Dancer Stephanie Crousillat has had the kind of career that would make most artists swoon: She’s worked with choreographers like Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Andrea Miller; performed in Sleep No More and on “Saturday Night Live”; been featured in a CoverGirl ad with Janelle Monáe; and danced in music videos for Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Most recently, she’s in the cast of the new West Side Story revival on Broadway.
But if you asked her to tell you what genre she works in, or what kind of dancer she is, she’d have trouble answering. “I don’t like the idea of limiting myself,” she says.
These days, it’s not uncommon to see artists like Crousillat dabbling in both concert and commercial projects, and working in a variety of mediums rather than confining themselves to one part of the dance world. With more crossover than ever, the line between the two once-distinct career paths feels increasingly blurred. Broadway shows now feature every style from hip hop to ballet to the work of contemporary choreographers like Sonya Tayeh and Camille A. Brown. In Los Angeles, still considered the hub of the commercial world, concert dancers seem in higher demand. Take, for instance, the wave of music artists hiring modern and contemporary dancers for their videos, whether it’s Justin Peck creating a video for The National; Florence Welch collaborating with Akram Khan; or Damien Jalet’s choreography for Thom Yorke’s short film, ANIMA.
But why is this happening now, and what does it mean for the dance world as a whole?
Read the full story at Dance Magazine.
Photo courtesy Denna Thomsen, via Dance Magazine
