Loading
Dance Data Project
  • About
    • Our Purpose
    • The DDP Team
    • The DDP Advisory Council
  • Research
    • Our Research
    • Research Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Connecting the Dots: Yes This Is An Arts Story
    • #AskB4UGive
    • Financial Literacy Checklist
    • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Resources
    • 2020-2021 Season Status Updates
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • Competitions, scholarships, w/ deadlines, requirements, stipends, grants, etc.
    • List of Women in Prominent Creative Roles
    • Choreographer Checklists
    • Books and Film on Ballet and the Business of Ballet
    • Articles and Research
    • Previously Published Research
    • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Interviews
    • Global Conversations
    • DDP Talks To
  • News
    • Announcements
    • DDP in the News
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

News

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

Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

New York Times: At New York City Ballet, Progress but Not Equality

March 4, 2019/0 Comments/in Ballet Programming, Awards, and Season Announcements /by dancedata

In a March 1st Critics Notebook for the New York Times, Gia Kourlas wrote about Wendy Whelan and Jonathan Stafford’s hiring as the associate artistic director of New York City Ballet and the artistic director of the New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet, respectively. Kourlas did not falter from the honest critique she is known to share:

I’ve always supported the idea of seeing two people share City Ballet’s top position because of the job’s immensity. But there’s a problem here: equality. Mr. Stafford is to become the artistic director of both City Ballet and its affiliated School of American Ballet; Ms. Whelan has been named the associate artistic director of City Ballet.

The company has undergone much turmoil in recent months: Three male principal dancers were forced out after they were accused of sharing text messages of sexually explicit photos of women. In the current climate — something City Ballet and its board should know a thing or two about — elevating the job title of a man over a woman seems like a regressive, shortsighted and even cowardly act. It’s also a confusing one given that in an interview in The New York Times the two said that “they intended to work as partners.”


The critic’s sentiment is shared by many across the dance community. If the two are partners, why do their titles differ in hierarchy? It is indeed confusing. The article largely focused on Whelan and her diverse experience and interests. Kourlas sees room for error with Whelan controlling programming and coaching the dancers. She also can largely expand the company’s repertoire from its narrow, Martins/Robbins/Balanchine/Peck bubble.

Kourlas continued, “In her new position, she must be able to see the big picture. But there is reason for hope: Her recent project is a work by Lucinda Childs, the great postmodern choreographer. It’s possible that many City Ballet dancers, especially the younger ones, have never heard of Ms. Childs, who has been choreographing ballets in Europe for years. Ms. Whelan’s new job is an opportunity to impart, along with technique and musicality, some dance history beyond ballet, to be a bridge between the worlds of contemporary, or downtown dance, and its more classical uptown counterpart.

Ms. Whelan gets out into the world — recently, I’ve seen her at New York Live Arts and the Museum of Modern Art. It’s extremely important to know what’s going on in dance outside Lincoln Center: This is an art form that is not only about the body but also about ideas, and Ms. Whelan has demonstrated in her own career, especially post-retirement, a solid grasp of that.”

Surely, however, Whelan can get even farther outside of Lincoln Center. Beyond MoMa and NY Live Arts are remarkable commissions by regionally-emerging choreographers. See Stephanie Martinez and the perhaps better-known Penny Saunders choreographing for Charlotte Ballet. Many choreographers-in-residence do not get out of their small-town scenes to program work at the larger companies like NYCB with big-name connections.

Whelan, who has a clear passion for the overlaps between different mediums of art and mergers of classical with modern dance, should send company representatives to regional performances to consider bringing regional talent to New York’s world stage. Another international leader, American Ballet Theatre, is doing just this in June. Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre, which began in Canada at the Northern Ballet, will be brought to the Metropolitan Opera House by Ballet Theatre.

New York City Ballet’s new direction can take note.

Read Kourlas’ article in the New York Times.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.dancedataproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/merlin_151427118_7199ba39-c687-4e26-bf13-31e23a02cb07-superJumbo.jpg 1367 2048 dancedata https://www.dancedataproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DDP_logo_Primary.png dancedata2019-03-04 14:07:262019-04-02 10:05:33New York Times: At New York City Ballet, Progress but Not Equality
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Initiatives Worth Following
  • DDP in the News
  • Global Conversations
  • #YesThisIsAnArtsStory
  • DDP Talks To
  • Ballet Programming, Awards, and Season Announcements
  • Choreographer/Artist Profile
    • New Voices
  • Pay Equity, Transparency and Safety
  • News
  • Other Arts & Related Fields
  • DDP Announcements

Tags

Akram Khan Alastair Macaulay Alexander Sanger Alexandra Botti Alexei Ratmansky Anna D- Shapiro Ballet West Black Swan Caroline Miller Classical Indian Dance Courtney Escyne Cristina Rocca Dance Data Project Dance Magazine Eri Yoneda Financial Times Flesh and Bone Gia Kourlas Gianna Reisen Griselda Murray Brown Harvey Weinstein Heather Hartley Helen Pickett Jennifer Stahl Lauren Lovette Lauren Wingenroth Liza Yntema Luke Jennings Michael Scolamiero New York City Ballet New York Times Not Our Fate Odissi Orlando Ballet Patricia Baretto Peter Martins phindie PRI Public Radio International Ritha Devi Roell Schmidt Tania Castroverde Moskalenko The Guardian Twyla Tharp Vail Dance Festival

Contact Us

Reach out to us to learn more about our mission.

Contact Us

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

About DDP

  • About the Dance Data Project
  • The DDP Advisory Council
  • The DDP Team
  • DDP in the News

Research

  • Our Research
  • Research Calendar

Interviews

  • Global Conversations
  • DDP Talks To

Resources

  • Resources
  • 2020-2021 Season Status Updates
  • Articles and Research
  • Books and Film
  • Choreographer Checklists
  • Competitions & Scholarships
  • Covid-19 Resources
  • List of Women in Prominent Creative Roles
  • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Previously Published Research

Advocacy

  • Advocacy
  • #AskB4UGive
  • Financial Literacy Checklist

Contact Us

© Copyright - Dance Data Project
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data Disclaimer
  • Press
  • Submit Your Data
Hyperallergic: A Ballet Redefines “Wokeness” Steven Pisano/ GOGO PR The Guardian: Queen Victoria – the ballet: ‘You think you know her....
Scroll to top