The ever-fabulous Emma Portner (photo by Quinn Wharton for Dance Magazine)
Tucked into an almost two-hour Apple announcement video is pure dance gold: a promo for the newest version of the Apple Watch featuring none other than the trailblazing jack-of-all-styles herself, Emma Portner.
But pre-show routines are also highly individual, and involve artists preparing their heads for performance just as much as their bodies. That could mean anything from listening to a favorite song, bonding with cast members or meditating.
Feeling like your pre-show ritual could use a bit of inspiration? These 12 pros shared their tried-and-true routines with us:
Outtakes from Dance Magazine cover shoots, shot by Nathan Sayers, Jayme Thornton and Quinn Wharton
It's that time again: Everyone's looking at the year to come and thinking about what they might want to get out of it.
So we asked our cover stars from Dance Magazine's 2018 issues what they're hoping for. Their answers spanned everything from more growth and more touring, to more family time and more rest.
Whoever told Emma Portner not to move to NYC probably feels silly now. Photo by Quinn Wharton
Raise your hand if you've received bad advice from well-meaning friends or family (or strangers, tbh) who don't know anything about what it really takes to be a dancer.
*everyone raises hands*
Sometimes it's even dance insiders whose advice can send you down the wrong path. We've been asking pros about the worst advice they've ever received in our "Spotlight" Q&A series, and rounded up some of the best answers:
Xenos, Akram Khan's final full-length solo, is an ode to the soldiers of World War I. Photo by Nicol Vizioli, Courtesy Sadler's Wells
We might have gotten a little bit carried away with this year's "Season Preview"—but with the 2018–19 season packing so many buzzy shows, how could we not? Here are over two dozen tours, premieres and revivals that have us drooling.
Portner's embrace of the unexpected has led to unexpected opportunities. Photo by Quinn Wharton for Dance Magazine
Clad in her signature loose black T-shirt and baggy gym shorts, Emma Portner is standing in a cavernous industrial space in downtown Los Angeles. A glass box—big enough to fit five dancers with only a little room to maneuver inside—sits in the middle. The five performers, Portner included, are standing inside it, side by side, palms on the glass.
"Question," Portner asks. "Are we looking at our hands?"
She steps out to watch the others try the phrase, and adds a few more steps. Quick, staccato movement, legs kicking out, torsos swiveling around, fists hitting glass. "This is a puzzle," she says, almost to herself. "I'm not sure I'll like it." The statement, like so many, is punctured with a sweet, nervous laugh.
But then she went and choreographed the music video for "Fallingwater," the latest single from indie-pop darling Maggie Rogers, and all bets are officially off. Portner is capable of infinite levels of cool, and we're all just trailing along in her wake.
As it turns out, Martins left room for Justin Peck, Rebecca Krohn, Craig Hall and Jonathan Stafford to select two of the company's six commissions for the 2018-19 season. Their choices—Kyle Abraham and Emma Portner—are surprising, and thrilling.
It's easy to feel whiplashed thinking about everything Emma Portner has achieved in such a short amount of time. Last fall, the 23-year-old was the youngest woman ever to choreograph a West End production (it was based on Meat Loaf's greatest hits). This was, of course, after she already choreographed and starred in Justin Bieber's viral hit "Life is Worth Living," and before she charmed major media outlets when she secretly married actress Ellen Page. Now, she's L.A. Dance Project's first-ever artist in residence, and she's working on a commission for Toronto's Fall for Dance North Festival.
Earlier this week, choreographic cool girl Emma Portner and actor/actually-very-good dancer Ellen Page warmed our (literally) icy hearts by announcing their marriage:
When it came out in 2014, few would have guessed Sia's “Chandelier" had the makings of a viral video. There was just a single performer—not even Sia herself—on a small, modest set, with no flashy cuts or gimmicks. But it went viral anyway, its simple-yet-strange, entirely dance-focused concept captivating viewers and rendering dancer Maddie Ziegler a household name.
“It wasn't premeditated—I didn't expect it to be that huge and change the course of music videos," says the video's choreographer, Ryan Heffington. “But 'Chandelier' opened up a new world of possibilities in a big way."
