Upcoming Deadlines | click here to see if you are eligible for any of these opportunities

July 31st: Community Engagement Artists and Creatives Grant, December 31st: New England Presenter Travel Fund, December 31st: Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Scholarship, December 31st: 24 Seven Dance Convention, December 31st: National Theater Project Presenter Travel Grant, December 31st: Breck Creek Artist-in-Residence Program

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DDP Talks To

"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery

Up to date announcements of company seasons, featured artists and special programming as well as grant of awards such as Princess Grace, or artistic appointments

Brisbane Times: Yang Liping’s Rite of Spring comes to Melbourne Festival

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By Stephanie Bunbury

30 August 2019

It is no surprise to read that Yang Liping found it impossible to toe the line as part of the China Central Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble. Yang, 60, whose dramatic dance works draw from the folkloric dances she learned as a small child growing up in rustic Yunnan province, is famous in China as the Peacock Princess. This may not be entirely to do with her masterly evocation of this spectacular bird in her first popular success, Spirit of the Peacock, which made her name in 1986.


Yang cuts a dramatic figure in fitted satin, heavy jewellery and nails like a 19th-century mandarin’s. She tells me, with a bit of a giggle, that she has been growing those extraordinary claws since 1979, ostensibly to give authentic performances of the Long-Nailed Dance. Most dancers use glittery fake fingernails, readily available online in boxes of 10: I checked. How does she get the lid off a jar? You get used to it, she tells the tour manager who is our linguistic go-between. China in 1979 was still the land of the Mao suit. Amid all that denim, Yang Liping must have looked like an explosion of silk, varnish and theatricality.


Two years ago, Yang came to Australia with Under Siege, a spectacular choreographic retelling of the Chu-Han Contention of 200 BC – an epic battle for supremacy between the Chu and Han armies that is one of China’s most important ‘‘origin’’ stories. It included kung fu, tai chi, hip-hop, Chinese opera and, of course, a spectacular set.

Read the full story in The Brisbane Times.

BWW Review: Women Rising Triumphantly — Choreography From The Female Perspective, Featuring Ten Dance Companies Led By Women At The Ford Theatre

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By Valerie-Jean Miller

Celebrating the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote; assembled and produced by Deborah Brockus, artistic director of the annual Los Angeles Dance Festival.

Deborah Brockus has assembled another TKO of a presentation. This time at the aesthetically invigorating and lovely renovated Ford Theatre; originally entitled, prophetically first named, The PILGRIMAGE Theatre. It was an enlivening evening from start to finish. Ms. Brockus is a hands-on participant, besides organizing, directing, choreographing and publicizing and cheerleading all involved, she was there to greet the theatre goers and anyone coming to support and witness this celebration. Take note of her tenacity and perseverance.

Ms. Brockus has been labeled “the single most important person in Southland dance,” an “impresario”, “the mother superior of LA dance” and “tireless” by the Los Angeles Times for her involvement in establishing the local dance scene as a producer, choreographer and teacher.

Read the full article on BWW.

Noted: Choreographer Andi Schermoly showcases the strength of ballerinas in new piece

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By Joanna Wane

26 August 2019

It’s a clever play on words, the title of guest choreographer Andi Schermoly’s work  “Stand to Reason”, commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Ballet to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage.

It stands to reason, of course, that women should have the right to vote – but it’s also a call to arms. “To stand is an action,” she says. “Nothing gets done unless we do something about it. The piece builds in energy, becoming really relentless at the end, and you see that’s how you make change – by being relentless.

“It’s also a reminder we have to be vigilant and remember that what people have fought for can be easily taken away.”

Now based in Los Angeles, Schermoly grew up in South Africa, where she was a member of the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team. She had learnt some colonial history at school, so already knew a bit about the suffrage movement when she was approached by the ballet company to create a work for its Strength & Grace season in Wellington last year. But it was only when she began researching the issue more deeply that she stumbled across a pamphlet by Kate Sheppard called “10 Reasons Why Women Should Vote”.

Read the full article on Noted.

“Women Rising” Program Featured in ‘Things to do in L.A.’ – LA Times

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8 Weekend Picks including Pacific Opera Project, ‘Star Wars in Concert’ and GMCLA

These women’s works

L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, Blue 13 Dance Company and Luminario Ballet are among the troupes that will share the stage for “Women Rising: Choreography From the Female Perspective.” BrockusRED founder Deborah Brockus curates this showcase presented by Los Angeles Dance Festival. Ford Theatres, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 8:30 p.m. Friday. $25-$65. (323) 461-3673. FordTheatres.org

Read the full article in The Los Angeles Times.

Castanet: Ballet Kelowna to be the first Canadian ballet company in over 40 years to commission a female Canadian choreographer to create a full-length work

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By Miriam Halpenny

8 August 2019

Ballet Kelowna brings three new productions to the stage for its 2019-2020 season.

The “Unreal Season” mixes movement, music and art while highlighting human strengths and weaknesses, the company says. 

“This season, we continue our initiative to support the development of female choreographers while also introducing audiences to new works by prominent Canadian artists,” says artistic director Simone Orlando.

“We are proud to be the first Canadian ballet company in over 40 years to commission a female Canadian choreographer to create a full-length work. This season’s grand finale will be Macbeth, by Alysa Pires.”

The three programs, Dawn, Twilight, and Macbeth, each will explore unique themes. 
 
“The word ‘unreal’ was first coined by William Shakespeare in Macbeth,” says Orlando. “We are thrilled to present this lustrous lineup of dance that brings full expression to Canada’s creative spirit and celebrates our country’s unreal dance artists.”

For more information on season tickets, visit balletkelowna.ca

Dance Spirit: Why Choreography Should Be More Than An Elective, According to Dean College Faculty Members

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12 August 2019

Imagine: It’s your first year in a dance company and the artistic director is staging a new work. She works through a few phrases of choreography and then turns to you, asking you to come up with something of your own. Are you ready?

In many of today’s most exciting companies, the choreographer/muse relationship is being disrupted in favor of collaboration. Many dancers also find that their own dancing improves after they have tried their hand at creating new work. “Choreographers want to work with performers who aren’t afraid to take risks, make bold decisions, and contribute something that will ultimately make the work stronger,” says Dean College professor of dance studies, Stephen Ursprung.

Make sure your dance degree is going to work for you in the real world. At Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, The Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance is preparing their BFA and BA dancers for the changing professional world that awaits them with a special focus on dance composition. Whether you are in school with an ambition to be a professional dancer, a choreographer, or both, look for opportunities to deep dive into the process of creating dance.

Integrate choreography all semester long.

Read the full article on Dance Spirit’s Blog.

Dance Magazine: NYCB’s Choreographic Institute Rejected Pam Tanowitz Five Times. Now She’s Readying Her Second Commission for the Company.

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By Siobhan Burke

3 August 2019

In the annals of dance history, 2019 may go down as the year Pam Tanowitz got the attention she deserved. In the past six months the New YorkCity–based artist, 49, has brought her imaginative formalism to the Martha Graham Dance Company, New York City Ballet, the Paul Taylor Dance Company and the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America festival. The recent recipient of an Alpert Award in the Arts, Tanowitz is not slowing down, with new works on deck for Vail Dance Festival this month and The Royal Ballet’s Merce Cunningham celebration in October.

A couple of years ago we were talking about New York City Ballet, and you said something like “I’ve realized that’s just not my world.” Having come to that conclusion, how did you feel when they contacted you?

I was shocked. I think it just speaks to their new leadership. Throughout my career I applied to their choreographic institute about five times and got rejected.

Read the full article on Dance Magazine’s Blog.

The List: Helen Pickett: ‘I learnt so much about what to leave alone – about the note that is not played, and leaving space for that note’

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By Kelly Apter

29 July 2019

In 2014, when Scottish Ballet premiered Helen Pickett’s one-act version of The Crucible, I wrote in my review that ‘the world needs more Helen Picketts’. Five years later, with the imbalance between male and female choreographers on the world stage still problematic, I stand by that statement. But happily, in 2019 what we do have is more of Pickett herself – literally.

That 45-minute, one-act adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play about the Salem witch trials has been razed to the ground and rebuilt – emerging as a full-length narrative ballet that will premiere at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. Written in 1953, Miller’s tale of 17th-century paranoia and oppression has benefitted not only from Pickett’s punchy and intelligent choreography, but the assured directorial wisdom of James Bonas.

Each brings something unique and special – Pickett trained at San Francisco Ballet, spent 11 years working with William Forsythe at Ballet Frankfurt, then moved to New York to hone her own creative style. Bonas bagged a First from Oxford University then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, before carving out a career as an actor, then theatre and opera director.

‘I’d never worked on a ballet before,’ concedes Bonas straight off the bat, ‘I didn’t even call myself a dramaturg, because I didn’t know what that meant. But the principal thing I could bring to The Crucible, is how to tell a story with people’s bodies – and a lot of the work I’ve done in both theatre and opera is coming from that place anyway.

Read the full article on The List.

Dance Lab New York Launches Incubator for Female Choreographers of Color

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By Ruthie Fierberg

25 July 2019

Dance Lab New York and The Joyce Foundation have partnered to support female choreographers of color through the establishment of a developmental lab, allowing for these artists to create new work in classical, neoclassical, and/or contemporary ballet dance.

From October 14–November 10, choreographers Preeti Vasudevan, Micaela Taylor, Amy Hall Garner, and Margarita Armas will explore new works, culminating in a showcase at Guggenheim’s Works & Process.

Each choreographer will have access to rehearsal space at the Joyce Artist Residency Center, eight paid professional dancers, a rehearsal director, as well as a stipend and financial and logistical operations support over the course of 30 working hours.

“As the conversation is shifting within the field of ballet to the lack of female choreographers, and more specifically the lack of opportunities for female dance makers of color, The Joyce has entered into a unique collaboration with DLNY to help address gender and racial inequity through shared resources”, said Joyce Executive Director Linda Shelton in a statement. “This collaboration prioritizes research and development with no expectation of a final ‘product’ as an essential step forward. True to The Joyce’s and DLNY’s shared values, this pilot partnership embraces the concepts of risk, experimentation, and trial and error.”

Read the full article on Playbill.


The Korea Times: [INTERVIEW] Principal ballerina Shin Seung-won gives sneak peek of upcoming choreography project

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By Anna J. Park

24 July 2019

Korean National Ballet’s principal dancer Shin Seung-won is preparing for an upcoming performance this weekend. This time, though, she won’t be taking center stage; she is choreographer and director of her seven-minute creative ballet piece, titled “Go your own way.” 

During a recent interview with The Korea Times, the principal ballerina said she feels a different sort of happiness from being a choreographer instead of a dancer. 

“When I see my choreographed piece on stage, it feels very rewarding; when I’m dancing as a ballerina, I become delightful and joyous. They are two different feelings, yet both are somewhat linked, and both precious. In other words, choreography is like raising my own children, and dancing ballet on stage makes me feel alive and immensely happy,” the ballerina said. 

Shin is one of the eight Korean National Ballet members who will be showcasing their own modern ballet works, choreographed by themselves, during “KNB Movement Series 5,” set for this Saturday and Sunday afternoon at Seoul Arts Center’s CJ Towol Theater. 

In 2015, the national ballet jump-started the “KNB Movement Series,” an annual showcase presenting newly-choreographed modern ballet pieces by the ballet company members. Ballet dancers who participate in the annual performance not only need to choreograph every movement, but also direct all elements of the set, from lighting and costumes to music. 

Principal Dancer Lee Young-cheol has been participating in this annual show every year, with his own creative ballet works. This year, he presents “Season: Spring,” a ballet inspired by the image of a long trail covered with fallen cherry blossom petals. Other works include soloist Song Jung-bin’s “Amadeus Concerto,” Demi-Soloist Kim Myung-kyu’s “3 Tables” and Corps de Ballet Kang Dong-hui’s “Bad Guy.”

Read the full article in The Korea Times.