Search results for: Lauren Anderson

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with two groundbreaking artists and colleagues: Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet’s first Black principal ballerina (and current Houston Ballet Academy associate director of Education and Community Engagement), and Harper Watters, the company’s first Black, queer first soloist. In this 50-minute video, Watters and Anderson discuss the importance of representation […]

Lauren Anderson saw Eric Best dance for the first time in the summer of 2019. Then 15 years old, the Indianapolis native was in Los Angeles for a Debbie Allen Dance Academy intensive, where Anderson, Houston Ballet’s legendary, boundary-breaking ballerina, was visiting. “I thought, Wow, besides having very good training, he’s so natural at taking the stage, coordination, physicality, elegance, […]

Développé écarté relevé “is in every class, every ballet,” says Lauren Anderson, former principal dancer and current program manager of education and community engagement at Houston Ballet. Below, she gives you the keys to success for this “light and lovely” repertoire staple. Houston Ballet principal Karina González, partnered by Chun Wai Chan, does relevé développé […]

It’s been quite some time since we’ve had the pleasure of watching Lauren Anderson do 32 fouettés. The former Houston Ballet star, who became the company’s first African American principal dancer in 1990, was famous for her thrilling bravura and for her partnership with Carlos Acosta. Now Houston Ballet’s program manager of community engagement and […]

Lauren Anderson, a former star of Houston Ballet, broke down barriers when she became the company’s first African American principal ballerina in 1990. It was with enormous strength, personality and passion that she earned this elusive rank, as well as critical praise and loyal fans. In these snippets from Harald Lander’s Etudes, her spirited performance […]

The ’90s were an exciting time at Houston Ballet. Lauren Anderson, who became Houston’s first African–American principal dancer in 1990, reigned as its queen of virtuosic technique; a few years later, a young Cuban wonder named Carlos Acosta joined the company and became one of her regular partners. The results were nothing less than explosive, […]

When I was a teenager, Lauren Anderson was my generation’s Misty Copeland. The former Houston Ballet star made history as the company’s first African American principal ballerina in 1990, and her partnership with Carlos Acosta thrilled audiences before he left Houston for The Royal Ballet. Since her retirement in 2006, she’s had her hands full […]

The young dancers of Houston Ballet II charge through the studio, filling out the contours of Harrison Guy’s intricate choreography and riding the driving rhythms of Gabriela Ortiz’s score with momentum and urgency. The 18 dancers are rehearsing for a one-of-a-kind, multidisciplinary performance event called Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness. The work, co-commissioned […]