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"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery

Chicago Sun-Times: La Femme Dance Festival celebrates black choreographers in ‘dancestry’ program

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By Catey Sullivan

14 March 2019

About five years ago, Red Clay Dance Company founder Vershawn Sanders-Ward realized she was repeating herself. “I started noticing that I kept having the same conversation with my peers. That the same issue kept coming up: There was a lack of support for our work. A lack of opportunities for marginalized voices. And by our work and marginalized voices I specifically mean black women,” Sanders-Ward said, during a recent chat.

With Red Clay’s 3rd Biennial La Femme Dance Festival, Sanders-Ward gives those voices opportunities to blossom. Running March 14 – 16 in Washington Park’s Green Line Performing Arts Center, Femme Fest spotlights the creations of five female choreographers of Black/African or Diaspora/African descent. By honoring African “dancestry” (dance plus history plus ancestors), Red Clay amps up its commitment to spotlighting dances that began in the myriad nations of the African continent, spread across the planet via the slave trade and evolved through generations to influence everyone from the Brooklyn-based Urban Bush Women to Chicago’s Hiplets to superstar ballerina Misty Copeland.

Read the full article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

WFPL: Louisville Ballet Announces 2019-2020 ‘Season Of Imagination’

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By Ashlie Stevens

14 March 2019

The Louisville Ballet has released details for its 2019-2020 season, dubbed the “Season of Imagination.”

In a written statement, Robert Curran, Louisville Ballet artistic and executive director, said the company is always working to tell stories in a creative and thrilling way.

“We will continue to imagine and create the reality we want to live in, and we look forward to exploring this on stage with you this season,” he said.

The season will open on Sept. 13, 2019 with the regional premiere of “The Merry Widow,” choreographed by Ronald Hynd; scenery and costumes will be provided by the Australian Ballet, where Curran was a principal artist for 10 years.

Then, in October, the Louisville Ballet will present three pieces in one program: Balanchine’s “Serenade,” the world-premiere of “Appalachian Spring,” and the regional premiere of Stanton Welch’s “Velocity.”

“Appalachian Spring” is being choreographed by Andrea Schermoly, the company’s first female resident choreographer.

Read the full article on the blog of 89.3 WFPL.

Wall Street Journal: What Women Artists Knew About Work

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By Mason Currey

14 March 2019

In December 1850, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote to her sister-in-law with a complaint that will sound familiar to anyone who has struggled to carve out time for a creative project. “Since I began this note,” Stowe wrote, “I have been called off at least a dozen times—once for the fish-man, to buy a codfish—once to see a man who had brought me some baskets of apples…

Read the full article with a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Long Hard Road Ahead According to The Conversation: Gender equity—the way things are going, we won’t reach true parity until the 22nd century

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By Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan

8 March 2019

The good news this International Women’s Day is that women are now moving through the ranks into management roles faster than men.

If things continue at this rate it will take just two more decades for women to hold the same number of full-time management positions as men.

For lower-level managers, it could happen even sooner, perhaps in just ten to eleven years.

But for the top spot of chief executive, we are unlikely to see women holding half the positions until 2100. That’s right: until the turn of the 22nd century, 80 years away.

Credit: BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Insights Series 2019: Breaking through the Glass Ceiling via The Conversation

Projected dates women should achieve parity with men

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre has crunched five years of data collected by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and discovered that while the glass ceiling that has prevented women from holding high-level jobs is receding, the ceiling governing salaries remains pretty much in place.

At every management level, in every industry, the spread of salaries available to male managers is much wider and higher than the spread available to female mangers.

The top paid 10% of male mangers earn at least $600K in total salary, whereas the top paid 10% of female managers earn $436K, a difference of over $160K.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2019-03-gender-equitythe-wont-true-parity.html#jCp (The Conversation)

Scene from Praedicere, Choreography by Michelle Dorrance, Courtesy of American Ballet Theatre, Photo by Marty SohlCourtesy of American Ballet Theatre/Photo by Marty Sohl

American Ballet Theatre Highlights Women Credited Throughout Its History & Announces Movement’s Next Endeavors

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In a new extended page that details the American Ballet Theatre Women’s Movement, Ballet Theatre is featuring the artists responsible for stagings and commissions throughout the company’s history.

The thirty-nine women come from different generations and diverse backgrounds from around the world. Ranging from Natalia Makarova, who has staged La Bayadère for Ballet Theatre since the 80’s (and the less-performed Paquita), to Catherine Littlefield, who brought her work “Barn Dance” to the company in 1944, the list is intriguing and serves as a model for what all companies should be doing – giving choreographers support and exposure beyond their commissions or staging.

The company has also shared the Women’s Movement’s influence on its 2019 Spring Season. Jane Eyre, a full-length work by Cathy Marston, is coming to the Metropolitan Opera House, followed by a reprisal of In the Upper Room, one of Twyla Tharp’s best-known works. The latter comes as part of the Tharp Trio program, which includes the choreographer’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations and Deuce Coupe.

Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company is set to perform more work by Claudia Schreier and a new work by Stefanie Batten Bland beginning in January 2019. Eight women choreographers have already benefited from the Women’s Movement since its official rollout last fall.

DDP Founder Liza Yntema provides continuous support to the Movement.

See all the information on the Women’s Movement on the American Ballet Theatre website.
Read about the Movement in the news here: Marie Claire; The New York Times; Dance Magazine; San Francisco Classical Voice

Screenshot via Dance Magazine

Dance Magazine: Sergei Polunin, Unapologetic About His Social Media Spiral, Is Somehow Still Getting High-Profile Dance Jobs

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By Lauren Wigenwroth

8 March 2019

After a slew of homophobic and misogynist Instagram posts got Sergei Polunin dropped from an engagement with the Paris Opéra Ballet and a host of other opportunities, we thought we’d heard the last of him for a while.

And he has been relatively quiet for the past two months, at least on social media. (In one interview he says that he deleted his Instagram; in another he says it was hacked and shut down.) We hoped he was taking time for a much-needed intervention—some of his posts were truly disturbing and suggested deeper issues at play.

But the quiet didn’t last long. Yesterday, The Guardian released an exclusive interview with Polunin—one that he initiated, approaching a writer who didn’t know about ballet because Polunin “hates talking about ballet.”

Polunin wanted to explain his recent activity on social media, his manager told writer Simon Hattenstone.

Great! We could all use some clarification about why he said that he wants to slap fat people and effeminate men. (Not to mention an explanation of his chest tattoo of Vladimir Putin.)

But the story left us with more questions—and made us wonder why his unacceptable behavior is still being normalized by those who continue to hire him for performances and program him for appearances.

Read the full article in Dance Magazine.


Pointe Magazine: Chelsy Meiss on Being the First Woman to Dance the Mad Hatter in Wheeldon’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

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By Chava Lansky

6 March 2019


When Christopher Wheeldon‘s celebrated Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland returns to National Ballet of Canada’s stage this week, there will be one big change. First soloist Chelsy Meiss will dance the role of the quirky, tapping Mad Hatter, the first time ever that a female dancer has stepped into the part. “Chelsy is one the most versatile dancers in the company,” says artistic director Karen Kain. “The Mad Hatter role is the perfect vehicle to showcase her acting ability, enthusiasm and tap dancing technique.” For Wheeldon, this decision came at just the right time. “In the current climate, where the boundaries of gender in ballet are being explored, the option to have Chelsy as The Mad Hatter became a relevant discussion,” he says.

The National Ballet of Canada’s promotional video from YouTube. Courtesy of the National Ballet of Canada.

We caught up with Meiss to hear all about what it feels like to take on this groundbreaking role.

Read the full article in Pointe Magazine.

Financial Times: How Ballet Black changed the dance landscape

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By Louise Levene

A March 8th article for the Financial Times discusses Ballet Black’s (UK-based) founder Cassa Pancho. She began the troupe as an 8-person endeavor when she was a mere 21 years-old. Her company were spotted by a Covent Garden director, who gave the group residency. According to the Financial Times, funding arrived at this point via private donors and grants.

Today, the London Arts Council’s NPO award has praised the company for bringing in a diverse range of choreographers. Next up on the roster, we hope, will be female choreographers getting the start artists like Liam Scarlett got from the company.

Read the article in the Financial Times.

Cincinnati Business Courier: Premieres highlight Cincinnati Ballet’s 2019-20 season

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By Nikki Kingery

7 March 2019

The Cincinnati Ballet announced its 2019-20 season, featuring several world premieres as well as updated versions of classical works.

“The season has a great balance to it,” artistic director Victoria Morgan said in a release. “We have world premieres from emerging artists, classical works refreshed for a modern audience and family-friendly story ballets.”

The season opens Sept. 12-22 with the “Kaplan New Works Series”at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St. downtown. The series will showcase three emerging female choreographers: Cincinnati native Heather Britt will be joined by Andrea Chermoly, resident choreographer at Louisville Ballet, and Sarah Van Patten, longtime San Francisco Ballet principal dancer. 

The series also includes two world premieres from Cincinnati Ballet dancers selected through the ballet’s annual Choreographer’s Workshop. 

Read about the full season in the Cincinnati Business Courier.

Read about Cincinnati Ballet and its outstanding advocacy on the Cincinnati Ballet website.

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Women’s Team Sues Soccer Federation, Alleging Gender Discrimination

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Soccer’s U.S. Women’s National Team alleged gender discrimination in a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, a dramatic step just months from the kickoff of a Women’s World Cup in which the American squad is the defending champion and favored to repeat.

Read the full article with a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.