Ishmael Houston-Jones has built an illustrious career on a willingness to take risks, push boundaries, and improvise. A performer and dancemaker who primarily works in the postmodern dance world, he says he brings that sense of curiosity and spontaneity to the classroom, too—something he hopes to impart to the students he teaches at colleges and universities throughout the nation.  “For the last several years, I have been ‘The Roving Adjunct,’ ” Houston-Jones says of the breadth of his teaching practice. “This fall, I was a mentor for MFA-in-visual-arts students at Columbia University, and I will be teaching one day a week […]

At age 8, ShanDien Sonwai LaRance’s father made it a point for her and her two brothers to train together every day at a recreation center in Flagstaff, Arizona. Different-colored hoops sprinkled the floor as the LaRance children prepared for their hour of after-school training in Native American hoop dance. Although she wanted to go downstairs to play with her friends, her dad affectionately said “Practice now, and one day, this dance will open doors for you.”  He was right. Through hoop dance, LaRance has become an advocate for Indigenous communities, sharing her Native American culture with the world. She […]

For pre-professional dancers, a summer at the School of Philadelphia Ballet means choosing your own adventure from its roster of expertly crafted experiences, led by school director Davit Karapetyan and Philadelphia Ballet artistic director Angel Corella. During the five-week Summer Intensive Program, Karapetyan advocates for a balanced, holistic practice that starts well before morning pliés. He emphasizes that SIP students should learn to “eat properly, have the right amount of nutrition, develop strength and well-being, and sleep enough to recover and prevent injuries.” To that end, Philadelphia Ballet has tapped a team of wellness experts in everything from nutrition to physical therapy, Pilates, strength training, and sleep science for workshop sessions […]

Whether you’re a pre-professional dancer looking for a rigorous—but rewarding—summer schedule or a junior dancer looking to expand your training over the summer, BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, has an intensive for you. “BalletMet has very versatile intensives, focusing mainly in ballet, but also incorporating other genres, conditioning and dance history into the schedule,” says BalletMet Academy director Dr. Maria Torija. “During our intensive, our students dance from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening with a 45-minute lunch break, so there is lots of instruction time. But we also like to balance that by introducing them to fun things to do around […]

When Sharon Dante founded The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in a small, one-room studio in Torrington, Connecticut, in 1969, she was determined to create a space for serious ballet education for the local New England community. “Since then,” says current executive director Victoria Mazzarelli, “we have enjoyed decades of growth, flourishing into an internationally renowned training program.” Nutmeg has truly become that, offering professional-level training, academics and performance opportunities to young artists. The majority of its faculty are also alumni (“Once a Nutmegger, always a Nutmegger,” says Mazzarelli), which fosters a sense of continuity and personal investment much like a professional company. The […]

Just a few years after his graduation from the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at the University of Southern California, Jakevis Thomason booked the dream gig for many a commercial dancemaker: choreographing for Beyoncé. After making a viral dance video to Queen Bey’s “Black Parade,” Thomason was approached by the artist’s team to set the song’s choreography on her dancers for last year’s Renaissance tour. His work is deeply musical, simultaneously filled with sumptuous details and full-bodied movements—allowing it to translate perfectly from film to arena. Thomason has also choreographed for Brandy and has performed with a slew of big names, like […]