Diana Vishneva has had a very big year. In 2017, she retired from American Ballet Theatre, performing Onegin with the company one last time, accompanied by her longtime partner Marcelo Gomes. Then, in September, she opened a ballet studio in her home city of St. Petersburg called CONTEXT Pro. Soon after, she marked the fifth […]
You might be used to throwing on a leotard, tights and warm-ups each day, but now it’s summer, and your schedule is different. Whether you’re trying to dress to impress for a day off at your intensive or you’re packing for a much-needed vacation during your company’s summer break, the idea of wearing “real clothes” […]
At first glance, all summer intensives seem similar: days full of dancing. Yet the opportunities actually vary widely. The right teacher could plug you in to key directors. A prime performance opportunity could lead to a traineeship or even a company position. But how do you figure out which programs will really deliver? A few […]
Terrified doesn’t quite express how Boston Ballet’s Kathleen Breen Combes felt when choreographer Helen Pickett chose her to dance the opening solo for Pickett’s new ballet, Etesian: One and a half minutes of pure improvisation. In deafening silence. Ninety seconds suddenly seemed like an eternity. “It was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever […]
Traveling is a big part of a tour. Today, the Ballet Grand Prix group of students took an eight hour long bus trip! The drive took us to our destination in Alabama, where we would spend the night and rest for another four hour drive the next day. While on the bus, my friends and […]
Off to the next city: Charleston! We drove for four hours before finally arriving in South Carolina. After a long morning on the bus, we moved into our new hotel, then scurried off to rehearsal at the Galliard Auditorium. The stage was really big, as was the audience. After rehearsing, we all went to a […]
With its mix of gangsters, vaudeville and ballet, On Your Toes was the first major Broadway musical to incorporate classical dance—courtesy of George Balanchine. One of the 1936 show’s numbers is the much-beloved Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, often performed by itself as a standalone ballet. Next month, New York City Center’s Encores! revives Rodgers and […]