by Kathryn Boland | Oct 10, 2025 | Career, Company Life, Pointe+
The visceral connection of a pas de deux, the playful organization of a quartet, the bursting energy of a corps filling an entire stage: These are all undoubtedly different performance experiences for dancers. In these varied cases, what must dancers bring to the...
by Katherine Beard | Aug 30, 2024 | News, The Latest
Many stars of the dance world have shared their journeys through books, chronicling their glamorous or fairytale-like rise from student to premier ballet dancer. Rarely, if ever, do we read stories from the corps de ballet, despite the fact that the majority of ballet...
by Monica Stephenson | Jan 24, 2023 | Career, Company Life, Pointe+
In 1974, Dance Theatre of Harlem women began wearing tights and shoes in customized shades of brown, presenting a beautiful continuity of line. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Houston Ballet principal Lauren Anderson became an iconic example of a classical...
by Alex Marshall Hatch | Oct 7, 2022 | Company Life
Few things seem more empowering for a ballerina than being promoted to principal, perfecting those iconic 32 fouettés, or tackling a lead role, like Giselle. However, there’s something uniquely fulfilling about being a corps de ballet dancer. While the role is...
by Gavin Larsen | Sep 9, 2021 | Company Life
The route to a company’s roster often means working your way through several preliminary stages—professional training program, traineeship, apprenticeship or second company—in order to be considered for a full company contract. But while some dancers move fairly...
by Laura Cappelle | Mar 30, 2021 | Company Life
Occasionally, in my dreams, I relive the entrance of the Shades from La Bayadère. From the quiet, hypnotic buildup of arabesques snaking down the stage to the prayerlike moment when the entire corps de ballet freezes in a front tendu, arms crossed and eyes...
by Pointe Magazine | Oct 18, 2020 | Instagram, Profiles
The corps de ballet make up the backbone of every company. In our Fall 2020 issue, we highlighted 10 ensemble standouts to keep your eye on. Click on their names to learn more! Dara Holmes, Joffrey Ballet Dara Holmes and Edson Barbosa in Myles Thatcher’s Body of...
by Eric Trope | Aug 6, 2020 | Career, Instagram, Profiles
Corps de ballet dancers make up the backbone of any major ballet company, but often their retirements go unnoticed. A name disappears in the playbill, with little public recognition. These vital members of the ballet community offer valuable and often unheard...