Have you ever wondered what Daniil Simkin thinks about when he whips off a series of effortless pirouettes? Or how Polina Semionova initiates her “swan arms” when she dances Odette/Odile? Both dancers are now part of a new streaming platform called Dance-Masterclass, which offers targeted lessons from the ballet world’s biggest stars to dancers of […]
Here’s something new to add to your quarantine watch list: Marius Petipa: The French Master of Russian Ballet, a new documentary by Icarus Films. Directed by Denis Sneguirev, the doc (which will be available for streaming and on DVD starting May 12) explores the life of ballet’s most famous choreographer. Interviews with dance historians, writers […]
This is Pointe‘s February/March 2019 Cover Story. You can subscribe to the magazine here, or click here to purchase this issue. When Natasha Sheehan debuted in The Sleeping Beauty‘s Bluebird pas de deux last season, she enchanted the San Francisco Ballet audience with her filigree footwork, elegant lines and effortless charisma. It was a big […]
Vienna really knows how to ring in the New Year with its annual concert by the Vienna Philharmonic, filled with the waltzes of the Strauss family and other composers. The best part? Broadcasts of the event (shown in the U.S. on PBS) also include interludes of ballet. On January 1, catch dancing from the Vienna […]
Marcelo Gomes’ clean technique, skilled partnering and magnetic stage presence make him one of the world’s most versatile and in-demand male dancers of his generation. This year saw the principal dancer celebrate his 20th anniversary with American Ballet Theatre, a company he joined at just 17 years old. Coinciding with this milestone was the release […]
Cory Stearns , American Ballet Theatre Why partnering couldn’t start soon enough: I had a crush on this girl at my school. Did anything happen? [Laughs] No. I had no confidence, so I never told her. She probably knew. Top mentors: My first partnering teacher, Dimitri Papadakos, was a former football player, never a dancer, […]
Sergei Danilian is a busy man. When he’s not producing star-filled programs like Kings of the Dance or presenting the Kirov’s U.S. tour, he’s managing the international careers of four of Russia’s biggest ballet stars: Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev, Diana Vishneva and Polina Semionova. “From one side it’s like being a matchmaker,” he says of […]
It’s a ballet dancer’s eternal question: How do I make my feet better? It seems that our ankles and insteps—no matter how supple they are—are never good enough. But while we all might dream of having arches like Polina Semionova or Paloma Herrera, few of us are born with them. Jane Rehm, now a dancer […]