Guys, we gotta say it. Although the competition gets SUPER FIERCE, we really really really love The Duels. Why? Because we get to see all of our favorites from earlier in the season perform their hearts out again! Last night’s episode of “World of Dance” gave us just that. And while we did lose some […]
“This is what I like to call my ‘PG but LIT’ playlist,” says Showstopper Dance Convention teacher Taylor Quinn. “That means all of these songs are great for kids 8 and under, and I get to enjoy them, too. I use this playlist for our stretch and warm-up, going across the floor and sometimes even […]
For many dancers, creating resistance with choreography can be difficult and cause some to flail their limbs with a lack of intention. Or as contemporary teacher and artistic director of SynthesisDance Tracie Stanfield describes perfectly, “like directing planes at Laguardia Airport.” And here’s a clip from the combo… SynthesisDANCE Thursday August 2 at The GK […]
No two pairs of pointe shoes are the same, from their shanks to their boxes, their color to their shine. To make an array of shoes more uniform or to get them to a shade closer to your skin tone, dance teachers might ask that you “pancake” your pointe shoes before going onstage. But what […]
The bar has been raised as “World of Dance” moves to the next round: the Duels. And with over 60 acts of talented dancers advancing to this round, some serious dancing will go down before we can begin to contemplate who the winner might be. Though the Qualifiers were a great introduction to talented new […]
Angela Bowen, an influential dancer, dance teacher and activist, passed away last week at the age of 82 from Alzheimer’s disease. Early in her career, Bowen toured with the Jazz Train, a musical revue about black American popular music and dance. Bowen later co-founded the Bowen/Peters School of Dance in New Haven with her then-husband […]
In “Gravity,” Piotr Iwanicki balances Marisa Hamamoto on his back from his wheelchair. His upper-body strength is extraordinary, as he leads his partner around the dance floor. In 2006, Hamamoto was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down, and through her recovery, ballroom dancing healed her emotionally. She was then inspired to create Infinite Flow, an […]
Many contemporary choreographers today expect women to be game to do some lifting. However, the partnering training that most female dancers grow up with—if they have partnering classes at all—usually only teaches them to be supported by a man. It’s no surprise that being a good lifter requires physical strength, but it may also require […]
With her superb musicality, dramatic skills and go-for-broke speed and risk taking, Suzanne Farrell inspired Balanchine to push the limits of a dancer’s physical capabilities. Together, the pair helped shift ballet into more creative, athletic and abstract territory. “Diamonds” (1967) As part of Balanchine’s three-part plotless ballet Jewels, “Diamonds” was his tribute to imperial Russia […]
At the Dance on Camera Kickoff Gala on July 16, Dance Films Association honored two beloved dance artists from different generations: Jacques d’Amboise and Trey McIntyre. McIntyre and d’Amboise. Photo by Jeff Eason, courtesy of Dance Films Association After a composite of d’Amboise’s charismatic dancing was shown, Jacques regaled us with stories. He didn’t talk […]