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This year, dance educators have had to think through an unprecedented number of new concerns and policies as they've transitioned to teaching virtually or socially distanced.

But there's one consideration that may have fallen by the wayside in the frenzy of taping off squares of marley and enclosing the front desk in plexiglass: What will you do if there is an emergency at your studio or while you're teaching?

Featuring Lauren McIntyre, ATC

How to Watch Dance Online

Dance Spirit April 24, 2020

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With the pandemic interrupting live performances around the world, many dance companies are putting extraordinary content online, and much of it is available for free. Usually, full-length productions from major companies are only accessible to people who can afford pricy tickets and travel to large urban opera houses. Now, significant pieces that have influenced thousands of dancers and dancemakers are just a click away.

Featuring Elisa Clark, Brandon Cournay, and Jordan Pelliteri

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It’s time to talk seriously about safety in dance education. As the physical and psychological demands put on student dancers escalates—thanks to competitions, social media and ever-evolving choreography—there is a pressing need to consider how we can successfully safeguard young dancers.

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Caring for yourself as a dancer is about more than rolling out your IT bands and eating the right food. However, when my podcast partner and I conducted an exploratory study of dancers' perceptions of their own well-being, only a handful of over 175 participants identified financial counseling as important self-care, even though many stated that issues related to money were among their top three well-being concerns.

Featuring Rebecca Selkowe

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Five years after joining American Ballet Theatre, corps member Zhong-Jing Fang sustained a serious ankle injury. Not one to let a setback take her off course, Fang wondered: What other things can I do as an artist? She loved imitating movie actresses as a child, so she decided to try acting while she recovered. For two years, she went every Wednesday evening to a four-hour group class with acting coach Diaan Ainslee. There she learned to dissect a monologue, develop a character, listen and feel emotionally exposed. The experience thrust Fang out of her comfort zone and transformed her as an artist. “It's a different layer of becoming a person," Fang says, “and becoming much more real."