then we clear them out of the ballroom and sanitize the stage and dressing rooms before the next set of studios come in to dance their block." At Radix, security has a list of people in each given block, and checks who they are before they're allowed to enter the ballroom.</p><p>At 24Seven, solos follow the same studio-block pattern as group numbers. All mini and junior solos from studio A will go back-to-back, followed by studios B and C, before the room is cleaned for the next block. "We call everyone beforehand to make sure they are comfortable sharing a block with other studios," Lawn says.</p><p><em>The takeaway?</em><em> You're gonna be pretty tired after running your dances consecutively. Bring a good energy booster to snack on!</em></p>
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Many competitions are spreading out chairs for audience members to encourage social distancing (Evolve Photo & Video, courtesy NYCDA)
<p><strong>Exclusive In-Person Performances, Online Entourages</strong></p><p>Just as there is less space for performers at competition these days, there's also less space for audience members. For those who can attend, competitions are spreading chairs out for social-distancing purposes. Showstopper audiences sit at round tables spread out across the room in watch groups.</p><p>For those who can't attend in person due to capacity or proximity, the majority of competitions livestream the event.</p><p><em>The takeaway?</em><em> The fewer people there are, the safer you'll be. But you'll still get virtual hype from loved ones.</em></p><p><strong>Socially Distanced Awards</strong></p><p>Most competitions aren't hosting in-person awards, but you can stream them online. At competitions like Radix and NYCDA, all the awards for each studio are placed in a box or a souvenir bag that your studio owner or teacher can pick up later.</p><p>For Showstopper, in-person awards are possible, they just have to be done more frequently. "In years past we would have had 3-4 award ceremonies, now we do 10," Cole says. "This means when we finish each category (like Teen Small Groups), we do an award ceremony before moving on to the next one." According to Cole, parents really appreciate this new structure. "They don't have to sit and wait around all day if they don't want to," she says.</p><p><em>The takeaway?</em><em> You can officially watch the awards ceremony from your bed with zero shame.</em></p>
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Apr 02, 2021
Photo by Matthew Karas/MOVE|NYC|
Blu Furutate is Your March Cover Model Search Editors' Choice Winner
Congratulations to the March Cover Model Search Editors' Choice video winner, Blu Furutate! Watch her solo below, and be sure to enter the Cover Model Search here.
Blu Furutate, "Resonance"
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Apr 05, 2021
Students at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (Clara Reed, courtesy NYU Tisch School of the Arts)
How College Seniors Can Make the Best of Graduating During a Pandemic
If you're a college student, there are some guarantees. The dining hall food will be bad. Your communal shower will be gross. You will sleep through class (at least) once. And at the end of it all, you will walk across a stage and move the tassel on your hat and—finally!—graduate.
But not even college traditions are immune to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Because while dining hall food may remain terrible, communal bathrooms disgusting and alarm clocks just a little too quiet, graduating in the midst of a global pandemic will be different.
And that's not just because, at many schools, COVID protocols will require that your graduation be held virtually. Dancers today are graduating into a different job market—one plagued by company closures, performance cancellations, and significant challenges facing the arts industry as a whole.
We know, we know. It sounds pretty bleak. But with vaccination rates rising and live performances slowly returning to stages, there is a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. And to make sure you're ready for graduation (even in a time that nobody could have prepared for), we spoke with faculty at two top dance schools about what students can do differently this year to prep for life postgrad.
How this year will be different
<p>It's undeniable that the dance job market will look different this year. "Funding in general is more scarce," says Bruce McCormick, assistant professor of practice at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. "Many employers are taking care of their own for the moment, keeping the dancers they have employed and not hiring new ones." So in that sense, it may be more challenging for new college grads to get hired to dance.</p><p>But this doesn't mean that there <em>aren't</em> jobs to be found. "Everybody is revolutionizing how we work," says Giada Matteini, teacher and academic director at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and director of Tisch's Second Avenue Dance Company. Companies are creating more digital work than ever before, and are learning to be more creative in how they present content. And in this, there is room for growth.</p><p>This also means that hiring directors may be looking for slightly different skills. "If they're changing the format of how they're presenting work, they might be looking for a different kind of dancer," says Matteini. "If companies are going to incorporate more outdoor space, or more videos, or more intercontinental relationships, who knows?" Because of this, you may want to broaden your scope—consider companies or jobs that in an ordinary year you might not have. You never know where your perfect fit might be found.</p><img
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Bruce McCormick leads a virtual ballet class at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (Mary Mallaney, courtesy USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance)
How you can take advantage of the moment
<p>Start making virtual connections wherever you can. If there's a company or choreographer you've always been inspired by, do some research, and find a point of contact so you can connect with them. "Right now, everyone is feeling a deep human need to connect, so people are even more open to connecting," says Matteini. "I have made so many connections just because someone else like me is in dire need of having a conversation with a fellow artist."</p><p>McCormick agrees, and encourages students to be politely persistent. "Some directors are going to be less responsive than others, depending on their own situation, and you should be sensitive to that," he says. "But if there's somebody you're really interested in working with, keep trying, and stay patient."</p><p>While it can be incredibly intimidating to make that first connection, consider the advantages of the time we're in. Many people will be more willing to jump on Zoom or on a phone call because their schedules are freer than in typical years. And while in a normal year, you might need to travel (even internationally) to attend a company class or audition, you may be able to do so virtually in 2021.</p><div style="padding: 20px 0 40px;">
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How you can prepare financially
<p>Consider the moment: The dance world is more digital than ever. "Dance is being shown on more platforms and in virtual spaces and reaching a broader audience in more ways than it ever has before," says McCormick. And while this, of course, presents opportunities for dancers, it also presents more opportunities for work behind the scenes.</p><p>Are you famous in your friend group for taking the best dance shots? Do you dabble in filmmaking on weekends? Is social media your second language? If so, there's probably a dance company out there that needs your help. "Find nonprofits and small companies who need help with digital content," says Matteini. "So many companies need that kind of help, but they don't have the time or the know-how."</p><p>And if you aren't particularly versed in the virtual world? Find a way to bulk up on those skills before graduating. It could land you a side gig to help get by, or it could even land you the dance job of your dreams. "I imagine that if dancers are skilled with digital media, that is probably an asset that more and more directors are going to start looking for," says McCormick.</p>How you can stay positive
<p>Though it can be challenging, in a time when we're all so socially distanced from each other, try to stay connected with your social networks—they can help you to stay positive in these trying times. "Stay connected with your classmates," says McCormick. "Especially after graduation, keep checking in. And if you're struggling, don't be afraid to tell someone—because often you aren't the only one."</p><p>You can reach out to your faculty for support, as well. "If you have professors or teachers that you trust who support you, stay close to them, and keep asking for help," says Matteini.</p><p>And trust that this time isn't wasted. "I think the dancers who are living through this pandemic are going to bring a beautiful sense of depth and introspection," says McCormick. "I know that's going to come through in their work—it already is."</p>
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