by Amy Brandt | Jan 14, 2025 | Audition Advice, Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
I will never forget how I felt as a teenager in the weeks leading up to summer intensive auditions. Would the class be hard? Would the teachers be nice? How would I measure up to the other dancers? What if I didn’t get in? Most dancers battle nerves before summer...
by Steve Sucato | Dec 27, 2024 | Career, Company Life, Pointe+
Like many ballet companies in the U.S., Ballet Palm Beach grew out of its affiliate dance academy. Begun in 2001 by founding artistic and executive director Colleen Smith, the company has its roots in Smith’s dance school, the Esther Center, and its subsequent student...
by Claudia Bauer | Sep 25, 2024 | Career, Pointe+, Profiles
The gold rush of 1863 put Boise, Idaho, on the map, but today the city is experiencing a boom of a different kind. As one of America’s fastest-growing cities—and ranked second on the 2024–25 U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Places to Live” list—Boise enjoys a...
by Emma Love Suddarth | Aug 7, 2024 | Career, Company Life, Pointe+
When Margaret Mullin, a former Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist, took the reins as artistic director of Ballet Tucson in the spring of 2022, she was coming back home. A Tucson native, Mullin had trained at the School of Ballet Tucson and returned at various points to...
by Gavin Larsen | Mar 13, 2024 | Audition Advice, Career, Pointe+
Increasingly, ballet companies are moving away from traditional open-call auditions. Instead, many prefer for dancers to submit a video reel, photos, and resumé, either via email or through an online portal, in order to be considered for an in-person audition. But...
by Gavin Larsen | Jan 4, 2024 | Audition Advice, Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
For many dancers, auditions feel inherently nerve-racking. But auditioning for summer intensives, which often requires taking class at unfamiliar studios with dancers who appear stronger, might elicit a heightened sense of intimidation. Fixating on others’...
by Hannah Chang Foster | Dec 22, 2023 | Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
At this time of year, your computer screen might be open to a million tabs as you research summer intensives. Nowadays there are more choices than ever: six-week sessions, two-week sessions, intensives with performance elements, training-only intensives,...
by Camila Rodrigues | Oct 18, 2023 | Audition Advice, Career, Pointe+
As performance seasons begin, we often hear about the new dancers joining companies and others who got big promotions. But nobody talks about those dancers who find themselves without a contract—without a place to be, to train, to dance, and to perform. During my...