Meenakshi Chitharanjan performed ‘Guruguho Jayati’ as part of the centenary celebrations of Janaki C.S. Ramachandran along with her disciples to show how the composer’s work is relevant even after 250 years of his birth

An award-winning performer, choreographer, artistic director, and educator, amara tabor-smith taught at University of California, Berkeley, for more than a decade and, since 2017, has been an artist in residence at Stanford University, designing both courses and productions. “Everything is connected,” says tabor-smith about balancing priorities as a teacher and an artist. Expanding on the common model of dance in higher education that focuses on training dancers to be performers, tabor-smith asks how teaching dance can foster future leaders, politicians, and changemakers. For me, teaching is a collabo­ration­. I love when I get questions that I don’t know how to answer and […]

I started wearing a sports bra under my leotard when I was 12. At first, the extra support helped me feel more secure in my rapidly changing body. But I was the only one at my school wearing one, and the same was true at my first intensive the next summer. While no one ever explicitly told me as much, to me, one message became clear: In the pre-professional space, sports bras did not belong—and neither did dancers who wore them.  I decided to abandon the bras. But ever since then, I’ve continued to think about the fraught topic of breasts in […]

Into its 31th edition, the annual festival is held in Dehradun and spans 15 days.

Choreographed by Sheela Unnikrishnan, the production was based on Veda Vyasa’s Shiva Mahapuranam.

The Royal Ballet School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching (DDT) students will now be able to access the School’s Affiliate Programme and gain accredited teacher status with leading international dance education, training, and examination boards—The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). “These new partnerships reflect our belief that outstanding teaching belongs in every studio, and we’re proud to support our graduates in shaping the future of dance wherever they teach and whoever they inspire,” Karen Berry, head of teacher training at The Royal Ballet School, said in a recent press release.  Students who […]

The countdown to our end-of-year performances has officially begun! We’ve shared valuable resources on everything from managing rehearsals to staying healthy and keeping nerves in check, over the last few months. This month, we’re focusing on that one committed group in our communities, our parent volunteers, who work side by side with us to make everything possible. You’ll find out how other studio leaders are navigating the ins and outs of working with their parent volunteers, so you too can make the most of their incredibly resourceful partnership in your own school. Later this month, you’ll hear from National Dance […]

As a musical-theater teacher, Rachel Leigh Dolan feels a certain obligation to honor the music she’s using in class. After all, it’s right in the name of the genre, she points out. “I take that label seriously,” she says. “There’s never a time when music isn’t intentional.”  That means that a song is always her starting point for any combo or bigger piece of choreography. But the deliberate hand-picking of tracks really begins with the warm-up playlist that she uses for all of her classes at Steps on Broadway and Pace University. As a long-time yoga teacher, Dolan designed it […]