by Margaret Fuhrer | Sep 25, 2012 | Company Life
Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s San Francisco season this October features a collaboration with visual artist Jim Campbell. Campbell will create a set out of hundreds of LED spheres, a technique he also used in a video he made with company dancers for his recent exhibit at...
by Amy Brandt | Sep 25, 2012 | Company Life
Are there ways to increase my chances of being offered a merit scholarship? I’m auditioning for colleges this year and am going to need as much financial help as I can get. —Ana I spoke with Mary Margaret Holt, director of the School of Dance at the...
by Amy Brandt | Jul 29, 2012 | Company Life
Help! I have painful corns on both of my little toes that never seem to go away. They pinch every time I put on my pointe shoes. Is there anything I can do? —Farrah Corns look similar to callouses, but are characterized by a hard, cone-shaped core that burrows...
by Amy Brandt | May 23, 2012 | Company Life
My teacher said that I could three-quarter my pointe shoes to make it easier to get right on the box, but I’m not sure how. I’m afraid that I might ruin my shoes. —Doireann Three-quartering pointe shoes is easy, but does take some practice. Try it on...
by Amy Brandt | Mar 15, 2012 | Company Life
My teacher recently asked me to stop wearing toe pads and simply tape my toes. She says this will strengthen them. However, I don’t see the point in subjecting myself to more blisters and corns—especially since the pain detracts from my ability to focus on...
by Amy Brandt | Jan 18, 2012 | Company Life
Look inside most company studios and—in addition to barres and a piano—you’ll likely find a television monitor, DVD player and VHS recorder. Production offices moonlight as video libraries, stacked with row after row of past performances. And with...
by Amy Brandt | Jan 18, 2012 | Company Life
I never know what to eat before a performance. If I have nothing, I’m famished, but I hate dancing on a full stomach. What do you recommend? —Etina Carbs, carbs, carbs—complex carbohydrates, to be exact. “There’s this mentality that carbs...
by Amy Brandt | Nov 15, 2011 | Company Life
My Nutcracker auditions didn’t go as planned—I’m only in snow and flowers corp. I’m having a hard time listening to the other dancers talk about their parts. How can I get over this? —Olivia I’ve been in your shoes, and know...