Dancing in Europe may seem like the ultimate ballet fantasy—elegant theaters, noble traditions, royalty in the audience—but careful planning and some strategic moves can actually get you there. Despite the current recession, some companies are hiring, and many more have pre-professional programs and second companies that prepare students for future opportunities. Here, several dancers who […]
We’re only 11 years into the 21st century—yet in that short time, there’s been a remarkable shift in the ballet world. For decades, Balanchine’s plotless neoclassical works were the ideal to which choreographers aspired. They saw abstract dance, driven only by music and the architecture of the body, as a form of pure expression. The […]
Elena Lobsanova catches your eye even before she starts to dance. It’s not just her natural beauty, long limbs and elegant carriage. The 25-year-old National Ballet of Canada first soloist, who last month danced the tragic heroine in Alexei Ratmansky’s new Romeo and Juliet, possesses something that can’t be taught: charisma. It’s an unaffected air […]
Ted Brandsen has made the Dutch National Ballet more national…and international. Onstage, Dutch National Ballet dancers have a no-nonsense energy and an intoxicating confidence—and for good reason: The company has been on the rise since Ted Brandsen took the reins in 2003. The dancer-turned-choreographer has hired a host of up-and-coming young soloists, and produced an […]
Watching English National Ballet’s corps de ballet glide through the second act of Giselle, it’s hard to imagine the company’s very existence was in jeopardy five years ago. Two artistic directors had resigned in rapid succession, citing insufficient funding among other reasons. England’s Arts Council was forced to implement a four-year plan to keep the […]
My dance training has had many phases. My mother danced into her 20s and knew how difficult a professional career could be. So to save me from heartbreak, she steered me towards gymnastics when I was 6. But that summer I attended a camp that included ballet—and loved it. My mother relented and enrolled me […]
Dancer: Sarah Van Patten Company: San Francisco Ballet Ballet: Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake San Francisco Ballet principal Sarah Van Patten always commands the stage in roles that call for dramatic depth and musicality. But because she is not usually thought of as a strong technician, she was a long shot to be cast as Odette/Odile […]
The National Ballet of Canada Caught in Love’s Web By Virginia Johnson In a more perfect world, instead of The Nutcracker, a thoughtful and dramatic ballet such as John Neumeier’s The Seagull would be the annual performance that audiences looked forward to year after year. They would be much the richer for it. This full-evening […]