Category: ran-&-rave

In Episode 1 of Black Dance Stories, a web series that launched on June 25, 2020, Stefanie Batten Bland talks about how she has no childcare. In another episode, Leslie Parker Zooms from the Twin Cities, where she is having solo rehearsals at a theater three blocks from the epicenter of the George Floyd protests. […]

Earlier this month, the ballet world awoke to reports of the unexpected passing of the British choreographer Liam Scarlett. He had just turned 35; shortly afterward, his family put out a statement confirming “the tragic, untimely death of our beloved Liam,” and asking that the public respect their privacy. Social media didn’t tread quite so […]

It’s 9:30 pm on a Thursday night in November; my eyes close as I hear the familiar, haunting notes of the closing music for Then She Fell. Music I’ve heard thousands of times before. Eerie, swelling strings that have signaled the beginning of a dinner break with fellow castmates, or the end of a long […]

Friends, I’d like to deliver some news that might be challenging for you. As much as we have been trained to believe “the show must go on,” I can assure you right now, it will be fine if it does not. I understand. Trust me, I do. The pandemic arrived smack in the middle of […]

I consider there to be two spheres in my life: the inner world and the external physical world. Most of the time they don’t align. As a child, whenever I heard music, I instantly disconnected from the present and vanished into a world of myth and fantasy. A swing of an arm created a painting […]

Creating is a spiritual act for me, rooted in natu­re, formed through my link to the ances­­tors and the land of which we are made. I weave cultural concepts with scientific and philosophical theories. My work unites themes of personal and collective identity with family, matriarchy, sovereignty, equality and healing that centers the voices of […]

Creating is a spiritual act for me, rooted in natu­re, formed through my link to the ances­­tors and the land of which we are made. I weave cultural concepts with scientific and philosophical theories. My work unites themes of personal and collective identity with family, matriarchy, sovereignty, equality and healing that centers the voices of […]

It was March 2019. Waiting inside my daughter’s doctor’s office, I scrolled through my email, coming upon a grant notification that seemed hopeful. Usually, I delete email responses to applications, sparing myself the piercing disappointment of “Thank you for your application…We received an unusually high volume of…regret to inform you…” Something about this one seemed […]

Dance is my love language. It’s the way I spread joy around the world. It’s my superpower, the purpose God gave me and one of the main reasons I smile. I’m full of feelings, although some people may not know it because I am quite reserved, private and almost shy at times. Dance is the […]

Much of the dance competition circuit has been on hold for months as the U.S. (and the rest of the world) grappled with COVID-19 restrictions. Dancers everywhere are itching to return to the stage, so as each state begins to emerge from lockdown, Groove Dance Competition and Convention is ready to go. From July, make-up […]