Baltimore has a wonderful media resource just up the street in Owings Mills – MPT. MPT is a well-respected public television station that produces a number of nationally-syndicated programs, but what’s interesting for Baltimore dance is Artworks, which is put together by PBS stations around the country.
Now starting its fifth season, most episodes are available online. Ignoring the few episodes that are awards-oriented, there are 134 you can watch online. Episodes typically feature three or four segments, and that adds up to about 474 segments in the first four seasons. Of those, 25 address dance in some form (5%).
Here you go…
Episode 102: “A young Muslim woman hip hop dancer who performs in traditional dress” (Amy Sackett)
Episode 110: “Discover the charisma of dancer-choreographer Jennifer Nugent”
Episode 125: “Exploring the Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre which combines caberet, hip-hop and drag queens”
Episode 126: “Featuring choreographer for big Broadway shows like ‘Annie,'” (Andy Blankenbuehler)
Episode 213: “Dance legend Bill T. Jones”
Episode 223: “The aerial magic of Colorado’s ‘Frequent Flyer Productions‘ Dance Company.”
Episode 224: “The complex physics of the dancer’s leap.” (David Ward, Dr. Tim Hewett, Dr. Thomas Humanic)
Episode 227: “The Colorado Ballet’s moving dance about Holocaust suffering and survival,”
Episode 231: “Native American dancer and choreographer Rulan Tangen is passionate about the transformative, ritualistic power of dance,”
Episode 232: “The Artistic Director of the revived Dance Theatre of Harlem” (Virginia Johnson)
Episode 233: “Introducing a Muslim woman hip hop dancer and choreographer,” (Amy Sackett)
Episode 238: “Paula Zahn’s compelling interview with dance legend Bill T. Jones.”
Episode 303: “We meet Colorado’s Wonderbound Dance Company;”
Episode 318: “A sizzling teaser for PBS’s America’s Ballroom Challenge, the series which launched the genre of dancing competitions.”
Episode 321: “On your toes – it’s the rarefied world of a ballerina,” (Samantha Lewis), retired.
Episode 324: “Vegas showgirls – self-defining artists or exploited icons?”
Episode 326: “Legendary Choreographer Mark Morris brings back one of his seminal dances — and it’s spectacular, again.”
Episode 404: “Legends and rising stars in the rarefied world of dance. Mark Morris talks about a splendid revival of one of his seminal dances, and Bill T. Jones talks about his revolutionary choreography – and his humble beginnings as the son of sharecropper. Then Amy Sackett – fearless hip hop Muslim dancer & choreographer. ”
Episode 414: “A stunning flow of movement through exploratory dance with the Cirio Collective in Boston.”
Episode 418: “A story about Nevada Ballet Theatre, keeping classical dance alive in Vegas;”
Episode 422: “Filmmaker Ric Burns captures American Ballet Theater at 1,500 frames per second.”
Episode 431: “Leaping beyond the strict techniques of ballet with the Cirio Collective.”
Episode 432: “Exploring the improvisational dance process of action and reaction with dance company 3rd Law.”
Take out the repeat coverage (Amy Sackett [Ep 102, 233, 404], Bill T. Jones [Ep 213, 238, 404], Mark Morris [Ep 326, 404], Cirio Collective [Ep 414, 431], and dance coverage from Artworks is just 20 segments in four seasons. A lot of it comes from Colorado (3rd law, Colorado Ballet, Frequent Flyer Productions, Wonderbound), so a nod to Colorado’s PBS affiliate.
And I will close with a request – There’s a lot of dance in Baltimore (and we have more oxygen than Colorado), so make it awesome, make it newsworthy, and get in touch with MPT about getting it on Artworks.