Janet Panetta translates Cecchetti for contemporary dancers.     The sun filters into the A-frame studio atop Venice’s famed, recently renovated opera house, Teatro La Fenice. Today is the “generale,” or dress rehearsal, for Pina Bausch’s epic, Fur die Kinder von gestern, heute und morgen (For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.) The company […]

Dance is supposed to keep one young—but centenarians are still comparatively rare in the business, with even the unsinkable Martha Graham making it only to 97. In fact, the only truly celebrated dance centenarian I can think of off-hand is the founder of Britain’s Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois, who died about five years ago […]

What color is her parachute? Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines makes her Broadway debut in Purple.     Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines uses a single sentence to explain her decision to walk away from life as a principal in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: “I had a baby,” she says. Late last fall, sitting in an empty […]

Jazz dance teachers share their perspectives.     “My class does not emphasize the new trends,” says Nan Giordano. “It’s not that we don’t like trends or don’t like music that is trendy. But we are technically based and very clean. Our style is pure passion.”   In August, Giordano hosted the Jazz Dance World […]

Choreographers are hard to pin down. They work in the dark, not knowing what they are creating until it’s done—or until it’s been done for a few years. So it’s not always easy to interview them about their work.   William Forsythe has developed his own “systems” for generating movement. To read his straightforward interview, […]

Lil Buck’s jookin’ Dying Swan was the sensation of Fall for Dance at New York City Center. Unfurling from a rounded position with luxurious musicality, gliding feet, and liquid arms, he seemed to embody the romantic spirit—in sneakers and jeans. Lil Buck is one of our “25 to Watch,” but he’s also the tip of […]

Dance Theater Workshop celebrates 40 years as a choreographic incubator and artists’ services organization. Dance Theater Workshop was born in 1965. The mid ’60s was a fertile period for the New York dance world. Many artists were pushing the boundaries of what is considered dance. The National Endowment for the Arts and The New York […]

Dance Theater Workshop in downtown Manhattan is turning 40. The anniversary gala on June 12 will celebrate not only DTW’s longevity, but also the potential for any small, dancer-driven cooperative to grow into a major player on an international scale. For me, DTW will always be a special place. I started seeing dance there when […]