My first ballet teacher, Karen Mills Jennings, found me when I was 4 through a public school program she started called Super Saturdays. If you had a spark for one of the arts disciplines, you could get a scholarship to the Flint School of Performing Arts. I got to dance my heart out! When I was 6, I started training more with Karen for ballet, and that was a shift. She taught me work ethic and discipline. She held ballet to a high standard, but with grace and patience. Edwards as a child, with Karen Mills Jennings. Photo courtesy Edwards. […]

Being a great teacher is one thing. Juggling professional projects and a college-oriented pedagogy is another. It’s a balance Dell Howlett—a Broadway-performer-turned-professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, who also directs and choreographs musical theater productions at major venues across the states—knows firsthand. As if his schedule didn’t already deserve an intermission, Howlett also serves as the co-head, with Byron Easley, of dance at NYU’s New Studio on Broadway (NSB), a rigorous program that integrates acting, singing, and dance training to prepare students for a career in musical theater. It’s a busy life, but Howlett revels in […]

Over 50 years, the Tripunithura Vanitha Kathakali Sangham made space for women in an otherwise male-dominated art form

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Outdoor athletes like cyclists and tennis players regularly train to deal with the heat: They learn how to help their bodies adapt to high temps and get to know the warning signs of when it’s just too much. Dancers, on the other hand, spend the vast majority of their time in climate-controlled studios and theaters. So, when you throw them on an outdoor stage in July or August, they may not be prepared for the challenges involved.  If your studio is performing in festivals and outdoor performances this summer, there’s a lot you can do to help your dancers feel […]

Vidhya Subramanian’s latest dance ensemble, unveils her new dance ensemble — work ‘Damaru’, which unveils in Chennai on July 13, . It explores the sound and shape of the modest percussion instrument.

This summer, whether you’re reading for personal enjoyment or starting to build a syllabus for the fall, check out these nine new titles. The books below offer career advice, fascinating life stories, and fresh takes on dance history. Careers in Dance Four new books support the field with information about career paths, skill building, wellness, and work environments.  Living the Dream: Building a Sustainable Career in the Performing Arts, by Kirstin Chávez and Johnathon Pape, is a practical yet reflective book. Use it as a textbook in a senior seminar or recommend it to a fledgling professional dancer in your […]

In 1989, CEO Shari Tomasiello and her mother created Headliners with a simple mission: that it would be an educationally based and goal-oriented competition, providing a fun and encouraging environment that’s inclusive of dancers of all sizes, levels, and abilities. Headliners continues to expand and will be hosting fall conventions and regional competitions in 19 states, culminating in a national finals in July. Tomasiello remains committed to that foundation, and to keeping the dancers at the center of it all. “We have always been about the kids,” she says. “This isn’t just a job for us. It’s really and truly a […]