Tag: ballet

Character Building

Coaching the artistry of three popular ballet variations Valentina Kozlova coaches a student at her Dance Conservatory of New York.In a professional production, Giselle’s Act I variation is set in a small forest village. Trees and a cottage fill the scene as she joyously dances for family and friends, played by the corps de ballet. […]

Hand Habits

Common problems and how to correct them Boston Ballet in variations from “The Sleeping Beauty” prologue You have a student with nice facility and solid technique. She has a natural presence and can jump and turn, but something prevents her from looking polished—her hands. Instead of having long arms from shoulders to fingertips, giant claws […]

Balanchine Star Edward Villella Speaks Out With His Last Interview As Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet

Reflected in the mirrors of Miami City Ballet’s large, airy studio on Miami Beach, Edward Villella’s teaching persona is deceptively understated. Standing before his dancers, the dance icon and founder of MCB waves his hand in an incomplete gesture and mumbles a few almost inaudible words. However, as soon as the first piano chord is […]

12 Days of Holiday Thanks: Misty Copeland

It’s rare when a late-starter becomes a professional dancer—much less with one of ballet’s most prestigious companies—but Misty Copeland breaks the mold. She experienced her first tendu at 13, thanks to a Boys and Girls Club, and today, she’s American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American female soloist. Copeland’s fast track in pre-professional training led her to […]

Summer Dance

Summer Dance By Lynn Swanson CreateSpace, 2011 260 pages When 13-year-old Sara Sutherland lands a dream spot at the prestigious Lakewood Dance Camp, she knows it’s time to work. Her parents can only afford to send her for one year, and she must win a scholarship for next summer. But with a distracting boys’ camp […]