Sofiane Sylve doesn’t mince words. “If you are just going through the motions,” she says to her trainee class at the San Francisco Ballet School, “we might as well stay home.” The veteran SFB principal is famed as much for her directness as for her exquisite technique, astonishing interpretive range and captivating stage presence. “I […]

We’re not ashamed to admit it: The Dance Magazine staff is a big bunch of dance history nerds. But we also know that, sometimes, learning about our art form’s past via textbook can feel stale. That’s why we completely lost it (in a good way) when Seet Dance, a contemporary school in Sydney, Australia, contacted […]

Kathryn Bennetts credits William Forsythe’s Artifact with changing her life. “I’ve heard a lot of people say that—the piece is just a monster in its importance,” she says during a break in rehearsals at Boston Ballet, where she and Noah Gelber are staging the full-length work for what will be its North American company premiere […]

Mondays can be a struggle. But thanks to 52 Portraits, a dance video series produced by Sadler’s Wells, I get my #MondayMotivation courtesy of some of the coolest dancers and choreographers working today. Every Monday, the site posts a new video “portrait” of a dance artist; the plan is to release one for every Monday of 2016. […]

American dancers have always liked to think of William Forsythe as one of our own. He was born in New York City! He got his start dancing with The Joffrey Ballet! No matter that he’s spent the vast majority of his career in Europe, where he created ground-breaking works like In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, […]

Boston Ballet principal Misa Kuranaga in Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Photo by Gene Schiavone, Courtesy Boston Ballet. For most dancers, performing (or even watching) William Forsythe’s electric, exaggerated vocabulary is an exhilarating experience. For dancers at Boston Ballet, it will soon be a new norm. Today, the company announced a five-year partnership with the master choreographer starting next […]

Benjamin Millepied on his predecessors, the French style and his ambitious new era at Paris Opéra Ballet Millepied working with Aurélie Dupont. Photo by Agathe Poupeney, Courtesy POB (2) Ever since the news broke in 2013 that Benjamin Millepied would be artistic director of the Paris Opéra Ballet, many wondered whether the Bordeaux-born choreographer and […]

Choose an improv method that will challenge your weaknesses. Freedman (left) practices a phrase in the studio. Photo by Anna Maynard, Courtesy Helen Simoneau. Often, the key to growing as a dancer is getting out of a mental or physical rut. One solution? Improvisation. Its unpredictable, uncomfortable challenges can help dancers find their voices while […]