Behind every amazing dance number is a stellar choreographer! As the owner of a dance studio, you’re probably involved in the creation of each performance, so it’s important to stay inspired. Check out the latest dance choreography news from the industry as you prepare for your next big recital.
New Museum Announces Fall 2014 Theme
To honor the genius of choreographers around the nation, the New Museum in New York City announced its theme for the 2014 Fall season: choreography. The organization hopes to get the public involved in an investigative examination of the art form through numerous activities and workshops. Starting in September, choreography duo Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly, known for their exhibition Kiss Solo at the Kate Werble Gallery, will complete a six-month residency at the museum that will include a number of public programs.
Trajal Harrell’s creative process
The inspired mind behind the seven-performance series, “Twenty Looks or Paris Is Burning at the Judson Church,” recently opened up to The New York Times about his creative process. Trajal Harrell is best known for this series that stages an encounter between Harlem voguers and experimentalists from the Judson Dance Theater in 1962. His goal was to offer people a look into a “historical impossibility.”
When he works, Harrell arranges the dancers on platforms 1.5 feet off the ground. He will move the “islands,” as he calls them, around the space and have his performers improvise.
“All of a sudden the body is on a small white space,” Harrell told The New York Times. “I can see very clearly what each dancer is doing. It’s a way to sketch.”
Ryan Heffington’s big VMA win
Pop music fans probably heard that the music video for Sia’s “Chandelier” won the 2014 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography. The strange but moving piece features Maddie Ziegler, an 11-year-old dancer who appeared on “Dance Moms,” in a grim abode and was choreographed by Ryan Heffington. Heffington has also worked on projects for Arcade Fire, New York Fashion Week and Sigur Ros.
According to an interview with The Guardian, Heffington and Sia worked together to create a piece that wasn’t too dark for the young performer.
“We didn’t want to extract so much from the narrative of the song: It’s too heavy for an 11-year-old, and it wouldn’t make sense,” explained Heffington. “We actually wanted it to feel like she’s dancing around and has no association to what is happening or where she is.”
The choreographer revealed that fans can look forward to more collaborations with Sia, as well as his own project, KTCHN, which will be shown in New York in 2015.
