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The 7 Stages of Dancers Adjusting to Social Distancing

Oh, dance studio, we miss you so. (Getty Images)

We don't want to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic (please stay safe, everybody). But, because we could all use a chuckle right now: Here's a walk through the feelings dancers have been feeling as we figure out what it means to "dance remotely."

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Stuck at Home? Show Us Your #LivingRoomDance

Because if you've got a 6'x6' patch of carpet, you've got a dance floor. (Getty Images)

A lot of the dance world is shuttered right now, with classes and performances canceled. But that doesn't mean dancers have stopped dancing.

In fact, tons of you have been tagging us in the dance videos you're filming in your living room. The studio isn't open, the theater is dark, but you've got a 6'x6' patch of carpet, and that means you've got a dance floor.

We love that—so, so much. It speaks to the incredible resilience and enthusiasm of dancers. Even when things feel scary, even when our normal outlets are unavailable to us, we never stop dancing.

So let's make this a little more official, shall we? We're not going to start a challenge, per se. Instead, we're issuing an invitation:

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Mark Kanemura Is Hosting Instagram Dance Parties That You Can Attend While Social Distancing

Photo by Joe Toreno

It's grim out there right now, as the world comes to grips with the scope of the coronavirus pandemic. But while social distancing efforts may mean canceled dance classes and performances, there are still so many ways to find joy in dance. And nobody combines "joy" and "dance" better than Mark Kanemura, the Instacelebrity and former Lady Gaga dancer, who has started to host virtual dance parties on Instagram.

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And the "Dance Spirit" Award for Best Movie Choreography of 2019 Goes To...

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Nope, there's still no Oscar for Best Choreography—but we now get to reveal the winner of our own Dance Spirit award for Best Movie Choreography of 2019! Though we're big fans of all seven of the nominated choreographers, and think each one deserves to be acknowledged for their contributions to some of our favorite films this year, there can only be one winner. And based on your votes, that is...

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There’s Still No Oscar for Best Choreography, So We’re Giving Out Our Own Award—With the Help of Your Votes

2019's movies featured some truly fantastic dancing, thanks to the hard work of many talented choreographers. But you won't see any of those brilliant artists recognized at the Academy Awards. And we're (still) not OK with that.

So we're taking matters into our own jazz hands.

On February 7—just before the Oscars ceremony—we'll present a Dance Spirit award for the best movie choreography of 2019. With your help, we've narrowed the field to seven choreographers, artists whose moves electrified some of the most critically-acclaimed films of the year.

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Here Are the 2020 YoungArts Award Winners in Dance

Including ballet competition standout Alina Taratorin (photo by Oliver Endahl, courtesy Taratorin)

Congratulations to the 39 talented dancers just named 2020 YoungArts award winners! This year's group of awardees includes several familiar faces from the competition scene.

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Tap Icon Savion Glover Is Bringing His Unique Style to Convention Classes

Savion Glover is one of the biggest names in the dance world, and perhaps the biggest in the tap world. The trailblazing hoofer's hard-hitting, rhythmically intricate style has fundamentally altered the tap landscape.

Glover is also a master teacher. But during his many years on the scene, he's never appeared regularly at a major dance convention. That is, until this season: Glover is now teaching at JUMP Dance Convention, scheduled to appear at approximately 15 more cities on its 2019–2020 tour.

We talked with JUMP director Mike Minery, himself a gifted hoofer, about working with a living legend—and how Glover is already changing the convention class game.

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Here’s Why Even Young Dancers Should Be Thinking About Injury Prevention

Nanette Grebe/Getty Images

Have you heard the story about the dancer who needed a double hip replacement…at age 16?

It's not an urban legend—just ask iconic choreographer Mia Michaels. In a video series about dance injuries, produced by Apolla Performance Footwear, Michaels tells the tale of a teenage comp kid who pushed so hard she ended up in surgery.

That dancer's harrowing story was one of the inspirations for the Bridge Dance Project. The new initiative—brainchild of Jan Dunn, co-director of Denver Dance Medicine Associates, and Kaycee Cope Jones, COO of Apolla—aims to connect members of the competition and commercial dance communities with dance science experts. While many academic and professional concert dancers have benefited from recent advances in dance medicine, that information hasn't made its way to most of the young students in convention ballrooms. And as the technical demands on those students increase, so does the number of injuries.

We talked to Dunn and Jones about how the Bridge Dance Project was born, the initiative's long-term goals, and why young competition and commercial dancers should make injury prevention a priority.

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Sept/Oct 2020
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