A recent win for size inclusivity has even cemented itself legally: On May 26, 2023, New York City mayor Eric Adams signed new legislation to prohibit height or weight discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, adding these two physical characteristics to the list of those protected, which includes race, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation.

In order to be approved for domestic employ­ment, professionals without a U.S. passport need exten­sive paperwork. For individuals and touring groups, part of that stack needs to be evidence supporting the petitioner’s claim that the dancer or ensemble is one of a kind and something special. The evidence should include dance reviews; petitions without them may be unsuccessful. For dance companies in cities without critics, this could ultimately mean fewer international artists.

We would all like to feel free to express ourselves without feeling endangered. I just hope that Goecke-gate motivates the dance world to engage in efforts to promote understanding among different sectors of the dance ecology.

While the phrase “my dancers” may not deliberately subjugate dancers, the notion of ownership over other bodies, their work and their ideas is linked to patriarchal traditions and the legacy of slavery. With that in mind, the linguistic habit, used mostly as a shorthand—or even a term of endearment—becomes rather alarming.

It’s hard to imagine New York City without The Phantom of the Opera. The announcement that the longest-running show on Broadway would play its final performance on February 18, after 35 years at the Majestic Theatre, made headlines

As youngsters, my brother, Gregory, and I went to the Apollo Theater in Harlem to watch tap greats like Teddy Hale, Bunny Briggs, the Step Brothers and Coles & Atkins. Most of those guys would come on the stage and just tap.

Further spurred on by the theatrical justice movement during the pandemic, it is immersive theater’s turn to change patterns as we move with pride into the rest of this century.

I wasn’t engaging in social media in a meaningful or sincere way. It was like a bad relationship. Social media and I were just passing the time together rather than finding a deeper intimacy.