News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in October 2019

October 31, 2019

Here are the latest promotions, appointments and transfers, plus notable awards and accomplishments from the last month.

Comings & Goings

A woman with short, coifed gray and white hair smiles at the camera. She's wearing a nice black dress with a matching shawl, a silver watch and a ring, and is seated cross legged on light wooden steps.
Karen Kain

Karolina Kuras, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada

Karen Kain
will retire as artistic director of National Ballet of Canada in January 2021, at which time she will be named artistic director emeritus. A search for her successor is underway.

Stella Abrera
will retire from American Ballet Theatre after this season. Her final performance will be in Giselle, scheduled for June 13. Longtime corps member Melanie Hamrick gave her final performance with the company during its fall season.

Dmitri Dovgoselets
will retire from Royal Winnipeg Ballet this season. His final performance will be during the company’s run of Moulin Rouge February 26–March 1.

At Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Nicole Clarke-Springer will begin serving as artistic director in December. Kevin Iega Jeff will shift to creative director of Deeply Rooted Productions. Jacquelyn Smiley Robinson has been appointed managing director.

Remi Harris
has been appointed programs manager at Center for Performance Research.

Raymond Rodriguez
has been named director of the Joffrey Academy of Dance.

Erin Lally
has been appointed director of the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory.

At Oregon Ballet Theatre, Jessica Lind and Thomas Baker have been promoted to soloist.

Awards & Honors

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage awarded
Dinita Clark a Pew Fellowship, worth $75,000. Christ Church Preservation Trust received a project grant for David Gordon‘s upcoming THE PHILADELPHIA MATTER/2020.

At the New York Dance and Performance Awards (the “Bessies”), Leslie Cuyjet, Gabrielle Hamilton, Taylor Stanley and Shamar Watt received Outstanding Performer awards; Yvonne Rainer, Deborah Hay, Lucinda Childs, David Gordon, Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown, Simone Forti and curator Ana Janevski, the team behind “Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done” at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, received the award for Outstanding Revival; Nick Cave (The Let Go at Park Avenue Armory), nora chipaumire (#Punk 100% Pop* N!GGA at The Kitchen and Crossing the Line Festival), Merce Cunningham with stager Patricia Lent and the Merce Cunningham Trust (Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event), and Tania El Khoury (As Far As My Fingertips Take Me at Under the Radar/The Public Theater) were recognized in the Outstanding Production category.

A man with light brown skin and dark hair grins at the camera. He's wearing black boots, cuffed washed out blue jeans, a black and white striped shirt and a denim jacket, and is sitting, knees crossed, on a brown block, with one wrist dangling on his knee..
Taylor Stanley

Jayme Thornton

The Prix de la Danse de Montréal prizewinners for 2019 are Paul-André Fortier (Grand Prix, worth $25,000 CAD), dancer Brianna Lombardo (Prix Interprète, $10,000), choreographer Hélène Langevin (Prix du CALQ, $10,000), urban dance trailblazer Alexandra “Spicey” Landé (Prix Découverte, $5,000), companies Destins Croisés and Tentacle Tribe (Envol Award for Cultural Diversity and Inclusive Practices in Dance, $10,000), ice dancing troupe Le Patin Libre (Prix Diffusion Internationale, $5,000), cultural manager Marie-Andrée Gougeon (Prix Gestionnaire Culturelle, $5,000), and administrative director Jack Udashkin (Prix Contribution Exceptionnelle).

Chanel DaSilva
, Tsai Hsi Hung, Pablo Sánchez and Durante Verzola are the winners of The Joffrey Ballet’s 2020 Winning Works Choreographic Competition, which includes a $5,000 stipend.

Mark Morris
will be named a Living Landmark by The New York Landmarks Conservancy at a ceremony on November 6.

Bill T. Jones
has been named the associate artist of the 2020 Holland Festival.