Women Taking the Lead in Dance?

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Aszure Barton

and Yabin Wang

It's been a major year for diversity in dance. Misty Copeland's well-earned professional success and her utter grace as a spokeswoman have helped advance dialogue across media and demographics. The conversation has focused, importantly, on race. However, gender diversity is being highlighted as well, particularly the relative rarity of female choreographers.

New York City Ballet recently announced that its 2016-2017 season will feature eight world premieres. The season will include three new pieces by resident choreographer Justin Peck, two pieces by NYCB dancers Lauren Lovette and Peter Walker, and three new works by choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Pontus Lidberg, and Alexei Ratmansky. While City Ballet frequently showcases dance by contemporary and new choreographic talent, this is the first season since 2011 to feature premieres by women. While a 25% representation of women choreographers for premieres might not seem like an enormous percentage, it's actually much higher than normal for a ballet company where 0% is not uncommon.

For more on the reasons behind this under representation and some of the companies and artistic directors addressing this issue, click here.

By Tamara Johnson

Power of Digital Dance

Hannah Thomas "Strange Realities"
Photo credit: Videographer - RJVisuals

Dance on screens is a growing phenomenon. The Dance Films Association, founding organization of the Dance on Camera Festival, lists 17 film festivals in the United States alone that feature dance programming, and more than double that around the world. When online dance videos, competitions, and curated presentations are considered, one has to wonder in what media the future of dance viewing lies.

A recent survey of dancers in Los Angeles, conducted by Sasha Anawalt at the Annenberg School of Journalism and Communications, University of Southern California, found 38 percent of respondents watch dance videos online every day. 70 percent said they watch dance videos at least once a week. In contrast, fewer than 8 percent of respondents reported attending a live dance performance once a month.

What will it take to keep dance, not just relevant, but compelling and interesting to audiences as technology increasingly mediates our experience of art? There's a strong case to be made that dance education should involve a focus on digital skills. Not only are shooting and editing techniques important, but choreographing and emoting for the screen is a different form of expression than for the stage.

There are artists and programs focusing on this area for growth in the dance world. Read more here.

By Tamara Johnson

Great Coast-to-Coast

Must-See April Dance

Photo: ABT Studio Company at The Joyce Theater April 15 - 17

NYC: The Joyce Theater presents incredible dance this month including Ballet Hispanico through April 10, The Joyce Theater Foundation Annual Gala on April 13, Miami City Ballet April 13 - 17, ABT Studio Company April 15 - 17, Ballet Preljocaj April 20 -24 and Dorrance Dance with Nicholas Van Young April 26 - May 1

Costa Mesa, CA: Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents Alvin Ailey--Discover Ailey on April 6, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater April 7 - 10, Shen Yun April 12 - 17, Orange County Ballet Theater's "The Firebird" on April 30, and more.

Philadelphia, PA: BalletX Spring Series 2016 at The Wilma Theater April 20 -24 presents a special 10th Anniversary Retrospective of excerpts spanning each year of the company's history.

Dallas, TX: Dance Council of North Texas presents "Dance Planet" at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts April 9 - 10. With samba, mambo, jazz, Pilates, Afro-Caribbean plus Afternoon Performance Showcases of dance styles from around the world, special headliner performances and Q & A sessions each day by Chris Vo and Teresa Espinosa-- you're sure to find something for everyone AND it's all free!

Portland, OR: BodyVox presents Pearl Dive Project through April 9, April 14 - 16, and April 21 - 23 when eight creatives who have never danced are handed the choreography keys to BodyVox's high-octane company of dancers

Jobs in the Arts

Thinking about a career change for Spring? About to begin your job search upon graduation? Check out more than 55 job listings on TheWorldDances.com! Hunter College Dance Department in NYC is looking for a Production Manager. Kennedy Center in D.C. seeks contractors to provide arts education experiences to students with disabilities. Are you a good candidate for the Director of Operations opening at Louisville Ballet? SAB is searching for the right Director of Individual Giving. American Dance Festival needs Dorm Counselors. Happy searching. We look forward to you and the organizations with job openings finding the perfect match!

TheWorldDances E-Newsletter Team

Publisher: Karla Johnson

Editor: Tamara Johnson

Producer: Ester Rodriguez

April 8, 2016

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Meet the Winners of the March Harlequin Floors Scholarships

Harlequin Floors loves dancers and has been celebrating and supporting dancers with scholarships for decades. Congratulations to the four March Harlequin Floors Monthly Scholarship winners--Viviane Lovato, Taylor Dawkins, Maddie Goodman, and Courtney Croteau. Enjoy watching their winning videos in this newsletter and go to TheWorldDances.com to enter your video today for the Harlequin Floors April Scholarship Contest. We look forward to seeing you dance! Harlequin Floors awards $1000 in scholarships every month. Enjoy TheWorldDances.com where you'll find more than 2,000 great dance videos to inspire, teach, and entertain you along with nearby daily dance deals, bios of many past scholarship winners, job openings in the arts, lots of Pinterest posts, tweets, and more!