There's hardly an area of dance that Ms. Tharp hasn't conquered since she entered the New York scene in 1965, two years after graduating from Barnard College.
There is a reason for this — historically, no important area of dance has been less carefully documented — but after a while it all starts to sound a little goody-goody.
Subcommittees are also part of Ms. Sexton's master plan, in which experts will be charged with looking at a specific area of dance and coming up with a list of finalists, with a winner chosen after discussion among all the committee members.
"Dirty Blonde" also called for expertise in dances of an earlier era, but for that show Mr. Carrafa's research took him more into the area of theatrical dance.
And for anyone who fears that the merger of classical and contemporary has become too cosy – it's one area of new dance making that only the most adventurous of ballet stars is likely to try and co-opt.
In the West, music, dance, and drama are usually separate arts, whereas in all areas of Southeast Asia, drama, dance, mime, music, song, and narrative are integrated into composite forms, often with masks or in the form of puppetry.
I apologize in advance that I can see only half these programs myself; looking at what's announced, I see just how many areas of my own dance ignorance each one should fill.
Despite footwork being a relatively new phenomenon in Europe, Chicago's scene has been thriving for over 20 years with a rich footwork history running through the city's culture, seriously impacting the lives of adults and children in the area as a form of dance that directly inspires the music that it's linked with.
The midsummer Bon dance for spirits of the dead or early spring rice-planting dances in many areas of Japan or various auspicious dances held at the New Year in Korea and China were performed only once a year, and hence a high level of artistry was not usually achieved.
