Dispelling Myths and Nurturing New Structures
Measuring organizational success in terms of constant increases in size and scope creates unsustainable structures and programs. A new paradigm is needed, read Anne Dunning’s proposal to learn more.
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.
A Cautionary Tale: What Can Happen When Your Personal Video Goes Viral
Who hasn’t shared a fun personal video on social media? Read dancer/choreographer Alexandra Beller’s cautionary tale about what can happen when a personal video goes viral.
Development Dialogue: A Challenge of Legacy:
How to ensure a donor’s legacy continues? What is our responsibility to protect it deep into tomorrow? It’s an interesting challenge for posterity, not to mention for promise making and keeping. Ron Fredman, chief development officer at Kansas City Ballet, has some thoughts.
Reports of the Death of the American Dance Critic
Like great American humorist Mark Twain, who remarked that “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” upon hearing that a New York journal published his obituary, the same holds true for the long-reported dying art form of dance criticism. Writer Christine Jowers contends that dance criticism in America is far from dead. It is evolving. Read more in her response to a recent article in The Atlantic.
How To Pick a College Dance Program That Will Work for You
High school dancers — and parents — wondering what to look for in a college or university dance program? Ashley Thorndike-Youssef has some ideas and talking points to use on you college tours as you begin your process of narrowing down the right school for you. Not a matriculating at a college? This material is a anecdote of sorts to the ongoing discussions on academic dance programs as a pyramid scheme. Read on for more, exclusively in From the Green Room, Dance/USA’s eJournal.
A Philosophy Major Rants on Dance as a Pyramid Scheme
Responding to the commentary “Is American Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?” Nancy Wozny writes: Not everyone has the
mettle to navigate the difficulty of being an
artist, but I have yet to meet one person who wants to live in a world
without art. So the question remains as educators, practitioners, and
citizens of this dance world, how can we go forward without the burden
of old paradigms of success? Read on here for more.
A Call For R/evolution
More on Sarah Austin’s recent controversial Dance/USA article, “Is American Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?”
as the conversation continues in From the Green Room. Jennifer Edwards contends this issue in the dance field is a symptom of a larger cultural, socio-economic shift that continues
to affect both the arts and education. This is a shift in the perceived
and broadcasted value of learning, experience, and critical thinking.
A Letter to My Former Student
Recently, an article by the erudite and whip-smart Sarah Anne Austin
(B.A. Dance, University of Maryland, 2008) touched off heated discussion in the
academic dance world. The piece, “Is American Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?” riled every raw nerve in every dance alum from every dance
program across these United States. Read what Austin’s professor, Karen Bradley, has to say about studying dance in today’s colleges.
90 Days, 22,264 Miles, 174 Dancers
I don’t know that the dance field is any worse than it ever has been, but universally dancers still struggle with the question: How am I going to make a career out of this, said dancer-turned-photographer Jonathan Givens. Read on for more.