Latest Dance News

AP PHOTOS: Ballerinas turn one of Kenya's largest slums into a stage for a Christmas show

Dec. 23, 2024 03:37 AM EST

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — With perfect pirouettes and plies, dozens of young ballet dancers gracefully moved between the makeshift iron houses of one of Africa’s largest urban slums, spreading Christmas spirit. Hundreds of residents in Kenya’s Nairobi cheered as the nimble...

How the Roxies are made: Behind the iconic role in Broadway's megahit 'Chicago'

Dec. 17, 2024 14:47 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — There's only one Roxie Hart. And yet — stay with us here — there are many Roxie Harts. The murderous, washed-up chorus girl is the beating, biting heart of Broadway's mainstay musical “Chicago,” but no single actor owns her. She instead belongs to a...

A mix of merriment, music and mayhem makes panto a beloved British holiday tradition

Dec. 17, 2024 09:53 AM EST

LONDON (AP) — Here’s a recipe as essential to Christmas in Britain as turkey, tinsel and mince pies. Mix a fairy-tale plot with topical references, slapstick, song, dance and double entendres. Drench in sequins and spangles, mix vigorously, add some noisy audience participation,...

Lawsuit alleges that young dancers for Shen Yun Performing Arts have faced abuse

Nov. 25, 2024 17:56 PM EST

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A former dancer for Shen Yun Performing Arts sued the nonprofit dance company on Monday, saying it has subjected some children who perform for it to harsh conditions, including long hours for little pay. The lawsuit brought by Chang Chun-Ko in White Plains...

Judith Jamison, a dancer both eloquent and elegant, led Ailey troupe to success over two decades

Nov. 11, 2024 08:27 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — There are few images more indelible in the history of American dance: Judith Jamison, regal and passionate in white leotard and long ruffled skirt, punching the air in “Cry" — Alvin Ailey’s piercing solo about Black womanhood. That searing 1971 piece made her...

Judith Jamison, transcendent dancer and artistic director of Alvin Ailey company, dies at 81

Nov. 09, 2024 22:18 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Judith Jamison, an internationally acclaimed dancer who later served as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for two decades, has died. She was 81. Jamison died Saturday after a brief illness in New York, surrounded by close friends, Ailey...

Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, has died at 63

Oct. 06, 2024 16:53 PM EDT

Christopher Ciccone, a multihyphenate artist, dancer, designer and younger brother of Madonna, has died. He was 63. Ciccone died Friday in Michigan, his representative Brad Taylor told The Associated Press Sunday. He had cancer. Madonna posted a tribute to him on...

In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home

Oct. 02, 2024 20:43 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — As the performers took the stage and the traditional drum beat gained momentum, Sudanese refugees sitting in the audience were moved to tears. Hadia Moussa said the melody reminded her of the country's Nuba Mountains, her family's ancestral home. "Performances like...

At NY’s beloved Fall for Dance, highlights come from as far as Ukraine and as close as a few blocks

Sep. 27, 2024 17:04 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The eclectic annual Fall for Dance festival is a beloved tradition among dance fans, not least for its $30 tickets — still quite a deal in New York, even if they began at $10 two decades ago. But the best thing about it is still the variety it brings to the...