There’s nothing more incredible than seeing a dancer master the artistry of a powerful role like Odette/Odile. But let’s face it: We’re always thrilled once that Black Swan pas coda arrives. Throwing some triples into its series of 32 fouettés won’t make or break a ballerina’s performance, but boy, can they dazzle an audience. The […]
Misty Copeland will make her U.S. debut of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake in April, with the Washington Ballet. Though she will dance the role with American Ballet Theatre in June, Copeland’s debut at the Washington Ballet is particularly historic. She will partner with WB dancer Brooklyn Mack, one of the few African American men in […]
For 19-year-old Abigail Brent, getting promoted into The Washington Ballet’s Studio Company was, she says, “a dream come true.” After spending a year in TWB’s trainee program, the Charlottesville, Virginia, native started with the Studio Company—which performs in main-company productions as well as in its own shows—last fall. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with […]
Ask Harry Warshaw, a Washington Ballet Studio Company dancer, what his greatest personal and professional leap has been, and you might be surprised by his answer: learning how to relax. The lesson came several years ago during his first summer intensive at The Washington School of Ballet, before he joined the school’s trainee program and was then offered his […]
Noura Sander began her professional career at The Washington Ballet in 2021, dancing in Andile Ndlovu’s B1, an ensemble work that marked the company’s return to the stage after the pandemic shutdown. Although the performance was TWB’s reintroduction to its audience—full of excited new faces—Sander already felt like she belonged onstage. Her pathway to company life had begun […]
When you think of a top-tier ballet company’s summer intensive, you couldn’t be blamed for envisioning a largely anonymous experience: packed classes, a revolving door of star faculty, and other experiences that are undoubtedly exciting but may not actually lead to much in the way of professional connections or opportunities. But that couldn’t be further […]
Ashley Murphy-Wilson, an artist at The Washington Ballet, is all about making things personal. Well, personalized, that is. “My best purchase ever was a label maker,” she says. “Everything I own is labeled. My phone charger is labeled. My roller is labeled. Everyone knows: If I leave something in the studio, I’m coming back for […]
Before I was born, my parents found out that I had a condition called an omphalocele. All of my organs were outside my stomach. I was rushed into surgery as soon as I was born, and they put a little patch in, pushed in my organs and sewed me up. When I was 1 1/2, […]