What to Read: DM Editors' Top Picks of 2015
As we say goodbye to 2015, Dance Magazine’s editors look back and share their favorite highlights from the year.
“I don’t usually bring issues home (my apartment’s far too small for them all!) but I couldn’t help myself when our April cover featuring Hofesh Shechter came out. I’m such a fangirl. And it always makes me smile to remember our hilarious photo shoot, which was an endless stream of him making wonderfully inappropriate jokes.”
—Editor in chief Jennifer Stahl
Justin Peck. Photo by Lindsay Thomas, courtesy PNB.
“After a year so focused on the diversity of ballet dancers (thanks, Misty!), it’s important that we talk about the same issues with choreographers. I love Justin Peck just as much as the next fan, but I’m proud that Joseph Carman’s “Ballet’s Boys Club” feature challenged the way that companies are hiring the same men over and over again.”
—Assistant editor Lauren Wingenroth
“I was so excited when the January “25 to Watch” issue hit my desk. It’s wonderful to look back now and see how all those talkabouts have grown in just one year. Silas Farley’s technique and spirit have continued to shine at New York City Ballet. Joshua L. Peugh has been getting more commissions, and won the top prize at the National Choreography Festival in California. Robyn Minenko Williams’ silky smooth work really showed off the dancers’ skills when Hubbard Street performed her choreography at The Joyce. I can hardly wait for everyone to meet our standouts for 2016.”
—Associate editor Kristin Schwab
Miranda in center. Photo by Joan Marcus, Courtesy Hamilton
“Before Hamilton became the hottest ticket on the Great White Way, and before writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda became a MacArthur Fellow, Dance Magazine‘s On Broadway columnist Sylviane Gold spoke with Miranda and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler. She wrote, ‘Together, Miranda and Blankenbuehler could turn out to be the Founding Fathers of a new kind of musical.’ I couldn’t agree more.”
—Managing editor Madeline Schrock
“My favorite cover of 2015 would have to be February’s, featuring Mark Morris dancer Laurel Lynch. That bright green dress—and her dynamic pose—was a much-needed breath of fresh air in the middle of a long winter. So was Lynch’s story. I loved the way Morris described her independent spirit: ‘I like that she is stubborn: as a dancer, as a feminist, as an artist.’ I, for one, will be letting that inspire me as I think about goals for the New Year.”
—Assistant editor Suzannah Friscia
“It’s been an amazing year. Our 2015 cover subjects were a stellar group. What fascinated me was how they collaborated with us during our shoots, and what that process illuminated about them as performers and artists. Jacqueline Greene quietly went about astounding us, Melissa Hamilton came ready to think conceptually and say ‘yes’ to every idea, Simone Messmer brought honesty and integrity with abundant style. Hofesh Shechter brought thoughtfulness and charisma and Alex Wong was prepared to hurl himself across the studio to get the shot we were after. I appreciate every one of our cover subjects and their willingness to work with us to create something unique and special for Dance Magazine.”
—Creative director Raymond Mingst
