Authenticity: The Best ‘Best Practice’
The art world is too small to have competition among administrative teams, write Jennifer Edwards and Sydney Skybetter, either from different organizations or within organizations. Read more about our need for
need multiple thriving arts organizations in each community to grow a healthy arts market overall.
Navigating the Thicket, Then and Today
Ivan Sygoda has been a fixture in the dance world since he joined
Pentacle as tour manager in 1976 after a first career teaching French
language and literature at various colleges in the Northeast. This month
(July 2013), he transitions from director to founding director. Dance
writer Mindy Aloff spoke with Sygoda about the changes the dance field
has undergone and what he thinks about current trends exclusively for From the Green Room.
Social-Media Whore Versus Savvy Self-Brander
The first time I joined in the social-media craze was back in 2004,
right after I had joined Pacific Northwest Ballet. I had friends that
had been using Myspace for a couple of years, but I felt that there was
no real reason for me to join in the fun. Little did I know that social-media would
eventually take over my entire idea of communication, nor did I envision
that it would become one of the greatest tools to market businesses to
mass audiences.
Conference 2013 Report: From Racial Equity to the Future of Dance
From crucial networking sessions for artistic and executive directors to
share programming hits and budgetary misses to paperwork how-to’s for
grants and insurance, to sustaining partnerships and forging bonds in
the community, Dance/USA’s 2013 Annual Conference held June 12-15 in
Philadelphia reflected the wide spectrum of interests and issues
confronting the organization’s members. Read on here for Karyn D. Collins’ report.
Come Dance With Me, part 2
Dance teachers have long known the positive effects of dance training: from improved concentration and grades to better physical health and better behavior. In recent years science has begun to back up what many in the dance field have known instinctively for decades. Read Part 2 of Veronica Hackethal’s article on educational dance programs that tap into the science while transmitting the artistic discipline of dance.
Come Dance With Me
Only recently has science tried to analyze how dance benefits the brain
and brings such joy. One theory holds that, like most exercise, dance
releases a cascade of feel-good chemicals in the brain. Dancing induces
the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers that increase
pain tolerance and boost mood. Endorphins are responsible for the
euphoria experienced during a “runner’s high” and have a similar effect
on the body during dancing. Read on to see how dance educators are using dance to stimulate these brain-boosting effects in children and teens.
Dance/USA Honors a Legend: Philadanco’s Joan Myers Brown
Joan Myers Brown has had an extraordinary career. The founder of Philadanco!, one of Philadelphia’s preeminent dance companies, as well as the driving force behind both the International Conference of Black Dance Companies and the International Association of Blacks in Dance, Myers Brown has lent her artistic guidance, her nurturance of many dancers and
choreographers, her visionary leadership and grace under fire to many in the dance
field. On June 13, she will be honored by Dance/USA for her contributions to the field. Read this personal account about Joan from long-time Philadelphia dance critic Merilyn Jackson.
Sharon Luckman Receives the Dance/USA Trustees Award
Sharon Gersten Luckman, former long-time executive director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will receive the Dance/USA Trustees Award June 13 at its annual conference in Philadelphia. Catch up with Luckman in an interview with arts journalist Karyn Collins on what makes Ailey such a successful dance organization, what other companies can learn from the Ailey company success, and where she sees the field in the future.
Dance Visionary Barbara Weisberger Celebrates her Ernie Award and More
On Thursday afternoon, June 13, during Dance/USA’s 2013 conference in Philadelphia, Barbara Weisberger, respected doyenne of dance, will
receive the Ernie from Dance/USA for her visionary leadership and contributions to the field. The prize,
named for the first recipient, Ian Ernie Horvath, arts advocate, dancer,
and founder of the Cleveland Ballet in his native city, is fitting for Weisberger as Horvath was both a colleague and a friend of hers. Read more about the woman who was Balanchine’s first child student and later the founder of the Pennsylvania Ballet.
EDA: One Piece of the Audience Engagement Puzzle, Part 2
Catch up on Dance/USA’s Educating Dance Audiences research and best practices with this report by EDA director Suzanne Callahan.
