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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

Vogue: The Australian Ballet’s Alice Topp on the cancellation of Volt and why you have to see it when it returns

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By Alexia Petsinis

23 March 2020

Only a few days after its Melbourne premiere, The Australian Ballet announced that Volt— its latest contemporary offering—will have its season cancelled as nation-wide precautionary measures are taken against Covid-19. The news has devastated Australia’s tight-knit ballet community, affecting everyone from dancers and choreographers, to loyal ticket-holders who haven’t missed a single production in years.

Alice Topp—Resident Choreographer and Coryphée dancer with The Australian Ballet—is sharing deeply in the company’s disappointment. Topp premiered her work Logos as part of the program, a gutsy, hypnotic piece trading sugar plum fairies for an exploration of how we grapple with our modern demons.

“Obviously we are all gutted by the forced cancellation of the season. We’ve been working so hard, pouring everything into the program and working for over a year on bringing the new piece to life, so it’s devastating to have the shows cancelled,” shares Topp. “But this beast is something well beyond our control and it will only make our return to stage so much sweeter. Everyone is so hungry to get back out there and share with the world what we’ve been working on.”

A triple-bill comprising the works Chroma and Dyad 1929 from acclaimed British choreographer Wayne McGregor, and Topp’s Logos, Volt is a multi-sensory spectacle exploring the trials and complexities of the human condition with explosive power. The piece is a mirror to society, challenging the audience to reflect on our place in the world—our vulnerable bodies, our emotional sensitivities—and how our humanity is ultimately registered in connection with those around us.

Read the rest of the article here.

New York Times: Royal Ballet and Liam Scarlett Part Ways After an Investigation

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By Alex Marshall

24 March 2020

LONDON — The British choreographer Liam Scarlett on Monday left his position as the Royal Ballet’s artist-in-residence, after an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct with dance students.

Mr. Scarlett will “no longer work with, or for, the Royal Ballet,” the company said in a statement, which added that a seven-month, independent investigation the company commissioned “found there were no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students of the Royal Ballet School.”

A spokesman for the Royal Ballet said the company would not comment further on the announcement. Mr. Scarlett did not immediately answer an email requesting his response.

Mr. Scarlett, once heralded as a “choreographic wonder boy of British ballet” by The New York Times, has created works for dance companies worldwide, including the American Ballet Theater. This month, the Royal Ballet was forced to end the sold-out run of his “Swan Lake” at the Royal Opera House after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the venue.

Read the full article here.

Last year, an arbitrator ordered New York City Ballet to reinstate two male dancers it had fired after they were accused of sharing sexually explicit photos of female dancers.

The Oklahoman: Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Ballet moves triple bill including world-premiere OKC bombing tribute to new dates and venue

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By Brandy McDonnell

20 March 2020

Oklahoma City Ballet is postponing its “(e)motion(s): A Triple Bill,” which is to include the world premiere of a new short ballet commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, to new dates and times in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The venerable dance company was originally to perform “(e)motion(s): A Triple Bill”  April 17-19 at the Civic Center. Since the weekend corresponds with the 25th anniversary of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, OKC Ballet Artistic Director Robert Mills said in an autumn interview that he wanted to create a new work not just to memorialize the tragedy but also to celebrate Oklahoma City’s resilience.

 As previously reported, the world premiere piece, titled “A Little Peace,” will be set to music by Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.

“I remember his music from that time. I was a fan. He was huge. He pretty much won a Grammy every year in the ’90s. … Most elementally, he’s a beautiful lyricist and an incredible singer,” Mills said in the interview. “I wanted to create something that used the classic ballet idiom in a contemporary way, but something that was extremely unexpected in how it visually looked on the stage.”

Read the full article here.

Phoenix New Times Female Gaze: Women Artists Have Something to Say at SMoCA

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By Lynn Trimble

18 March 2020

When it comes to gender equity, American museums aren’t doing great. Fewer than 12 percent of artworks in permanent collections were created by women, according to Jennifer McCabe, who heads Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (aka SMoCA).

Her museum wants to help change that. For nearly an entire year, it’s showing an exhibition called “Unapologetic: All Women, All Year,” which includes works by 42 women artists drawn from the museum’s own collection.

“It’s important to call out the importance of gender equity,” says Julianne Swartz, an artist born in Arizona whose delicate sculptural house forms made with glass, feather, bones, silk, and seeds hang suspended in one of the museum’s galleries. Nearby, viewers see a kinetic sculpture by Tempe artist Laurie Lundquist.

More than a dozen “Unapologetic” artists are based in Arizona, including Muriel Magenta, whose Coiffure Carnival Trilogy videos are on view in the SMoCA Lounge. They explore hair’s sculptural properties and its connections to identity. “The exhibit gives people an idea of the strength of work being done in Arizona and gives Arizona artists more exposure,” Magenta says.

Read the full article in the Phoenix New Times.

Dance Magazine: Kathryn Morgan Opens Up About Body Image in Ballet

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By Kathleen McGuire

13 March 2020

Kathryn Morgan is on a mission to change the dance field. The Miami City Ballet soloist and March Dance Magazine cover star appeared on the “Today” Show on February 27 where she openly discussed the challenges of body image and mental health in dance.

Two days later, Morgan took to her own YouTube channel to dig deeper on the subject. She shared with her followers that she had been recently removed from performing Firebird because of her body. We caught up with Morgan to learn more.

What inspired you to post a video discussing mental health?

I had that incredible experience of being able to tell my story on the “Today” Show and one of the things I really asked to talk about was body image and the mental side of ballet because I have dealt with it and I still deal with it. The problem is that the “Today” Show interview is only three minutes and I just felt that I needed to expand upon it because I did not get to say everything that needs to be said.

When I sat down to film it I didn’t know I was going to get that emotional and I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say, but I started talking and it all just came out. I was like, This is the time, no one is talking about this and we need to be talking about it.

Read the full article here.

New York Times In Her Words:

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By Alyson Krueger

With the spread of the coronavirus, more people around the globe are not only examining their hand-washing habits, but also wondering about those of the people around them. Personal hygiene habits have far-ranging consequences.

There are some things we’ve long suspected about how men and women approach hygiene in the past, said Rosie Frasso, program director of public health at Thomas Jefferson University.

“Traditionally women were more engaged in meal prep and house cleaning and were more likely to do the diaper changing,” she said. “My guess is that these roles made women think about hand washing differently.”

She also points out that women and men have different experiences in the bathroom, making women more conscious of germs. “Women are dealing with seats,” she said.

Past scientific surveys back up the idea that women are the superior hand-washers.

In 2010 a study by the American Cleaning Institute and the American Microbiology Society found that men are less likely to wash their hands even after petting an animal, handling food, coughing or sneezing.

The market research company Ipsos found in 2018 that more women than men agreed that washing their hands after using the toilet is “very important” (91 percent vs. 84 percent). More women also agreed it was “a crucial behavior” after taking public transportation (74 percent vs. 66 percent).

A 2016 paper by the Los Alamos National Laboratory analyzed the results of dozens of studies from around the world to determine what factors influence the adoption of protective behaviors, specifically within the context of pandemics.

“Women are more likely — about 50 percent more likely — than men to practice non-pharmaceutical behaviors, things like hand washing, face mask use and avoiding crowds,” said Kelly Moran, one of the authors of the study. Even when the researchers tested their findings against factors such as culture or a country’s level of development, they found that the gender gap persisted.

Read the full article in the New York Times.

National Geographic: These 20 women were trailblazing explorers—why did history forget them?

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BY NINA STROCHLIC

ARCHIVAL RESEARCH SARA MANCO

BE SURE YOU’RE the first woman somewhere,” an editor advised budding photographer Dickey Chapelle as World War II escalated. Chapelle took the advice and sneaked ashore with a Marine unit during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, flouting a ban on female journalists in combat zones. She temporarily lost her military press accreditation but went on to earn a reputation as a fearless war correspondent.

Since National Geographic’s founding in 1888, women have churned out achievements in science and exploration, often with only fleeting recognition. They mapped the ocean floor, conquered the highest peaks, unearthed ancient civilizations, set deep-sea diving records, and flew around the world. They talked their way onto wars’ front lines and traveled across continents.

“There is no reason why a woman cannot go wherever a man goes, and further,” explorer Harriet Chalmers Adams said in 1920. “If a woman be fond of travel, if she has love of the strange, the mysterious, and the lost, there is nothing that will keep her at home.”

Read the full article in National Geographic Magazine.

Columbia Spectator: Choreographer Mari Meade re-examines gender norms in the pas de deux with Columbia Repertory Ballet

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By Lizzie Green

11 March 2020

What does a typical ballet duet look like? Perhaps it is a depiction of a heteronormative couple, where the woman wears pointe shoes and is spun, contorted, and hurled through the air at the mercy of her male counterpart. But in choreographer Mari Meade’s work, “paired reflections,” she strives to challenge this prototype.

Originally choreographed for dancers at New York City Ballet as part of the fall 2018 New York Choreographic Institute, Meade will stage “paired reflections” on dancers from Columbia Repertory Ballet, a student group that provides advanced dancers with the opportunity to perform established repertoire in ballet and contemporary dance.

Meade was born in California and raised outside of New Orleans. In 2009, she moved to New York to found her own contemporary company, Mari Meade Dance Collective. She has since traveled the world showcasing her work and has held a number of prestigious fellowships such as the Kenan Fellowship at Clark Theatre at Lincoln Center, as well as residencies around the country. She heard about the opportunity to work with CRB through “the grapevine” from other New York artists.

Read the full article here.

‘Sleeping Beauty’: State Street Ballet Updates Classic Fairy Tale

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By Daisy Finefrock

09 March 2020

The traditional Sleeping Beauty story presents cultural challenges to a contemporary audience — a stranger kissing an unconscious woman isn’t the heroic gesture it used to be viewed as. Thanks to State Street Ballet, however, female choreographers are coming to Beauty’s rescue. On Saturday, March 14, the company will present the classic Tchaikovsky/Petipa Sleeping Beauty as reimagined for 21st-century audiences of all ages. Choreographers Cecily Stewart MacDougall, Megan Philipp, and Marina Fliagina have taken on the daunting task of adapting the classic ballet version while altering certain details to deliver a message of women’s self-empowerment. 

One of the most eye-catching aspects of this new production comes thanks to UCSB professor Christina McCarthy, who designed a 15-foot wearable dragon to act as sidekick to the wicked fairy, Carabosse. With great props, moving colors, beautiful costumes, and the dancing, this 90-minute version of what was originally a two-and-a-half-hour ballet should keep the kids engaged through every second. 

As part of their popular Family Series, State Street Ballet intends Sleeping Beauty to resonate with all ages. MacDougall pointed out some of her favorite moments to watch for, including the Garland Waltz, during which the prince and Aurora fall in love in the forest; as well as any scene with Carabosse, the Maleficent fairy godmother, and her dragon sidekick. 

Read the full article and see the gallery here.

WBUR: Choreographer Helen Pickett Explores Femininity With Boston Ballet

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Sharon Basco

10 March 2020

Choreographer Helen Pickett approaches her art in an intellectual way. She refers to music, literature, painting, design, philosophy and history. Her latest big project is “The Crucible,” an award-winning full-length work for the Scottish Ballet, on the weighty subject of the Salem witch trials. And yet, there’s something of the flower child in Helen Pickett. Not the flakey kind, but rather a force-of-nature type.

“I always thought I could have been a florist,” Pickett said of her ballet “Petal,” which has been evolving since 2007, and is part of Boston Ballet’s upcoming “Carmen” program. “My brain’s really oriented toward smell and the color, it’s always ignited my sensory system,” she continued. “Nature doesn’t try. It ‘is’ in its vigor and its beauty. It just ‘is.’ And it’s that ‘is’ of nature that inspired ‘Petal.’ The whole exercise of ‘Petal’ is to take the artifice of performing away and give the dancer onstage their individuality, their nature.”

“Petal” is one of two Pickett works included in the “Carmen” program, whose title is also the name of the program’s Bizet-opera-inspired piece by Jorma Elo. Also included is the 1935 classic “Serenade,” the first work George Balanchine choreographed in America.

The company’s stated goal of the “Carmen” program is to explore and celebrate many facets of femininity. How do these four short ballets — two by men and two by a woman — address the subject of being female? How are they all about women?

“Basically, George Balanchine’s ‘Serenade’ is about femininity, it’s about regular women turning into dancers. Epic, classic, the ultimate feminine brilliant ballet,” said Mikko Nissinen, Boston Ballet’s artistic director. “And Helen Pickett is the creative female force, and we see ‘Tsukiyo’ and ‘Petal’ from her. And then there’s another really strong woman, ‘Carmen,’ in the Jorma Elo choreography.”

Click here to read the full article.