Polina Semionova, principal guest artist with the Staatsballett Berlin, is serene and luminous. Mariinsky Ballet principal Vladimir Shklyarov is stylish and refined. Together, unsurprisingly, they make a sublime partnership, as seen here in their wistful and technically brilliant 2008 performance of Giselle‘s Act II pas de deux at the Mariinsky Theater. As a newly incarnated […]
We revisited some of Pointe‘s past cover stars for their take on how life—and ballet—has changed. Polina Semionova, December 2008/January 2009 Then: Principal dancer, Staatsballett Berlin Now: Principal guest dancer, Staatsballett Berlin; guest artist, Mikhailovsky Ballet and La Scala Ballet; principal guest, American Ballet Theatre, 2012–16 On being a Pointe cover star: “The stage is the […]
A little over a month ago Roberto Bolle gave his final bow with American Ballet Theatre, though thankfully he’s not saying goodbye to ballet altogether. After 10 years dancing as a principal with ABT while guesting around the world and at his home company La Scala Ballet, he’s now planning to focus on his own […]
For this #MotivationMonday, we mined the “Reverence” section of Pointe‘s back issues. Read on for inspiration from some of your favorite dancers. This years-old advice is timeless! Photo by Jack Devant via JackDevant.com. “Being a professional is not an easy life. Students need to ask themselves if they really want to do that, because it […]
Marius Petipa’s original version of La Bayadère, which premiered in St. Petersburg in 1877, was meant to evoke the exotic Far East. Today’s productions have no shortage of tropes that Westerners might associate with a royal Indian court: elephants, rajahs, midriffs and opium dreams. The first time I saw La Bayadère, it was not the […]
All photos by Matthew Murphy One look at Polina Semionova, the Moscow-born American Ballet Theatre principal, tells you destiny chose her to be a ballerina. Her supermodel looks—with that beautifully elongated torso and even longer legs—have made her a natural dancer, as well as a featured model of UNIQLO’s AIRism clothing line. Pointe went […]
The rehearsal studio is a sacred place for dancers. It’s where they assume roles of new and timeless works, transforming their movement to convey the ballets we cherish on stage. This process is intimate and personal, and can reveal a dancer’s ability to become the artist we see outside the studio. In this video from […]
This month has brought another exciting round of career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions and more in this month’s roster roundup. Promotions and Appointments On December 12, the National Ukrainian Ballet (Kyiv Ballet) appointed Nobuhiro Terada as its artistic director. Terada is the organization’s first Japanese artistic director and danced with the company […]