Dear Danceletter readers,
This newsletter has taken many shapes over the years, and now I’m embarking on a new project that I hope you’ll stick around for.
Beginning later this month, I’ll be using Danceletter to help you know, on a regular basis, what dance performances are coming up in New York City, and which ones I’m most excited and curious about. I’m giving the people what they want: listings!
This new endeavor was inspired in part by a serendipitous meeting on the subway platform early this summer, with the choreographer and dancer Katy Pyle. We got to talking about what shows we’d seen lately — and what we had missed. Katy expressed frustration with not always knowing what’s coming up on the dance calendar these days, as listings in mainstream publications have dwindled in recent years. (The latest of these cuts, a few weeks after our conversation, drastically shrank The New Yorker’s “Goings On About Town” section.) “We need a listing!” they said.
I’ve long thought about making Danceletter more listings-centric. As a dance writer, I often find that when I meet new people and tell them what I do, they say something like, “I want to see more dance!” then profess that they’re unsure where to even begin. It gives me great pleasure to scribble some suggestions on a cocktail napkin or into a stranger’s Notes app. Think of the new Danceletter as the equivalent in your inbox.
Also, have you noticed? There is so much dance to see this season.
In this latest chapter of Danceletter, I aim to be, above all, useful. My plan is two-fold. It’s always been important to me to keep this newsletter as financially accessible as possible. At the same time, this project will require a lot of time and effort, and I’ll need readers’ support to keep it going. So, I’m offering multiple subscription options:
FREE: Monthly newsletter with list of NYC dance shows. All subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter with a lightly curated list of dance performances coming up in NYC in the month ahead. (I’ll also include interesting online events when I hear of them.) I’m approaching this as a sort of “just-the-facts” calendar: the who, what, where, and when, with links to further info. These will be events that for one reason or another have piqued my interest, but without commentary: again, just the facts. These monthly dispatches may also feature some brief, standard Danceletter fare, like miscellaneous news and musings and updates about what I’m working on. They’ll go out on the third Thursday of each month.
PAID: Additional biweekly posts with my “must-see” recommendations. In addition to the monthly newsletter described above, paying subscribers will receive a post every other week with my personal “must-see” recommendations. I’ll select 3 to 5 upcoming NYC dance events that I’m most excited and curious about, and will tell you more about these and why I’m looking forward to them. These posts will also include a virtual viewing recommendation (something you can access online) and occasional events in other cities that I wish I could see. Paid subscriptions are available at three levels:
Monthly: $5/month
Annual: $40/year ($3.33/month)
Extra Boost: Any amount over $40/year, to further support this project and my work as a freelance writer.
If a paid subscription is possible for you, please consider signing up to help me make this a sustainable and thriving project.
This could all evolve and expand (I have ideas!) but I’m starting simple for now. My first free monthly post will go out next Thursday, Sept. 21, and my first paid post will go out next weekend. If you already subscribe to Danceletter (if you’re receiving this in your inbox), then you’re signed up to receive those free monthly posts. If you don’t yet subscribe and want to, or if you’d like to upgrade to paid, you can do so here:
More soon — and please spread the word!
In other news…
It’s been a summer of very deliberately slowing down, to make space for parts of life other than work. Perhaps this much-needed deceleration is why I’m now feeling energized to try something new.
In the work part of life, here’s a bit of what I’ve been up to since I last wrote to you:
A story on the closing of the Petronio Residency Center.
A review of Yoshiko Chuma’s Shockwave Delay at La MaMa.
A conversation with Sydnie Mosley for The Brooklyn Rail, on the occasion of her most expansive project to date, PURPLE, premiering at Lincoln Center.
My first piece for the online journal Untapped, an interview with Eiko Otake and Joan Jonas, under the theme of the July/August issue: “Must change be messy?”
I also took an online workshop with Karinne Keithley Syers, which allowed me to tend to some writing that I will probably never share publicly, which is sort of the point (or can be if you want it to be) of Karinne’s exquisitely structured yet open-ended Process & Phenomenon groups. (If you don’t know about her pelagic school, check it out.)
My fall course at Barnard, Dance Criticism, began last week, and even though it was the hottest first day of school I can remember, I was so happy to be back. I love teaching. I’m also looking forward to guest speaking in classes at other colleges this semester, including NYU Gallatin, University of the Arts, and Wayne State University.
A highlight of the summer (and forgive me if I’ve kvelled to you already) was the release of Mike’s book, the one about mixed martial arts that he worked on for seven years! Go ahead and get yourself a copy of Cage Kings: How an Unlikely Group of Moguls, Champions & Hustlers Transformed the UFC into a $10 Billion Industry. I’m obviously very biased, but as someone who only started watching MMA so I could go on dates with Mike, I really do think it’s a fascinating (and poetic!) read about a punishing sport.
As I planned for the next phase of this newsletter, I sought feedback from trusted colleagues, friends, and family, who pointed me toward some other live performance listings-type projects (though none quite as dance-y as Danceletter). It’s been helpful to see how other folks are doing their thing. You, too, might be interested in Nothing for the Group (Lauren Halvorsen’s weekly newsletter about the American theatre); notbroadway.theater (“just plays, just new york city & just $50 (or under)”); and Staff Picks, which shines a light on small venues/short runs in and around NYC.
Thanks for being here. As always, feel free to share Danceletter or unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive it (totally fine). See you next week for monthly dance list #1!
—Siobhan