Dance teachers everywhere dream about pristine, perfectly synced choreography. But what does it take to achieve it? If you’re on the quest to bring ultra-satisfying precision to the stage, join our next DT+ Teacher Talk, “Choreographing Squeaky-Clean Dance Team Routines” on Thursday, April 10, at 12 pm EDT to discover the sure-fire ways you can make dance choreography compelling, innovative, and clean. In this live hour-long Zoom discussion, Dance Teacher’s editorial director, Reanne Rodrigues, will be joined by TRIBE 99 founder and CEO Carsen Rowe, and J’aime Griffith, a professor at Grambling State University and the director of the school’s […]
Lavani: A folk form that demands more than just hoots and whistles
Savitri Medhatul and her theatre-based company Kali Billi Productions (KBP) from Mumbai, brings her production, Lavanyavathi to Bengaluru
Students and Pros Share the Stage at the Arizona Grand Gala of Stars
Few young ballet dancers get to share the stage with international stars like Daniil Simkin and Iana Salenko. That opportunity is even less likely for students who don’t live in dance hubs like New York City or San Francisco. But for a lucky group of 15- to 19-year-old dancers from Arizona, a brand-new gala has given them that chance. On Saturday, March 22, at Phoenix’s Orpheum Theatre, 25 current and former students from 11 regional ballet schools will perform in the first-ever Arizona Grand Gala of Stars. They’ll open each act, dancing Vicente Nebrada’s Doble Corchea (Double Clef) and the world premiere of The […]
How Kalakshetra’s ‘Kannappar Kuravanji’ continues to hold sway
Choreographed by Rukmini Devi, this dance drama like all other Kalakshetra productions is high on aesthetics.
Keeping Lakshmi Viswanathan’s artistic legacy alive
Dancers performed Lakshmi Viswanathan’s favourite pieces at a tribute event in Chennai.
For Ailey’s Jacquelin Harris, Dance Has Always Been Instinct
As a young child, I was enrolled in dance class by my mother, along with my three older sisters, no doubt in an effort to create some peace in her life. Little did she know that she was creating a space for a shy, seemingly invisible child to be herself without fear. I immediately fell in love with dance and the dance studio. It was a playground for my mind to find patterns and rhythms; I was drawn to the beats and crescendos of music. I lost my first tooth and tied my first shoe at the studio. I knew […]
How to Deal With Problematic Dance Parents
In the competition dance world, with its high stakes and high tensions, difficult parental behavior—from complaining about scoring to offering unsolicited corrections—is especially common and can be seriously disruptive. Yet most dance parents believe they’re acting in their child’s best interest. So what can studio owners, competition directors, and students do to navigate problematic parent situations with grace and respect? Setting the Stage Dr. Chelsea Pierotti. Photo by Bree Vinston, Courtesy Pierotti. To prevent blow-ups, Larkin Dance Studio co-owner Michele Larkin recommends establishing expectations early. “We have a parent meeting before our season even starts,” she says. There, she encourages […]
Maycee Steele on Dancing Backup for Tate McRae and Showing Up as Her Best Self
Maycee Steele is never far from the for-you page. From her creation of the mega-popular “Cuff It” dance challenge with Kaitlyn Hardy in 2022 to her presence as a backup dancer in Tate McRae’s always-trending tour choreography, she has a knack for moving in a way that’s both joyful and power-packed. A Kansas City native who has been dancing since the age of 3, Steele got her start in the competitive-dance circuit. Throughout her teen years, she danced ballet during the week and competed on weekends, eventually assisting at Velocity, Pulse, Radix, and other conventions. At 18, Steele moved to […]
The joy of dancing as a duo
Nandhini Jeeva and Rangasri Raghunathan’s exhibited their nritta and abhinaya prowess
A space in Kolkata where contemporary dance works find their true meaning
Where do artistes whose work does not subscribe to modern-day metrics head to? The Pickle Factory Dance Foundation.