by Lilliana Miller | Dec 11, 2025 | TBT
Paris Opéra Ballet étoile Sylvie Guillem’s extraordinary physical range allowed her to give life to emotion-packed characters such as Swan Lake’s Odette. In this clip of the White Swan pas de deux with fellow POB étoile Nicolas Le Riche, Guillem’s expansiveness and...
by Lilliana Miller | Oct 9, 2025 | Career, TBT
Vera Zorina (1917–2003) is more widely recognized for her career in Hollywood movies and musical theater than on the ballet stage. In 1938, she made her film debut in The Goldwyn Follies, dancing its “Water Nymph Ballet” to choreography by her future first husband,...
by Lilliana Miller | Sep 25, 2025 | TBT
Alessandra Ferri, a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and La Scala Ballet, was known for bringing dramatic flair to her roles. In this clip from La Scala Ballet’s 1996 production of Giselle, Ferri demonstrates her animated...
by Michael Henry Shavelle | Aug 21, 2025 | TBT
Alicia Graf Mack’s exceptional dancing earned her a place at three renowned companies: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Her grace and clarity of movement is showcased beautifully in this clip of The...
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 Michael Henry Shavelle | Jul 24, 2025 | Profiles, TBT, Videos
In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem presented Creole Giselle, a groundbreaking interpretation of one of ballet’s beloved classics. Imagined by Arthur Mitchell and staged by Frederic Franklin, the production moves the original tale from Austria to Louisiana in the 1840s,...
by Michael Henry Shavelle | Jul 10, 2025 | TBT
Firebird has had many iterations over the years. Long before George Balanchine and Alexei Ratmansky brought their lasting interpretations, Michel Fokine originated the work to Igor Stravinsky’s music in 1910. In this video, Margot Fonteyn, The Royal Ballet’s reigning...
by Michael Henry Shavelle | Jul 3, 2025 | TBT
It is rare to see a complete ballet starring just one dancer. Jerome Robbins’ A Suite of Dances is a series of solos set to a single cello arrangement by Bach. Originally choreographed on Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1994, the work encompasses the naturalistic, witty, and...
