Today’s episode features Dance Magazine’s November cover star, Ephraim Sykes, who lights up Broadway stages and screens with his triple-threat talent. In this episode, Sykes reflects on staying grounded, feeding his hunger to learn, and the “no’s” that led to his first “yes.”
Follow Ephraim Sykes:
IG: @ephsykes
For more on The Dance Edit:
IG: @the.dance.edit
https://thedanceedit.com/
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dancemediacalendar.com
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Credit:
Music by Celestine Manno
https://www.instagram.com/celestine.mp3/
The Dance Edit is a Dance Media Publication
The Dance Edit Podcast returns! As a publication of Dance Media, we’re kicking off this season with Dance Magazine’s October cover star, Hope Boykin. Beyond her legacy career dancing with Alvin Ailey, Hope continues to create, teach, motivate, and move beyond traditional scripts. Discover the three values Hope carries into any room, how she builds trust in a creation process, and what’s in store for the many creative languages she speaks.
Follow Hope Boykin:
https://www.hopeboykindance.com/
IG: @hbdance
For more on The Dance Edit:
IG: @the.dance.edit
https://thedanceedit.com/
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar:
dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests:
dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Credit:
Music by Celestine Manno
The Dance Edit is a Dance Media Publication
Melissa M. Young is a Dallas Black Dance Theatre lifer. Now in her 29th year with the company, the former dancer has held a range of leadership roles at DBDT, and served as its artistic director since 2018. Young joins to discuss her commitment to continuing DBDT's legacy of celebrating Black history and culture, and how she approaches her director role not as an authoritarian but as a collaborator.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-156
Dallas Black Dance Theatre website: dbdt.com
Spring Celebration program info: dbdt.com/season-calendar/spring-celebration
Company touring calendar: dbdt.com/dbdt-touring-dates
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Our headline roundup includes two mass shootings that have impacted the dance community, and a collection of leadership appointments and award announcements. As in-person shows and classes resume, dance organizations are cutting back on digital options—and disabled patrons are feeling that loss acutely.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-155
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 155:
-BBC coverage of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra: bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65237002
-Pointe story on Youth America Grand Prix winners: pointemagazine.com/2023-yagp-winners
-Dance Data Project's new Global Leadership Report: dancedataproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Global-Leadership-Report-2023.pdf
-Jakki Kalogridis' Dance Magazine essay on how COVID-prompted digital programming benefited the disabled dance community: dancemagazine.com/disability-dance-equity
-New York Times article on the fallout of digital-option cutbacks in the performing arts: nytimes.com/2023/04/14/arts/disabled-people-streaming-performances.html
For years, Phil Chan—writer, educator, consultant, choreographer, and Final Bow for Yellowface co-founder—has been fighting to improve Asian representation in dance. His latest book, "Banishing Orientalism: Dancing Between Exotic and Familiar," examines the history of Orientalism in ballet. Chan joins to discuss why he believes problematic older works should be not canceled but instead reimagined for 21st-century audiences.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-154
Purchase "Banishing Orientalism": amazon.com/Banishing-Orientalism-Dancing-between-Familiar-ebook/dp/B0BRR4Z5X4
Final Bow for Yellowface website: yellowface.org
Chan's social media accounts:
instagram.com/philschan
twitter.com/philschan
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Our headline roundup includes Actors' Equity's new political action committee, Tyra Banks' exit from "Dancing with the Stars," and a Smash musical aiming for Broadway. Two recent articles consider how we're collecting bodily movement data—and how that data can and should be used.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-153
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 153:
-Dance Magazine piece on the International Association of Blacks in Dance receiving a National Medal of Arts: dancemagazine.com/national-medal-of-arts-2021-international-association-of-blacks-in-dance
-Pointe story on Erik Bruhn Prize winners: pointemagazine.com/mackenzie-brown-daichi-ikarashi-win-2023-erik-bruhn-prize
-The Conversation feature on the emerging field of kinesemiotics: theconversation.com/ballet-dancers-in-sensor-suits-new-research-explores-how-dance-is-used-as-a-form-of-communication-200870
-Oregon ArtsWatch essay on how AI is mining our bodily creativity: orartswatch.org/ai-wants-your-art-do-you-have-a-say
This special episode in partnership with The Kennedy Center features Akram Khan and Malavika Sarukkai, renowned choreographers and performers who both have roots in Indian classical dance traditions. They join to discuss the continued relevance of classical forms in a contemporary context, and how their work combines the old and the new.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-152
More about Malavika Sarukkai's performances at The Kennedy Center's RiverRun Festival: kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/international/2022-2023/riverrun-malavika-sarukkai-river-sutra
More about Akram Khan Company's Sadler's Wells performances of "Jungle Book reimagined": sadlerswells.com/whats-on/akram-khan-company-jungle-book-reimagined
Akram Khan Company website: akramkhancompany.net
The Kennedy Center website: kennedy-center.org
The Kennedy Center social accounts:
instagram.com/kennedycenter
twitter.com/kencen
facebook.com/KennedyCenter
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Mailbag episode! The hosts discuss two topics suggested by listeners: the dance world's belated but significant incorporation of intimacy directors, and some of our favorite forgotten moments from dance history.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-151
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 151:
-Recent stories on intimacy direction in dance:
nytimes.com/2022/04/13/arts/dance/intimacy-directors-ballet.html
dancemagazine.com/intimacy-consultant-anisa-tejpar
dancemagazine.com/intimacy-directing
-Pointe's interview with ballet historian Peter Koppers about forgotten Black ballerina Maria Skorsiuk: pointemagazine.com/maria-skorsiuk
Choreographer Agnes de Mille, whose narrative works were often driven by multifaceted female characters, changed the course of American dance. As we approach the 30th anniversary of de Mille's death, former American Ballet Theatre dancer Kathleen Moore and New York Public Library for the Performing Arts curator Linda Murray join to discuss the enduring relevance of de Mille's art.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-150
More about The De Mille Working Group's upcoming program at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: nypl.org/events/programs/2023/04/03/agnes-de-mille-womens-narratives-and-agency
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Our headline roundup includes a plethora of season announcements and the release of Dance Data Project's Gender Equity Index. Alice Robb's book "Don't Think, Dear" and the new season of the podcast "The Turning" have spurred conversations about how ballet training shapes women’s psyches.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-149
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 149:
-Dance Data Project's Gender Equity Index: dancedataproject.com/gender-equity-index
-American Dance Festival's season announcement: americandancefestival.org/2023/03/01/2023-season
-Recent ballet company season announcements:
independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/tamara-rojo-english-national-ballet-carmen-giselle-london-coliseum-b2292191.html
balletherald.com/national-ballet-of-canada-2023-2024-season
balletherald.com/joffrey-ballet-2023-2024-season
balletherald.com/colorado-ballet-2023-2024-season
-Pointe magazine interview with Alice Robb about "Don't Think, Dear": pointemagazine.com/alice-robb-chats-about-her-new-book-dont-think-dear-on-loving-and-leaving-ballet
-NPR story on "The Turning": wnyc.org/story/turning-room-mirrors
-More articles about, inspired by, or excerpted from "Don't Think, Dear":
elle.com/life-love/a43102096/adults-rediscovering-ballet
vogue.com/article/ballet-essay-excerpt-dont-think-dear
theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/03/ballet-exercise-fitness-mind-body-connection/673249
thenation.com/article/society/ballet-alice-robb-ellen-oconnell-whittet
Choreographer and Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper joins to discuss her upcoming premiere, "The Reckoning," commissioned by Ava DuVernay's Law Enforcement Accountability Project. A response to Detroit police officer Joseph Weekly's killing of 7-year-old Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones, "The Reckoning" is both a work of art and a work of activism.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-148
More about the LEAP Project and Harper's commission:
leapaction.org
instagram.com/leapaction
leapaction.org/francesca-harper
More about the Works & Process premiere of "The Reckoning": guggenheim.org/event/works-process-arrays-leap-the-reckoning-by-francesca-harper-music-by-nona-hendryx
More about Ailey II's NYC season: alvinailey.org/engagement/ailey-ii-nyc
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Our headline roundup includes Rihanna's high-flying Super Bowl performance, a Black Sabbath ballet, and more artistic director news. Choreographer Marco Goecke's shocking attack on critic Wiebke Hüster has sparked a confounding mix of reactions in and beyond the dance world.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-147
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 147:
-Pointe interview with new Oregon Ballet Theatre artistic director Dani Rowe: pointemagazine.com/oregon-ballet-theatre-names-dani-rowe-as-its-new-artistic-director
-Obituary for Rena Gluck: nytimes.com/2023/02/17/arts/dance/rena-gluck-dead.html
-New York Times reporting on Goecke's attack:
nytimes.com/2023/02/13/arts/dance/marco-goecke-dog-poop.html
nytimes.com/2023/02/16/arts/dance/goecke-dog-feces-critic.html
-Goecke's statement: ndt.nl/content/uploads/2023/02/STATEMENT-UND-ENTSCHULDIGUNG-VON-MARCO-GOECKE-ZUM-VORFALL-AM-11.2.23-IN-DER-STAATSOPER-HANNOVER.pdf
-Van Magazine and CNN op-eds on the attack:
van-magazine.com/mag/wiebke-huester-attack
cnn.com/2023/02/14/opinions/ballet-director-feces-attack-sexism-filipovic-ctrp/index.html
The prolific choreographer and educator Sidra Bell is about to premiere a new work at Nevada Ballet Theatre. She joins to discuss her intuitive and collaborative creative process, the power of mentorship, and how thoughtful dance practice can model the world we aspire to.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-146
More about Bell's Nevada Ballet Theatre premiere: nevadaballet.org/performances/blue-until-june
More about Karmina Šilec's "BABA": kitka.org/baba
Bell's website: sidrabell.com
Sidra Bell Dance New York website: sidrabelldanceny.org
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com/
Get the latest dance news direct by subscribing to our free newsletters. Find the ones that match your interests: dancemagazine.com/subscribe
Our headline roundup includes the Broadway-bound "La La Land" musical, dance highlights of the Grammy Awards, and ballerina baby news. In-person auditions have returned, but the pandemic has permanently changed the audition landscape—for better and for worse.
A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-145
Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.com
Podcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offer
Links referenced in/relevant to episode 145:
-Guardian/AFP story on the Iranian couple sentenced to jail for dancing: theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/31/iranian-couple-filmed-dancing-in-tehran-are-jailed-for-10-years
-Pointe profile of Iranian American dancer and activist Tara Ghassemieh: pointemagazine.com/tara-ghassemieh
-Pointe piece on Prix de Lausanne winners: pointemagazine.com/prix-de-lausanne-winners-2023
-Dance Magazine feature on how the pandemic has changed auditions: dancemagazine.com/has-the-pandemic-changed-auditions-forever
-Dance Magazine piece on how dancers are finding jobs online: dancemagazine.com/how-to-use-job-boards-and-social-media-to-find-work