Op-Ed: It's Time to Stop Dancing to Michael Jackson

I was on my favorite treadmill when it happened. My best running buddy was on my left. To my right, a total stranger with whom I’d suddenly become competitive. As the 15-person group headed into a two-minute push, the instructor got hyped, and the remix blasting Rihanna’s “We Found Love” transitioned to “Smooth Criminal.” At […]

How Memphis Jookin Dancer Lil Buck Made His Hometown Dance Scene Go Viral

When Michael Jackson turned into a bunny in the “Speed Demon” video—that’s what did it for me. My older sister and I spent hours watching his tapes, trying to learn the choreography. I was 10 years old, growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, and whenever the music came on, I was moving. I remember the first […]

Jackson Pollock, Meet Trisha Brown

One afternoon last October, visitors to New York City’s Museum of Modern Art who had come to see paintings by Picasso and van Gogh stumbled upon some unexpected works: Twenty dancers, scattered throughout the museum, were performing solos by artists ranging from Martha Graham to Michael Jackson. “Musée de la danse” at New York’s Museum […]