Coaches help ballerinas refine their approach to a role. Over time, a bond can be forged as dancer and coach strive together toward a better result. Many of the greatest ballerinas credit their coaches with their success. When former American Ballet Theatre prima Susan Jaffe retired, she laid a bouquet of roses at the feet […]
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 […]
When Angel Corella walks into Cafe Mozart near Lincoln Center for his interview in mid-May, it’s a blustery, rain-soaked afternoon that has kept most New Yorkers inside. But one look at the American Ballet Theatre superstar, and you’d think it was a perfect spring day. In person, Corella bursts with the same effervescent sparkle he […]
In the ballet world, great partnerships are rare. The unique chemistry of a splendid ballerina and her attentive partner can hold audiences spellbound. Witnessing a pas de deux by extraordinarily simpatico dancers can fundamentally change the way one perceives ballet. At American Ballet Theatre, Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes deliver that special combination of ballet […]
New USA IBC Prizes This year, dancers will vie for six one-year company contracts. The stakes will be higher than ever at the USA International Ballet Competition this June. While entrants in the prestigious contest, held every four years in Jackson, MS, have traditionally competed for medals, cash awards and scholarships, this year […]
When I saw Paloma Herrera of American Ballet Theatre step onto the stage of So You Think You Can Dance last fall, I was speechless. One of my favorite ballerinas posed confidently to begin Kitri’s variation, on what seemed to be an awful floor for pointe work. Nevertheless, Herrera delivered under bright spotlights, in front […]
I have an odd confession to make: I enjoy watching dancers who have bad feet. And I don’t just mean that I can appreciate good dancers in spite of their stereotypically “bad” ballet feet. I actually like their lack of instep and/or little arch. Don’t get me wrong—I’ll drool over a pair of banana […]
My first summer in New York I was 17, training at The Joffrey’s summer intensive and spending my spare time taking extra classes at Steps, with jazz master Luigi, and at ABT (which, in it’s pre-JKO days, offered an amazing daily open class). I was also seeing as much ballet as I could squeeze out […]