Six months have passed since I last wrote, and somehow this year is almost over. I have this strange sense that it has raced by, that I was just dancing with friends on New Year’s Eve, even though pre-2020 often seems like another lifetime.
I’m writing with a few year-end updates, and to say: Happy winter solstice. Feels big this year to make it to the shortest day.
Some business
As many of you know, back in March, I set up paid subscriptions to this newsletter, to raise money for relief funds for NYC dance artists. All revenue went to the NYC Dancers Relief Fund and the NYC Low-Income Artist/Freelancer Relief Fund. Thank you to everyone who subscribed and supported; together we raised a total of $4378.
In early July, Substack reinstated its policy of taking a 10% cut from subscription income, which they had temporarily suspended for writers donating to Covid-related causes. Around the same time, I took a break from writing the newsletter, and new paid subscriptions tapered off. As we head into the new year, I’ve decided to officially bring the fundraiser to a close. The best way to support the NYC Dancers Relief Fund is to give directly; they are still accepting donations and distributing awards. (The NYC Low-Income Artist/Freelancer Relief Fund is no longer open.)
I’ve paused billing on paid subscriptions, so if you signed up for one, you won’t be charged again without notice. If I reopen these in the future for another purpose, I’ll be sure to let you know, with plenty of time to decide if you want to renew.
Looking ahead
I’ve been thinking about where to go with this newsletter, and I keep coming back to the words of a friend who replied when I asked what you all would like to see here. She wrote: “You said it started as an experiment. I wondered what would keep it feeling like an experiment for you.” I had written about wanting to stay true to my original intention with this project, and it helped to hear that echoed back to me. It’s actually a hard question, and one I’ll keep revisiting. But something I do know is that imposing too many plans on myself, and trying to stick to them, is not part of the answer.
That said… I do have a few ideas for this space, which may or may not materialize in the new year. For a while, I’ve wanted to publish more guest contributions (like this from 2019), and I hope to find a way to make that happen. Nine months into this pandemic, I’ve also started to really miss the social aspect of going to shows: running into old friends and tangential acquaintances, meeting new people. As some kind of substitute (and knowing this will be a very isolated winter), I’m hoping to publish a few conversations with people I miss seeing around, or who I’ve just always wanted to talk to. As for the frequency with which you’ll receive Danceletter in the new year, I’m gonna go with: every so often. Publishing every week started to feel too ambitious, though it gave me some much-needed structure in the early months of the pandemic.
What I’ve been up to
In this destabilizing year, I’m grateful for continued opportunities to write and stay connected to dance. In the past few months, I’ve written about the Trisha Brown archive finding a new home; Eiko Otake’s performance in Green-Wood Cemetery; the Martha Graham dancer (and Instagram improviser) Xin Ying; a new incarnation of the participatory work Last Audience, by Yanira Castro and her collective, a canary torsi; American Ballet Theatre’s virtual fall gala; the challenges facing NYC dance studios; a Nutcracker appreciation course for students who are blind and visually impaired; and one particularly memorable (and very local) experience of watching dance this year.
I wasn’t teaching regularly this fall, but I enjoyed visiting a few (online) classes as a guest speaker, at Mount Holyoke College, Utah Valley University, and Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. I’m looking forward to being back “at” Barnard next semester, teaching Dance Criticism on Zoom from my living room. (I’m currently in the thick of updating my syllabus and my lighting situation.) This will be my first full semester of virtual teaching; if anyone has had experience leading a small-ish, conversation-based course online, I would love to hear about what did or didn’t work for you.
It’s also been a year of not doing things, filled with days on which just getting outdoors for a walk, or responding to a single email, or calling a friend to catch up felt like major accomplishments. Loose ends abounded:
Links links links
Here’s some writing from the past few months that has stayed with me:
“Choreography of Circulation: A Conversation with Marguerite Hemmings,” by artist and tech worker Lai Yi Ohlsen for Broadcast, the digital publication of Pioneer Works. A roving and rewarding conversation for anyone asking questions about dancing online. (A longer, uncut version is available here.)
“The Power of Dance as Political Protest,” by Brenda Dixon Gottschild for Dance Magazine. A brief history and recent timeline of danced protest in the U.S.
“On Black Death and Fundraising,” by Sydnie Mosley for The Brooklyn Rail. Sydnie, the founder of the collective SLMDances, reflects on the response to her July essay for Essence, “How to Be a Black Choreographer and Not Die,” and the possibility of cultivating “a spirit of abundance in a society that feeds on fear, guilt, and scarcity.” (You can see how she’s doing that, most recently, here.)
“Imagining” is a new bimonthly online journal from Gibney, guided by editorial team Eva Yaa Asantewaa and Dani Cole. There is so much to dig into in the first and second issues.
“The Conceptual and Creative Impact of Britney Spears,” by Phoebe Berglund and Chris Gartrell for Cultured. I especially appreciate Berglund’s discussion of “The Zone: Britney Spears” (a Britney-themed “immersive retail experience”) in relation to artist Tino Sehgal: “Unfortunately, when I experience a Sehgal piece, I feel like I just walked into Uniqlo and my subjectivity is being emptied out.”
In the always overwhelming realm of “things to watch,” here are two recent favorites:
A Jam Session for Troubling Times, choreographed by Jamar Roberts for Ailey. Available until 7pm EST on Monday, Dec. 21 (today!)
David, by Pam Tanowitz and Jeremy Jacob, starring David Hallberg, created for ABT’s virtual gala. The full gala program is only up through Dec. 22 (I think), but the six-minute film is also available here.
I haven’t seen it (yet), but Netflix has a new ballet drama, Tiny Pretty Things. I decided to ask Twitter if I should tune in, and I recommend reading the replies.
For ballet entertainment, your time might be better spent with the first episode of Cardi Tries, a new series in which Cardi B steps outside her comfort zone, beginning with ballet class at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. I’m also curious about the new Disney+ documentary On Pointe, about students at the School of American Ballet. And in case you haven’t heard, New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker (officially titled George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®) is available online this year through Marquee TV. It’s $25 to rent, but you can also watch it through Marquee’s free 30-day trial.
Thank you
Thank you for following along with Danceletter this year, and for the many kind and encouraging words you’ve sent. Here’s to better times in 2021… I’ll close this out with something in honor of the late, great Ann Reinking, from All That Jazz: