The young dancer-theatre artiste speaks about her strong bond with the verdant Adishakti campus, her work and her mentor Veenapani Chawla.

From director shifts, notable awards, and beyond, here are the major dance educator moves you should know about from spring 2025. Melissa Toogood will be the next dean and director of dance at The Juilliard School, succeeding Alicia Graf Mack on July 1. Mario Alberto Zambrano has been named associate dean and director. Carla Körbes has been named ballet chair. Jamar Roberts will join the faculty as distinguished visiting faculty and an Arnhold creative associate at large. Additionally, Bobbi Jene Smith and Karen Gayle will join the faculty. Janie Taylor has been appointed artistic director of the Trudl Zipper Dance […]

Ballet wouldn’t be the art form it is today without its long history of incredible teachers. And while many training methods have proven themselves successful over the years, the man who trained some of the greatest dancers of all time—including Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, and Vaslav Nijinsky—was clearly doing something right.  The Man Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928) was born in Italy to two dancers in a theater dressing room. He made his stage debut while still a baby in his father’s arms, grew up to be one of the most celebrated male dancers of his time, was the ballet master of […]

The dancer, recipient of the Best Original Choreographer Award (2018) by Broadway World for the Mughal-e-Azam, premeries her work ‘Bhakti- A Shared Longing’ on June 13

I’ve never known a version of myself without dance. I was born and raised in the immersive environment of a dance school for bharatanatyam (a form of Indian classical dance) that my parents founded in Los Angeles before I was born. My mother, Viji Prakash, was my first dance teacher, a passionate performer, and my inspiration. Since I can remember, the world of dance has felt magical and filled me with wonderment. While the music and rhythm inspire me to move, it is the stories that breathe life. From childhood, the colorful body of myth that surrounds bharatanatyam was the […]

At the University of Iowa, Eloy Barragán, associate professor of ballet technique, choreography, partnering, and pointe, and the university’s director of dance production, works with dancers at pivotal stages in their careers. As budding artists, it’s their time not just to learn and mimic steps, but to interpret and infuse them with emotion. “ It has to be this way. It’s more like collaboration, like conversations,” he says of working with university dancers. “How will you move in this phrase? How will you make it your own?” On top of personal artistic development, Barragán says that today’s young dancers face a […]

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Leela Sukar’s Krishna Karnamritam inspired the duo to come up with this thematic production.

It may be summer vacation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re taking a break from your teaching responsibilities. Whether you’re in the studio daily as part of a summer intensive or you’re enjoying some well-deserved time off but want to look ahead to next season’s classes and performances, Dance Teacher has you covered.  This month, we’ll be posting a lesson plan from University of Iowa associate professor Eloy Barragán that includes a contemporary partnered phrase; a hip-hop playlist from Tiffany Bong, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California; and a deep-dive into how teachers and directors can take […]