Rachel Straus - Dance Writer

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Juilliard Dance

 
Published: February 1, 2016
Category: profile

Musical America Artist of the Month: Pam Tanowitz

By Rachel Straus

Pam Tanowitz is an ideal example of why we opted to call this column, which this month celebrates its seventh consecutive year, “New” Artist of the Month rather than “Young” Artist of the Month. We at MusicalAmerica.com believe in equal opportunity.

Let’s hear it for late bloomers with unconventional career paths. […]

Published: December 3, 2014
Category: profile

Misy Copeland: Profile in Courage

By Rachel Straus

Thanks to Misty Copeland, gone are the days when a company dancer keeps her thoughts to herself and waits for the person in charge (usually a man) to give her the spotlight. The first Black, American Ballet Theatre soloist in more than two decades, Copeland has been increasingly vocal about two things: […]

Published: June 1, 2012
Category: history

Hanya Holm: Bringing German Expressionism to America

By Rachel Straus

Hanya Holm

In 1931, a tiny German woman disembarked from an ocean liner onto a Manhattan pier to open a modern dance school based on principles of German expressionist dance. It was a risky move during the Great Depression, especially with America’s growing anti-immigrant sentiment. But the intrepid Hanya Holm would […]

Published: May 1, 2012
Category: history

Michael Kidd: Energizing the golden age of musical theater

By Rachel Straus

When approached to choreograph the 1954 film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Michael Kidd read the screenplay about woodsmen looking for wives and thought, “Surely, those guys would never dance.” His solution was to use a barn-raising competition as a jumping-off point for a number in which the brothers fought for the […]

Published: February 27, 2012
Category: review

Les Ballets Monte Carlo's Stylistic Evolution

By Rachel Straus

NEW YORK — Back in 1996, when Les Ballets Monte Carlo made its U.S. debut, its artistic director Jean-Christophe Maillot was perceived as having the most American looking of European ballet companies. New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff described BMC’s offerings as “neoclassical.” This was code for Balanchine, whose work the […]

Published: May 1, 2010
Category: composition

Dancing to Write, Writing to Dance

This is an excerpt from Writing About Dance.

By Rachel Straus

Class: Dance composition or any studio dance class

Objectives: To make connections among seeing, writing, and moving; to improve self-awareness, critical thinking, and descriptive writing

Overview: Two assignments that involve teaching and learning movement, watching movement, and writing about it

At some point […]

Published: September 1, 2007
Category: profile

Erin Baiano: Dance Photographer

By Rachel Straus

Erin Baiano discovered her new career the day her boss double-booked himself. Veteran dance photographer, Paul Kolnik had agreed to shoot New York City Ballet in Manhattan and to take pictures of Hairspray in Seattle on the same day. Before rushing to the airport, he gave his 25-year-old administrative assistant an […]