Watch These Houston Ballet Men Kill It in "La Bayadère"—on Pointe

When we chose Houston Ballet soloist Derek Dunn as our October/November cover star last year, we knew he could do just about everything. But what we didn’t know is that he—along with his fellow HB chums Hayden Stark and Daniel Durrett—can also kill it in pointe shoes! Apparently while the company was preparing for La Bayadère earlier this month, Dunn, Durrett and Stark got inspired to tackle the three Shades’ variations from Act III. And they do not disappoint. From Stark’s rock-solid relevés in arabesque to Dunn’s near-silent footwork to Durrett’s super-controlled ballonnés, these three pretty much nail their variations with both grace and aplomb. And, you know, with some double cabrioles and saut de basques thrown in.

This isn’t the first time “sur les pointes” for Dunn (who announced on Instagram that he’s leaving Houston Ballet for a yet-undisclosed company) or for Stark. Both were required to wear pointe shoes as the evil stepsisters in Stanton Welch’s Cinderella in March. Still, knowing how many years it took me to perfect my pointework, I can’t help but feel a little jealous of these guys.