Co•Lab: A Female-Led Initiative in NYC

By Isabelle Vail

October 20th, 2018

Lauren Post is a longtime ballerina of American Ballet Theatre, where she is regularly featured in soloist roles and can be seen alongside fellow Corps de Ballet members night after night. Despite the demands of dancing with one of the most prominent ballet companies in the world, Post has dedicated much of 2018 to her latest endeavor: Co•Lab Dance.

On its website, Co•Lab dance is described as providing “a unique platform for interaction among dance peers, creating new choreography and intimate performance opportunities outside regular seasons.” The offseason of ballet, commonly referred to as “layoff,” is a time in which dancers constantly seek out supplemental opportunities as they prepare for the next season of dance.

For many dancers, opportunities are few and far between during layoff. Post’s initiative not only helps her peers secure a gig for part of the summer; it also has presented women with an opportunity to create and lead in this community that does not always favor them.

For its first run, Co•Lab has invited two women (and one man) to choreograph. Zhong-Jing Fang (with Duncan Lyle) and Xin Ying premiere their works in the production, while Post includes past work of the impressive and well-respected Justin Peck from New York City Ballet. The program ran in September and was praised, garnering attention from The New Yorker.

DDP looks forward to following the growth of this initiative and its female leader in the next offseason!

Read about Co•Lab Dance on its website.