Highlights from the Dance/USA Staff Residency Program in Kansas City, MO
In 2016 a Dance/USA staff member spent 10 days in Kansas City exploring the local dance community. Learn about the Dance/USA Staff Residency Program and the Kansas City dance community.
Dance Criticism Needs a Paradigm Shift
Who do critics write for? Do informed arts patrons need something different than artists? What about the artists, who decry the demise of dance criticism, yet blast the critic as ill-informed when a bad review runs?
Development Dialogue: Summer To-Do List
Summer: a time to relax, renew, recharge and reset. Read Kansas City Ballet Development Director Ron Fredman’s advice on how to make the most of your summer “down time” only in From the Green Room.
Leadership Corner: Isabel Miranda, President, Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company
In her five years with Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, Isabel Miranda increased the budget from $5,000 to $150,000. I ask: ‘What are the golden dreams?’ She says, ‘We have to dream big to succeed.’ Read on.
Overcoming Blind Spots in Striving for Diversity
Despite the increased numbers of minority-focused artistic ventures, it is still whites who primarily decide which people and works will be produced or receive mainstream exposure, said Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Zenetta Drew. Read on.
Douglas Sonntag, 2017 Dance/USA Trustee Awardee, Helmed the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Program
Douglas Sonntag discovered ballet during a high school visit from Ballet West. It changed his life. He spent his career at the National Endowment for the Arts in the dance program. Learn more about Dance/USA’s 2017 Trustee Awardee.
For Gina Gibney, Space Is the Place
New York choreographer and producer Gina Gibney receives Dance/USA’s Ernie Award, given annually to a changemaker in the field, whose work may go unheralded but has provided opportunities for generations of dancers.
Cleo Parker Robinson, 2017 Dance/USA Honoree: For Decades She Has Been Driven By the Mission of Inclusivity
In June, Denver dance artist Cleo Parker Robinson joins the roster of Dance/USA Honorees. She has been hailed as a champion for the arts, civil rights, and community engagement. Read about this dance leader and her eponymous company.
From Baton Twirling to Off-Broadway to Balanchine
Dance/USA Champion Awardee Billie Mahoney has been a professional dancer and teacher for over 70 years. From the “Kansas City Kiddies Review” to nightclubs and Broadway to notating Balanchine’s Agon. Learn about this vivacious leader.
Jobs That Matter?
In Sept. 2017, Kentucky Governor Bevins said: “If you’re studying interpretive dance, God bless you, but there’s not a lot of jobs right now in America looking for people with that as a skill set.” Dance professor Karen Bradley disagrees. Find out why.