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What makes Los Angeles such an elusive place for ballet? The city is a cultural capital when you look at it in terms of music, theater and visual art, not to mention film. But for some reason, concert dance has never been able to set down roots with any permanence or prestige. Even Los Angeles Ballet's name-brand directors and choreographers haven't been able to lift that company out of pick-up troupe status.

Pre-performance jitters got you shaking in your pointe shoes? Grab a snack! Foods that are rich in carbohydrates, vitamin B or magnesium can help calm your nerves. After a few bites, these types of foods enable your body to produce serotonin, which gives you a calm and relaxed feeling. Carbohydrates like cereal and popcorn, vitamin B-filled bananas and magnesium-packed cucumber and pumpkin seeds will help you fight anxiety—and fit perfectly in your dance bag.

Dead pointe shoes aren't good for much. But the Kentucky Museum has decided to spotlight a couple of iconic pairs as part of their Instruments of American Excellence exhibit. One of the sets is from New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns, the other from American Ballet Theatre's Julie Kent. They'll be presented along with over 140 pieces of memorabilia such as the underwater camera housing used by Titanic discoverer Dr.

Miami City Ballet announced today that founding artistic director Edward Villella bid farewell to the company this morning. It set the ballet world abuzz, since successor Lourdes Lopez wasn't scheduled to take over until until April 2013.

Want to sit down with Peter Boal, Alexei Ratmansky and Nikolai Hübbe? Okay, maybe you can't bring them into your living room in person. But you can stream their chats at Guggenheim's Works & Process live on your computer. Here are three dates every bunhead should mark on the calendar.

September 9 at 7:30 pm EST: Balanchine by Way of Seattle

The season of summer festivals may be winding down, but it's not over yet. Next week will bring the Laguna Dance Festival to southern California. Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Orange County's own Backhausedance will take the stage of the intimate Laguna Playhouse.

The dog days of August may be hot and humid, but that doesn't mean your dancing has to suffer. In fact, a new study shows that working out in higher temperatures may even make you stronger! Check it out.

Sundays in Indiana just got a whole lot more interesting. Ballet greats will be flocking to the state over the next few months to participate in Indianapolis City Ballet’s Master Class series. SAB’s Darci Kistler, ABT’s Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky, JKO’s Franco De Vita, NYCB’s Wendy Whelan and Daniel Ulbricht, John Cranko School director Tadeusz Matacz—these are some legit “masters” offering technique class.

Fall is almost here. What will you do this year to take your training to the next level? Smart dancers know they need to stay on the lookout for opportunities that will improve their artistry, whether it's a new competition, a mock-audition course or a master class in a technique they've never tried before.

The Ballet Boyz just might be Britain's coolest classical rebels. Former Royal Ballet dancers Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt broke off from that company in 2000 to start their own thing, choreographing a ballet for the two of them and Sylvie Guillem, launching an all-male troupe called TALENT, producing Darcey Bussell's farewell, creating a documentary about Christopher Wheeldon's work at The Bolshoi, collaborating on films with choreographer Russell Mailphant. They're remixed ballet into a truly 21st-century art form.