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.
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