Crystal Serrano never envisioned someday joining Dance Theatre of Harlem, the company founded by Arthur Mitchell to show the beauty and uplift of classical ballet on dancers of all colors. Her career began with Sacramento Ballet, which she joined after one year in Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s Professional Division, but her time there was cut […]
On May 18, 1919, Margot “Peggy” Hookham was born. She would grow up to become Dame Margot Fonteyn, England’s homegrown prima ballerina. She joined the Sadler’s Wells School in 1934 and was performing principal roles with the precursor to The Royal Ballet the next year. Fonteyn was a company-defining figure, dancing Aurora for the re-opening […]
On the morning of May 1, Miriam Barbosa posted a photo of her daughter, Itzkan, on Facebook. The image itself is striking—Itzkan stands smiling on pointe in front of Miami City Ballet, where she has spent the last year as a pre-professional student, perched atop a mountain of old pointe shoes of all different sizes. […]
When former American Ballet Theatre principal Cheryl Yeager watches her daughter—Hannah Marshall, a current ABT corps member—take the stage, she gets a bit emotional. “I always think, ‘I wanted to move just like you when I was dancing!’ because we are total opposites,” Yeager says. “She is tall and moves with a legato quality, while […]
If you could ask a professional dancer’s advice for starting a ballet career, what would you want to know? Earlier this month, Walnut Hill School for the Arts celebrated its 125th anniversary with a gala performance of students and alumni at New York City’s Joyce Theater. And with graduation on the horizon, we thought it […]
I caught a preview screening of The White Crow earlier this week at New York City’s 92Y, and I have to say: Even with a solid grasp of dance history and a smattering of film studies knowledge, I had some questions when the credits rolled. The Ralph Fiennes–directed Rudolf Nureyev biopic dramatizes the events leading […]
Pre-professional ballet students know this to be true: Training comes first; everything else fits when—or if—it can. Are the sacrifices pre-professional ballet dancers make to pursue a highly competitive career worth it? Four professionals weigh in. Jim Nowakowski: BalletMet Dancer Nowakowski and BalletMet dancer Jessica Brown in rehearsal Jennifer Zmuda, Courtesy BalletMet At my home […]
Training in Manila, Philippines may seem a world away from dancing with the big ballet companies in New York City. Yet in April 2018, local ballet students Elwince Magbitang and Raye Vince Pelegrin, both 17, shared the stage in Manila with leading dancers from American Ballet Theatre in the benefit gala An Intimate Evening with […]