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...
by Grace Young, PhD | Sep 10, 2021 | Career, Higher Ed
People often ask me about my ballet background because it seems like strange preparation for an engineering career. To me it’s not peculiar at all. Ballet taught me many of the skills I use to excel in both the classroom and technical fields. When Royal Ballet first...
by Katie Slattery | Sep 2, 2021 | Technique
Some dancers may seem born to turn, but most of us spend years in the studio working to improve our pirouettes and fouettés. Is there a secret to turning well? Magaly Suárez, founder and artistic director of The Art of Classical Ballet in Pompano Beach, Florida, has...
by Amy Brandt | Jun 7, 2021 | Ask Amy
I’ve always wanted to be a ballerina. Nothing makes me happier than when I’m performing on a stage. I want to pursue this career, but so much goes along with it. How do I mentally and physically prepare myself for when I’m old enough to get into a...
by Haley Hilton | May 10, 2021 | Training
Many dancers have goals of taking their training to the next level by attending full-time pre-professional programs next fall. But it’s hard to get to know the organizations without physically experiencing them first. Even when the world isn’t practicing...
by Katie Slattery | Mar 9, 2021 | Instagram, Technique, Training
What is it that makes walking in ballet so difficult to perform well? And why does a movement that seems so simple cause many dancers to feel uncomfortable and awkward? Raymond Lukens, associate emeritus and former artistic director of the ABT National Training...
by Gavin Larsen | Mar 4, 2021 | Training
Of all the unprecedented effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the dance world, perhaps the most unthinkable a year ago was the forced pivot to online training. With many studios mandated to close, we’ve outfitted our homes with barres and marley and...