For the First Time Ever, Dayton Ballet Has a Female Nutcracker

A few months ago, Dayton Ballet’s artistic director, Karen Russo Burke, approached Miranda Dafoe with an unorthodox idea: She wanted to cast a woman in the role of the Nutcracker in the company’s holiday production, and she was tapping Dafoe. “I honestly was pretty shocked,” says the Dayton Ballet dancer. “But the more I thought […]

Over 80% of Ballets Are Still Choreographed By Men

In the past several years, ballet has been called out time and again for not fostering, presenting and commissioning the work of women. Recently, highlighting women ballet choreographers has become somewhat of a trend, with companies pioneering initiatives to try to close the gender gap, or presenting all-women programs. But numbers don’t lie, and unfortunately, […]