Looking Back

Looking Back

My dance training has had many phases. My mother danced into her 20s and knew how difficult a professional career could be. So to save me from heartbreak, she steered me towards gymnastics when I was 6. But that summer I attended a camp that included ballet—and loved...
Standouts: Our 12 favorite performances of 2009

Standouts: Our 12 favorite performances of 2009

Dancer: Sarah Van Patten Company: San Francisco Ballet Ballet: Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake San Francisco Ballet principal Sarah Van Patten always commands the stage in roles that call for dramatic depth and musicality. But because she is not usually thought of as...
Looking Back

Beyond the Steps

When Sarah Van Patten first danced the lead in a Royal Danish Ballet production of Romeo and Juliet, it felt like a cinch. Just 16 years old, she was an apprentice in the company and it seemed very real. “I didn’t even think about acting,” she says....