Calamity or Comedy: Critic/Scholar v. New York State — The Nite Moves Dance Tax Case, Part 1
Rooted in Middle Eastern belly dance and an American tradition of
parody, namely American burlesque, striptease and exotic dance are a
form of dance and theater art. While somewhat “risqué” or “naughty” with
its adult play and fanciful sexualized teasing that transgresses social
decorum and dress codes, exotic dance is, like all dance, communication
and a learned skill with its own aesthetic. So the question
arises: how far removed is exotic dance from the world of artistic and
concert dance? For a discussion of the recent Night Moves exotic dance court case read on here.
Post-Sandy Report: Resilience and Resolve
While the damage from Sandy is unprecedented and a complete picture
of the losses the dance community in New York and New Jersey have
suffered won’t be fully evident for weeks to come, Dance/USA’s From the Green Room
has reached out to its colleagues and constituents in the affected
region via social networking, email blasts, and personal messages to put
together an anecdotal report of some of the damage.
Critic/Scholar v. New York State — The Nite Moves Case Reaches the Highest Court, Part 2
On September 5, 2012, the seven-member New York Court of Appeals heard
Nite Moves’ legal challenge to the Tribunal’s decision that exotic dance
was not a live choreographed performance and consequently exempt from taxation as stated in law. Read Judith Lynne Hanna’s account of this intriguing case and the ramifications it could have on the dance community.
On Facebook and the Constancy of Change
If you manage a Facebook page, fewer of your fans are
seeing your posts. To be fair, there was never a time when 100 percent
of your fans saw each and every post. But recent changes make it more likely that you’ll get fewer views. Here are three free steps to take before resorting to promoted posts. Read on.
After Sandy: Post-Disaster Community Engagement
Silver linings can be hard to find, they are unpredictable, and maybe
they are not in the place you are looking. When disaster occurs,
understanding what it means to be community engaged is one of the most
positive opportunities an arts organization can realize in a
community-wide crisis.
Two Shoes, Same Foot: Vernacular Dance & Concert Dance
Does concert dance happen in a concert hall? Master Juba or William Henry Lane performed in
theaters and halls across the United States in the mid-19th century. Does “concert dance” imply
some level of professional commitment or success? Lane, a black percussive dancer, toured
internationally, receiving top billing over his all-white
minstrel troupe. Does “concert dance”
suggest some level of peer review or development of craft? Percussive dancer Emily Oleson ponders these issues and others. Read on.
Two Shoes, Same Foot: Vernacular Dance & Concert Dance, Part 2
As a teenager I was reluctant to openly study hip-hop dance although I
loved the music, like much of my generation, because I had a vague fear I
might be “stealing” it. It took a lot of pain and discomfort from many
areas of my dance training to realize that no matter what my focus was
going to be, racism was an element of so many stories in American dance
history that it could not be avoided – and that ignoring it would not
make it go away. It might make it worse.
Employee Relations Basics: Lessons Learned in Dance/USA’s Institute for Leadership Training
It sounds simple on paper: When it comes to employee relations, the most
important thing to remember is that you’re dealing with, well, human
beings. Simple, right? But, as Paul Jan Zdunek, CEO of the Pasadena
Symphony Association, delineated in a one-hour webinar last month to
mentees in Dance/USA’s Institute for Leadership Training (DILT), dealing
with human beings means dealing with human emotions.
After Sandy the Show Must Go On
It’s been a week since Hurricane Sandy left its mark on many dance companies and
theaters in the New York and New Jersey area. We hear accounts of lost rehearsal time, cancelled shows, destroyed offices, lives altered. While
the New Jersey and New York areas bore the brunt of the storm, we in the dance field will be experiencing the after-effects of this natural disaster for months and years to come. What have we learned from other events, like Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav?
2013: Reimagining the Post-Apocalypse Dance Company
Dance companies and their supporting institutions will have to make
strategic and risky decisions about how they plan to distribute their
art to audiences. These decisions will play a significant role in
determining their future: whether it is bright or even exists at all.