Michael Kaiser: Exit Interview, part 2
Michael Kaiser, the outgoing president of the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., talks
candidly about the state of the dance field, funding, American dance
abroad,
challenges and perceptions, and his love of baseball and baking. In
September 2014, he leaves the Kennedy Center to bring the DeVos
Institute of Arts Management to University of Maryland
joining the College of Arts and Humanities’ Clarice Smith Performing
Arts Center, a leading national arts incubator. This is the second part of his conversation with Dance/USA.
Balancing Acts: Dancers and Their Experiences With Motherhood
George Balanchine didn’t hide his disapproval of dancers having
children. Doubtless, such
overt pressure from a director would not fly anymore, but many issues
that more indirectly discourage parenthood have not changed. Dancers
still deal with issues like taking parental leave, juggling child care,
physical recovery from childbirth, and health care.
Dance and Parenthood: A Case Study
Despite the daunting landscape for independent and freelance dance
professionals, we’re seeing encouraging trends in how some dance
companies regard the family lives of their employees.
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.
The Hunt for New Work: Matching Choreographers to Companies
Selecting new choreographers for a program or a season seems a
straightforward enough process at first glance. Read on to find out how artistic directors
seek out new works for their companies sifting the choreographic gold from the dross.
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.
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.
The Body Politic: Learning from the ‘Dance’ of Our Public Officials
As we observe this year’s crop of candidates vying for leadership roles,
we look for the details but also for the overarching dance each one is
performing. Even in solo roles — for example a politician’s stump
speeches or debate performances — they are part of a larger choreography
that includes others and, of course, a relationship to the audience.
Can ‘Breaking Pointe’ Fix Ballet?
Can “Breaking Pointe” do for ballet what ballet companies have been struggling to accomplish for decades now? That is, lure newer, younger audiences to theaters for live classical ballet?
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.