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.

How did I used to write dance criticism? I walked down a theater’s aisle, greeting colleagues along the way. Once in my seat, I perused the program, took pen and paper out of my bag, and waited for the curtain to go up. The next day, I’d attempt to read my scribbles (difficult, since I’d […]

When I started writing about dance professionally a decade ago, the experience was akin to taking baby steps among giants. There was something profoundly humbling—not to mention terrifying—about reviewing a new Odette/Odile in the same pages as Clement Crisp, who saw his first performance in 1942 and famously quipped: “I want to hear from someone […]

When I first came to dance criticism in the 1970s, the professional critics were predominantly much older than me. I didn’t know them personally and, as the wide-eyed new kid on the block, I assumed most had little or no physical training in the art. As slightly intimidated as I felt at the time—you try […]

During his tenure at The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay has not been accused of being timid. Or boring. As the newspaper’s chief dance critic, he has probably been the most talked-about writer in the dance world. His raves and his pans have become their own news; his words have led to as much chatter […]

Points should be given to the dance world for beginning to address the issue of diversity. But have we ever taken into consideration who critiques dance—and the lack of diversity in that area of our community? Or how critics’ subconscious biases create barriers to the elevation of non-white artists?

Lili Cockerille Livingston danced with the Harkness Ballet from 1964 to 69 and then with the Joffrey Ballet until 1972, when she left to perform in the Broadway show Via Gallactica. As a child, Livingston had been one of the first Claras in the U.S. Nutcracker, as staged by Freddie Franklin and Alexandra Fedorova. Anna […]