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In this DT+ Teacher Talk, Pointe‘s editor in chief, Amy Brandt, is joined by Central Michigan University faculty members Elaine DiFalco Daugherty, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Heather Trommer-Beardslee, associate professor of dance and Dance Program coordinator, to discuss how dance educators can make the classroom environment safer and more respectful by implementing consent practices. Takeaways for Teachers Consent means “humans first.” Placing the autonomy of your students ahead of your personal goals for them shows respect and compassion. Presence does not equal permission. Historically in the dance world, students’ presence in class implied that […]

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The young Bharatanatyam dancer performed at the Mid-Year Dance Festival, hosted by The Music Academy, Chennai.

If there’s one word on every dancer’s lips lately, it’s “gnarly.” The song by the same name, performed by international K-pop girl group KATSEYE, has captured the attention of K-pop fans and dancers alike as re-creations of the choreography have flooded social media. Grant Gilmore and Sohey Sugihara are KATSEYE’s performance directors. Their choreography for “Gnarly,” featured in sections of the music video, evokes a collage of emotions: It’s simultaneously funny, flirty, intense, and strange. The movements are sharp and decisive, interspersed with flashes of the bizarre. In Gilmore’s words: “The song was so jarring, I wanted the choreography to […]

“You look tired” is a phrase dancers hear far too often, and usually after they’ve already pushed past the point of exhaustion. But what if they could see fatigue coming, before it takes hold? Research shows that mismatches between training load and recovery are a major predictor of injury. Thankfully, wearable tech, like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and recovery monitors, is giving dancers and teachers a new way to observe workload. From the impact of landings to recovery patterns, this data helps dancers understand how their bodies respond to training. It’s not about removing intuition from the studio—it’s about enhancing it. […]

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