"WAP" Choreography, Pointe Shoe History, and Theresa Ruth Howard

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" video uses dance to celebrate female sexual empowerment. TikTok users are vying for virality by appropriating Black music and dance. The history of pointe shoes is both fascinating and thorny. Theresa Ruth Howard, founder of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet, leaves a voice message for the dance community.

Show Notes

Links referenced in/relevant to this episode:
-"WAP" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc5IbN4xw70
-Cardi B's behind-the-scenes clip of Normani: https://twitter.com/iamcardib/status/1292193933976432640
-Teen Vogue piece on the double standards inherent in the reaction to "WAP": https://www.teenvogue.com/story/wap-outrage-female-sexuality
-WIRED's "TikTok and the Evolution of Digital Blackface": https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-evolution-digital-blackface/
-Pointe magazine's pointe shoe history: https://www.pointemagazine.com/history-of-pointe-shoes-2646384074.html
-Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet website: https://mobballet.org/
-MoBBallet Digital Symposium info: https://mobballet.org/index.php/mobballet-digital-symposium/
-New York Times profile of Theresa Ruth Howard: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/arts/dance/theresa-ruth-howard.html

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A weekly podcast, hosted by editors from Dance Media, that breaks down the dance world's news and talks with with the artists who are shaping the headlines.