Log In
In this DT+ Teacher Talk, Dance Teacher’s editorial director, Reanne Rodrigues, joins movement scientist, dancer, and Pilates instructor, Gregory Youdan Jr., and Jeff Rogers, Ballet West company teacher, principal faculty member, and director of the Ballet West Academy men’s program, to discuss what stretches are safe for growing bodies and how dance teachers can support their students’ development and avoid injury. Takeaways […]
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 […]
Are you confident the stretches you’re teaching are truly safe for growing bodies? And do you know when flexibility training supports development—and when it risks injury? Join our next DT+ Teacher Talk, “Safe Stretching Practices,” on Thursday, March 19, at 12 pm EDT, to gain essential insights into the physical benchmarks that will ensure your […]
Utah-based Ballet West Academy is setting out to revolutionize dance education with its innovative Curriculum Design Seminar—a four-day virtual program designed to empower dance educators with a unique approach to ballet instruction. Originally taught internally for four years, the seminar is now branching out to instruct experienced teachers and academy directors who create curriculum and syllabi for their own […]
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 […]
Connie Smith has, arguably, the most important job at Ballet West: She’s the 3- to 5-year-olds’ ballet teacher. Teaching at the Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy—a feeder school that provides a portion of the company’s talent—means Smith has the challenging task of establishing a strong foundation for her students right from the time they […]
Evelyn Cisneros-Legate is bringing her hard-earned expertise to Ballet West. The former San Francisco Ballet star is taking over all four campuses of The Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy as the school’s new director. Cisneros-Legate, whose mother put her in ballet classes in an attempt to help her overcome her shyness, trained at the […]
To celebrate Valentine’s Day in the most dance-centric way possible, we sat down with five powerhouse dance-teaching couples to talk about their love stories. What do they admire about each other? What are their couple goals and their teaching philosophies, and how do they make their relationships work, especially when they work together? Get ready […]
These four ballet companies refreshed their productions of the beloved holiday classic. Pacific Northwest Ballet School student Eden Anan as Clara. Photo courtesy of PNB. From 1983 to 2014, PNB had performed its own Nutcracker, choreographed by founding artistic director Kent Stowell, with scenic and costume design by children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. […]
Long before Allison DeBona took the stage as a first soloist with Ballet West, she had chosen to give up dancing to have a normal adolescence. In eighth grade she quit ballet and joined her high-school drill team. In spite of this decision, DeBona’s teacher, Jean Gedeon of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, never gave up on […]