What's the Pointe?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Dance Pulp: one of the best dance websites I've seen...ever.

Above is a screen shot from dancepulp.com. I don't think I've ever seen a website do such a good job at making dance accessible to the general population, as appealing in a mainstream sense, while still creating a sense of classism, professionalism and artistry that comes with the industry. If you have any sort of love for dance, or if you're a dancer yourself, or if you're just discovering the world of dance, this is definitely something you should check out, and follow.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

O Fortuna

Birmingham Royal Ballet : a behind the scenes look at one of their former ballerinas performing a more contemporary work for a commercial take.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Purchase Dance Company

Purchase Dance Company: Tumbler

ANGLES OF // INCIDENCE from Chloé Miller on Vimeo.

"The Purchase Dance Company, performing company of the Conservatory of Dance, presents a diverse program of works ranging from reconstructions to contemporary modern and classical ballet repertory to pieces created especially for them.

Featuring the legendary Twyla Tharp’s Sweet Fields,with Shaker Hymns performed by The Purchase College Choir (David Recca, Director), and a world premiere by Nelly van Bommel, one of Dance Magazine’s 2010 ’25 to Watch’. Also on the program are exciting works by Bettijane Sills and Wallie Wolfgruber."

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

"Critical feedback is crucial to any company or performer: mediocre or world-class, ethnic or classical."

The other side to dance critics:

As is discussed in the linked article, critics like Margaret Putnam typically have quite a bad rap in the eyes of dancers and dance companies alike. This isn't too far fetched a dislike either for critics like Putnam have been know to be as meticulous as to criticize a dancer for 'not having their eyelashes curled'. What is frequently overlooked though, is how crucial critics like Putnam are to the dance world, and to the world of the arts in general. It takes critics to keep the public informed and able to distinguish what is good and what is bad art, which in turn pushes art establishments to continue to strive for excellence. Who's to say that people wouldn't start buying cheaper tickets to less excellent dance companies simply because they don't know any better. I'd like to think that people are able to make a better judgement call than that, but sometimes I've noticed general audience members' lack of ability to distinguish between small nuisances that as a dancer watching dance, can really make a world of a difference in the perception of a performance.