“Is everyone okay?” was my most used sentence during my time with American Ballet Theatre. There I was, leading world-class ABT dancers through my own choreographic process. I knew that it was unlike anything they’d ever experienced, but I think half of the time I was asking that question, it was really directed to myself. […]

This month, American Ballet Theatre principal David Hallberg sees the first test of his directorial chops with the launch of ABT Incubator, the company’s latest initiative to promote the creation of new ballets, particularly by in-house talent. For the first iteration, the choreographers were selected by a panel comprising Hallberg, ABT artistic director Kevin McKenzie, […]

American Ballet Theatre is putting more women in charge of its ballets. Today, artistic director Kevin McKenzie announced that the company is launching a multi-year initiative called the ABT Women’s Movement. ABT will hire at least three female choreographers each season. The idea is that, in general, one woman will create a new ballet for […]

For many choreographers, opera is a mysterious world. Though operas often employ concert dance choreographers, they operate on an entirely different scale than most dance productions, and pose new challenges for dancemakers. Here’s what you need to know to tackle your first production. How Do I Get Hired? Seán Curran working on The Daughter of […]

“Do away with it.” “Over it.” “How about just plain old ‘artist’ or ‘choreographer’?” These are a few of the comments that popped up when, on a recent morning, I posted a query on Facebook fielding thoughts about the term “emerging”—as in “emerging choreographer.” I can’t remember when I first sensed disgruntlement toward the E-word. […]

The concept-oriented choreographer meets her architectural match.  Takao Komaru, courtesy Lang. Architects, studios and artists from more than 30 countries will attend the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. One of its highest-profile commissions, however, involves two artists who work just a short subway ride away from each other in New York City. Tesseracts of Time, by […]

How choreographers decide Jessica Lang sought advice from Mark Morris before launching her company. Photo by Takao Komaru, Courtesy Jessica Lang Dance. Jessica Lang succeeded as an independent choreographer for 15 years, creating many works on ballet troupes such as Joffrey Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet. But she began to wonder how the benefits of having […]

To kick off 2015, we asked 15 leading choreographers working in the U.S. to choose what they see as the most influential work of the past 15 years. Their selections highlight a slice of the creativity witnessed in the past decade and a half—and offer insight into what drives their own artistic choices.   Julie […]