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Meet Gibney Company’s Miriam Gittens

As a recent guest with chuthis., Miriam Gittens was a study in grace and understated power. She carved out space with exquisite precision and unwavering control as she moved through precariously unstable positions in Peter Chu’s Tracing Rhythms. Onstage with Gibney Company, she showcased a softer side of finesse in Johan Inger’s Bliss, as she…

Tara Nicole Hughes on How The Little Mermaid Brings Dance Under the Sea

Bringing Disney’s animated classics to live-action life has taken more than a dusting of pixie dust over the years. The latest adaptation, The Little Mermaid, may be the most extravagant yet: It features a star-studded cast that includes Halle Bailey (Ariel), Daveed Diggs (Sebastian), and Melissa McCarthy (Ursula). But the finished product has been a…

Op Ed: What’s Possible in Writing About Ballet?

How do we respond to recurring accounts of an acclaimed choreographer’s damaging relationships with dancers, especially women? Recent podcasts (Erika Lantz’s The Turning: Room of Mirrors) and books (Alice Robb’s Don’t Think, Dear) have contributed to a narrative that’s been emerging for decades: Throughout his career, George Balanchine employed power dynamics that controlled and hindered…

How Depression Affects Dancers and When to Seek Help

Daylin Williams, who dances with Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company’s second company, Wasatch II, and teaches dance at Cedar Valley High School in Utah, has struggled with depression since age 13. Dealing with mental illness while pursuing a dance career has presented unique challenges. “There have been days where I was in rehearsal and I had…

Ukrainian Dancer Stanislav Olshanskyi Finds His Place at Miami City Ballet

“It feels strange sometimes,” the Ukrainian dancer Stanislav Olshanskyi, who recently joined Miami City Ballet, says of his new life in Miami. “The weather is always nice, there are iguanas and birds, and I can see water from my apartment.” He pauses for a moment, reflecting on his new life. “And yet it’s the same…

Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Enduring Impact

When Robert Garland becomes artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem on July 1, he follows in the footsteps of founder Arthur Mitchell and retiring artistic director Virginia Johnson. He’s stepping into an important role: In addition to being a leading classical company that’s toured worldwide, DTH has had a significant impact on the field…

Tai Jimenez on Leading the DTH School

Tai Jimenez spent 12 years as a principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She joined the company at age 17 and later became a principal dancer with Boston Ballet in 2006 and has been a guest artist with New York City Ballet, among other companies. Jimenez, who has been chosen to lead the DTH…

Dance Theatre of Harlem Passes the Torch to a New Generation

At the end of June, Dance Theatre of Harlem artistic director Virginia Johnson will retire. After being a celebrated dancer with the company for almost three decades, Johnson returned—at the request of its co-founder and longtime director, Arthur Mitchell—to lead DTH in 2010. Robert Garland, who succeeds Johnson as artistic director, also has a long…

How Three Dancer-Artist Duos Navigate Marriage and Career

Many dancers marry within the industry, finding common ground through similar triumphs and struggles, and sometimes even sharing the stage together. But there’s also something special about building a life with someone whose career is one step removed: having a spouse who’s dance adjacent, who works within the arts, yet is not fully immersed in…

Lumberyard Maps Out Its Next Steps

In 2019, demand for the only dedicated technical residency program in the U.S. was so high that the Lumberyard Center for Film and Performing Arts (formerly called American Dance Institute) could barely keep up. Back then, the organization was seeking funding to sustain and grow the program, so that more artists could visit its Catskill,…