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

Broadway World: ABT to Present World Premieres by Gemma Bond, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Christopher Rudd and Pam Tanowitz

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By BWW News Desk

22 September 2020

World Premieres by Gemma Bond, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Christopher Rudd and Pam Tanowitz are planned for digital release in Autumn 2020, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin Mckenzie.

These new commissions will be created in quarantined settings and filmed to premiere at ABT’s 80th Anniversary Fall 2020 Gala, Wednesday, November 18, on American Ballet Theatre’s YouTube Channel and www.abt.org.

To create these works for digital distribution, ABT dancers and choreographers have embarked on four and five-week residencies in ballet bubbles at two locations in New York State. Each creation period adheres to strict medical and safety guidelines with a quarantine and testing period prior to the start of rehearsals. Behind-the-scenes footage, along with interviews with dancers and creators, will be captured for viewing on ABT’s social media platforms. Two individual ballet bubbles began September 21, 2020 at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference and Family Retreat Center in Silver Bay, New York and at P.S. 21 in Chatham, New York.

In Silver Bay, New York, choreographer and former ABT dancer Gemma Bond will create a new work set to John Harbison’s Variations for Clarinet, Violin and Piano for ABT dancers Breanne Granlund, Hee Seo, Katherine Williams, Carlos Gonzalez and newly promoted Principal Dancer Thomas Forster. Bond’s new work is her second for ABT, following A Time There Was (2019).

Also at Silver Bay, choreographer Christopher Rudd will create with recently promoted ABT Principal Dancer Calvin Royal III and corps de ballet member João Menegussi. Rudd’s new work, Touché, a male duet, is set to Que Te Mate Desierto, from the original motion picture score by Woodkid,and Giuseppe Tornatore Suite from the motion picture Malèna by Ennio Morricone and recorded by Yo-Yo Ma. Commissioned in early 2020 and delayed due to the pandemic, Touché is Rudd’s first work for American Ballet Theatre.

Simultaneously in Chatham, New York, six dancers will quarantine, train and create with choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie. Moultrie’s new work, his first for American Ballet Theatre, is a celebration of American jazz created to a score by Duke Ellington. The cast for Moultrie’s new work includes Anabel Katsnelson, Betsy McBride, Erica Lall, Jacob Clerico, Melvin Lawovi and Duncan McIlwaine.

Read the full article here.

Dance Magazine: Why Do Mixed-Rep Companies Still Rely on Ballet for Company Class?

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By Zachary Whittenburg

21 September 2020

In a single performance by a mixed-rep company, you might see its shape-shifting dancers performing barefoot, in sneakers and in heels. While such a group may have “ballet” in its name and even a rack of tutus in storage, its current relationship to the art form can be tenuous at best. That disconnect grows wider every year as contemporary choreographers look beyond ballet—if not beyond white Western forms entirely—in search of new inspiration and foundational techniques.

Yet dancers at almost all of the world’s leading mixed-rep ensembles take ballet classes before rehearsals and shows. Most companies rarely depart from ballet more than twice a week and some never offer alternative classes.

“The question, ‘Why do you take ballet class to prepare you for repertory which is not strictly classical?’ has been in the air since Diaghilev’s time,” says Peter Lewton-Brain, Monaco-based president of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science. “What you’re doing onstage is often not what you’re doing in class.”

Thanks to campaigns for greater cultural and racial equity in the arts, many inspired or strengthened by Black Lives Matter, there’s more self-awareness today among those who might’ve once proudly declared that ballet is “the foundation of all dance.”

That’s a fallacy, but it rests on assumptions that remain in circulation, says Los Angeles–based Jermaine Spivey, staging artist for Crystal Pite and a regular performer with Kidd Pivot. “It’s centered around a white person’s idea of the world—a white person’s idea of abstract, a white person’s idea of conceptualism or expressionism, and then everything else is ‘included.’ We’re ‘diversifying,’ but we’re still based on the same principles as before. Everyone has to get comfortable with decentralizing whiteness and then ballet will fall where it needs to fall.”

Read the full Dance Magazine article here.

Dance Magazine: Meet the 2020 Dance Magazine Award Honorees

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By Jennifer Stahl

21 September 2020

Since 1954, Dance Magazine has celebrated the living legends among us with the Dance Magazine Awards. This year, in light of deep reflections on racial equity inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the selection committee decided to take a close look at exactly who the magazine has honored over the past seven decades. Unsurprisingly, the list is overwhelmingly white. Although it’s grown more diverse in recent years, many brilliant artists of color have been left out for far too long.

So for 2020, in order to reckon with and take a step toward repairing that history, the committee chose an outstanding group of all-Black artists. I’m delighted to announce our incredible honorees for 2020:

 

Carlos Acosta

In addition to dancing with some of the world’s most prestigious companies, including The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet, Carlos Acosta has choreographed productions of Don Quixote and Carmen, plus Guys and Dolls for the West End. Acosta established his own dance company, Acosta Danza, in 2016 in his native Cuba, and opened a dance academy there through the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation a year later. He also became artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January 2020, and currently leads both organizations on either side of the Atlantic.

Debbie Allen

An internationally recognized director, choreographer, teacher, dancer and actor, Debbie Allen first made her mark on Broadway in revivals like West Side Story, for which she was nominated for a Tony. She became a household name with the movie-turned-television-classic “Fame,” and has since directed and produced several TV series including “A Different World,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Scandal.” Allen has been artist in residence at the Kennedy Center for over 15 years. She founded the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, mentoring and inspiring hundreds of students. She is currently an executive producer, director and actress on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Camille A. Brown

Camille A. Brown‘s prolific choreography merges her modern dance foundation with elements of African, social dance and musical theater to highlight deeply personal and complex Black experiences. In addition to being artistic director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, she has been commissioned by companies like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Urban Bush Women, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Ballet Memphis. Her Broadway choreography credits include Choir Boy (for which she was nominated for a Tony) and Once On This Island. She also choreographed Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert on NBC, as well as The Metropolitan Opera’s Porgy and Bess. Netflix’s soon-to-be-released Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe, will mark her feature film debut.

See the full list of honorees here.

Washington Post: Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave her life to the country- and her heart to the performing arts

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By Peter Marks

19 September 2020

On a frigid night in January 2003, I darted out of Signature Theatre in Arlington after a performance of the musical “110 in the Shade.” I’m often the first person out of the theater — a critic’s habit — but on this night, I spotted an older man rushing ahead of me toward a limo and a petite woman on the periphery of my vision, carefully negotiating an icy patch.

“Ruth,” the man called out, “move your ass!”

As it sunk in that this was the esteemed associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her husband, Marty, I felt that special twinge of Washington privilege: to have witnessed a funny, unguarded moment in the life of a revered public servant. She became a real person to me in that instant, just someone who, like me, loved the theater and was now trying to beat the post-show crush, though not at quite the pace her companion was setting.

On countless nights to follow over the years, I would see Justice Ginsburg in the theaters of Washington, on the occasions critics were invited to Arena Stage and Signature Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company. She was the most faithful patron of the performing arts in the upper echelons of officialdom I have ever known. Often, she was seated in front of me or just across the aisle, and I had to resist the temptation to watch her instead of the production. Or to lean over and whisper: How do you have time to sit on the Supreme Court all day and schlep in the evening to see “West Side Story?”

The answer was obvious. She couldn’t stay away. That’s what passion for the arts does to a person.

Read the full article here.

 

 

All Arts: Watch: Misty Copeland Talks Books and Why She Champions Ballet

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By Isabella Boylston

17 September 2020

When I came up with my wish list of artists to interview for Ballerina Book Club, Misty was at the top. She’s changed the game and inspired me and so many. In addition to all of her accomplishments in the ballet world, she’s a best-selling author.

One of the things I missed most about this Met season was getting to share a dressing room with my sisters, Misty and Stella Abrera. Those times we spend together backstage create a unique bond that I treasure so deeply. Speaking of the Met season, Misty was slated for a historic performance of “Romeo and Juliet” opposite the stunning danseur noble Calvin Royal III, who’s this month’s “Friend Picks” interview.

Luckily, I was able to catch up with Misty over Zoom for this interview in May. I really enjoyed hearing Misty’s take on how writing and dancing are parallel creative process. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!

Don’t miss her new children’s book “Bunheads,” available Sept. 29.

Watch the full interview in the video above. A modified transcript is below.

The following interview transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Hi, Misty. Welcome to “Ballerina Book Club.” We’re so happy that you’re here.

Thank you. I’m so, so excited. I’ve never done anything like this with my friends and colleagues.

I know. Okay, so, first thing: We should talk about when we first met.

Okay. Oh, my gosh. Do you remember this story?

I don’t think so. I mean, all I know is when I first came to ABT, obviously, I knew who you were. I had the Pointe Magazine with you on the cover. And I was just intimidated, frankly, because you were just this impressive figure and beautiful dancer and everything.

You’re crazy. No, I just remember you were new to the studio company, just starting with the new group. And we were at a party. I can’t remember whose house we were at. And you came up to me — maybe it was some type of donor thing, but I just remember it was a house and party situation — and you introduced yourself as Hildur. And then you were like, “Wait. I mean, Isabella. I mean, wait.” And I was like, “Huh?” And it was so adorable. And that was my first impression of you.

Read the full interview here.

ABC4: Legendary Hispanic Ballerina announced as new Director at Ballet West Academy

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By Tracy Smith

18 September 2020

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – World-renowned and legendary ballerina Evelyn Cisneros-Legate has been announced as the new Director of all four campuses of Utah’s Frederic Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy.

Originally from Huntington Beach, California, Evelyn trained at the San Francisco Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. She joined the San Francisco Ballet when it was under the direction of Lew Christensen, brother of Ballet West’s Found, William Christensen.

According to a press release sent to ABC4 News, “when she was performing she became the San Franciso Ballet’s “prima-ballerina” and then became an international star under Christensen, Michael Smuin, and Helgi Tómasson.”

While at San Francisco Ballet, Cisneros-Legate was the first Mexican American to be elevated to a Principal Dancer in the United States. She was named “100 Influentials” by Hispanic Business and the Huffington Post called her one of the “17 ballet icons who are changing the face of dance today.” Cisneros-Legate has been featured on the covers of Dance Magazine, Ballet News, and Hispanic Magazine.

Read the full article here.

Broadway World: American Ballet Theatre Presents MOVING STORIES: An ABT Film Festival

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By BWW News Desk

18 September 2020

Celebrating the creativity of ABT dancers, American Ballet Theatre presents Moving Stories: An ABT Film Festival. Presented over two nights, Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1 at 7:00pm ET, Moving Stories features eight short films created by ABT artists. The films, varying from three to 11 minutes in length, will be available for viewing on ABT’s YouTube Channel. Four films will premiere each evening, followed by roundtable conversations with the filmmakers. The hour-long programs are hosted by ABT Principal Dancer Misty Copeland and Emmy Award-winning producer Leyla Fayyaz (Life in Motion Productions).

Filmmakers contributing to the Company’s first-ever film festival include current ABT dancers Claire Davison (Dans Tes Rêve), Zhong-Jing Fang (Perception), Erica Lall (The Thread of Navigation), Duncan Lyle (Alone Together), Jose Sebastian (Sillage), Eric Tamm (Le Tré Cortegé), Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside (Swan Lake), and former ABT dancer Alexandre Hammoudi (Transonata). All films were created in May and June 2020, as dancers sheltered in place and maintained strict COVID-19 health and safety precautions.

Read the full article here.

Dance Magazine: The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Just Awarded Four Dance Artists $275,000 Each

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By Jennifer Stahl

17 September 2020

At a time when many artists are feeling more financially strained than ever before, one of the most coveted grants in the arts is expanding. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has responded to the economic crisis by handing out eight Doris Duke Artist Awards, up from six in 2019.

What’s more, half of those have gone to dance artists: Ana María Alvarez of CONTRA-TIEMPO in Los Angeles, Sean Dorsey of San Francisco’s Sean Dorsey Dance and Fresh Meat Festival, Rennie Harris of Philadelphia’s Rennie Harris Puremovement and New York City contemporary choreographer Pam Tanowitz.

The 2020 Doris Duke Artist Awards come with a $275,000 grant—$250,000 of which is completely unrestricted, plus $25,000 meant to encourage savings for retirement.

This year’s other awardees include jazz musicians Andrew Cyrille and Cécile McLorin Salvant and playwrights Michael John Garcés and Dael Orlandersmith.

Read the full article here.

TRG Arts: Arts and Culture Comeback Planning: September 2020

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By TRG Arts

17 September 2020

Sharp Fall in Optimism Among U.S. Arts and Culture Organizations for Return to In-Person Performances in 2020

September Study Reveals Increase in U.K. and Decline in Canadian Organizations’ Optimism

TRG Arts published its findings to an initial study of 74 clients’ performance return plans in June 2020. The findings from that report can be found here. An update to that study, expanded to 133 arts and culture organizations across three countries and published in July, reflected waning optimism for an autumn return to in-person live performances and a formal turn to paid digital programming after shutdowns caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The study was refreshed and expanded on September 2, 2020, and represents 219 organizations’ current scenario plans for returning to in-person paid performance, as well as those same organizations’ plans for offering paid digital programming. Responses reflect arts and culture organizations across all disciplines of arts and culture in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The study does not contemplate howclient organizations will operationalize live in-person performances. TRG has learned the delivery method and specifics for returning to in-person performances are highly variable, and rely on national and local guidance.

Regional Outlooks Reflect Level of Viral Containment

As the number of Americans testing positive for COVID-19 continues to grow, optimism for a 2020 in-person return to performances sharply fell for U.S. arts and culture leaders. The September study reveals 23% of U.S. organizations expect to perform to in-person audiences in 2020, compared to 61% in the initial June study.

Positive containment and infection reduction in the U.K. reveal more optimism for a 2020 in-person return to performances, while flaring cases in some provinces of Canada decreased optimism as described in Table 1.

Read the full study here.

San Francisco Classical Voice: Ballet’s New Mandate: Change or Die

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By Lou Fancher

14 September 2020

Six months after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered performing-arts venues in mid-March, there are more unsettling questions than there are comforting answers about the future of dance — and classical and contemporary ballet in particular.

Adding tilt to the unsteady imbalance are the art form’s longstanding gender inequities and worldwide social-justice protests related to racism after the most recent killing of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement. The open wounds of gender and racial inequities that lay across American history and current affairs have left deep imprints on the entire dance world.

In this environment float the presumptions and principles that have led to ballet companies directed generally by men; with more white dancers than people of color in ballet company ranks; with more funding for white-led dance company boards and management, and more commissions and grants awarded to white applicants or for projects with Western, Eurocentric origins and focus. White is not just found in the classical tutus found of Swan Lake or Giselle, but across the entire ballet landscape.

During the unwelcome furlough of COVID-19, companies large and small cancelled annual Nutcrackers, the ballet world’s major money-making machine, and often enough, the bedrock funding for entire seasons. This raises existential questions, but also opportunities to reflect on how companies can more broadly represent their communities. What are dance artists and organizations willing to change, and will it be enough to sustain the art form?

Searching for artists who might be pushing the parameters with results lasting beyond quick, flashy trends, I talked to Trey McIntyre, Amy Seiwert, and Gregory Dawson, three choreographers/artistic directors whose work has risen to prominence and receives considerable local, national and international attention. I asked them what they are doing to keep their companies afloat and invited them to speak about their perspectives on dance, ballet, digital dance offerings, and the state of the art.

Read the full article here.