“Playground” Star Dexter Carr on When Dance Gets the Reality Show Treatment
The new Hulu reality series “Playground,” with Megan Thee Stallion as an executive producer, is equal parts dancing and drama. The show’s namesake is Playground LA, the Los Angeles dance studio owned by Kenny Wormald and Robin Antin that serves as a frequent backdrop for viral class videos. “Playground” follows a group of the studio’s…
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Kayla Hamilton on Disability as Method and Access as Artistry
Bronx-based dancer, director, and educator Kayla Hamilton is at a transitional moment in her career. Her largest ensemble project yet, How to Bend Down / How to Pick It Up—a multidisciplinary performance exploring histories of Black disability, while imagining a liberated future—premieres at New York City’s The Shed next week before embarking on a U.S.…
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A Strike Threat, Scaffolding, and Last-Minute Changes: What It Was Like Dancing in the Olympic Opening Ceremony
Ballet de Lorraine’s Tristan Ihne has been dancing professionally for nearly two decades. But on July 26, he gave a performance unlike any he’d done before: Along with about 200 other dancers, he danced atop a golden platform filled with water next to the Seine river in an 8-minute piece by Maud Le Pladec, as…
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Choreographer David Dorfman on Magical Risk and Radical Empathy
For 40 years, David Dorfman has made capacious work full of heart. His 2020 piece (A) Way Out of My Body features original text, songs by Lizzy de Lise, and the rousing music of a live “house band” led by composer Sam Crawford. In a performance of the work last month in New York City’s…
Read MoreESPN+ Series Takes Viewers Inside a Mark Morris Dance Group Audition
Up to four company spots available. Two days of open classes. 380 hopeful dancers. These are the stakes laid out at the start of the fifth episode of the new ESPN+ series “Tryouts,” which takes viewers inside the pressure-cooker environment of a Mark Morris Dance Group audition. The series, which premiered last month, tracks some…
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What Real Dancers Think of Balletcore
Whether you like it, loathe it, or roll your eyes at it, you can’t miss it: Ballet-inspired clothing for the nondancing consumer is everywhere. The fashion and ballet worlds have a long and storied relationship, but ballet-aesthetic streetwear’s recent resurgence in popularity has been striking. According to fashion insiders, “balletcore” is already a defining trend…
Read MoreRecital nutrition: Fuel for the most important performances of your year
Professional dancers know the power of a good nutrition plan for a run of performances to boost performance while also reducing muscle soreness and mental fatigue. Dance students can take a page out of their playbooks to make sure they’re dancing their best for recitals. As a former professional dancer myself, I wish I knew…
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Dancing Across the Solar System as the Grand Canyon’s Astronomer in Residence
When I first imagined choreographing a dance about the connection between the Grand Canyon and how humans explore the solar system, I figured the idea was a little too “out there” to be taken seriously. And yet, last month, I stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon as the park’s official Astronomer in Residence.…
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La Cage aux Folles’ Cagelles, 40 Years Later: Something About Sharing, Something About Always
The groundbreaking musical La Cage aux Folles opened on Broadway 40 years ago last August. As part of the anniversary celebrations, members of the original Cagelles—the dancers who formed the drag ensemble at the heart of the show—organized a series of events in conjunction with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. It’s fitting that the group marked…
Read MoreThe Most Memorable Dance Moments From the 2024 Academy Awards
2024 was a big year for dance at the Oscars, including a history-making performance, a heart-pumping ensemble number, and a surprise addition to the “In Memoriam” segment. We’re still rooting for a “Best Choreography” category as dance continues to be an integral part to each year’s nominated films. But until then, we still enjoy seeing…
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