Everybody Knows This Is Now Here:
The Mountain Empire Performance Collective explores ways
of making work beyond geographic limitations. Utilizing both
traditional and contemporary methods of communication, including video chats, telephone calls, letter writing, emails, and
traditional methods of working together face to face, they make works that test the limits of communication and technology. Read Eliza Larson and Rachel Rugh in a collaborative piece that replicates in written form how they choreographically merge ideas and movements across the country. Technology, initially a
means to an end, has become an integral part of the choreography, both in
process and in performance. Read how they do it here.
Performing Tradition, part 2
The past decade has seen the emergence of interesting hybrids between
old and new technologies and aesthetics. An example is the
evolving phenomenon of house concerts — small, acoustic music
and dance performances held in private homes. The ambiance is
informal. Usually the audience is limited; anywhere from 10-20 people,
who contribute a comparatively small fee for the privilege of hearing
music up-close and personal. These events are rekindling what music must have been like when it was enjoyed socially in
people’s homes, and yet they thrive in the era of social media, and are
marketed via Facebook, and captured and shared using Instagram, Vine
and other media outlets.
Performing Tradition, part 1
If there is a single question that bedevils nearly all the dance
communities I have encountered, it is the quest for authenticity. So
many of the dancers and musicians I have worked with talk about
“balancing tradition with innovation” that it feels a bit trite. Countless bios I have
read include some variation on that phrase. And the thing that strikes
me as weird about it is that there is an implicit assumption there that tradition and
innovation are somehow at odds. Read more about building a traditional dance career in the 21st century.
So, You Think You Can Ace College Dance?
I spend a lot of time thinking about the transition from college to the professional
field of dance and all the places that dance study can take you. So it
was fun when a friend asked me to think about study skills for dancers
just entering college. If you and I were to sit down for coffee, read on for some ideas I’d encourage you to think about and discuss with
your new classmates.
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.
Ballet’s Biggest Annual Party: Freelancing ‘The Nutcracker’
The period between Black Friday and Boxing Day is
commonly the most financially rewarding for big and
small businesses alike. Ballet is no exception. During this period, ballet companies
across the country throw their biggest annual holiday party, which helps keep many a ballet company afloat, providing essential operating funds.
Just as big and small businesses benefit from holiday spending,
freelance dancers like Barry Kerollis benefit from The Nutcracker. Read on to see how this Philadelphia-based dancer navigates the ups and downs of Nutcracker madness.
What I Learned From Ballet
I am passionately in love with being onstage. It’s terrible. The
can’t-eat-can’t-sleep-euphoric kind of love. When you find that love
early in life it’s hard for much of anything else to stand up in
comparison. And when it does, you fall in deep because that’s the only
way you know how.
Autism-Friendly Performances Offer Potential To Bring In New Dance Audiences
For parents of children on the autism spectrum or families coping with a
member with social cognitive disorders, finding artistic and cultural activities that are appropriate can be challenging, if not impossible. A number of theater and dance companies are beginning to offer these families options for a non-judgmental, expressive theater-going experience. Read on to see how companies are adapting classics like The Nutcracker and creating new works for this small but important — and growing — segment of their audiences.
A Dancer & Health Insurance
I have been without health insurance for one year, three months, and
10 days as of today. I am 27 years old, physically active, have no
chronic health problems that require treatment or medication. I don’t
smoke. I only drink on occasion (and then in moderation), and as a
freelance dancer and part-time non-profit administrator in New York, I
make about $22,000 a year after taxes. I am at once exactly the kind of
person the Affordable Care Act was written for, and exactly the kind of
person they are afraid won’t sign up.
If I choose not to sign up I will be penalized $224 (1 percent of my income). Read on to find out more about the options Alexander Thompson faces.