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How the "Great Reassessment" brought this Dallas dancer to confront the gender gap in dance

Feb 18, 2022
Even though there are more female dancers than there are male, men dominate leadership positions.
“As a dancer, you know you’re going to retire from your performance career before retirement age, so you have to have in mind what the next steps are going to be," said Alexandra Farber.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Ballet's biggest production changes how it depicts Asians

Dec 10, 2021
An increase in violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic have strengthened calls to change "The Nutcracker."
Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Christian Poppe as the Cricket with dancers in a scene from George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.
Photo © Angela Sterling

Performing arts innovate in desperate times

Jul 2, 2020
The show must go on — somehow — for theater and other live productions in order for their companies to survive financially.
A violinist plays to an empty concert hall during a video-recorded concert in Slovakia in May. Performing arts companies are finding innovative ways to stay financially viable in the face of COVID-19.
Vladimir Simicek/AFP via Getty Images

How "The Nutcracker" became a holiday classic

Dec 13, 2019
Tchaikovsky's ballet is a holiday institution and a big cash cow for dance companies. But it wasn't always that way.
"The Nutcracker" wasn't always a holiday tradition.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Will allegations of sexual harassment, abuse affect fundraising for NYC cultural groups?

Oct 12, 2018
Allegations of misconduct coincide with new fall season for some groups.
View of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 5, 2018 in New York City. 
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

The Bolshoi Theater: Promoting Russia's brand

Oct 27, 2016
The Bolshoi Theater has managed to stay vibrant and active through the Russian nation's colorful history.
An interior view shows the Bolshoi Theatre's auditorium in Moscow. 
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

The shoes that make the dancer

Jul 7, 2015
A ballet dancer talks about her pointe shoes.

For public good, not for profit.

Ballerina Misty Copeland counts herself lucky

Jun 30, 2015
From the archives: Our conversation with the history-making dancer.

The ballet behind the Bolshoi acid attack

Mar 7, 2013
The movie "Black Swan" and the scary Bolshoi acid attack share a commonality: "Swan Lake." That specific ballet can be the pinnacle of a ballerina’s career -- and a huge earner for ballet companies.

In ballet, dreams are expensive

May 11, 2012
The new documentary "First Position" opens across the U.S. this weekend. The film focuses on several young dancers competing and trying to make it in a difficult and expensive field.
Alys Shee and Aaron Smyth from the film "First Position."
First Position