Westward Ho: Is California Raiding NYC for Its Dance Professors?

October 3, 2016

Lar Lubovitch, PC Stas Levshin

Maybe I’m paranoid, but it seems like the California universities are stealing our East Cost treasures.

Okay, maybe I’m overreacting—it’s only a stampede of three. Lar Lubovitch, a 2016 Dance Magazine Awardee, has been offered a spot on the faculty of UC Irvine. Besides being an internationally award-winning choreographer, Lubovitch has had a profound effect on dance educators. 

Kyle Abraham
, our April 2014 cover star who is soon to perform at Brooklyn Academy of Music, will be at UCLA

And Douglas Nielsen, a wise modern dance teacher whose dancing days hark back to Gus Solomons’ company, has been grabbed by CalArts.

Last year, Patrick Corbin and Desmond Richardson got swept up by University of Southern California. 

I’m all for cross-country exchanges and I’m happy to see dance artists get steady jobs. But I’m going to miss those guys. They’ve all enriched the New York dance scene.

Of course, this is nothing new. College faculties in California and around the country are populated with dance artists who have made their mark in New York. So come to think of it, I’m proud of New York for still furnishing the country with legendary dance artists who find the time to give back.

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