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 […]

The ballet studio has historically had rigid gender-normative standards. But making it a space where artists of all genders feel affirmed and respected in their identities will only enrich the art form. “I think to have an interesting future for ballet requires developing creative humans that can play,” says educator and Ballez founder Katy Pyle. “Can we all imagine a future where we have the most talented dancers onstage and not just the dancers that fit into the archetypes that have been prescribed from history?”  There are concrete steps the people at the front of the room can take to make […]

Kavyaa chose the timeless ragamalika varnam composed by Dandayudapani Pillai to convey the angst of the Virahotkanditha nayika.

Mumbai-based Noel Alexander, who has his roots in Kerala, is overwhelmed by the response for the video