I had the privilege to take part in the Society of Dance History Scholars Special Topics Conference: Contemporary Ballet: Exchanges, Connections and Directions.

It was an honour to be on a panel with such accomplished dance figures as Helen Pickett, Francesca Harper and of course the awesome Gabrielle Lamb! The panel was led by dance scholar, author, critic, Lynn Garafola, a woman whom I have admired for many years and first met at the book launch of her 2001 biography, José Limón: An Unfinished Memoir. We discussed our different roles and experiences in dance and the unique challenges that women may (or may not) face.

I was extremely proud to have our paper accepted and presented in collaboration with my good friend and companion in scholarly (geeky) dance talk, Molly Faulkner. The paper was titled, Contemporary Ballet is a Liminal State: Reflection and Refraction.

The conference opens up important and challenging discourse on the identity (or anti-identity) of contemporary ballet. To find out more send me a message. Julia (a) gleich dances (dot) org.

Special congratulations to Program Chairs Jill Nunes Jensen and Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel for their dedication to furthering the discourse around contemporary ballet as a 21st Century dance form. For more information and the complete list of speakers, click here.