Have you seen the 300+ great dance videos on TheWorldDances?!  Check out the Gallery of Winners then submit your own video for a chance to be 1 of the 4 $250 cash prize winners in the Harlequin Floors Monthly Scholarship Contest.  There is still plenty to enter the May contest.   Click here to post your dance video and to vote for your favorites!   Good luck!    

On Monday, May 20th, twenty studios will compete on the stage of NYC's Joyce Theater. The winners for best performance and best choreography will open for the Martha Graham Dance Company as part of the Central Park SummerStage series, but the rewards for all involved go far beyond the prizes.

The competition, Dancin' Downtown at The Joyce Theater, is hosted by Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. All the proceeds go to AIDS and family services organizations, many of which specifically benefit members of the arts community.

In addition to the opportunity to perform at world-class venues, the competition also affords up-and-coming dancers the chance to be seen by a panel of judges comprised of a "who's who of dance." Major players from dance conventions, university programs, and the professional world (including Joe Tremaine, Joe Lanteri, Igal Perry, and dance professors and directors from NYU, Purchase College, the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, and Marymount Manhattan College) select the 20 finalists from a round of video submissions and then debate the merits of each performance during the finals at the Joyce. "The teachers love this," says DRA Producer Christopher Davis, "because the decisions are adjudicated rather than based on scores," and the judges share their considerations with the dancers. In addition to the SummerStage prize for best performance and best choreography, scholarships are awarded on both a studio and individual basis to the judges' diverse programs based on good fits.

"The dancers in these competitions grow up seeing that their love of dance can help others in a direct way, and how simple it is," says Davis. "There can be a harsh, competitive side to dancing, but this event is so positive. It's a really good thing for everyone."

If you want to help, there's good news and bad news. This year's event at the Joyce is already sold out, but there will be others, and you can always support DRA online.

By Tamara Johnson 

Tamara Rojo is the English National Ballet artistic director and a principal dancer. Yes, quite the successful multi-tasker! She has spoken out to the Sunday Times to take a high-profile stand on anorexia in ballet. A role model as a world-class ballerina, an inspiring and innovative leader and business person, Rojo further impresses the dance world with her brave, straight-forward stance.

Says Rojo, "Audiences want to see beautiful and healthy-looking dancers yet there is still that pressure to be thin. Some comes from the fashion world and that in turn affects ballet. When you are in a ballet company, you often lose perspective of reality. So you go for extremes in order to stand out and be noticed. But I have preached and will continue to preach. I have never been thin and I want for myself and for others to have long and healthy careers. This also comes from what is in your head, as the mind rules the body."

Miss Rojo continues, "Anorexia and bulimia are less of a problem these days. We get much more good nutritional advice now, so I and others expect to be, and remain, healthy for a long time. Injuries are easier to cure. Yes, we still have to exercise for six hours a day, and there is a lot of strain on our legs and feet in particular, but we are better trained, as we also do Pilates and weights."

Brava, Miss Rojo!

More about stamping out anorexia in ballet on the BBC.  What are your thoughts?

By Karla Johnson 

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