Emma Portner came pretty close to becoming a scientist. That was a few years ago, when the contemporary wunderkind needed a break from the dance world and enrolled in an environmental science program.

The dance industry is no stranger to queerness, or the diverse, overlapping populations whose sexual orientation, gender identity, or some combination thereof fall under the vast umbrella of the LGBTQ+ community.

Focusing, as always, on beauty outside the mainstream, Pioneer Winter has mobilized his “tropical militia”—a recently expanded group of collaborators—to document the trajectory of overlooked queer people. As the director-choreographer’s most ambitious project to date, Birds of Paradise comes with an original score by Juraj Kojš and costume design by Chaplin Tyler—both firsts for Pioneer […]

The process of gender transition is never easy. But in the dance world, it poses particularly unique obstacles. Hayden Moon, a 26-year-old theater and performance PhD student from Sydney, Australia, has been Irish dancing since he was 13, and competing since he was 19. For years he danced in the women’s section, but it took […]

If you follow Louisville Ballet on social media, you may have noticed a statement posted to its channels last week. Titled “An Open Letter Against Hate and Prejudice,” it says “we cannot and will not be bystanders to hate and prejudice. As artists we have a duty to challenge preconceptions respectfully and to tell the […]

I love being transgender. It’s an important part of the story of why I choreograph. Although I loved dance from a very young age, I grew up never seeing a single person like me in dance. So how could I imagine a future for myself there? The enormous barriers I had to overcome weren’t internal: […]

As dancers, we tend to find ourselves in a bubble—the dance bubble. We become consumed by our art-form, eating and breathing it every moment of our lives. Don’t get me wrong, dance is incredible and deserves our admiration, dedication and even obsession. But we are also people and can contribute to the world in many […]