Daily Dance

I was recently talking with my parents about Alexei Ratmansky's new Nutcracker, which he's choreographing for ABT.  It's coming to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in December, and I for one can't wait to see it.  By all accounts, it will be more grown-up, with a fresh, yet classical approach to the story.

Ballet dancers train long and hard to excel at what they do.  It is imperative that they be confident in their technique when they step onto a stage, as doubt can have a crippling effect on a dancer's ability to perform a movement that they've practised and rehearsed scores of times.  I've often had the opportunity of seeing elite dancers in class and rehearsal, and their relaxed manner and the ease with which they correctly execute all the steps shows that they know they can do this.  However, ballet dancers are also famously superstitious and wedded to rituals that

Hey guys!

Last Sunday and Monday, I had the opportunity to perform in Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum. It was so much fun! Before the performance, there was a company class with ABT that I got to take--and wow, the company dancers are soooo good. It was amazing to be in the same class with them.

 What an exciting trip this was! Overall, I was extremely impressed with the kindness and enthusiasm of the Cuban ballet fans. Dance is a huge deal in Havana--there are pictures of Alicia Alonso everywhere. Many people saw our first performance and insisted on coming back for the second one. They waited for us outside the stage door and took pictures and asked for autographs. They tried hard to communicate to us in broken English how much they enjoyed the program. I met some people in the hotel who had traveled from Argentina specifically to see the dance festival.

DAY 1

This is the second guest blog post by student Catherine Hurlin, who's rehearsing the role of Clara for ABT's new Nutcracker. Stay tuned for more posts from Catherine!

Hey everyone!

Wendy Whelan, NYCB principal, on teaching a recent master class at Manhattan Movement & Arts:

I don’t teach often, so I’m learning about myself as a teacher. You have to articulate both with your body and with your words. A certain word might make all the difference to someone in the class. As I teach, I think a lot about Willy Burmann—I’ve been taking his class for more than 20 years. I love the ideas he brings to his students. He does a lot with opposition—being down in the ground and up into the air.

The title of this blog may be a tad misleading, but I do have an important question to ask.  After watching a video of the (divinely talented and gift to the ballet world from heaven) Svetlana Zakharova on YouTube, I wonder: What is the best and most correct way to do fouettes?  Is it by winding up  with a rond de jambe from front to side each time you complete the revolution, or, as Svetlana does it, to just open the leg to the side?

This is the first guest blog post by student Catherine Hurlin, who's rehearsing the role of Clara for ABT's new Nutcracker. Stay tuned for more posts from Catherine!

Hey! My name is Catherine Hurlin and I am learning the part of Clara for American Ballet Theatre’s new production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky. I’m 14 years old and go the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT. I just moved up to level 6, and I'm ready for anything!

If I were to create a list of top three reasons why little girls want to be ballerinas, it would probably look something like this:

1. Tutus

2. Tutus!

3. Did someone say "Tutus"?