by Hannah Chang Foster | Oct 19, 2016 | Company Life
Remember in the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty when Aurora’s fairy godmothers fight over which dress is best, pink or blue? Watching Petipa’s ballet, you might face a similar conflict: Do you prefer the young, spirited Aurora decked in rose pink from...
by Hannah Chang Foster | Jun 1, 2016 | Company Life
Ah, Aurora—the dream role of budding ballerinas and the milestone of professionals. (It’s on the horizon for our June/July cover girl Cassandra Trenary, who makes her New York Aurora debut on June 29). Nearly every prima has performed the role, and Italian...
by Hannah Chang Foster | Feb 10, 2016 | Company Life
Paris Opéra Ballet étoiles have to be more than exquisite dancers: They must have all the poise, authority and elegance it takes to command the Palais Garnier stage. As Aurora in this excerpt from a 2000 taping of The Sleeping Beauty, Aurélie...
by Hannah Chang Foster | Nov 25, 2015 | Company Life
In Sleeping Beauty’s Act III wedding pas de deux, the spotlight beams unwaveringly on dancers’ technique; Petipa’s choreography offers little to no reprieve in softening embraces, no rest in loving caresses. In this clip, Dame Antoinette...
by Amy Brandt | May 31, 2015 | Career
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2015 issue of Pointe. It’s two weeks before the March world premiere of American Ballet Theatre’s The Sleeping Beauty at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and principals Diana...
by Margaret Fuhrer | May 31, 2014 | Company Life
Aurora’s Act I solo in The Sleeping Beauty captures the young princess’ girlish exuberance. But from a technical standpoint, its four long minutes almost feel like multiple variations. New York City Ballet principal Sterling Hyltin discusses how to master...
by Graham Watts | Jun 1, 2009 | Company Life, Features
When I first saw Alexandra Ansanelli, she was darting across the stage with blazing vitality as the Firebird with New York City Ballet. Her fierce, staccato movements possessed all the daring and energy that characterizes the Balanchine style. At that moment, the...
by Kathryn Holmes | Jun 1, 2009 | Training
Every dancer works hard to master ballet’s most eye-catching feats: the fouetté turns, the saut de chats and the double tour en l’airs. But what about the little steps that come in between? Tempting as it might be to gloss over transitions,...