Every fall, as the halls of academia fill with eager freshmen, a new batch of dancers will discover that dance in college bears little resemblance to what they knew at their home studios. It can be a disheartening experience. That’s why it helps to have a professor like Judy Rice as an advocate. With one […]
“You don’t always need bam, bam, bam and boom, boom, boom,” said Frank Hatchett at the cover shoot for this issue. “VOP is about hitting it. But it can have soft and soothing, too,” he added, demonstrating with a luxurious roll through his shoulders. What? Is the man who put the VOP into jazz, going […]
When it comes to running a dance studio, what exactly is success? Is it about winning awards? Is it about revenue? Enrollment? Community reputation? Famous alumni? For many, it’s all about watching youngsters blossom in dance class. Artistic Fusion Dance Academy in Denver seems to have it nailed on all these accounts. When Jennifer Owens […]
Just looking at our cover this month makes me want to take a deep breath of the fresh Rocky Mountain air of Provo, Utah, where Brigham Young University is located. We’re delighted to introduce readers to Jodi Maxfield, the dance teacher behind the mega-successful BYU Cougarettes. In “Forever Young,” frequent contributor Jen Jones Donatelli talks […]
Remember when you attended your first convention? And how exciting (and scary!) it was to take class from a famous teacher? Today, many of the dancers your students emulate from television and the concert stage also teach at dance conventions. What an opportunity it is, for instance, to take class from DT cover girl Brooke […]
Dressed in street clothes, Daniel Ulbricht is more compact than he appears onstage. He also looks younger than 27. That youth is part of the reason his new role as artistic advisor for the Manhattan Youth Ballet is generating some buzz. What a thrill it must be for the teens to study with this buoyant, […]
When I first became an editor, there was quite a debate about whether or not to use the word “winning” when it came to dance, so I learned to write about competition using phrases like “she was awarded a trophy,” or “she placed first.” Though I understand the perspective held by many in our field—to […]