In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell took one of ballet oldest surviving ballets, Giselle, and gave it a uniquely American twist: He moved the ballet’s setting from medieval Europe to an Afro-Creole community in 1840s Louisiana. The resulting production, Creole Giselle, featured an all-Black cast and was hailed by critics as a […]
In one moment, Ashley Murphy-Wilson is a careful technician, gracefully extending her limbs to exact degrees. In the next, a powerhouse, hurtling into a flurry of turns or a gravity-defying leap. This versatility is no surprise when you consider she’s danced just about everywhere—the Kennedy Center, Black Entertainment Television, the White House, an episode of […]
There’s a change in the air these past few weeks—is it fall? Not quite yet. More importantly, it’s PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON. And now, the quintessentially autumnal flavor isn’t just for lattes anymore. Dancewear companies are picking up on the trend, offering more and more pieces in rich, sweet orange shades. Behold, eight of our favorite […]
Former New York City Ballet principal dancer and Dance Theatre of Harlem founder Arthur Mitchell passed away today in a Manhattan hospital. He was 84 years old. As a leading dancer with NYCB in the 1950s and ’60s, Mitchell became indelibly associated with two roles created on him by George Balanchine: the central pas de […]
Let’s face it. Dancers just do things differently. We can never walk down a grocery aisle—we have to tap. We can never simply pick something up we’ve dropped—without going into a penché. But it’s not a bad thing. We love all the ways that dance bleeds into our daily lives. Turns out the pros aren’t […]
Dance Theatre of Harlem ‘s annual New York City Center run kicks off next month. But rather than putting out a standard-issue promotional video for the season, the company produced a beautiful short film, “High Above,” showing art’s unique ability to lift us up. With a title track by India.Arie, the film follows a young […]
The annual Fire Island Dance Festival took place in New York last week and raised a record-breaking amount for its worthy cause: Dancers Responding to AIDS. This year also featured five new world-premiere works and more than 30 professional dancers. Highlights included ballerina Wendy Whelan in choreographer Brian Brooks‘ piece First Fall, a MADBOOTS Dance […]
Photographer Aaron Pegg is already Insta-famous as @underground_nyc, where he snaps artsy photos of people throughout the NYC subway system. Over the weekend, he revealed that ballerinas are his favorite photography subjects. The New York Post interviewed Pegg and rounded up some of his best ballet pics—and we are drooling over the gorgeous poses and […]