Aberkalns & Rotman Dance Notation Consultants

01/12/2023

01/11/2023

Dear FB Friends,

We’ve decided to take a break from FB and want to say thank you for letting us share with you the stories and images that caught our attention for the past 8 years. The sense of community we’ve enjoyed here has been gratifying, but with dance criticism/writing in decline it has become increasingly challenging to find new and engaging content. Of course, we will continue contributing to our beloved dance community in any way we can. Stay in touch, our contact info remains the same.

Please enjoy this final photo retrospective of Leslie and Sandra doing the job that we, have and still, love.

12/30/2022

And some might agree that this image reflects how many feel about saying goodbye to 2022.

Happy 2023 everyone!

Photo: Clapham Common, London, January 2021. Photograph: Alan Burles

12/30/2022

I tried to chose one photo, but they are all so amazing that I strongly urge everyone to view the entire series.

Rachael Talibart captures the ebb and flow of the English coastline through photographs that frame erupting waves and the days surrounding violent storms. Her recent work has culminated in a book Tides and Tempests. These images are best viewed full screen

12/30/2022

The Kingdom of the Sweet's dark side...

Accidents in "The Nutcracker" are so common there are injuries named after the ballet. A nutcracker fracture is a foot fracture of the cuboid bone. A 2015 issue of the professional publication "Journal of Dance Medicine & Science" contains a case study of a ballerina who suffered a nutcracker fracture while in "The Nutcracker."

From norovirus to nutcracker fractures to wire hangers, the price for your beloved Christmas ballet is blood

12/28/2022

The United States Copyright Office (USCO) has initiated a proceeding to reverse an earlier decision to grant a copyright to a comic book that was created using "A.I. art," and announced that while the copyright will still be in effect until the proceeding is completed (and the filer for the copyright has a chance to respond to the proceeding), copyrighted works must be created by humans to gain official copyright protection.

"AI art" is artwork created by an artificial intelligence machine learning process, meaning that a computer/machine has learned information, such as the past work and art style of other artists, and descriptions of characters and images, and then generated a new image using that learned knowledge. The knowledge fed into the machine is almost always from humans, who also often feed into the machine specific guiding instructions for the creation of the art, but the actual final creation is generated by the computer/machine (in this instance, it would be Midjourney).

The United States Copyright Office initiates a proceeding ruling that a comic book made using A.I. art is ineligible for copyright protection

12/28/2022

San Diego has a reputation for being a welcoming city known for its mild, sunny climate, a thriving arts scene and a laid-back, diverse culture.

One might be lulled into thinking that it would be easy for a Black artist and Broadway veteran who was born here to present his Emmy Award-winning production in his hometown.

In fact, it became nearly impossible.

Exorbitant venue rental costs, cultural ignorance, a dismissive response to concerns of racial inequalities and funding models that make artistic careers a bleak option for survival have become a common occurrence in America’s finest city.

Jeremy McQueen, the man behind the dance collective Black Iris Project, has been wanting to bring his work back to his hometown, but it hasn't been easy

12/23/2022

And for those who celebrate the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/23/2022

Bombshell news without any indication of what the future holds for the choreographer or ABT (without a resident choreographer and a new artistic director at the helm).

Alexei Ratmansky, one of the most acclaimed choreographers in the world, is stepping down from his perch at American Ballet Theatre, the company announced on Thursday.

In a statement, Ratmansky said: “My time at ABT has been a true privilege, offering me a unique opportunity to work with its incredible artists ... I will always be grateful for my time here.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Alexei Ratmansky, one of the most acclaimed choreographers in the world, is stepping down from his perch at American Ballet Theatre, the company announced on Thursday. Ratmansky, who has held the title of artist in residence at ABT for 13 years, will leave at the end of his contrac...

12/23/2022

The occasion for Nureyev's London debut was a charity gala, organized by Margot Fonteyn to benefit the Royal Academy of Dancing, which took place at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on November 2, 1961.

Though Fonteyn and Nureyev would go on to have a storied partnership, they did not perform together that evening: Fonteyn danced a pas de deux from Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering with Michael Somes and debuted in a reconstruction of Fokine’s Le Spectre de la Rose opposite John Gilpin, while Nureyev partnered Rosella Hightower for the Black Swan pas de deux and danced a new solo created for him for the event by Ashton.

The December 1961 issue of Dance Magazine featured this image alongside a report on the London debut of a dancer whose defection just that summer had made international headlines: Rudolf Nureyev.

12/20/2022

Bronislava Nijinska staging Les Noces in Buenos Aires, 1926.

12/19/2022

How George Balanchine Made Classical Ballet American

Jennifer Homans: "He was absorbing modernism from Europe and interest in the motorcar, the airplane, the train, the speed, ... the idea that there (would) be a transformation of society. He took everything from the Russian Revolution to Bauhaus to Diaghilev to Weimar culture. Then in America, he absorbed popular culture."

A conversation with Jennifer Homans about the ballet master's literary influences, his complicated legacy, and the metaphysical side of dance.