Misty Copeland in the News Again!

May 30, 2012 By 5 Comments
Misty Copeland a la seconde on the floor

Seldom do we come across great talent like Misty's. We've reported about her on several occasions in the past. (See links at the end of this post). She's one of our favorite shining ballet stars. And here's why: She's been following her dream since she was 13 and has been relentless about reaching her artistic goals. I'd like to introduce... (drum roll) American Ballet Theatre soloist,  Misty Copeland in the news again! Read below and watch the video, her story will amaze and inspire you to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: American Ballet Theatre ABT, Ballerinas, Classical Ballet Tagged With: ,

Tamara Rojo Wants To Stamp Out Anorexia in Ballet

May 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Tamara Rojo Wants to Stomp Out Anorexia in Ballet

Principal ballerina, Tamara Rojo, now head of the English National Ballet has definite ideas about what she wants the dance troupe to adopt under her direction as far as body weight and image, and for good reason. After years of observing fellow ballerinas adopt unhealthy eating habits, Tamara Rojo wants to stamp out anorexia in ballet. Rojo was born in Montreal, Canada, to Spanish parents who moved back to Spain when she was four months old. She started dancing at the age of 10 in … [Read more...]

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Pas de Deux: The Dancers’ Perspective [Video]

April 25, 2012 By 6 Comments
Pas de Deux: The Dancers' Perspective

  Wouldn't it be neat to be able to "feel" what it's like to dance a pas de deux? Unless you're a professional ballet dancer, you may not get to experience that. Well, now you can, through this amazing video! What is the Dancers' Perspective? Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette give us a view of the wedding pas de deux from "The Sleeping Beauty" from the dancers' perspective. Through cameras placed in strategic places on each dancer we're able to "feel" what the … [Read more...]

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Ballerina Watch: Melissa Hamilton

March 21, 2012 By 4 Comments
Melissa Hamilton performing Swan Lake at Varna 2010

Soloist, Melissa Hamilton, with the Royal Ballet, is a ballerina we need to keep a close eye on. Her apparently quick rise to stardom (her story is a true inspiration) has left London audiences in awe. Luke Jennings from The Observer writes of Hamilton's "articulacy of line," and articulate she is. She speaks with her body, as you will see in the video below. Mary Greene with Mail Online interviews her and is delighted with Ms. Hamilton's ease and intelligence. Her story reads like a fairy … [Read more...]

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Interview: Dame Margot Fonteyn Talks of Anna Pavlova

March 19, 2012 By 6 Comments
Interview: Margot Fonteyn talks of Anna Pavlova

Twenty-eight years ago, in a 1984 interview, Dame Margot Fonteyn talks of Anna Pavlova and her  newly published book Pavlova, Impressions. Elegant  and distinguished at 65, shy and soft spoken, she tells of the time she saw Pavlova dancing; she was 6 years old. At the time of this interview, she had been retired for five years. She retired in 1979 at 60, after 17 years of an amazing partnership with Russian sensation Rudolf Nureyev. Here's the Interview: Dame Margot Fonteyn Talks of Anna … [Read more...]

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Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev [Video]

March 18, 2012 By 3 Comments
Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in Giselle

One of the greatest ballet partnerships of the 20th century, as I wrote yesterday, was Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. How did Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev come together? Fonteyn began her greatest artistic partnership at a time when many (including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois) thought she was about to retire. In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West, and on 21 February 1962, he and Fonteyn first performed together in Giselle. She was 42 and he was 24. Their … [Read more...]

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First African American Ballerinas [Video]

March 15, 2012 By 6 Comments
Delores Brown

Who were the first African American Ballerinas to grace major U.S. stages? Dancer Janet Collins became the first African American dancer to join the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1951 and inspired black students to pursue their dreams. One of those students was Delores Brown, who at 14 was a awarded a scholarship to further her ballet training. She later auditioned for the American School of Ballet and became one of six black students in the school. Her dream was to eventually join the … [Read more...]

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Interview: Sir Frederick Ashton

March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Sir Frederick Ashton as on of the ugly step-sisters in Cinderella

Anna Pavlova and Frederick Aston crossed paths during her South American tour. He had gone to see the great ballerina perform and his life was changed forever! Frederick Aston Ashton was born at Guayaquil in Ecuador, [on September 1904]  in the artistic neighbourhood called Las Peñas, the original founding site of the city. When he was three years old he moved with his family to Lima in Peru. When he was 13 he witnessed a life-changing event when he attended a performance by the … [Read more...]

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Featured Ballerina: Anna Pavlova

March 11, 2012 By 6 Comments
Anna Pavlova, The Dying Swan

The life of famous Russian ballerina Ana Pavlova was an extraordinary one. She was born on February 12, 1881,  though there has been a bit of controversy on the exact date (January 31st) and died a few days shy of her 50th birthday, on January 23, 1931. She has a special connection to Mexico, the county I call home, as she was the first classical ballerina to interpret the "Jarabe Tapatio" dance on pointe during her 1919 tour to this country. The Jarabe Tapatio is commonly known as The … [Read more...]

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Featured Ballerina: Alessandra Ferri [Video]

March 2, 2012 By 9 Comments
Alessandra Ferri's feet on Sting music video.

Alessandra Ferri is one of my favorite ballerinas. Not only because she has the most incredibly beautiful ballet feet, but because of her powerful stage presence and dramatic interpretation, as you'll witness in the music video below where she appears with Sting: as he plays, she dances with absolute technical control and spiritual abandon. How did Alessandra Ferri get started? Alessandra Ferri was born in Milan, Italy in 1963. She studied at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, until the age of 15, … [Read more...]

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