Tag: allison debona

How Adult Summer Intensives Give Non-Professional-Track Dancers a Chance to Hone Their Craft

Adult recreational programs are surging in the dance community, creating a space for this demographic to train seriously—and be taken seriously. A growing number of summer programs, specifically, offer a chance for adult dancers to practice with intensity. And while they may differ from pre-professional summer programs, these intensives are strengthening dance’s future. What Adults […]

How Ballet West’s Allison DeBona Coached Team USA’s Olympic Freestyle Skiers

Over weeks of training in Park City, Utah, far from the sound of ski edges carving snow, three Olympic hopefuls regularly stepped into Ballet West’s dance studio. Elizabeth Lemley, Rell Harwood, and Grace Henderson, freestyle skiers representing Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, are there to work on balance, control, and precision.  Guiding them […]

Why the Rise in Performance Opportunities for Adult Recreational Dancers Matters

On a cool afternoon last November, Linda Past Pehrson, just a few days shy of her 77th birthday, warmed up backstage at the Peridance Center in New York City. She was wearing the white tutu she’d spent the previous evening ironing—her costume for the latest Performing in NY Showcase, organized by Kat Wildish. Pehrson’s group […]