by Natalia Boesch | Jun 28, 2020 | Dance Spirit, Training
Living-room ballet has always been a big part of my life, whether I was working out choreographic ideas or just giving myself barre. But, as I write this, living-room ballet is all we’ve had for weeks. That changes everything. I know that, for my students and...
by Natalia Boesch | Dec 13, 2018 | Technique, Training
“In Cuba, everybody turns,” says Caridad Martinez, a ballet faculty member at The Ailey School and a former principal with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Here, she walks us through the exercises and techniques that comprise “the Cuban secret” of...
by Kathleen McGuire | Feb 22, 2017 | Career, Training
They are the urban legends of the dance studio: glass in a dancer’s pointe shoes, ribbons cut before she goes onstage. The film Black Swan took things a step further, depicting a dancer so wracked with obsessive jealousy that she turns into a monster. While...
by Kathleen McGuire | Nov 21, 2016 | Summer Study
When Lilliana Hagerman auditioned for Orlando Ballet School’s summer intensive, she felt overwhelmingly intimidated. “The other dancers were all so beautiful,” remembers Hagerman, now a dancer with Kansas City Ballet. “I thought that if I made...
by Candice Thompson | Jul 31, 2016 | Health & Body
This story originally appeared in the August/September 2016 issue of Pointe. It’s a familiar sight on Instagram: A dancer lounges casually in an oversplit, drinking her morning coffee. One foot is propped up on blocks (or even a chair) as her legs split well...
by Gavin Larsen | May 31, 2016 | Training
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2016 issue of Pointe. Harper Ortlieb knew something needed to change. Her three-hour commute to daily classes at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre was unsustainable, and her obsession with ballet was intensifying. The...
by Katie Rolnick | Apr 2, 2015 | Technique, Training
Updated 10/17/22. This story originally appeared in the April/May 2015 issue of Pointe. Growing up, Houston Ballet first soloist Allison Miller often heard teachers compare the feeling you have during pirouettes to a corkscrew. But then her teacher, Diane Partington...
by Kathryn Holmes | Feb 1, 2015 | Training
This story originally appeared in the February/March 2015 issue of Pointe. As a pre-professional dancer, you need training that will help you transition as smoothly as possible into the rigorous environment of a professional ballet company. Among other considerations,...