Jennifer Stahl's blog

"Breaking Pointe" closed out the season last night heavy on the drama, light on the dancing. Although the finale ostensibly focused on the simultaneous excitement and let down during the close of a run, most of the episode concentrated on Katie's goodbye and Rex and Alison's breakup. Even Christiana ended up in tears (seemingly due to something about the pressure of being too good?).

I'm starting to get jealous of Chicago. Ever since ballet lover Rahm Emanuel become mayor of The Windy City, it's been rapidly blossoming into an even more attractive dance hub. During the Paris Opéra Ballet's visit last week, their performance of Giselle was streamed live for the public from an 18 by 32 foot LED screen in Millenium Park. And next month will bring the largest-ever Chicago Dancing Festival, full of free performances, dance films, discussions, tributes and interactive work.

When Adam Sklute spoke to Pointe earlier this year about his company's decision to participate in "Breaking Pointe," he said one of the driving reasons behind allowing cameras into his studios was the opportunity to set "the record straight about the real dramas and the real joys that happen in the ballet world, without having to play into stereotypes."

Where can you find Pointe covers adorning heavy machinery? The Gaynor Minden factory, of course. Apparently our December 2010/January 2011 cover featuring Alina Cojocaru in her signature Gaynors festoon the factory's walls and machines. This Eagle Tribune article about the building's new solar panels takes readers inside the space where the company produces around 100,000 pointe shoes a year. Alina would inspire me to make that many shoes, too.

Discount Dance Supply's models are no joke. Over the past year, they've included Cuban ballerina Viengsay Valdes, Complexions' Natalia Alonso, La Scala's Francesca Podini, ABT's Brittany DeGroftt and Elina Miettinen. In addition to showing off DDS' line of dancewear, each of these ladies sat down for an interview and gave a special performance, captured on camera.

All too often, those final rehearsals before a performance make it seem like everything's destined to go wrong on stage. Last night's episode of "Breaking Pointe" showed the Ballet West dancers succombing to that pre-show stress: They struggled with props, they wrestled with tempos, they let their anxiety throw them off.

We've all been there. Although there's obviously no such thing as "perfect" in ballet, it's still something every dancer strives for. And the nerves that pressure creates are ludicrous.

Remember how awesome pop-up books were as a kid? With each turn of the page, there was something new to pull out, to twist open, to discover.

Well, we've basically created a pop-up Pointe magazine—on your iPad. Throughout our digital edition you'll uncover extra photos, bonus videos and exclusive giveaways. Read about your favorite dancers and watch them perform all in the same place.

Good news for the ballet world: The Joffrey just added three new dancers to its roster for the 2012-13 season, bringing its total number of company members up to 45. South Carolina native Cara Marie Gary joins after dancing with ABT II and as an apprentice with Orlando Ballet, Guillaume Basso comes from Houston Ballet II and Yoshihisa Arai previously danced as a demi-soloist with Tulsa Ballet.

Foam rollers are one of the most ubiquitous props in the dance studio. And for good reason—ballet creates some serious knots in the muscles!

I could spend days at a time watching old videos of Gelsey Kirkland. That lyricism! That lightness! She moves the way I dream of dancing in my most fantastical fantasies.