Inside Miami City Ballet Soloist Jordan-Elizabeth Long's Dance Bag
This story originally appeared in the October/November 2016 issue of
Pointe.
When Miami City Ballet soloist Jordan-Elizabeth Long previously danced with the Royal Swedish Ballet, professional hairdressers styled her performance hair. “If you came in with a messy bag full of pins, they got really annoyed,” Long says. Ever since, she has kept her pins organized in a multicompartment plastic case. In fact, Long’s dance bag is full of European imports from her career abroad in Sweden and at Dutch National Ballet. There are her leopard print Bbooties and the red polka-dot wine bottle holder that she uses to organize pointe shoes. And her bear key chain was given to her by former Royal Swedish dancer Eugenia Bolander, Long’s old dressing-roommate and close friend.
However, it’s the items she carries from home that Long treasures most. A baby quilt her great-grandmother made has traveled to theaters in China, Russia, New York and beyond. But Long’s proven good luck charm? A photo of her dog, Jane. “I love to look at her before I dance.” While on tour with MCB last spring, Long realized that the made-on date stamped on the bottom of her custom-order pointe shoes was Jane’s birthday. “I knew I was going to perform well!”
Kyle Froman for Pointe.
The Goods
From left:
Victoria’s Secret bag, bear key chain; quilt; Bbooties; reisenthel brand bag repurposed for pointe shoes; special order Freed of London Classics (“I custom dye white stretchy Prima Soft ribbons with Rit dye”); Burberry perfume; Emergen-C; hair spray; water bottle; “I just want champagne” pouch containing Jet Glue, stitch kits, tape and knives for cutting shanks; flower pouch containing toe pads (“I have a lot of different toe pads—the ones I wear depend on if the shoes are hard or soft”); purple makeup bag; picture of Jane; hairpin case; prop fan.
