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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

The Guardian: An Evening with Scottish Ballet review – masked dancers leap into digital

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By Lyndsey Winship

10 August 2020

As a gallant effort to keep the show on the road (or the screen) despite the cancellation of this summer’s edition, Edinburgh international festival has commissioned An Evening with Scottish Ballet. Although “evening” is pushing it, as this is more like a half-hour sizzle reel. Six short films packaged together, old and new, plus existing choreography filmed especially for Covid times by director Michael Sherrington.

There are two pieces from the company’s resident choreographer Sophie Laplane, full of stylish staccato riffs set to 4/4 machine beats. It’s a distinctive style, very watchable. In Oxymore, Rishan Benjamin and Anna Williams dance backstage in front of towers of flight cases and props. Their movement is straight-faced and straight-angled, a kind of un-groovy groove. Idle Eyes, filmed last year, is glitchier and quirkier, and benefits from the texture of a bigger cast, too.

Another pre-coronavirus film, Frontiers, by San Francisco Ballet’s Myles Thatcher, was filmed in 2019, under a concrete flyover. Thatcher aims to undo the gender stereotypes in ballet and he’s created gender-neutral partnering – the same choreography danced by two men, two women or mixed couples, spliced together with fast cuts until it all becomes a blur of identities. Flickering between dancers dressed in androgynous tailoring, the women do lifts, the men sort of swan dive, and it completely works as choreography. Crazy that this is still a boundary to push in 21st-century ballet, of course.

Read the full article here.

 

amNew York: Harlem dancer takes on ‘The Call’ to stop racial biases in healthcare

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By Emily Davenport

11 August 2020

Dancer and activist Ingrid Silva is taking on women’s issues and empowering women in the process through her New York City-based organization.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Silva started her dance journey at the age of 8 and began training in ballet at Dançando Para Não Dançar, a social project in Mangueira.

“Dance was never actually my dream but I was really excited when my mom mentioned to me about dance auditions,” said Silva. “I’ve always been involved with sports, been swimming since age 3, and joined a professional team. I had to decide between swimming and classical ballet – I ended up choosing ballet because it was really challenging and super fun.”

Silva went on to dance for three more schools in Brazil — Escola de Dança Maria Olenewa, Centro de Movimento Debora Colker and Grupo Corpo — before she sent an audition tape to the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She officially joined the company in January 2008, and currently resides in Riverside.

“It was a really interesting and amazing experience because when I first came to the states, I literally came for dancing,” said Silva. “My teacher came with me for the first month and then after that, I stayed with the school. That’s when my journey started in the states.”

During her time in the United States, Silva not only gained principal roles in a number of performances, but she also gained national recognition for leading the charge for skin-toned ballet shoes for dancers of all races and cultures. Silva has also been seen as a spokesperson for Activia and appearing in a Nike video series called The Common Thread.

Three years ago, Silva founded EmpowHER NY, an organization that centers around educating and giving women a safe space to speak freely about their ideas and experiences. The organization has made global connections with brands and organizations that want to empower women. Silva says that the organization has had events in New York prior to the pandemic, and has also helped women launch their brands and help them find jobs.

Read the full article here.

 

EGAL: Transforming Business Beyond COVID-19: An Equity Fluent Leadership Playbook

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Read Parts 1-3 of the Playbook here. 

Yahoo Finance: Misty Copeland: Ballet ‘extremely behind’ on racial justice

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By Max Zahn with Andy Serwer

6 August 2020

Ballet star Misty Copeland told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview that the ballet industry remains “extremely behind” on issues of racial justice, criticizing the continued use of blackface in dance productions and the lack of diversity she has witnessed in her career.

But the nation’s racial reckoning in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd has prompted the ballet community to address such issues “for the first time,” says Copeland, who in 2015 became the first Black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater, one of the most prominent ballet companies in the U.S.

“It’s something that the ballet world has been very easily able to just kind of get away with,” she says. Now “our eyes are wide open and people are listening.”

“It’s something that I’ve talked about very openly and freely in trying to be the most respectful as I can,” she adds. “Because I know the deep rooted traditions and history in classical dance.”

“Being a European art form and the fact that we still perform those ballets that were created in that time in Europe to this day,” she says. “Just says a lot about where we are in the ballet world when it comes to racism.”

In June, as racial justice protests arose in the U.S. and around the world, ballet dancers called on their companies to acknowledge the lack of diversity and Black representation within the industry. The American Ballet Theater — among other ballet companies and cultural institutions — released a statementmourning the death of Floyd and vowing to do more to address racial injustice.

Read the full article here.

Yahoo Finance: Misty Copeland: Coronavirus will impact ballet for ‘years to come’

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By Max Zahn with Andy Serwer

5 August 2020

While the spread of the coronavirus continues to devastate the performing arts, fans and experts are targeting a return next year as a potential vaccine becomes widely available.

But star ballet dancer Misty Copeland told Yahoo Finance that her industry will feel the effects of the outbreak beyond 2021. She pointed to the enduring financial losses suffered by ballet performers as well as mental and physical strain, adding that ballet companies should consider outdoor performances amid the pandemic.

“It’s going to impact us for a couple of years to come,” says Copeland, who has danced for the American Ballet Theater for two decades and appeared in a 2018 movie adaptation of “The Nutcracker.”

“I feel like a lot of the impact we haven’t even seen yet,” she says.

“It’s been difficult for people who spend their days — spend their lives — invested in this art form,” she says. “We’re very physical people. We spend hours at a time partnering one another and [in a] very intimate environment”

“Getting out of that and not having that personal human connection,” she says, “is a bit shocking.”

Read the full article.

 

 

Dayton Daily News: Dayton Dance Initiative’s free virtual performance takes dance into the light

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By Libby Ballengee

7 August 2020

When the Dayton Dance Initiative’s second annual live performance was canceled in May, there was an obvious sense of disappointment. The professional dancers who planned and were set to perform their own original production had put in countless hours to create it all, from the choreography and music, to costumes and ticketing.

There was no way this dedicated group of dancers was going to throw in the towel that easily. Instead of turning the cancellation into defeat, the dancer-operated project decided to take the performance online and push their creativity even further.

Rather than film or live stream a static performance at the PNC Arts Annex, where the in-person show was to take place, the dance group has created an hour-long “dance movie” showcasing the individual dance pieces in unique and unexpected places.

Read the full article here.

New York Times: In Her Words: For Three Suffragists, a Monument Well Past Due

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By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

6 August 2020

Across the country, monuments honoring racist figures are being defaced and toppled. In New York’s Central Park, one statue is taking shape that aims to amend not only racial but also gender disparities in public art: A 14-foot-tall bronze monument of Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, three of the more prominent leaders in the nationwide fight for women’s right to vote

Called the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument, it is to be unveiled Aug. 26 to commemorate the 100th anniversary this month of the constitutional amendment that finally guaranteed women that right, depicts the three figures gathered around a table for what seems to be a discussion or a strategy meeting. Anthony stands in the middle, holding a pamphlet that reads “Votes for Women”; Stanton, seated to her left, holds a pen, presumably taking notes; and Truth appears to be in midsentence.

“I wanted to show women working together,” said Meredith Bergmann, the sculptor chosen from dozens of artists to create the statue. “I kept thinking of women now, working together in some kitchen on a laptop, trying to change the world.”

Read the full article here.

Dance Magazine: Op-Ed: Where is Your Outrage? Where is Your Support?

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By Theresa Ruth Howard

01 June 2020

For the last five years the dance world, and specifically the ballet world, has been enrolled in the mission to understand and implement diversity, equity and inclusion into the field at all levels. A great deal of funding has been allocated towards efforts of education and training, consultants have been hired, conferences and seminars attended.

I myself am a part of a three-year initiative, The Equity Project, which is a learning cohort of 21 ballet companies to increase the presence of Blacks in ballet. And in many ways there has been progress made. With raised awareness, core values and mission statements have been amended to reflect these aspirations; recruitment has made pipelines browner; there are more brown dancers on stages. We are not there yet, but certainly there has been progress.

And then something like the global pandemic of COVID-19 comes along and in an instant distills all of it down to a few simple choices and actions or lack thereof. What COVID has wrought upon the dance world in many ways is irreparable. The rolling effect of lockdowns resulted in unrecoverable loss of revenue for dance organizations that will undoubtedly change the landscape forever. But few could predict that this global health crisis would create the unprecedented opportunity for dance organizations who profess to be authentically committed to the work of DEI to have the veracity of their progress tested. Unfortunately right now to the Black dance community, they are failing.

Read the full article here.

New York Times: She’s Been a Force for Change in Ballet. The World Is Catching Up.

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By Siobhan Burke

6 August 2020

On May 29, four days after George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis police, Theresa Ruth Howard posted a call to action on Instagram:

“Demonstrate your outrage

Demonstrate your allyship

Demonstrate your authenticity

We don’t need shadow heroes, step into the light …”

Ms. Howard, a former ballet dancer who founded the digital platform Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (or MoBBallet), was addressing the institutions she has worked with for the past few years, in a role she sums up as “diversity strategist and consultant.” Those institutions, which include some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies and schools, are predominantly white, onstage and behind the scenes. They know they need to evolve, and she is helping them.

So when protests against systemic racism and police brutality began sweeping the country, she found their silence disconcerting. “You can’t say you want us, and when we are in peril, not be there for us,” Ms. Howard, 49, said in an interview.

Over the next few days, companies answered her call, or tried, posting statements of support with a hashtag she had started: #balletrelevesforblacklives. (Relevé, a ballet term, is a way of saying “rise up.”) Their messages drew both appreciation and criticism, with many commenters demanding action, not merely words. In an opinion piece for Dance Magazine, Ms. Howard expanded on her thoughts about what leadership should look like in this moment, under the headline “Where Is Your Outrage? Where Is Your Support?”

On Aug. 14, leaders from more than a dozen ballet companies and schools will convene for an online discussion titled “#balletrelevesforblacklives … Or Does It?,” a chance to reflect, beyond social media, on the Black Lives Matter movement and its impact on their institutions. The public event is part of Ms. Howard’s second annual MoBBallet symposium, a series of conversations and lectures that, in her words, “centers Blackness but welcomes all.”

Read the full article in the New York Times.

Charlotte Ballet: #WOMENINCHOREO Wednesday with Stephanie Martinez

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17 June 2020

Since Artistic Director Hope Muir took the helm of Charlotte Ballet in 2018 the company has commissioned work into the repertoire from female choreographers each season. Women have long been underrepresented in creative roles with professional dance companies, but thanks to Muir Charlotte Ballet has a renewed commitment to providing opportunities to these intelligent and inspiring choreographers. We are excited about this new social mini-series #WomeninChoreo Wednesday where you will get to hear advice directly from those women, as well as gather insight as to how they are fueling their creative outlets during their time at home.⁠

OUR CHAT WITH STEPHANIE MARTINEZ

1. With theaters closed and schedules disrupted through the crisis of Covid 19, how are you engaging with your art and staying both active and creative?

I’ve been taking class at home, it’s been fun to join classes that I wouldn’t normally be able to attend. I’ve also been reading “True and False” by David Mamet which covers different acting techniques. I’m trying to dig into different art forms and expand my thinking beyond the realm of dance so that I can bring a richer perspective to my work once we’re back in the studio.

2. Every creative process is unique in its own way, can you describe your experience working with Charlotte Ballet and how it may have differed from other companies?

When I create a ballet, especially for the work at Charlotte Ballet, it’s crucial for me to conceptualize and build an environment first. The reality is that an empty space can be a bit paralyzing, so I like to give very clear, specific tasks to the room so that we’re all working collectively towards creating something that feels honest, alive, and satisfying. The dancers at Charlotte Ballet are extremely passionate and have a fascination for exploration that continuously improves their skill level. I’ll be honest, Charlotte Ballet is one of my favorite companies that I’ve had the honor of working with to date. The dancers are open and curious, demanding a lot of themselves and producing an environment that any choreographer would love to work in. I could see the dancers growing day-to-day, trusting their instincts, making new choices, and building characters that were truthful and compelling. It is not a cookie-cutter company, but each individual in the room worked toward a united standard of excellence set by Hope’s leadership.

Read the full Q&A here.