“I love dancing because when I get into a dance studio all the weight drops off my shoulders and I feel like I can do anything!” The cast was selected in big virtual audition back in July 2020. The young dancers were sent a short audition class to learn and then film themselves performing. The videos were submitted to EYB to choose the cast. There were over 180 young hopeful dancers who submitted videos, from whom 65 were chosen. The cast will have rehearsed for 60 hours over 10 days of

Ballerina Mackennzie Mount is perfectly poised to pursue a career in dance. The Oak Bay teen has been dancing as long as she can remember – she’s told it was age 4 – and left home for studies the first time when she was 10. Time spent away over the years includes prestigious summer intensives with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the National Ballet. The highest point though, as far as she’s concerned, was when an adjudicator for the recent B.C. Performing Arts festival told her if she

Ayodele is a Yoruba word meaning “joy in the home,” and the Chicago-based Ayodele Drum & Dance imparts the joy of these African arts through adult and youth classes, workshops and performances—all adapted for remote modes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ayodele is one of eight Chicago companies that are part of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, launched in 2019 in a partnership with UChicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, the Joyce Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The CBDLP creates a community of artists and gives these historically

Last summer, Jonathan Stafford, the artistic director of New York City Ballet, was feeling isolated and anxious. It was a few months into the pandemic, and the strangeness of lockdown and the turmoil and urgency of the Black Lives Matter protests were on his mind. City Ballet’s performances, programs and plans had come to an abrupt halt — as they had for performing arts organizations across the country. No one knew when or how theaters would open again. Many dancers had fled to family or friends outside the city; most

Mexico City, Aug 10 (EFE).- Outfitted with headdresses made of the feathers of various birds and wearing hand-sewn costumes with leather and colored fabric, the members of a family who perform pre-Hispanic dances are trying to conquer the hearts and the conscience of new generations at the same time that they are working to preserve this tradition. “We’re taking on the task of ensuring that this doesn’t get lost: conquering the hearts and minds (of new generations),” Alejandro Vazquez told EFE on Tuesday, adding that for three decades

The history of legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey is captured in the new documentary, “Ailey.” Senior critic-at-large Robin Givhan explores Ailey’s legacy of telling the Black American story through dance with director Jamila Wignot and Sylvia Waters, one of his former principal dancers. Listen to the interview @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/08/12/race-america-giving-voice-with-sylvia-waters-jamila-wignot/

AT age 16, Priyakshi Agarwal's passion for dance led her on a solo trek — leaving home in the village of Banera in the south-east of Rajasthan, India, to pursue her passion. Nowadays, the woman, the “Feminist killjoy”, sees her ultimate goal in life to give back to society, using her gift as a dance artist. She has been engaged in many social projects that include teaching dance to disenfranchised children, and performing for orphanages and old age homes.   Agarwal, who is trained in the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam

Pamela and Jeff Johnson have traveled the world to teach choreographed ballroom dance. One of their most recent accomplishments was at the 2021 International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association (ICBDA) Convention in June. There they received seventh place in the Top 15 ICBDA Dance List. The Johnsons have attended the ICBDA Convention for many years. In July 2019, they were organizers of the convention as it was held in Orlando, Fla. There they taught a dance they had choreographed. By August, it was the number one dance taught in

Heard about the Irish dancing teacher in China? Meet Catriona Newcombe. She’s a world champion dancer from Ballycastle who has built a thriving business overseas. And it’s not only the Chinese who have benefited from her talents; the 48-year-old’s Echoes of Erin dance schools are also highly regarded in Dubai and Singapore. “I have 23 nationalities within the Hong Kong school, from Australia, New Zealand, France, all over Europe, Japan, China, Ireland, Taiwan, Germany,” she said. “My students in Hong Kong can speak more Irish than the kids here [in Northern Ireland]. “We