by Julia Guiheen | Mar 3, 2021 | Viral Videos
While not nearly as common as the pas de deux, the pas de trois is a frequent feature in classical ballets that poses its own unique challenges. The seamless braiding of three dancers, in which all can equally shine, is no easy feat. In this clip from 2002, the...
by Margaret Fuhrer for Dance Spirit | Jul 7, 2020 | The Latest, Viral Videos
That old saying about limitations breeding creativity—hat tip to Orson Welles—has never felt more relevant than in these lockdown days. Here’s the latest brilliant dance project born (hatched?) of quarantine restrictions: “Swan Lake Bath...
by Julia Guiheen | Jun 24, 2020 | Viral Videos
Yuan Yuan Tan and José Martínez both left their respective homes in China and Spain as teens to join top ballet companies. Tan was quickly made a principal at San Francisco Ballet and Martínez rose to étoile at the Paris Opéra Ballet, both becoming sought-after...
by Julia Guiheen | Apr 1, 2020 | Viral Videos
This February, New York City Ballet presented Peter Martin’s two-act version of Swan Lake. In her New York Times review, Gia Kourlas reminisced about some of NYCB’s past Odette/Odiles, pointing to a masterful, and high stakes, 1999 “Live From Lincoln...
by Julia Guiheen | Jan 22, 2020 | TBT
At the end of Swan Lake’s Act I, Prince Siegfried finds himself alone after guests have departed from his birthday celebration, processing the news that he’ll soon need to choose a wife. The soul-searching prince dances an introspective, almost mournful...
by Julia Guiheen | Sep 4, 2019 | Profiles, Viral Videos
Natalia Makarova’s version of Swan Lake, staged in the 1980s for London Festival Ballet (now the English National Ballet), incorporates a pas de quatre choreographed by Sir Fredrick Ashton into the ballet’s opening act. Leanne Benjamin, then just 24 and a...
by Julia Guiheen | Jul 24, 2019 | Profiles, Viral Videos
A little over a month ago Roberto Bolle gave his final bow with American Ballet Theatre, though thankfully he’s not saying goodbye to ballet altogether. After 10 years dancing as a principal with ABT while guesting around the world and at his home company La...
by Tyler Donatelli As Told To Gavin Larsen | May 15, 2019 | Profiles, Technique, Viral Videos
Like so many little girls, I grew up watching the “four little swans” dance. It always pops up on your YouTube feed if you’re a dancer, so I saw lots of different versions. I figured I fit the type—I’m short and like to do petit allégro—so to...