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...
by Katie Slattery | Mar 1, 2023 | Pointe+, Training
Let me open by saying that I admire you—choosing to enter a ballet competition must be daunting. I never had the opportunity myself, and in some ways, I am really relieved by that. My self-confidence was an issue when I was young, and I think I would have gone in with...
by Gavin Larsen | Aug 17, 2022 | Training
As summer intensives wind down, excitement about the new school year starts building. But that anticipation can come with worry, particularly if you’re entering a new studio and need to take a placement class. Many may wonder, “What level will I be put in?” A...
by Lucy Van Cleef | Jul 19, 2022 | Training
When David Hallberg entered the Paris Opéra Ballet School during his final year of training at age 17, he remembers feeling like a fish out of water. “I wasn’t prepared for the cultural shock. Not only the language, but the mannerisms, style, technique,” he...
by Katie Slattery | Jul 13, 2022 | Summer Study, Training
LeeAnaca Moore, a conservatory student at Florida Ballet, has a busy summer ahead. She’ll be attending the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Summer Program for three weeks, followed by a four-week summer intensive at Philadelphia Ballet. She then plans to stay on at...
by Alexandra Martin | Jun 13, 2022 | Health & Body
Ballet is a performing art that prides itself on the aesthetics of physical alignment. We train from a young age with the underlying message that our bodies should be symmetrical. But what if your physical stature is inherently out of balance? While almost everybody’s...
by Gavin Larsen | May 9, 2022 | Training
Today, Ben Lepson is a corps member with Miami City Ballet. But as a teenager at the School of American Ballet, he struggled—and not just with demanding classes. Almost all his classmates lived in SAB’s residences, but Lepson, a native New Yorker, commuted every day...
by Kathleen McGuire | Oct 12, 2021 | Career
As Jenna Rae Herrera neared the end of her second season with Ballet West II, she knew she would either get a company contract or move on to a new, more uncertain future. “I had fallen in love with this company, and it felt like such a good fit,” she remembers. But a...