A Global Discussion

An Interview with Jack Gray BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN McDERMOTT Jack Gray is the artistic director and founder of Atamira Dance Company, a contemporary Māori contemporary dance theater company in Auckland, New Zealand. In this interview, he discusses how a Māori world-view can be applied through contemporary dancemaking, […]

March 26, 2018  |  Read Article

Maylis Arrabit’s Story

Maylis Arrabit is a French performer and choreographer who dances (mostly) from her wheelchair. She shares her personal journey finding dance, her decision to pursue it professionally, and her hopes for spreading integrative dance throughout France and beyond. Laura Mazeaud and Maylis Arrabit, Photo by Manuel Guyon ~~ My name […]

March 19, 2018  |  Read Article

Observations on the Definition of ‘Professional Dancer’

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT Over New Years, I initiated a series on what professionalism means in dance, since it’s one of those occupations wherein it’s difficult to find 30 to 40 years of continuous salaried work. I have my own wobbly insecurities about my legitimacy as a dance artist, especially since […]

March 5, 2018  |  Read Article

The Attitude of Being a Professional

DELPHINE HSINI MEI is an interdisciplinary artist and performer based in Taipei, Taiwan. She shares her frustration with commonly held assumptions about dancers, and stresses the subjectivity of pursuing an artistic endeavor. Her responses are part of a larger series dissecting what it means to be a professional dancer. To read […]

March 1, 2018  |  Read Article

Professionalism Through a Burlesque Lens

RAVEN GEMINI is a burlesque dancer with Chicago’s Vaudezilla. She shares a peek into the world of burlesque dance and how some of the assumptions often made about professional dance differ in burlesque. Her responses are part of a larger series dissecting what it means to be a professional dancer. To […]

February 26, 2018  |  Read Article