In response to a national reckoning with racial injustice, Complexions Contemporary Ballet makes a powerful contribution to the conversation with its film “Black is Beautiful.” The company’s artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson choreographed movement to a spoken word piece by poets Terrell Lewis, Aicha Therese, Mr. Reed and Poetess Jess. An introduction prefacing […]

With how rapidly the performance landscape has shifted—and continues to shift—as the world grapples with COVID-19, looking ahead can feel fraught. Many artists, organizations and presenters remain in holding patterns. Nevertheless, we wanted to celebrate the projects that have been announced that excite us, even if their details (in particular, their planned performance dates) are […]

Just before retiring in 2015, Sylvie Guillem appeared on “HARDtalk with Zeinab Badawi,” the BBC’s hard-hitting interview program. Badawi told Guillem, “Clement Crisp of the Financial Times, 14 years ago, described your dancing as vulgar.” Guillem responded, “Yeah, well, he said that. But at the same time, when they asked Margot Fonteyn what she thought […]

The first week of San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound: A Festival of New Works was all about new ballets, with 12 world premieres by the likes of Justin Peck, Dwight Rhoden and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. The second weekend provided time to reflect, as artists and influencers gathered for “Boundless: A Symposium on Ballet’s Future.” Dance Magazine […]

The ballet world will converge on San Francisco this month for San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound: A Festival of New Works, a 17-day event featuring 12 world premieres, a symposium, original dance films and pop-up events. “Ballet is going through changes,” says artistic director Helgi Tomasson. “I thought, What would it be like to bring all […]

The messages started coming in Monday evening. A concerned teacher was worried about several dancers she knew at American National Ballet—did we know what was going on? Later that night, more information started emerging on social media—and it was clear something was up at the Charleston, South Carolina–based company. We’ve been interested in ANB since […]

Wendy Perron sits down with Complexions Contemporary Ballet founding artistic director Dwight Rhoden to talk the origins of the company, William Forsythe’s role in his career and why Russian audiences love his work.    

Fewer choreographers are hiring from auditions. So what’s the best way to secure work? Casey Loomis (fourth from right) took three intensives and auditioned twice before Doug Varone hired her. Photo by Jim Coleman, courtesy Varone. The idea of networking can send dancers into a panic. You’re not sure how to do it, what to […]