Keeping Up With What is Happening in the Dance World

It’s been nearly 20 years since I retired as director/choreographer of The Avodah Dance Ensemble and left New York City to begin a new chapter of my life.  I still very much want to know what is happening in the dance world.  At first, I made regular trips back to New York City, attending concerts and meeting with my dance friends.  Gradually the trips became less and less frequent, and since living in Costa Rica for four years, I have only made one trip back.  Even though I paint and write, my true passion is still dance and it is important for me to keep up with what is happening in the dance world.  For this blog I want to share with you a few ways I have been doing this, and welcome you to suggest other ways.

COVID proved to be helpful because various companies offered events online. Now there are less of those, although Jacob’s Pillow continues to have some.

A daily email I get Monday through Friday has been extremely helpful, and I want to highly recommend it.  It’s called The Dance Edit, and it announces “the news moving the dance world.” It is a publication of DanceMedia.com which includes Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Pointe and other monthly magazines. They have weekly newsletters along with The Dance Edit (which they call a petit daily newsletter).  I love The Dance Edit because in just a sentence it describes a news item in the world of dance, along with a link where you can read more about it.

Here’s a sample of some items that intrigued me:

Choreographer Christopher Gattelli taught Timothée Chalamet to tap for Wonka, and says Chalamet “worked his butt off.” (Dance Spirit)

The National Ballet of Ukraine is embarking on a 10-city Canadian tour, raising money to bring aid to Ukrainian families, and giving the dancers a chance to show their country’s resilience. (Pointe)

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour dancer Kevin “Konkrete” Davis Jr. shares how he got the gig, his favorite part of the show, and more. (KQED)

Remembering Maurice Hines’ wide-reaching legacy as a song-and-dance man. Hines died last week at the age of 80. (The New York Times)

Misty Copeland hasn’t performed onstage in three years—and though she plans to return eventually, she’s looking towards the next chapter of her career. (BBC)

Sarah Kaufman, the Washington Post dance critic who was laid off in 2022, leaving just one full-time critic job in the U.S., on why dance criticism is important. (Maryland Theatre Guide)

 Dance Data Project’s 2023 U.S. Dance Festivals Report reveals that 50% of the works presented at dance festivals this year were choreographed by women. (Dance Data Project)

As you can see, there is huge diversity in the type of articles that The Dance Edit shares.  There are always one or two pieces from its sister publications Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher.  I am pleasantly surprised at the variety of sources that have published articles about dance, and The Dance Edit’s one-liners often motivate me to click on the link to learn more.

The Dance Edit and Facebook posts by friends are my main resources for keeping up with dance news.  I look forward to hearing suggestions from you.

Below is the screenshot of The Dance Edit home page.