I hope you’re having a great spring thus far! Things have be hopping here, and I wanted to share two quick highlights: In April, I had the pleasure of teaching and lecturing at the dance festival at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV. I went into the festival not knowing the D&E faculty or […]
I had a fantastic time at the Wilson College Humanities Conference this weekend. As artists and academics, work never seems like work when we are pursuing those things that engage our spirits and intellects, and getting together with a group of hungry minds at a successful conference is definitely like play time. The conference theme […]
There has always been an important distinction between major ballet companies and major modern dance companies in America. The ballet companies that have survived for decades have done so as repertory companies. Even Balanchine—who was likely the most prolific choreographer in history—brought in other choreographers to create work or stage historical pieces on his dancers. […]
Had a great time at Washington & Lee University yesterday, thanks to the dance and anthropology programs. I taught a master class, and gave a lecture on Katherine Dunham’s interdisciplinary work as a choreographer and anthropologist. What a beautiful campus!
If I had to pick a theme for February here at JL/DP, it would have to be Interdisciplinarity. This month, I’ll participate in two separate events talking about that place where concert dance and the humanities intersect, and how the arts and humanities have both benefited from that convergence. Central to both events is Katherine […]
How often over the last few years have students asked about what it takes to build a successful dance career? I’ve honestly lost track of that question. Students want the clear answer of course. They want a simple road map. In dance, like most any career worth building though, there isn’t a singular, straightforward answer. […]
I am enjoying the search for teaching materials for an experiential anatomy workshop that I’ll teach later this year. The process of examining various texts itself is proving a great refresher for me, and it is leading me to consider adaptations I may want to make to my technique courses, incorporating even more anatomical perspective […]
Yesterday, University of Southern California announced the faculty roster for the new Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. We’ve known for sometime that the school had already managed a major coup when they hired legendary choreographer William Forsythe. Now, six other powerhouse dance artists have signed on either as full-time faculty or as artists-in-residence, including Patrick […]
In undergrad, I taught a few guest classes for high school students, but for most of my teaching years, I’ve worked almost exclusively with older dancers—college age and above. Since 2012 though, that age range has expanded dramatically and I’ve now worked with students from 4 years old to nearly 70. As I’ve been working with younger […]
In her new manifesto for freelance academics, Vitae columnist Katie Rose Guest Pryal stated, In the new, corporate model of higher education, academics of all stripes, but most commonly those in contingent positions, find themselves pushed to the margins—of their departments, of their very institutions. If you’re lucky enough to have a contingent full-time position, […]