P.S. # 36: Is Contemporary Ballet Too Safe?

Though the recent BalletX performance focused on love and intimacy, all of the relationships represented were heterosexual. Is contemporary ballet actually keeping up with the contemporary world?

Share this article

PARTNER CONTENT

Keep Reading

  • Reviews

Banyan Dance Festival: I Am Because We Are

E. Wallis Cain Carbonell

"We must remember on whose shoulders we stand.”

In rehearsal with Sean Aaron Carmon, the Resident Choreographer at Banyan Dance Festival’s Inaugural week, dancers practice phrasework close to a light grey marley floor. In the foreground, a young white woman with loose brown hair in navy basketball shorts, black kneepads and black socks hinges backward. Carmon, a young black man with curly hair and a red bandana demonstrates floorwork in the background of the photo. Other dancers are busy at work in the rest of the photo. Some are part way out of frame.
Photo: Anthony Bethel
  • Reviews

Variety and Conformity in Community Work

Zoe Farnsworth

The enthusiasm and community were vibrant, but the choreography left me wanting more at Philly Dance Day's 2026 Showcase

Several lines of students are mid bounce/step, focused on executing the choreography. All face front toward a wall lined with mirrors. The instructor stands in the middle of the front row of dancers. Participants wear a variety of athletic wear–workout sweats, tanks, shorts, long-sleeve zip ups–and most dance in sneakers.
Photo: Kirwei Lo