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Dean College Grad Alicia Burghardt Never Dreamed She'd Dance and Choreograph in the NBA

Photo by Brian Babineau, courtesy Burghardt

When Alicia Burghardt entered Dean College in Massachusetts as a freshman dance major, it hadn't occurred to her that the Boston Celtics had a dance team. A competition kid with aspirations for Broadway, Burghardt never imagined herself as an NBA dancer. But by the time she was finishing her senior year, she'd not only joined the Celtics Dancers, she was choreographing a number for a major playoff game. And after finishing her rookie year, surrounded on that TD Garden parquet floor by uproarious fans, she couldn't help but stay for another. "It's unbelievable performing for Boston fans," she says. "They're so loyal to their team. It could be third quarter, down 20 points, and they're still cheering."

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The CUNY Dance Initiative Is Calling All Artists in October

Dušan Tynek Dance Theatre performs ANNA as artist in residence at John Jay College. Photo by Ian Douglas, courtesy of CDI

Space to rehearse and perform. Guest teaching gigs. Relationship building. Deepened college curriculum. Financial support. These are valuable gifts to artists and college departments alike. The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), now heading into its sixth year, successfully embraces and supports both artists and students, dance companies and theater/arts departments. They have become a model example of public/private partnerships.

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3 College Programs Addressing the Needs of Today's Dancer

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When I went back to school last fall to earn my MFA, I was surprised by how much dance in higher education had changed since my undergraduate experience 10 years before—and how much it hadn't. Diasporic dance forms, such as African and hip hop, for example, are now much more integral to curriculums, but ballet and modern still take precedence. Students are now more interested in somatic practices, yet teachers have moved away from cuing or correcting students by touch.

Traditional curriculum that emphasizes Western European dance and separates the path of teaching from that of performance may be deeply ingrained in academia, yet there are many signs of progress to note throughout the field. Here, faculty members of three colleges explain how they are evolving their offerings to better meet the needs of today's dancers.

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Yes, Boys Dance, and This Educator Makes Sure They Have Plenty of Male Role Models in the Studio

Photo by Jerome Capasso, courtesy of Man in Motion

Finding a male dance instructor who isn't booked solid can be a challenge, which is why a New York City dance educator was inspired to start a network of male dance professionals in 2012. Since then, he's tripled his roster of teachers and is actively hiring.

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Dance Teachers Trending

Shawl-Anderson Youth Ensemble Empowers Teens to Grow Into Their Own Skins

Photo by Tony Nguyen, courtesy of SAYE

The Shawl-Anderson Youth Ensemble, a key component of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center's youth program in Berkeley, California, strives to develop the whole person, not just improve dance technique. And its caliber of performance has made SAYE visible and respected in the San Francisco Bay Area over the past 13 years.

As a pre-professional, audition-based, modern performance group for ages 14 to 18, SAYE has its dancers co-create at least six pieces with professional choreographers each year. These dances explore relevant topics for teens, like bullying, coming-of-age and claiming identity.

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Dance Teachers Trending

NYCB's Sara Mearns Looks for Cross-Genre Collaborations

Performing with Honji Wang at Jacob's Pillow; photo by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Jacob's Pillow

Celebrated New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns has recently been exploring collaborative possibilities with dance artists outside ballet. Just this year she was guest artist with Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Company, and performed on Broadway in her husband Joshua Bergasse's choreography for I Married an Angel. This summer she appeared in a highly anticipated series of cross-genre collaborations at Jacob's Pillow, titled Beyond Ballet, with Honji Wang of the French hip-hop duo Company Wang Ramirez, postmodern dance artist Jodi Melnick, choreographer Christopher Williams and more. Here she speaks with DT about the effects of her explorations.

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3 Ballet Hair Tutorials to Share With Your Students and Their Parents

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Most parents start off pretty clueless when it comes to doing their dancer's hair. If you don't want your students coming in with elastic-wrapped bird's nests on their heads, you may want to give them some guidance. But who has time to teach each individual parent how to do their child's hair? Not you! So, we have a solution: YouTube hair tutorials.

These three classical hairdo vids are exactly what your dancers need to look fabulous and ready to work every time they step in your studio.

Enjoy!

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3 Nationals Winners Share the Best Advice Their Dance Teacher Ever Gave Them

Nationals season is behind us, but we just aren't quite over it yet. We've been thinking a lot about the freakishly talented winners of these competitions, and want to know a bit more about the people who got them to where they are. So, we asked three current national title holders to tell us the most powerful piece of advice their dance teacher ever gave them. What they have to say will melt your heart.

Way to go, dance teachers! Your'e doing amazing things for the rising generation!

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Dance Teacher Tips

Blister Remedies and Prevention Hacks You Should Be Teaching Your Students

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Since the dawn of time, performers have had to deal with annoying, constant blisters. As every dance teacher knows (and every student is sure to find out), blisters are a fact of life, and we all need to figure out a plan of action for how to deal with them.

Instead of bleeding through pointe shoes and begging you to let them sit out, your students should know these tricks for how to prevent/deal with their skin when it starts to sting.

You're welcome!

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Hannahlei Cabanilla's Time on "SYTYCD" Changed Her Life

Photo by Adam Rose, courtesy of FOX

Deep in the throes of "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 16, the euphoria of summertime and live shows is causing us to reflect on seasons past. While much has undergone change since the show's inception—movement trends, choreographers, dancers, judges and fashion—the positive impact it has on the trajectory of the winner's future remains as significant as ever. "This show has changed my life—it's changed me as a person," says Hannahlei Cabanilla, winner of Season 15.

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Check Out This Instagram Roundup of Summer Intensives Happening Around the Country

It's summer intensive season, people! Dancers go away to train for weeks at a time and come home having grown by leaps and bounds from all of the endless hours of focused attention with some of the nation's top talent.

Wanting to stay abreast of all of the fabulous summer programs going on this summer? Instagram is the way to do it! We've compiled a list of summer program handles for your perusal. It's certainly not comprehensive, but it's a start!

Enjoy your social-media deep-dive, ladies and gentlemen!

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5 Posts From Nationals That We Can’t Get Over

This Nationals season has been one for the books! Across the country, competitions have featured some of the most undeniable young talent out there, and we have been absolutely obsessed with the social-media frenzy that has ensued since.

Curious about what we're talking about? Don't worry—we've compiled some mind-blowing posts from different Nationals events around the country that will fill you in on what's making our jaws drop.

Get ready to be amazed!

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4 Dancewear Trends You’ll See at Nationals This Year

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Here's the inside scoop on four current dancewear trends you can expect to see at Nationals this summer. Share them with your students, so their clothes can be on fleek while they wow teachers and judges with the fabulous technique you've been perfecting.

Enjoy!

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Nov/Dec 2019
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