“We do bare feet, we do singing, we do dancing, we do point shoes,” declares the Joffrey’s artistic director. “The company combines techniques of ballet and modern,” explains this former Joffrey dancer at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Range! Continue reading »

“I don’t like dance,” says this choreographer, “but we saw the bull riders at Madison Square Garden and, boy, I really wanted to get on that bull.” Her combination of disdain and desire results in exciting and surprising—I hesitate to say “dance” lest I incur her scorn— “organized movement.” Continue reading »

“I am Juan de Pareja,” says this choreographer (center) about the subject of his new piece, the Afro-Spanish painter enslaved by Velázquez. Multiple personalities? No. One artist fascinated by the life of another. We celebrate Vilaro’s fifteen years as artistic director of Ballet Hispánico. Music: Ahmed Alom (left). Continue reading »

To experience art does not mean to contemplate an immutable exquisite object, but to cultivate a relationship, says this dancer/choreographer. “It’s similar to what you get from long-term friendships or marriage or family.” Maybe not my family, but I see what she means. Introduced by Ralph Farris, violist in the quartet Ethel, and creator of … Continue reading »

She’s choreographed for everyone from Mikhail Baryshnikov to David Byrne. So where does she get her ideas? “I always loved this quote by Rousseau; he said, ‘My mind only works with my legs.’ Me too! When I am stuck, I just take a walk, and something unlatches.” Movement creates thought; thought creates movement. Photo by … Continue reading »

He calls himself “a full-on, born-again atheist,” and yet this dancer and choreographer approaches his work reverently, in part as a quest for transcendence, honoring this ecumenical doctrine: “Most religions agree with don’t kill anybody, and I agree with that.” A conversation about classical Indian dance, modern American music, and the greatest cooking utensil of … Continue reading »

She’s been with the New York City Ballet for 30 years, rising from apprentice to principal to associate artistic director. “When I moved to New York at 15, by myself, I moved into Jacques d’Amboise’s home. He rented the third floor of his brownstone to four young ballet students.” The world’s coolest boarding house. I … Continue reading »

Two generations of New York City Ballet luminaries. The latter is currently a soloist and principal; the former joined that company nearly 70 years ago as a Balanchine protégé and went on to found the National Dance Institute. Music from Jerry Korman, music director of the NDI, and Susan Walters. Continue reading »

  “Art-making is like a religion,” says this splendid dancer and choreographer. When his brother Azel ceased believing, it threatened their intimate connection. Can we love and speak honestly to to someone who no longer shares our faith? A conversation at New York Live Arts.  PERSON: Bjorn Amelan  PLACE: Gerald Peters Projects  THING: his brother’s … Continue reading »

  Is there a Henry Higgins of movement? We can often tell where people are from by the way they talk, but can we do that from the way they walk? Choreographer Yvonne Rainer says no. Dance writer Wendy Perron says yes. A conversation about the dance world of the sixties, with some amiable disagreement. … Continue reading »