“This is what I like to call my ‘PG but LIT’ playlist,” says Showstopper Dance Convention teacher Taylor Quinn. “That means all of these songs are great for kids 8 and under, and I get to enjoy them, too. I use this playlist for our stretch and warm-up, going across the floor and sometimes even […]
With her superb musicality, dramatic skills and go-for-broke speed and risk taking, Suzanne Farrell inspired Balanchine to push the limits of a dancer’s physical capabilities. Together, the pair helped shift ballet into more creative, athletic and abstract territory. “Diamonds” (1967) As part of Balanchine’s three-part plotless ballet Jewels, “Diamonds” was his tribute to imperial Russia […]
A movie about Nutcracker could easily be a bumbling comedy or worse—a horror flick. As studio owners everywhere know, staging the holiday classic, for all its charm and tradition, presents an enormous undertaking that requires students, parents and staff to work together for the good of the ballet. (How many dance dads does it take […]
We dance-lovers have known Misty Copeland is stunning and amazing for years, but the mainstream media is just catching on. This is good news for us, because it means more ballet on TV (her Under Armour ad that stopped the blogosphere in its tracks earlier this month), in books (her New York Times best-selling memoir, Life in Motion) and now, in movies. […]