Last April when Staatsballett Berlin principal Polina Semionova made her NYC debut performing in the Youth America Grand Prix gala, her mere appearance on the stage elicited screams of delight from the aspiring dancers in the audience. They knew the young star from a video, “Demo (Letzter Tag),” in which she dances a sweet and […]
For Alessandra Ferri, the greatest dramatic ballerina of her generation and possibly the most famous Juliet of today, parting is not going to be “such sweet sorrow.” On the contrary, Ferri, who is retiring this year after more than 20 years on the world’s stages, is going out with a bang. At the height of […]
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 […]
For the past four decades, the Prix de Lausanne has introduced the world to the next generation of ballet stars. Alessandra Ferri, Leanne Benjamin, and Julie Kent all first broke through in the prestigious competition. This year, the Prix is launching a new master class series to offer students across the globe a chance to […]
Wendy Perron, editor in chief of Pointe‘s sister publication, Dance Magazine, is currently in Moscow at the Benois de la Danse. Here, she shares her impressions of the 2012 event. For the first time in its whole 20 years, the Benois de la Danse award in choreography went to an American: Lar Lubovitch. For […]
Getting to attend the annual Dance Magazine Awards is one of my favorite perks of this job. The caliber of artists you get to rub shoulders with each year is kind of amazing, if a bit overwhelming. The first time I went, as a Dance Magazine intern, I remember seeing Alessandra Ferri float up the […]
Last night, the Dance Magazine Awards at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City had more ballet candy than any DM Awards I can remember. The delightful Ashley Bouder opened with an excerpt from Balanchine’s Square Dance, staged by awardee Patricia Wilde, once a New York City Ballet principal and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre artistic […]
As if Daniel Ulbricht didn’t already have enough on his plate. In addition to dazzling audiences at New York City Ballet and serving as artistic advisor for Manhattan Youth Ballet, he’s co-producing Dance Against Cancer: An Evening to Benefit the American Cancer Society. Held tonight at the AXA Equitable Theater in NYC, the event features […]