DESMOND RICHARDSON

Complexions Contemporary Ballet (Complexions) returns to The Joyce Theater from November 22–December 4, 2022. Now in its 28th season, the company takes the stage with two no-holds-barred programs danced by a treasure trove roster of performers....

Founded in 1994 by master choreographer Dwight Rhoden and the legendary Desmond Richardson, COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet returns to The Joyce to serve up thought-provoking and entertaining contemporary ballet performed by acclaimed dancers. ...

While watching SNATCHED BACK, it hit me; Complexions is the ultimate American Contemporary Dance company. The choreography, choices, and dancers are diverse, raw, honest, emotional, proud, and full of attitude. The movements and music speak the truth of humanity and the concerns of today. Complexions is unparalleled and unabashedly all-American....

Ulysses Dove, the brilliant choreographer and dancer, died from AIDS 25 years ago on June 11, 1996 at the age of 49....

Films.Dance, a groundbreaking global film series produced by and under the creative direction of LA-based Jacob Jonas The Company continues on February 22 with EDGING NORMAL, the fifth of 15 short dance films to be released to the community at no cost every Monday through May 8, 2021. ...

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance has teamed up with two of Los Angeles’ foremost cultural organizations—the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts—to launch Films.Dance, a groundbreaking new global free film series....

FLIP IT springs from the profound notion that art and connection can be employed to make change. We must engage people of all ages in the noble work of activism, and they believe that — with your help — we can flip the Senate and move our country toward a more equitable future. By taking class with their choreographers, you too can help FLIP IT....

The #ABTCurriculum has announced its upcoming Raising the Barre Weekend Workshop with Complexions Contemporary Ballet live online, October 17-18 in New York....

The Joyce announced today the remaining digital programming for Summer 2020 on its acclaimed streaming platform, JoyceStream. A diverse selection of extraordinary dance by Kyle Abraham, Shantala Shivalingappa, Urban Bush Women, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet will round out The Joyce's presentation of streaming performances this season....

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage hosted an intimate conversation with the legendary Joan Myers Brown (Founder of PHILADANCO and The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts) as part of their Soundcheck: Curator Conversation with SummerStage Dance Curator Danni Gee....

Universal Ballet Competition, the nation's premiere ballet competition that bridges emerging talent from all racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds, will host a virtual competition experience, June 12-14 for dancers age 8-27....

Today would have been Willy Burmann's 81st birthday. In celebrating his life, I felt that it was essential to speak with Miro Magloire, the artistic director of New Chamber Ballet. Miro was Willy's friend, confidante, and preferred pianist for class....

Ballet's sage, Wilhem “Willy” Burmann died yesterday at 80 from complications linked to the current pandemic. After a lengthy performance career, he devoted himself to teaching ballet, serving as coach to numerous stars including Julio Bocca, Alessandra Ferri, Wendy Whelan, and Herman Cornejo....

Founding Artistic and Executive Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson founded Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 1994. Richardson enjoyed a stellar performing career, having danced with numerous prestigious dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre where he was the first African American principal dancer, as well as Broadway shows. Rhoden, who is the principal choreographer of Complexions, has danced with contemporary and jazz companies and has become a sought-after choreograph...

On Tuesday, December 17th Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater reveals the company premiere of Camille A. Brown's City of Rain. This quietly lyrical piece honors the struggles and grace of a deceased friend, showing a different facet of the choreographer than Ailey audiences have seen in her previous works for the Company. Dedicated to Greg 'Blyes' Boomer, the work for 10 dancers is set to an original composition by Jonathan Melville Pratt entitled Two Way Dream. A recipient of numerous honors, in...

There's a new Dance Movie, which opened nationwide Friday, October 11th, that's sure to advance the genre in popularity.  In the last few decades “Dirty Dancing,” “Footloose,” “Flashdance,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Staying Alive” and more recently “La La Land” all caused quite a stir when they hit theatres, and many of them are still quite popular today.   “High Strung Free Dance” and it's predecessor “High Strung' (2016) has everything you could want to see and hear in a film about dance, mu...

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) is proud to announce new creative and professional development opportunities for its network of 20,000 alumni—exceptionally talented artists across the visual, literary and performing arts. The organization's growing roster of programs to support artists throughout their careers includes YoungArts at Ted's, a new performance series that offers the public the chance to experience exceptional programs in an intimate setting, and Up Next Focus, an exten...

The Joyce Theater catapults its scintillating 2019 season that encapsulates an entire spectrum of contemporary international movement with a renowned and acclaimed audience-favorite, COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet....

That is the freedom that I spoke about earlier. Never let the body restrict you. Human bodies have the potential to do anything, if we develop them correctly. Even the most inhuman pointe technique can be something extraordinarily modern. The time they spent on pointe, and the motions they created while en pointe were much longer and more challenging than those typically performed in classical ballet....

When Alvin Ailey and a small group of African-American modern dancers first took the stage in 1958, appearing at New York City's 92nd Street Y, the engagement was for one night only—but it turned out to be the start of a new era in the performing arts. Mr. Ailey became one of the groundbreaking greats in African American history, while the work of his Company grew beyond the limits of the stage to encompass education at all levels, community outreach and cultural diplomacy. Alvin Ailey American ...