Upcoming Deadlines

February 28th: Emerging Female Classical Choreographer Initiative - Dance Australia, March 2nd: National Dance Project Production Grant - New England Foundation for the Arts, March 4th: Movement Research Artist-in-Residence Program, March 15th: Hanover International Choreographic Competition

×

DDP in the News

"The Devil Ties My Tongue" SKETCH Series 2013 | photo: David DeSilva

DDP Cited in Guardian Article on the All-Women Season of Royal New Zealand Ballet

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Guardian: ‘All men for 150 years’: women take centre stage at Royal New Zealand Ballet

By Charlotte Graham-McLay

31 January 2020

It’s an ethereal art form in which dancers, who are overwhelmingly female, strive for unattainable perfection performing works almost always created by men. But in uncompromising world of ballet, where the work of female choreographers is often relegated to one-off showcases while men take the spotlight, a ballet company in New Zealand is making history with a whole year of performances that put women creators centre stage.

“For 14 years I’d only ever performed works by men,” says Alice Topp, a ballerina and, in 2018, the second woman ever to hold the post of resident choreographer at the Australian Ballet in its almost 60-year history. Now, she perches on a Swiss ball in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s light, airy rehearsal studios in Wellington, still sweating from the morning class she has just ducked out of, hair loose around her shoulders.

Things have changed in the ballet world – Topp wears sweatpants to class these days, rather than pink leotards, and no longer scrapes her hair back into a tight bun – but not fast enough.

“It’s hard when you have to fight for opportunities,” she says. “I want to see a shift happen, and that’s not going to happen from sitting back and talking about it.”

In 2020, the Royal New Zealand Ballet will become the first classical company in the world to perform an entire year of works choreographed solely by women – including one by Topp – a move that is, shockingly, radical.

Read the full article in the Guardian.

Philanthropy Women Interviews DDP Founder Liza Yntema

/0 Comments/in /by

Own Your Power: Elizabeth Yntema on Gender Equality in Dance

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

I wish I had had a female mentor, and she had reassured me that success isn’t defined by a linear path. I have been a corporate attorney, a lobbyist, worked as the Director of Governmental Affairs of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, was employed part-time as a consultant, opened an art gallery and, with three small children, focused on volunteering for a time. Now, I use every single one of my experiences and skills acquired over the decades. 

When starting my own nonprofit in 2018, it would have been so great to know that it’s lonely and a bit terrifying to lead rapid, serious change. No matter how much is written about  “disrupting the status quo” or “strategic paradigm shift,” in reality, those in power are scared to death when they see someone creating that shift and challenging norms. You will hear, “No,” over and over, or, “It can’t be done,” or, “You aren’t qualified to do this.”

I never thought of myself as running a start-up, because I was so focused on helping women artists achieve leadership and pay parity. Some of the best counsel and insight came from listening to podcasts by entrepreneurs. The particular product or field doesn’t matter– it’s about the experience of putting yourself way out in front of the curve and forcing everyone to catch up.

Liza Yntema (second from left) with artists of BB@home: ChoreograpHER at Boston Ballet. Courtesy of Boston Ballet.

2. What is your current greatest professional challenge?

There aren’t enough hours in the day. I try and read at least four or five newspapers a day, including several foreign publications, as well as blogs, long-form journalism and business publications, in addition to running my team, which is dispersed throughout the U.S. We have done an incredible job on a very tight budget. DDP will have produced eight studies in less than a year and gained national media attention through NPR, Forbes and The New Yorker, to name a few. But the question is always where best to devote my time and DDP’s resources? Should I do more speaking, work on networking, reach out to foundations, pursue academic partnerships, travel more to meet ballet companies or attend conferences? And of course, the answer is yes, to all.

Liza Yntema with ABT Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett during her Listening Tour to US ballet companies.

3. What inspires you most about your work? 

That is easy: Pretty much everything. Whether it is more than one female artistic director saying, “I had no idea how bad things really were, thank you so much for opening my eyes,” to the classes of young dancers I meet. By the way, it’s not just the girls or young women, but the boys who come up to me and say, “This is ridiculous! I hate that my girl friends are treated like they don’t matter — totally unfair.” But, frankly, I am also inspired by the negative; the men, and some women, who dismiss women’s desire for leadership, or equal pay; those in positions of power, who have so terrified their students or company members that the entire industry is scared to speak up. Someone has to help, and I guess, it turns out, that person is me. I want to be worthy of that trust.

Read the full interview on Philanthropy Women.

WBUR The ARTery: The Ballet World Asked For More Choreography By Women — And Got It

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Sharon Basco

10 January 2020

In the not-distant past, major ballet companies went year after year, decade after decade, without a single ballet made by a woman. Then, seven years ago, choreographer Amy Seiwert did something no one else had done: She researched U.S. ballet troupes with budgets exceeding $5 million, looking at the number of female-made ballets in the 2012-2013 season. According to the Dance Data Project, she found that of 290 ballets staged that year, just 25 (or 8.62%) were choreographed by women. And people, like Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen, began to take notice. “I was staggered by the numbers,” he said.

…

A sign that representation of women in the creative ranks will be sustained and improved upon is the emergence of the Dance Data Project as an official nonprofit last year. (The project began in 2015 as a simple database.) The organization describes itself as “a global resource for the study and analysis of major national and international dance companies, venues, and choreographic awards.”

The Dance Data Project compiles statistics annually to track progress (or lack of it) in major ballet companies with the belief that cold, hard facts will drive change. Here’s an example: Of the 50 largest (by expenditure) American ballet troupes, in the 2018-2019 season, 81 percent of the works were choreographed by men. In the 2019-2020 season, 79 percent of the works will be choreographed by men.

No one ever said it would be easy, or happen quickly, but the glass ceiling has been cracked. Now, there are other crucial gender issues to be addressed. One is equal pay. Another is the chance to fail. And a third is about creativity itself, about development of a special, individual voice, something that traditionally was discouraged in girls.

Read the full article on WBUR.

LA Dance Chronicle: BULLYING AND THE STRUGGLE FOR GENDER PARITY IN DANCE

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Nancy Dobbs Owen

6 January 2019

When I first decided that I wanted to write about the reactions I observed regarding the Prince George bullying incident, I thought it would take me a couple of weeks to look at some research, talk to a few people in the industry and come up with a clear and cogent summary of the problems and perhaps a list of solutions.  I wrote the introductory article, posted it and planned to post the second and third over the next few weeks. That was intensely naive. The problems of bullying, homophobia, misogyny, and gender (mis)representation are multilayered, intertwined, serious and intensely harmful. The erasure of talent and ambition, the lack of empathy and inclusion, and the often soul crushing meanness that permeates the dance world is illustrated in hundreds of single spaced links, was choked out during long, tearful conversations, and documented in the pages and pages of detailed and vulnerable answers to the simple questions that I posed.  Honestly, if it was all bad, maybe it would have been easier to write, but for every heartbreaking, soul crushing anecdote or relayed experience, there was also a story of dance as the source of salvation, of found family, and of overwhelming love. I plan, over the course of these next two articles, to explore this dichotomy of dark and light all along the spectrum, opening up discussion within and outside of the dance community, hopefully leading to increased understanding, inclusivity, and exploration.

…

So, what are the solutions?  How do we honor all of our dancers and their individual hardships while shifting the gender balance in leadership to reflect the population, both in and out of the dance world? In addition to Kate Crews Linsley and Anacia Weiskittel, I interviewed three amazing women who are all working in or towards leadership roles in ballet: Amy Seiwert is Artistic Director of The Sacramento Ballet as well as the founder and Artistic Director of her own company, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. Her Nutcracker is the only full-length ballet choreographed by a woman this season among the top fifty companies in the United States based on research by the Dance Data Project who’s “theory of change is that once the public, dance critics, and foundations know the numbers, they won’t be able to hide any more.” Stella Abrera-Radetsky is a principal dancer with American Ballet theater and in January is stepping into a new role as Artistic Director of Kaatsbaan, the Hudson Valley’s cultural park for dance and an incubator for the growth, advancement and preservation of professional dance. Nicole Haskins is a ballet choreographer and dance educator who has had pieces commissioned by Richmond Ballet, Smuin Contemporary Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre among others.

Read the full article in the LA Dance Chronicle.

Dance Magazine: Calling It: The Dance Trends We’re Predicting for the ’20s

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Jennifer Stahl

6 January 2020

…

There will be more female leaders.

The new Dance Data Project is determined to share the real stats on how many leadership opportunities in ballet are held by women. Unfortunately, the numbers right now look pretty dismal. But we’re optimistic that we’ll be seeing more women take charge as directors and choreographers over the next decade.

Starting 2020 on a hopeful note, Royal New Zealand Ballet artistic director Patricia Barker programmed an all-female–choreographed season this year. In our January issue, she tells Steve Sucato:

“Male artistic directors have had every opportunity to hire female choreographers all along. While I applaud any effort to develop and encourage the next generation of female choreographers, it feels like a belated pat on the head. There is an existing generation of female choreographers doing fantastic work already. You can just pick up the phone and call them.”

Read the full article on Dance Magazine’s blog.

“IT’S A NEW ERA FOR WOMEN IN BALLET” – DDP “Here & Now” Story Now Available Online

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Dance Data Project® (DDP) research was discussed in a Here & Now piece on National Public Radio (NPR) on Friday, December 20. Following reporter Sharon Basco’s initial investigation of the lack of women choreographers in ballet, published in WBUR’s The ARTery and covered in a Here & Now story in 2015, the program discussed the shifting “no girls allowed” atmosphere in the artform.

Listen to the story here.

DDP FINDINGS CENTRAL TO NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO ‘HERE & NOW’ REPORT: VETERAN JOURNALIST SHARON BASCO EXPANDS HER 2015 COVERAGE OF GENDER INEQUITY IN BALLET

/0 Comments/in , , /by

December 20, 2019 Northfield, Illinois Dance Data Project ® (DDP) today features in a Here & Now piece on National Public Radio (NPR). Following reporter Sharon Basco’s initial investigation of the lack of women choreographers in ballet, published on WBUR’s The ARTery and subject of a Here & Now story in 2015, the program examines multiple factors in the art form which contribute to inequity.

Basco cited Amy Seiwert and Joseph Copley’s 2012 research, which addressed the issue for the Cincinnati Enquirer, in addition to DDP’s 2019-2020 season findings in her article, “In ‘BB@home: ChoreograpHER,’ The Women of The Boston Ballet Show Ingenuity And Talent.”

Of the lack of women choreographers, Basco wrote:

When you look at ballet you enjoy the movement, the shape of the dance, the performers, and, if there is any, the music and the story. You may marvel at the dancers’ skill, strength, artistry and charisma. Chances are, you don’t immediately focus on the person who created the work. But now, for very good reasons, the ballet world is thinking about who makes its dances.

DDP is delighted to share news of NPR’s national coverage of the lack of opportunities for female leadership in classical dance. We anticipate this platform will inspire others in all aspects of ballet to take concrete steps to include more women choreographers in programming. “Systematic exclusion of women choreographers is just the tip of a culture-wide problem in the global industry of ballet. While, by most estimates, women make 80% of what is made by their male counterparts, in 2017, female artistic directors earned just 68% of the amount earned by male artistic directors. In 2016 that figure was only 62%,” said DDP Founder and President Liza Yntema. DDP will release more findings in January following an investigation of the role of equity in major U.S. dance venue leadership and programming.

Read Basco’s review of Boston Ballet’s BB@home: ChoreograpHER and discussion of women in ballet for WBUR’s The ARTery here.

Interested parties can listen to Here & Now live on the radio (find a station near you that broadcasts the program here) and online (Monday-Friday 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST) here. The story in question airs at 1:20 p.m. EST. Individual stories can be found following the air time at either 2:30 p.m. EST or 3:30 p.m. EST online at WBUR. Links will also be available at www.dancedataproject.com/category/press/. DDP encourages listeners to join this important conversation by leaving a comment at the end of the story.

For more information and ways to listen, visit https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/ways-to-listen.

Please contact Isabelle Vail, ivail@dancedataproject.com, with any questions.

Edit: The story’s recording is now available here.

Sacramento Bee Again Cites DDP In Review of Amy Seiwert’s “The Nutcracker” for Sacramento Ballet

/0 Comments/in /by

By Kameron Schmid

13 December 2019

…

“We can approach classical art forms with contemporary sensibilities,” Seiwert said. “In a lot of versions of The Nutcracker, Marie is considered this perfect little girl … she’s an archetype but not a human.”

The ultimate goal was to give audiences, especially children, a different message to walk away with after seeing how Marie, the main character, approaches the obstacles put in her path.

“So many kids come to see The Nutcracker. For so many people, it’s the first ballet they see,” Seiwert said. “To be able to show them, ‘You can do hard things. You can walk through a hard situation,’ to put that image out there was very important to me.”

Seiwert is one of the most prominent female ballet directors and choreographers in the nation. As she points out, there aren’t many to begin with.

Her production of The Nutcracker was the only full-length world premiere created by a woman for the 2018-2019 season in the country, according to the Dance Data Project.

“There is a serious lack of women creating ballet,” Seiwert said. “There’s starting to be a shift in that dynamic. I don’t think it’s because women can’t choreograph ballet, it usually has to do with opportunity.”

In the second year of producing Seiwert’s version of The Nutcracker, Sacramento Ballet has over 22 professional dancers in residence and will feature them in the show, as well as approximately 100 children per performance, according to Seiwert.

Read the full article in The Sacramento Bee.

Video “15 Sad Realities of Being a Professional Ballet Dancer” Shares DDP Findings

/0 Comments/in /by

The Talko YouTube: 15 Sad Realities of Being a Professional Ballet Dancer

The video states, “In 2017, Dance Data Project reported that female artistic directors…”

DDP did not find this information in 2017 but rather recorded 2017 tax statements (via publicly-availably Forms-990 on GuideStar) in 2019, which was, on average, the most recent fiscal year data available to the public at the time of our Leadership report.

DDP Cited in Northern Kentucky University Student Paper

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Northerner: Emerging Choreographers Showcase supports the artistic growth of women

By Alyssa Weber

19 November 2019

NKU’s dance program holds an Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase every year to spotlight student talent. This year the ECS will be entirely produced and choreographed by female students. 

When BFA dance coordinator and assistant professor of dance Tracey Bonner began teaching at the School of the Arts five years ago, her students didn’t even have a performance opportunity for the fall semester. 

“One thing we know from higher education studies is that when students can come in and be involved in a major project within their field of interest … their retention rate is 85 percent higher,” Bonner said. 

With the help of one of her students, Bonner created the ECS, which is completely student-run to encourage students to not only get involved on stage but to gain experience in choreographing, designing and stage managing. 

According to Bonner, there are currently no male dance majors in the BFA dance program, however this has given the showcase the opportunity to address a topic that affects all women in the performing arts field.

Michael Hatton, theatre and dance program head, said that dance, which has been a component of theatre since at least the sixth century B.C.E., typically recruits the help of a technical director to oversee and ensure all production elements of the show work properly and safely. 

Read the full article in The Northerner.