Merce's Work, Without Merce "By outlining ways in which his dances might be conserved without the dance company for which they were created, Cunningham … introduced a forward-looking program for modern-dance professionals, who have always focused on the here and now. … But can Cunningham's scheme really be carried out? Can the dancers and the dances be disentwined?"

New York Times Magazine 11/08/09

email this story | Posted 11/08/09@12:27AM

The Red Shoes Restored, With Shoes Redder Than Ever Manohla Dargis: "This born-again version of The Red Shoes, digitally resuscitated from battered prints and negatives, … is essential viewing because even if you think you have seen the movie before its restoration, if you're under 60, you probably haven't seen it anywhere near its original Technicolor glory."

New York Times 11/06/09

email this story | Posted 11/05/09@10:25PM

Bangarra Dance Theatre At 20 Founded in 1989, Bangarra is now the flagship performing company of Australia's (and perhaps the world's) aboriginal peoples. "When you sit down and see a Bangarra show, you don't realise you've just been given a 50-minute history lesson, you just feel like you've been taken on a journey and it comes back to you in waves.''

The Age (Melbourne) 10/30/09

email this story | Posted 11/05/09@10:07PM

A Cunningham Counterpart To Wiseman's Paris Opera Ballet Doc Tacita Dean's Craneway Event "records three days of rehearsals by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the Craneway Pavilion," a converted automobile factory near San Francisco, about a year before Cunningham's death. The documentary film reminds Alastair Macaulay of Degas's backstage-at-the-ballet paintings.

New York Times 11/05/09

email this story | Posted 11/04/09@10:34PM

'One Of The Finest Dance Films Ever Made": Wiseman's La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet A.O. Scott: "[The documentary's] greater virtue, and the substance of Mr. Wiseman's particular genius, is the way it transfixes you with the inner workings of an institution you may not otherwise care about."

New York Times 11/04/09

email this story | Posted 11/03/09@10:30PM

Old Ballet Florida HQ Sold To College Drama Dept. Palm Beach Atlantic University, a privately funded 3,500-student Christian school, paid $1.85 million for the two-story building in downtown Palm Beach as a home for its theater program. Ballet Florida declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and shut down in July.

Palm Beach Post (Fla.) 11/03/09

email this story | Posted 11/03/09@10:12PM

Isadora Duncan Awards Nominees, Honorees Announced "Dohee Lee and Jo Kreiter will be honored for outstanding achievement by [January's] 24th annual Isadora Duncan Awards, which recognize contributions to Bay Area dance...." The San Francisco Ballet and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival received seven nominations apiece.

San Francisco Chronicle 11/03/09

email this story | Posted 11/03/09@06:03AM

Worldwide Mass Thriller Dance Breaks Record "This was the fourth annual Thrill the World event and interest was at an all time high to honor the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Thrill the World reported that 22,932 people danced to Thriller in 32 countries around the globe."

Examiner 10/31/09

email this story | Posted 11/01/09@08:26AM

Five Hours, Three Stages And One Enormous Space: In Memory Of Merce "There was inevitably a lot of great dance and dancing. But also, inevitably, this was not exactly a dance occasion. … Nor, for that matter was it about Merce (yes, everyone called him and calls him Merce). What distinguished Cunningham from all other great choreographers was the degree of his inclusiveness."

Los Angeles Times 10/29/09

email this story | Posted 10/29/09@10:09PM

Salsa In The Land Of The Rising Sun "Japan's standing as a 'hub' for salsa in Asia rises every day. International talent flock to the capital; specialist publications cover the dance form as a swelling number of aspiring dancers scour the city for classes."

The Root 10/28/09

email this story | Posted 10/29/09@09:56PM

Dancing About Transportation At The Staten Island Ferry Terminal "Ferry terminals are surprisingly dreamy spaces. This is especially true on wet, foggy days, when the differences between land, sea and air seem negligible, the boundaries permeable. … All sorts of boundaries seemed uncertain [Tuesday] afternoon at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan when [the company] Palissimo performed Halt!, a new site-specific work."

New York Times 10/29/09

email this story | Posted 10/28/09@09:50PM

Why Are Women Choreographers Lower-Profile Than Men? "Has dance simply caved into the wider, sexist culture, or are there specific issues affecting the profession right now? And is this apparent marginalisation something women have chosen - or has it been foisted on them?"

The Guardian (UK) 10/27/09

email this story | Posted 10/28/09@07:28AM

Even Dance Has A Mommy-Track Problem "Dance is suffering from a shortage of high-profile women because of the difficulties faced by female choreographers trying to juggle a career in the sector with motherhood, according to leading industry figures."

The Stage (UK) 10/27/09

email this story | Posted 10/27/09@10:07PM

How Pilobolus Audiences Are Different "The din at a Pilobolus performance is like that of no other dance crowd. If you were blindfolded, you'd have every reason to assume that you were attending a small-scale circus, … and the biggest affront wouldn't be boos but the reverential silence of a ballet recital."

Los Angeles Times 10/25/09

email this story | Posted 10/27/09@09:55PM

Reacting To Rift, Joyce Stagehands Join IATSE Joyce Theater stagehands voted yesterday to join the "powerful union" that "struck Broadway in 2007 and negotiated a contract at Carnegie Hall that resulted in a props supervisor earning $530,044 last year." Now Joyce executive director Linda Shelton says she's "concerned that some dance companies won't be able to afford us anymore."

Bloomberg 10/27/09

email this story | Posted 10/27/09@05:02AM

Urban Dance: If You Teach It, They Will Come Undergrads who pursue the University of East London's urban dance degree -- an anomaly in the UK -- are taught "not just hip-hop styles like krumping, popping and locking, but also the fundamentals of African dance, capoeira and kathak." Purists sneer, but the program's "popularity is booming."

The Guardian (UK) 10/27/09

email this story | Posted 10/26/09@07:54PM

These Dance Moves Prohibited (Warning: Explicit Language) High school administrators who "fretted over how to deal with freaking, grinding and other provocative dances" are combating "explicit teen dancing with an equal dose of explicitness" in the contracts they now require students and parents to sign "before a teenager can step onto the dance floor."

Los Angeles Times 10/26/09

email this story | Posted 10/26/09@05:43PM

Worldwide "Thriller" Dance Record "It's estimated about 20,000 people in more than 200 locations in 37 countries around the world participated in the dance which occurred Saturday night or Sunday morning depending on where you were."

CBC 10/25/09

email this story | Posted 10/25/09@08:14PM

Can Christopher Wheeldon's Dance Company Survive? "As Morphoses prepares to open its third season at City Center on Thursday, Mr. Wheeldon is facing a crucial moment in which the viability of his venture seems highly uncertain. His contracts with the Vail International Dance Festival and City Center in New York will end this season, and renewals must be negotiated. In the current economic climate fund-raising possibilities could hardly look more dire."

The New York Times 10/25/09

email this story | Posted 10/25/09@12:02PM

To Escape Corporate Image, Boston Ballet Rebrands The company's brand strategist explains: "I think the ballet really needed to put a stake in the ground and say, 'This is happening here, you need to take note.' Because no one else would do that for them. One of our big challenges was to shift the perception of what ballet is all about."

Boston Globe 10/22/09

email this story | Posted 10/22/09@07:36AM

'Why Must The Stage Always Be Horizontal And The Dancer Vertical?' "Perhaps the most salient characteristic of [Deborah] Colker's work since she founded the company that bears her name 15 years ago has been her desire to toy with perceptions of dimension, direction and distance. An early piece, Rota, featured dancers performing in a large spinning wheel, like hamsters at play."

New York Times 10/22/09

email this story | Posted 10/21/09@10:14PM

Rudy Perez, L.A.'s 'Postmodern Dance Guru,' At 80 "That he continues choreographing is something of a minor miracle. Not only is the arts economy dire, but Perez also has been visually impaired for the last decade. Moving slowly and burdened with hazy vision at best, Perez says the work keeps him going."

Los Angeles Times 10/21/09

email this story | Posted 10/21/09@10:00PM

With New Digs, Ballet Ireland Finally Starts Realizing Its Potential "[The company's] directors no longer worry about bringing in space heaters to keep the dancers warm, or hiring buses to ferry them to faraway locations when inner-city rehearsal venues are booked. DanceHouse's resources - from TVs for reviewing choreography to spaces for sewing costumes - also allow Ballet Ireland to attract choreographers of international calibre."

Irish Times 10/21/09

email this story | Posted 10/21/09@09:49PM

Financial Realities Mean A Leaner Miami City Ballet Miami City Ballet opens its season this week "without any of the new works or big classical productions that have generated excitement in recent years. MCB's budget is $11.2 million, down from $13.8 million last year. Eight dancers did not have their contracts renewed...."

Miami Herald 10/21/09

email this story | Posted 10/21/09@07:35AM

Oakland Ballet Makes Steps Toward Recovery "The prognosis for the Oakland Ballet Company looked grim in April when founding Artistic Director Ronn Guidi suddenly resigned (for the second time in a decade)." But this weekend, "the company gave its first concert since Guidi's retirement. The short, mixed program left ballet fans, if not connoisseurs of choreography, in a hopeful mood."

San Francisco Chronicle 10/19/09

email this story | Posted 10/20/09@10:13PM

The Sacrifices PA Ballet Is, And Isn't, Willing To Make To survive in a tight economy, Pennsylvania Ballet "has chosen pay freezes and furloughs. The non-artistic staff has shrunk by five from its 22 positions through attrition, and those jobs are going unfilled." But tomorrow night the ballet opens its season "with its full roster of about 40 dancers, and its orchestra."

Philadelphia Inquirer 10/20/09

email this story | Posted 10/20/09@06:39AM

Mark Morris Names The Greatest Threat To Dance "Dance itself. The one reason people don't take dance seriously is because a lot of choreographers don't take dance seriously. Audiences don't want to see the kind of self-indulgent, boring dance that is so prevalent today."

The Guardian (UK) 10/19/09

email this story | Posted 10/19/09@07:35PM

'Why Not Film A Dance From The Ground Up?' That's the question asked by filmmaker Elliot Caplan. His answer, 15 Days of Dance: The Making of 'Ghost Light', "documents a three-week rehearsal process, followed by a one-week residency in Buffalo in early 2007. … The film, a rigorous and highly entertaining depiction of that murky thing, the choreographic process, is 18 hours long."

New York Times 10/18/09

email this story | Posted 10/18/09@11:41AM

How Pilobolus Survived A Nasty Midlife Crisis "Plagued by internal strife and struggling to remain financially solvent, the company's four artistic directors essentially decided [in 2004 that] they needed a boss" and hired an executive director. Five years (and the departure of one artistic director) later, "Pilobolus seems not only alive and well but galvanized by its efforts to reinvent itself."

Los Angeles Times 10/18/09

email this story | Posted 10/18/09@10:23AM

Runway Ballet: Dancing About Coco Chanel's Little Black Dress "Coco is the work of [Nevada Ballet Theatre's] artistic director James Canfield. The '40s-set program came to fruition as part of a three-piece series he put together several years ago that told the stories of strong women who were just as influential dead as they were alive. Anaïs Nin, Edie Sedgwick and Coco Chanel."

Las Vegas Review-Journal 10/15/09

email this story | Posted 10/18/09@09:41AM

For Newcomers To Dance, A Cheat Sheet "Tribune reporter Christopher Borrelli, a devotee of cinema and other pop arts, is dating a woman who's a passionate dance fan," whereas he has a laundry list of questions about the art form. A dance critic answers them with this primer.

Chicago Tribune 10/16/09

email this story | Posted 10/16/09@08:19AM

Was Oregon Ballet Theatre Right To Get Rid Of Its Executive Director? "[A]rguably the biggest mistake was bumping up the budget almost $300,000 in the most recent fiscal year after the company had finished the previous one with a loss of almost $1 million." But "the company was in a state of euphoria over what it was putting onstage, and that this led to its budgeting mistakes."

The Oregonian (Portland) 10/12/09

email this story | Posted 10/15/09@10:50PM

National Ballet Of Canada Almost Breaks Even The company "has weathered the tough economic climate of the past year with what it called a 'manageable deficit' of $423,000 [Cdn]."

CBC 10/15/09

email this story | Posted 10/15/09@10:25PM

Artist Martin Creed Tries His Hands At Choreography Though he has no dance background, Sadler's Wells commissioned the Turner Prize winner to create a work for its Diaghilev/Ballets Russes centennial. "He starts and ends with the five basic positions of classical ballet. Those are his only steps. The dancers can move forwards, backwards or sideways: no diagonals."

The Independent (UK) 10/15/09

email this story | Posted 10/15/09@10:11PM

NY City Ballet, Joyce Theater Win Rockefeller Fdn. Grants "City Ballet will use its grant to commission new ballets for a set designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava; the Joyce Theater Foundation will put its money toward residencies to support projects that combine theater and dance."

New York Times 10/14/09

email this story | Posted 10/14/09@10:16PM

Sadler's Wells Tries Movie-Style Trailers Before Performances "The trailers will highlight forthcoming productions at both the Peacock and the Sadler's Wells main house, including Jump, Christmas show The Snowman and Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake."

The Stage (UK) 10/13/09

email this story | Posted 10/14/09@09:56PM

Pina Bausch's Company Names Successors "Dominique Mercy and Robert Sturm have been named as the pair tapped to take over [Tanztheater Wuppertal,] the German dance company once led by the iconic choreographer Pina Bausch, who died in June." Both men are longtime company members.

Agence France-Presse 10/12/09

email this story | Posted 10/13/09@09:46PM

Oregon Ballet Theatre Chief Exec. Steps Down Under Pressure "Two days before the opening of Oregon Ballet Theatre's 20th anniversary season, the company and its embattled executive director, Jon Ulsh, are parting ways." Last month, "a letter calling for Ulsh to resign was signed by a large percentage of Oregon Ballet Theatre staffers and delivered to the board of directors."

The Oregonian (Portland) 10/09/09

email this story | Posted 10/13/09@09:38PM

Philly Dance Companies Line Up - Literally - To Get Funds "At dawn on Monday a line formed outside a building at Spruce and 15th Streets in Philadelphia. They weren't waiting to get Springsteen tickets. They were representatives from local dance companies, waiting for a crack at cash subsidies. Funding was handing out money on a first-come, first-served basis."

WHYY (Philadelphia) 10/13/09

email this story | Posted 10/13/09@09:30PM

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Signs Music Director "After four years without an official music director, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has a three-year contract with Charles Barker, giving him the dual titles of music director and conductor."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/12/09

email this story | Posted 10/12/09@06:55PM