The dance team life is practically defined by togetherness: on the court, in the stadium, at team-bonding events and in rehearsal after rehearsal. So how are America’s collegiate dance teams even able to #SocialDisDance through this too-long pandemic? Dance Spirit asked members of three top teams to find out. Abigail Kim, second-year member of Florida […]
Who knew that a virtual awards ceremony could bring our community together in such a powerful way? Last night, we celebrated the annual Dance Teacher Awards, held virtually for the first time. Though it was different from what we’re used to, this new setting inspired us to get creative in celebrating our six extraordinary honorees. […]
You might be surprised to hear that both Seán Curran, chair of the dance department at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Jodie Gates, the director of the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, still have mentors. After all, they’re both leading educators at two of the country’s most prestigious […]
Towards the end of your first semester as a dance student, you’ll participate in something that resembles an exam. Whether your school calls it a jury, a placement, an evaluation, an assessment, or an appraisal, the structure remains roughly the same: You take class in front of all of your dance professors, they scribble furiously […]
My first Friday night at New York University, two second-year dance majors had some of us freshmen follow them through SoHo to a tiny triangular street corner. There was nothing there but a one-story building that looked ready for a demolition crew. I didn’t know where we were or why. Then Savion Glover climbed onto […]
Back in October 2009, you met the lovely Ida Saki, who won our Cover Model Search contest thanks to her beautiful technique and irresistible smile. Though she was just 17 at the time, we already knew Ida was going to make it big. Not only was she a talented dancer, she also impressed us with […]
“The first time I saw Chantel Aguirre dance was in a video,” recalls choreographer Travis Wall. “My first thought was that she had crazy lines. My next thought was that I wanted to meet her.” A few months later, Wall did meet Chantel, who was 18 at the time and working as an assistant at […]