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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

My Times: Arts Beat: Teaching choreography can be a conundrum

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By Wendy Taucher

4 September 2019

As director of the World Choreography Institute, I am often asked if choreography can be taught. My answer is an emphatic “maybe.” 

Nature versus nurture in choreography presents the argument: Can creativity be taught, or is it a gift? The jury is out, with research and vociferous opinions coming down on both sides. I tend to come down on the side of “it’s a gift,” and that inspired artistic creation cannot be taught. Structural technique, and methods of analysis, rehearsal, and experimentation can — and should be — taught. Especially in choreography.

Why especially? Because it’s not done. Not enough, anyway. The reasons for this are multifaceted, complex, and exist as much by habit as by economics and logistics. The lack of choreographic training exists in all dance genres, each with its own particular issues, but all tending to put choreographers in the position of producing too many works in too little time.

Creating choreography poses more problems than making new work in any other art form. Painters need canvas, paints, and brushes. Playwrights need paper and pen, or the contemporary equivalent. Composers need knowledge of notation, an instrument, or the ability to hear music in their head. They can work alone. Choreographers need bodies and space. Space is expensive, and dancers should be. And that’s prohibitive, often causing choreographers to premiere works before they are fully cooked. 

Read the full article on My Times.

Cincinnati Ballet Brings Female Work to the Stage in 2019-2020 Season Opener + SIX WORLD PREMIERES

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Cincinnati Ballet is opening its season with innovative premieres in their Kaplan New Works Series. Year-after-year the evening program brings new works to the stage before excited audiences. Including women in this tradition is a trend for artistic director Victoria Morgan; this year her Kaplan roster is no exception.

The press release for the program detailed the lineup: “The Kaplan New Works Series brings raw, powerful contemporary ballet to the Aronoff Center for the Arts for 11 performances September 12-22. This year’s New Works includes six world premieres.Celebrate the start of the Season with a mix of innovative dance interpreted by some of today’s most talented choreographers, including a trio of female powerhouses. Heather Britt, Cincinnati native and choreographer-extraordinaire, celebrates her 10th anniversary choreographing for Cincinnati Ballet with her emotional piece, When I Still Needed You. She’s joined by internationally renowned choreographer Andrea Schermoly with Swivet, and Sarah Van Patten, longtime San Francisco Ballet principal dancer, presents her new work, Skylight.”

Scene from “Never.Nest” for the Kaplan New Works Series, Choreography by Jennifer Archibald, Courtesy of Cincinnati Ballet, Photography by Peter Mueller.

Cincinnati Ballet’s 2018 Kaplan performance included new works from Jennifer Archibald, Taylor Carrasco, Mia Michaels, David Morse, and Myles Thatcher. Thanks to this and other performances including female choreographers, the company was on DDP’s top 10 list for the 2018-2019 season (read the July report here). The announced works for its upcoming season’s programming placed Cincinnati Ballet again on this list for the 2019-2020 season. A stunning 56% of the company’s works announced so far for this season will be choreographed by women, and Cincinnati Ballet is one of the only five companies leading the way with the most inclusive programming in both seasons.

The DDP team looks forward to coverage of this innovative programming in the press and celebrates Morgan and Cincinnati Ballet for another season of empowering (and commissioning) women.

About Cincinnati Ballet

Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works. Under the artistic direction of Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet has become a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world premiere works and exploring unique collaborations. With a mission to inspire hope and joy in our community and beyond through the power and passion of dance, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance through exhilarating performances, extensive education outreach programs and top-level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

Purchase tickets and learn more here.

NPR Illinois: IL Department Of Labor Prepares For ‘No Salary History’ Rollout

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The Illinois Department of Labor is gearing up to help business owners with the new ‘no salary history’ law, which takes effect Sept. 29. The measure prohibits employers from asking applicants what they made in a previous job. 

Under the measure, asking about salary history as a way to determine pay could result in a fine. 

Michael Kleinik, director of the Illinois Department of Labor, said he’s taking the necessary steps to educate employers and help them avoid those penalties. 

“Most companies would have to redo their application process. Probably most applications ask what the past salary is, so they have to get away from that.”

In case of a violation, the Illinois Department of Labor would investigate.​ 

Kleinik said there is additional information on their website. A hotline is available at 312-793-6797 to help answer questions. Kleinek said he’s also working on preparing workshops and other outreach events across the state. 

Listen to the story here.

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.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Ballet to ‘Good Morning America’ host Lara Spencer: ‘Let’s empower all children’

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By Briana Rice

27 August 2019

Days after “Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer apologized for “insensitive” comments mocking Prince George for taking a ballet class, Cincinnati Ballet is working to support male dancers. 

The controversy began last week when Spencer brought up Prince George’s back-to-school plans in a clip published Thursday.

“In addition to the usual first or second-grade things like math, science and history, the future king of England will be putting down the Play-Doh to take on religious studies, computer programming, poetry and ballet, among other things,” Spencer said. 

The clip then cuts to images of the 6-year-old, but laughter can be heard from the “GMA” set.

“Prince William says George absolutely loves ballet. I have news for you, Prince William: We’ll see how long that lasts,” Spencer added with a chuckle.

Read the full article in The Cincinnati Enquirer.

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Forbes: On Women’s Equality Day, How To Fight The Gender Pay Gap

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By Liz Frazier

Women’s Equality Day celebrates the passage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. The progress we’ve made over the past century is clear; more women are running for office, we make up nearly half of the work force and are more likely than our male counterparts to attend college and earn professional degrees.

So how is it then, after almost 100 years of progress towards equality, are women still only making 81% of what men are making? Weekly earnings dating back to 1979 show a gender pay gap, when women earned 62% of what men earned. In 2018, women’s median earnings were 81% of men’s. While the gap has narrowed, progress has virtually stalled for the past 13 years, hovering around 80-83% .  (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

To find a solution to this problem, we first need to understand the root. The pay gap has been attributed to multiple factors, such as: women are more likely to leave the workforce to care for their families or having to do with education. A study conducted by The Ascent, a division of The Motley Fool, took a deeper look into some of these commonly given reasons for the gender pay disparity.

Read the full article on Forbes.com.

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.

Women’s Media Center: Legislators introduce The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

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By Aviva Stahl

23 May 2019

A bipartisan group of legislators reintroduced The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) last Tuesday, with the aim of closing the gap between existing protections for pregnant workers and discrimination that still persists against them. The bill was first introduced in 2012 by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) but failed when opponents claimed that it would create an undue burden for companies. Now, the legislators hope for a different outcome.

“No woman should be forced out of a job or denied employment opportunities simply because she is pregnant,” said Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA), one of the sponsors of the bill.

If passed, the PWFA would close existing gaps in workplace protections for pregnant employees by obligating employers to make minor changes to support them – for example permitting someone an extra bathroom break during a shift, or a chair to sit on. Modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, the PWFA states that providing  reasonable accommodation is the affirmative duty of an employer unless doing so would pose an undue hardship to his or her business. In addition, the legislation prohibits employers from discriminating against people on the basis of their need for reasonable accommodations related to childbirth or pregnancy.

At the moment, only 25 American states have accommodations laws in place to protect pregnant women, which means that individuals in 50 percent of this country can only rely on federal statutes to guard against workplace discrimination. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), passed in 1974, provides some safeguards, as did a 2015 Supreme Court decision that outlined when and how the PDA should protect accommodations.

Read the full article on Women’s Media Center’s news page.

Choreography and Gender: Still Looking for the Female Choreographers

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By Mariana Taragano

18 February 2018

Whether familiar with the dance world or not, it probably won’t come as a surprise to most readers that the majority of the dance industry work-force is female. In fact, according to Data USA12, as much as eighty-five percent of the workers in the dance industry are women. However, when examining the past seasons of some of the most important presenting venues in the Northeast region of the United States it becomes clear that gender numbers shift dramatically when looking at successful choreographers. 

The numbers:

The gender imbalance in high scale dance companies is not new. In 1976 Wendy Perron and Stephanie Woodard wrote a study called ‘Is there a bias against women in the dance world?’. The article showed clear data by which male choreographers were getting more opportunities and grants, and therefor enjoying more success than their female counterparts. Perron revised her article in 2001 to find that little had changed in nearly thirty years10. 

The early 2000’s seem to have been an era of re-awakening to the gender issue in the dance world. This was the time in which several female choreographers including JoAnna Mendl Shaw14, Janis Brenner15, Ellis Wood16 and Heidi Latsky17 formed The Gender Project: a collective that gathered data, participated in panels and created work geared towards changing the face of gender preference in the dance world13.In 2001,Scherr from the New York Times accused the Endowment for the Arts of favoring male choreographers (as for the last five years, the Endowment for the Arts has given balanced grants to male and female choreographers for the production of new work). 

Read the full article here.

The Times Herald: Esther Cepeda: The crippling legacy of gender stereotypes

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28 August 2019

As a lifelong lover of the ballet — and as a child of immigrant parents who could not afford to start me in classes when I was little — there was no question that my own kids would be enrolled in dance training as soon as they hit preschool.

When my son was 4, the movie “Billy Elliot” had already come out, telling the story of an English coal miner’s son who, at age 11, battles masculine disapproval to study ballet. The heartwarming film hardened my spine against skeptical family members who wondered why I enrolled my firstborn in level-one tap and ballet classes.

When, predictably, he was the only boy in his class, no amount of assuring him that many big, strong men were proud to call themselves ballet dancers would assuage his shame. Especially when all the mommies fawned over his teeny black slippers.

He cried at his recital and, when it was over, I let him quit. That was that for his dance-related college scholarship.

Read the full article in The Times Herald.