Unexpected collaborations, women-led ballets, superstar choreographers turning their talents to opera and musical theater, singular dancemakers wrestling with issues of labor, environmental justice, and more—here’s what our contributors are looking forward to most as the 2023–24 season gets underway.

Most ballet administrators will admit that they hear the tinkling of a celesta each December and think “Ka-ching!” Performing The Nutcracker generates revenue to fund the remainder of many companies’ seasons. But what if families didn’t wait 12 months to return? While not every 6-year-old is ready to sit through Swan Lake, some enterprising troupes […]

Love it or hate it, come December, The Nutcracker is ubiquitous. It’s easy to wonder whether it’s sustainable to keep performing the same holiday classic year after year, or to spend millions of dollars reinventing it for new productions. But believe it or not, the show’s popularity is only growing. Every year, Dance/USA conducts a […]

When American Ballet Theatre announced yesterday that it would be adding Jane Eyre to its stable of narrative full-lengths, the English nerds in the DM offices (read: most of us) got pretty excited. Cathy Marston’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel was created for England’s Northern Ballet in 2016, and, based on the clips that […]

When American Ballet Theatre announced yesterday that it would be adding Jane Eyre to its stable of narrative full-lengths, the English nerds in the DM offices (read: most of us) got pretty excited. Cathy Marston’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel was created for England’s Northern Ballet in 2016, and, based on the clips that […]

Dancers are known for going to great lengths to prepare their bodies to perform at their best. But the latest recovery trend that dancers—and star athletes from Kobe Bryant to Floyd Mayweather Jr.—are using is perhaps the most extreme treatment yet. Whole-body cryotherapy (as opposed to other forms of cryotherapy, such as an ice bath […]

While there are more women making dance than ever before, the question still swirls: Do they have the same programming and mentoring opportunities as their male counterparts? This spring, Ballet West and the University of Southern California are choosing to tackle the question head-on, with performances and residencies that focus on female dancemakers. National Choreographic […]

Surrounded by 10 male dancers, Charlotte Ballet’s Raven Barkley holds her own in a thrilling grand allégro combination filled with jumps, beats and tours en l’air. In the “Winter” section of Sasha Janes’ The Four Seasons, she matches the electrifying intensity of Antonio Vivaldi’s music. Athleticism is Barkley’s calling card. It’s what Janes says landed […]