dance

Arts

A Rare Bird: After 120 Years, Audiences Still Flock To 'Swan Lake'

8:39am January 20, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

Despite being long, convoluted and sometimes sleep-inducing, Swan Lake is a reliable ticket-seller for dance companies. The version most often performed today premiered in Russia in 1895.

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The stage version of the Hollywood classic An American in Paris combines British, French and American artistic traditions and stars Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild in the roles made famous by Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly.

The French Go Crazy For 'An American In Paris'

3:49pm December 25, 2014

by Eleanor Beardsley

The first-ever stage production of the 1951 Hollywood film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, with a Gershwin score, is getting rave reviews during its premiere in the city that inspired it.

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Stowell (right) says Sendak (left) needed some convincing before he signed on to design a new Nutcracker. Their version of the ballet debuted in 1983.

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Arts

In Seattle, Maurice Sendak's 'Wild' 'Nutcracker' Reaches Its Final Act

7:32pm December 23, 2014

by Florangela D'Avila

For more than 30 years, the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker has used sets and costumes designed by the author of Where the Wild Things Are. This year, the ballet is retiring the production.

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Documentary Recalls The Talented, Difficult Life Of Bing Crosby

12:05pm November 29, 2014

Bing Crosby has long been the voice of the Christmas season, and now he's the subject of a new American Masters documentary. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Kathryn and Mary Crosby about his legacy.

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Hema Ramaswamy prepares backstage for her performance. She studied with Chitra Venkateswaran (right) for 4 1/2 years in preparation for this recital.

Arts

How Hema Ramaswamy Found Healing Through Traditional Indian Dance

4:11pm November 17, 2014

by Arun Venugopal

Down syndrome and two major surgeries couldn't stop Hema Ramaswamy, who turned to classical Indian dance as a form of artistic and physical healing.

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Carmen de Lavallade performs in As I Remember It.

Arts

At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage

12:50pm October 29, 2014

by Elizabeth Blair

De Lavallade's husband of 59 years, dancer Geoffrey Holder, died on Oct. 5. "He was my biggest fan and I was the same way with him," she says. De Lavallade's one-woman show is called As I Remember It.

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Julia O'Rourke (center) wins the 2014 World Irish Dancing Championships. Here, she poses with the top five performers in her age group.

Arts

Today's Irish Dancers Step Away From Stereotype

4:03pm October 28, 2014

by S.J. Velasquez

If you haven't been paying attention to Irish dancing since Riverdance, you might be surprised by the ethnic diversity on display as the All Ireland Dancing Championships kick off this week.

Wendy Whelan, 47, principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, will retire Oct. 18 after 30 years with the institution.

Arts

Poetry In Motion: Prima Ballerina Retires After 3-Decade Career

10:27am October 17, 2014

by Nina Gregory

Wendy Whelan, 47, will give her final performance with the New York City Ballet on Saturday. NPR spent time with the dancer as she prepared for her goodbye.

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Arts

'This Impromptu Dance': Geoffrey Holder's Son Tells One More Story

11:52am October 09, 2014

by Leo Holder

Dancer, choreographer, director, actor and painter Geoffrey Holder died Sunday. His son, Leo, writes about the remarkable last night he spent with his father.

Arts

The Human Heart And Its Rhythmic Magnificence

8:18am June 17, 2014

by Neda Ulaby

Rhythm comes in different forms from music and poetry to those inside our bodies. There's art based on the most primal rhythm of all: the beating of the human heart.

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