by Katie Slattery | Nov 22, 2023 | Everything Nutcracker, Pointe+, Training
As a 16-year-old student, Patrick Frenette was excited to dance his first pas de deux onstage in The Nutcracker. He had been preparing for the role of Sugarplum’s Cavalier for nearly a year. “I remember spending six days a week training in my garage, doing as many...
by Avichai Scher | Oct 16, 2023 | Pointe+, Training
When Matthew Fontana, 13, arrived at the School of American Ballet last summer, it was the first time he’d been in a class full of boys. During the school year, he trains at Rye Ballet Conservatory in New York State. The school has a growing program for young boys,...
by Stephanie Kramer | Sep 21, 2023 | Health & Body, Pointe+, Technique
Most dancers with hyperextended knees consider them a blessing—until something goes wrong. While hyperextension can create elegant lines, excessively mobile joints can be prone to injury. “They have to be handled with care,” says Adriana Wagenveld, a dancer with Grand...
by Katie Slattery | Aug 28, 2023 | Pointe+, Technique, Training
No ballet class is complete without a healthy dose of corrections. As dancers, we mostly crave them. Other times, they can make us feel put on the spot. Whether receiving the notes as a group or individually, it’s important to learn how to absorb them. What makes a...
by Pointe Magazine | Aug 23, 2023 | Career, Higher Ed, Pointe+, Training
Last month, we hosted our first Pointe Live! Classes and Conversations event in New York City. International guest artist and former American Ballet Theatre principal Sarah Lane and Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer Adji Cissoko taught a series of inspiring master...
by Hannah Foster | Aug 10, 2023 | Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
You’ve just had the best summer ever at your ballet intensive. You got to explore a new city, form new friendships, and make technical breakthroughs without any pesky homework assignments distracting from your 24/7 dance immersion. For five weeks, it felt like what...
by Haley Hilton | May 10, 2023 | Career, Pointe+, Training
New York City Ballet principal Indiana Woodward remembers feeling equal parts nervous and excited during her dress rehearsal as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty this past winter season. It’s a challenging role, and when she began the sequence of attitude promenades and...
by Gavin Larsen | Apr 28, 2023 | Pointe+, Training
In her early teens, Claire Solis was a top student in her small school in upstate New York, and she had big ambitions. “There was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to be a principal dancer,” she remembers. Confident in how her future would play out, she...