by Michael Henry Shavelle | Aug 7, 2025 | TBT
Part of what makes the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty so difficult is demonstrating the character’s progression throughout the ballet. She goes from beaming with joy on her 16th birthday, to floating as a magical vision, to exuding elegance at her wedding. In...
by Pointe Magazine | Dec 29, 2023 | News, The Latest
It’s that time of year again…Introducing your 2023 Readers’ Choice Standout Performances! From Nutcracker to romantic classics, exciting world premieres, and more, a variety of performances by dancers and companies made this year’s list. We love learning what has made...
by Claudia Bauer | Jul 26, 2023 | News, Onstage, The Latest
Summer is a season of creative freedom for ballet dancers, with festivals, side companies, and personal projects providing a refreshing change from the regular pace of company life. This summer, Ballet22 offers a rare opportunity: a showcase for nonbinary, queer, and...
by Lydia Murray | Aug 16, 2022 | Black History Month, Dance History, Profiles
History’s rare gems often languish in the shadows of what might have been, and ballet is no exception. Those credited with shaping the artform—usually choreographers, principal dancers and impresarios—become legends, while corps de ballet members mostly go...
by Julia Rosica | Aug 26, 2020 | TBT
Among her storied gifts, Maya Plisetskaya, former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, was renowned for her ability to imbue classical choreography with rich layers of meaning. In this 1963 clip of Aurora’s Act I variation from The Sleeping Beauty,...
by Julia Rosica | May 27, 2020 | Viral Videos
The charming and exuberant Antoinette Sibley became a principal at The Royal Ballet in 1960, when she was just 21 years old. Sibley dazzled alongside many danseurs during her career, including former principal Brian Shaw, a bravura dancer known for his virtuosic turns...
by Julia Rosica | Sep 18, 2019 | Profiles, TBT
What do Diana Vishneva, Olga Smirnova, Kristina Shapran and Maria Khoreva all have in common? These women, among the most impressive talents to graduate from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in recent years, all studied under legendary professor Lyudmila Kovaleva....
by Julia Rosica | Aug 7, 2019 | Profiles, Viral Videos
English National Ballet star Alina Cojocaru was still a Royal Ballet principal in 2006 when she guest-starred in the Mariinsky Ballet’s production of The Sleeping Beauty. And as this clip of her Aurora proves, she is indeed a vision in Act II’s dream...