Blogs

As a ballet dancer, one of the last things you ever want to hear is a doctor or physical therapist tell you to take time off from dancing. You think, “There’s no way I’m doing that. I’ll be so out of shape!” However, sometimes it’s unavoidable. You just can’t dance, and you need to take a break to get better.

The following is a guest blog by San Francisco Ballet principal Yuan Yuan Tan, currently on tour with the company in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stay tuned for more posts from Yuan Yuan!

The following is a guest blog by San Francisco Ballet principal Yuan Yuan Tan, currently on tour with the company in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stay tuned for more posts from Yuan Yuan!

Today is Friday [August 21] and I'm in Copenhagen—jet-lagged, big time!

The Black Swan trailer is out! Even though there are some beautiful dancing shots, this obviously is not your typical ballet movie. Take a peek at the trailer to see for yourself.

And stay tuned for more about the movie in Pointe's December/January issue—we went behind the scenes during a day of filming to get the inside scoop from the dancers, cast and crew. Blood, groping and the funky chicken were only a few of the highlights from the scene on set. 

Whenever I take class, I sometimes feel like there are a million and one things going through my head: 

"Turn out your feet (but from the hips)"

"Straighten your knees"

"Softer port de bras"

"Relax your shoulders"

"Ribs down"

"Wait, not too much—stay lifted"

"Play with the music a little more"

"Turn out more"

"Pointe your feet"

"No, seriously, come on, work that turnout"

Ah, summer in NYC's Central Park: Sun, fun and--hundreds of girls in pointe shoes? That was the delightfully incongruous scene this Monday, August 2nd as hundreds of ballerinas gathered in the park in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "Most Ballerinas on Pointe at One Time." (The previous record of 220 was set at the Youth America Grand Prix last year.)  American Ballet Theatre's Craig Salstein and Michele Wiles led the attempt, which was the brainchild of former ABT trustee Ellen Schiavone and well-known dance photographer Gene Schiavone.

Now that all the summer dance programs are wrapping up, I've started thinking about my one experience going away to ballet sleepaway camp when I was 15.  I've always been something of a homebody, and I was really nervous about going away for eight weeks.  My coach at the time convinced me that it was a good idea, though, so off I went, moving into an upstate New York college dormitory with what seemed like hundreds of girls and about five boys.

Ballet class is a place where technique is strengthened and lessons are learned about one's self as a dancer. We repeat common exercises to tone our bodies, gain further mastery of new steps and develop a keen sense of artistry. We fall, we learn intricate combinations, we push ourselves to be better than the day before.