Umfundalai: A Contemporary African Dance Technique

Dr. C. Kemal Nance, Senior Master Teacher of Umfundalai and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Dance and African American Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes the value of Umfundalai, a contemporary African dance technique derived from traditions throughout the African diaspora.

December 1, 2025  |  Read Article

Merging Technique with Humanity

An Interview with KT Nelson BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT KT Nelson, co-artistic director of San Francisco’s ODC/Dance Company, muses on the blend of technical mastery and naturalistic humanity increasingly found in contemporary dance today. This interview is part of a series on contemporary dance and its extended implications. KT Nelson ~~ […]

December 29, 2016  |  Read Article

On Being a Good Ballet Feminist

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL PRENDERGAST I consider myself to be a good feminist. By that I mean I live my life in a way that doesn’t depend on any one man for my wellbeing, I actively support and promote women who are making achievements in their individual fields, […]

September 5, 2016  |  Read Article

Iggy & Roo

Reflections on Teaching Ballet BY SIOBHAN SEARLE TONARELLI Iggy and Roo … Igor Zelensky and Farukh Ruzimatov, affectionately and practically renamed by my family one summer many years ago when the two joined the ever-growing list of dancers I regularly referred to in our ballet discussions. Ballet was an inexhaustible […]

February 24, 2014  |  Read Article