On Wednesday, March 18, I was supposed to return to Juilliard and teach Pilates after a two-week spring break. Instead, I rolled a mat onto my bedroom floor, logged in to Zoom and was greeted by a gallery of 50 small-screen images of young ambitious dancers, trying to make the best of a strange situation. […]
The effects of COVID-19 on college dancers might have been devastating. Performances were canceled, seniors trying to savor every last moment together were left without a graduation ceremony, students were encouraged to go home, and at each moment, a question has sounded: How can a student learn how to become a better performer when they […]
Love electronic music? Calming notes of a piano? Smooth, rich trumpet? Want music in clear meters of 3, or in 7? This week is the ideal time to check out musician Michael Wall’s abundant website soundformovement.com. I myself have enjoyed getting to experience his music over the past five years—whether to use in a teen […]
Dancers are resilient by nature. As our community responds to COVID-19, that spirit is being tested. Dance Teacher acknowledges the tremendous challenges you face for your teaching practice and for your schools as you bring your offerings online, and the resulting financial impact on your businesses. Perhaps we can take hope from the knowledge of […]
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer James Whiteside is doing his best to adjust to life at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Watch below for his insights, and see who among the ballet world’s best is teaching online, including DT’s January cover star and director of The Juilliard School’s Dance Division, Alicia Graf Mack (minute 1:07). […]
Resilience. This word has been on my mind a great deal over the past week, and, honestly, I’ve been quite challenged by it. I’ve had my eye on the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of January when news started breaking about a novel virus in Wuhan, China. The world watched as cases multiplied and a […]
We’re living in unprecedented times, and for many of us, that means unprecedented screen time. (So please cool it with your Screen Time notifications, Apple.) For dancers used to moving their bodies and working collaboratively, social distancing at home can come with particular challenges—not to mention the fact that many dance artists are out of […]
Kristin Damrow is a beloved teaching artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. On average, she teaches 15 hours a week with adults and teens of different levels, plus directs her company Kristin Damrow & Company. She is also a tech-savvy artist who makes vlogs and maximizes social-media posts through Facebook and Instagram to support […]
One of the hardest parts of hunkering down to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is giving up our daily routines. And for dancers, that means class. Last week we shared a number of online teaching platforms (including Miami City Ballet principal soloist Lauren Fadely’s new virtual ballet school), but now there are even more options. […]
It’s grim out there right now, as the world comes to grips with the scope of the coronavirus pandemic. But while social distancing efforts may mean canceled dance classes and performances, there are still so many ways to find joy in dance. And nobody combines “joy” and “dance” better than Mark Kanemura, the Instacelebrity and […]