Sophie Martin as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire

As a teen, Scottish Ballet principal Sophie Martin trained at the Paris Conservatory. The unorthodox methods of her teacher, Noëlla Auguste, intrigued Martin and left a lasting impression.

“She tried to push boundaries: With her, we would never touch a barre. We would start in center. She tried to include physiology. When we did pirouettes, she would ask how it worked; what sensation should you feel? Which organ? She approached things from a very specific way, but it was also very free. I remember her because her way of teaching was so different.”

Scottish Ballet performs A Streetcar Named Desire at the Spoleto Festival Charleston, South Carolina, this weekend.

Photo by Andrew Ross, courtesy of Scottish Ballet