Jennifer Stahl's blog

When Carrie Lee Riggins joined New York City Ballet at 16, she had no clue how to cook. And living in New York City, she never had to—delivery was just at the other end of a phone call. Jump ahead sixteen years to the present day, and she found herself still lost in the kitchen. So she wrote an email to the Food Network’s reality competition show “Worst Cooks in America,” featuring restaurateur Bobby Flay.

For many students today, the last step before going pro is a traineeship—a one or two–year program where dancers can polish up their technique and gain professional performing experience. While more and more companies are launching trainee programs, the opportunities they offer (and tuition they require) vary dramatically. Some trainees get to take company class and dance with the corps in larger ballets. Others get private coaching from the ballet masters. In certain programs, trainees participate in some of the company's most innovative projects.

After weeks of questions, it looks like there are finally some answers as to who was behind the acid attack on Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Sergei Filin. Last night, Russian police obtained confessions from three men, including Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko. It turns out that Dmitrichenko hired the other two to accost Filin as the director was getting into his car on January 17. On Russian state television yesterday, Dmitrichenko said he did not intend for the attack to go as far as it did.

Have you entered Dance Magazine's Joffrey Ballet School scholarship contest yet? Five dancers won full rides to Joffrey summer intensives through dancemedia.com in January, and ten won in February. This month is your last chance—and with 15 scholarships up for grabs, it's also your best chance!

How come there are still so few black women in ballet? As Dance Theatre of Harlem makes its comeback this year, many dance fans are looking at the rosters of other major American ballet companies, and wondering why, in 2013, there is still so little diversity. Some say the African American community just isn't interested enough in ballet.

Still undecided whether to get a tablet subscription to Pointe? Our app was just spotlighted on magplus.com in a write-up that highlights how we've used digital features to bring the world of ballet to your fingertips.

No dancer should ever leave home without a good dose of inspiration. We've found one that's kind of awesome: The free New York City Ballet iPhone app. It’s constantly updated with fun new pictures of the dancers—both on stage and off—and has a Twitter section that shows a feed of tweets from company members. Best of all, it contains links to top NYCB video clips with dancers explaining their approaches to roles and dishing about what it’s actually like behind the scenes. Find it in the App Store.

Tiler Peck and Robert Farichild are making a special guest appearance in the New York Philharmonic's presentation of Carousel this weekend. To build anticipation, the company just posted some footage of the dancers rehearsing in the studio with choreographer Warren Carlyle. It's amazing to watch how quickly and fully Peck transforms into her character. Check it out here.

The night before a big audition comes with a terrible catch-22: You know you need to get a good night's sleep to be on top of your game in the morning, but with all of the anxiety and nerves coursing through your body, it becomes nearly impossible to nod off.

What can you do? Here are 5 surefire steps for getting on the express train to Dreamland.

Few things in ballet are more satisfying than the feeling of soaring around effortlessly in a perfect pirouette. Los Angeles Ballet wants to teach you how to nail that smooth sailing sensation every time. This Sunday, February 24, LAB’s monthly community day will include a free workshop on turning, taught by master teacher Ikolo Griffin (a former dancer with San Francisco Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem).