Elizabeth Ahearn never imagined that she’d teach her first online ballet class in her kitchen. Adding to the surreality of the situation: Rather than give her corrections, her student, the director of distance learning at Goucher College, had tips for Ahearn: Turn the volume up, and move a little to the left. Ahearn, chair of […]

Yesterday—instead of sending (yet another) goofy coronavirus meme—my mom forwarded an email from Smuin Contemporary Ballet that linked to a recent performance video. She wrote: “I think this is wonderful. I enjoyed watching it and it makes me want to see them live. When this is all over I think Dad and I should go.” […]

COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on artists. It’s not just performances that have disappeared, but also the survival jobs that many rely on to pay their rent. And for independent artists and freelancers, unemployment benefits aren’t an option. Just about everyone is hurting. But at the same time, many are also asking, How can […]

The dance world as we know it has changed practically overnight. Many dancers are out of work, missing out on income they’d counted on and wondering how they will pay for necessities in the coming weeks and, possibly, months. For those who still have work—and, odds are, some newfound free time—it can be hard to […]

These early days of the coronavirus pandemic feel like a dark veil being drawn over the world. Many are too young to fully remember 9/11 and the aftermath, the deserted streets, the eerie silence, the terrifying uncertainty that haunted us. Those of us who lived through it as adults have developed what is akin to […]

This incomplete list of COVID-19 performance cancellations hints at the scope of the impact this pandemic is having on our community.

Resilience. This word has been on my mind a great deal over the past week, and, honestly, I’ve been quite challenged by it. I’ve had my eye on the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of January when news started breaking about a novel virus in Wuhan, China. The world watched as cases multiplied and a […]

We’re living in unprecedented times, and for many of us, that means unprecedented screen time. (So please cool it with your Screen Time notifications, Apple.) For dancers used to moving their bodies and working collaboratively, social distancing at home can come with particular challenges—not to mention the fact that many dance artists are out of […]