Getting commissioned to create a brand-new piece sounds like a dream to most freelance choreographers. You get to work with talented dancers, in studio space you don’t have to reserve yourself, sometimes with carte blanche regarding choreographic themes, music and even cast size. But, at least in concert dance, these gigs typically operate on a […]
An artistic residency sounds like a dream: You get concentrated time and space to work on your choreography, often with artists of other disciplines to serve as collaborators or encourage new modes of thinking, usually within an idyllic and distraction-free setting. It’s no surprise, then, that the application process can be competitive and daunting. Do […]
Like most children, Billy Bell tried a bit of everything. Sports, martial arts, academics, dance classes and video games all mixed together into one happy, busy, West Palm Beach upbringing. But when it came to picking which interest to follow into adulthood, he felt he had to choose between two worlds. Through the door on […]
There’s something about Sean Bankhead‘s choreography that moves you to your feet. Through intricate footwork, a twerk moment or a groove typical to Atlanta dance styles, he makes the lyrics, the melody and every instrument playing come alive. “He wants you to feel the music exactly how he hears it in his head,” says JaQuel […]
Matthew Murphy The frustration of looking around at other girls getting the combinations quickly and immediately reversing them was infuriating. Why couldn’t I pick it up? Why couldn’t I make my body mimic exactly what the teacher was doing? I knew what she was doing—I knew “pirouette,” “développé,” “battement,” “ball change.” But the same note […]
Nine years ago, Del Mak decided he was done performing for artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and One Direction. “I’d done everything I wanted to, and I was tired of the rat race,” he says. “My body was starting to hurt.” The next obvious step? Choreography. Though “obvious” doesn’t mean “easy.” For commercial dancers looking […]
Jamar Roberts in his solo Morani/Mungu (Black Warrior/Black God) Christopher Duggan, Courtesy New York City Center A lot of these dynamics radiate from the power and malleability of his back. “That’s where the movement starts from, the intent of it,” says fellow Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer Ghrai DeVore-Stokes. “Watching him is amazing, because […]
Brinda Guha is a master mixer. With a deep background in kathak and training in other forms of Indian classical dance, including Manipuri, she began seriously training in flamenco during a monthlong workshop in Spain in 2007. Upon returning to New York City, Guha continued studying the form while also expanding her movement vocabulary with […]