Memorial celebration for dance journalist Valerie Gladstone, March 15

In memory of dance journalist Valerie Gladstone

Valerie Gladstone
1939-2014

I have received the following announcement from dance publicist Audrey Ross.

Dear Friend:

It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of Valerie Gladstone, writer, editor, curator, author and teacher, who died of cancer, October 21st in New York City.

Born in New York in 1939, Valerie grew up on Long Island and attended Connecticut College. She worked as an editor at Harper's Magazine, Channels Magazine, and Americana Magazine, and was published regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post. LA Times, The Boston Globe, Travel and Leisure, Town and Country, and ArtNews, among others. A major writer on dance, she authored Balanchine's Mozartiana: The Making of a Ballet and A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student. She also worked on a documentary on The Juilliard School's  jazz workshop at the Vitoria Festival in Spain.

Also active as a curator, Valerie curated the programs Dance Under the Influence at the Museum of Art and Design, as well as a dance series at the West End Theater in New York City and Long Island's Emelin Theater.
 Valerie is survived by two children, Nicholas Brooks and Sara Rouviere; three brothers; five grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and sisters-in-law. She will be missed by her family, friends, and the dance world. A memorial is being planned and details will be announced soon.

Audrey Ross

Apollinaire Scherr to speak on dance criticism

Critic, journalist and blogger Apollinaire Scherr invites you to her keynote address at the Dance Critics Association Conference this Friday, July 16 (9:30am) at NYU Kimmel Center at 60 Washington Square South. Get directions and more nifty details at Scherr's own blog post here.

Scherr's topic?

"How to write criticism that leaves room for dance's future"

She promises answers that are "provisional, hopeful and possibly cause for debate and fuming."

So, if you're up for some fuming, but you're not registered for the DCA conference, Scherr has a deal for you. You can get into the keynote event for a mere $8. But you absolutely must click here to pay in advance, okay?

BTW, if you do go to the DCA conference, you'll find me--your friendly grassroots blogger--on a panel at Dance Theater Workshop with Eiko of Eiko & Koma, writer Valerie Gladstone, presenter Baraka Sele, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Woman, and writer Lori Ortiz (moderator). We're talking Cultural Exchange in 2010. I hope to see you there!

The economy's impact on black dance troupes

Black Dance Companies Surviving in the Bad Economy

by Valerie Gladstone, The Root, June 26, 2010