Amy has been the editor in chief of Pointe magazine since 2014, following a 19-year dance career. She danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, among others, and performed in honor of Ms. Farrell at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors. While pursuing her college degree part-time, she began writing extensively for several dance publications, including Pointe's "Ask Amy" advice column. Amy graduated summa cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in English and World Literatures, and currently serves on its advisory board. Before joining Pointe, she was an associate editor for Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine.
I am a competitive ballet dancer. Currently I'm dancing the third Odalisque variation from Le Corsaire and want to know how to master quadruple turns. Any suggestions? —Anonymous
Bolshoi Ballet principals Olga Smirnova and Artemy Belyakov in Alexei Ratmansky's production of Giselle. Damir Yusupov, Courtesy of Bolshoi Theatre.
Bolshoi fans, listen up: On Sunday, January 26, the company will broadcast Alexei Ratmansky's new production of Giselle—captured from a live performance in Moscow earlier that day—to over 450 North American movie theaters as part of its Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema season. Olga Smirnova and Artemy Belyakov will star as Giselle and Albrecht, along with Angelina Vlashinets as Myrtha and Denis Savin as Hans, the Gatekeeper.
Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in a scene from An American in Paris. Courtesy Fathom Events.
If you loved Christopher Wheeldon's An American in Parison Broadway, you can now see the 1951 Oscar-winning movie it's based on in all its Technicolor glory. Fathom Events will present MGM's An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and French ballerina Leslie Caron, and with music by George and Ira Gershwin, in select theaters nationwide January 19 and 22.
David Hallberg (left) and Joseph Gordon perform Maurice Bejart's Song of a Wayfarer at the Joyce Theater's Ballet Festival. Maria Baranova, Courtesy The Joyce Theater.
American Ballet Theatre's David Hallberg and New York City Ballet's Joseph Gordon are two very different dancers at very different points in their careers. Yet they each made striking debuts when they came together to dance Maurice Béjart's Song of a Wayfarer last August. Staged by Maina Gielgud for The Joyce Theater's annual Ballet Festival, Béjart's quietly intense male duet was originally created on Rudolf Nureyev and Paolo Bortoluzzi in 1971. Gordon and Hallberg, portraying the young wayfarer and his destiny, respectively, gave the ballet renewed significance.
Boston Ballet School students tour Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Igor Burlak, Courtesy Boston Ballet
Over the years, one thing kept Boston Ballet School director Margaret Tracey up at night. While she feels enormous pride in the training the school's pre-professional division provides, she often worries about how her students are doing outside of dance: namely, in academics and residential life. "My sleepless nights happen when I think about a young student who's living on their own and struggling with something, or whose online school program is overwhelming them," says Tracey. "Those sit outside our core competencies as a ballet school, and, yet, I can't ignore that it's a huge part of their daily experience."
Though Boston Ballet School has provided housing and academic options to its pre-professional students, they haven't proved sustainable. That will soon change. Next fall, BBS will join forces with the dance program at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, a boarding high school in nearby Natick, Massachusetts. The partnership, called Boston Ballet School's Pre-Professional Division at Walnut Hill, seems like a win-win for both organizations: It offers BBS dancers college-preparatory academics and an on-site residential facility, and gives Walnut Hill an affiliation with a major ballet company.
Pennsylvania Ballet demi-soloist Thays Golz as the Sugar Plum Fairy during a stage rehearsal for George Balanchine's Nutcracker. All photography by Arian Molina Soca.
For many professional ballet dancers, Nutcracker means weeks of performances. That usually translates to multiple casts—and important breakout opportunities for those in the junior ranks. On the afternoon of December 13, Pennsylvania Ballet demi-soloist Thays Golz made her debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy along with her Cavalier, corps member Austin Eylar. For the Brazilian-born dancer, who joined PAB in 2018 after two seasons at Houston Ballet, Sugar Plum marks one of her first principal roles.
"I'm really excited," says Golz. PAB artistic director Angel Corella appointed 12 casts of Sugar Plum Fairies over the run's 29 performances. "When I first found out, I was like, 'Pinch me!' I still can't believe it."
We caught up with Golz just before her debut to see how she prepared for her big break.
I recently didn't get a part I really wanted and have been rethinking my career choice since then. I just don't feel the same excitement about dance anymore. I don't know how to get it back or if—it feels horrible saying this—I should just quit.
Vadim Muntagirov and Marienela Nuñez in the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake. Bill Cooper, Courtesy Trafalgar Releasing.
Get your popcorn ready! The Royal Ballet is making its way to select North American movie theaters starting November 26 as part of The Royal Opera House's 2019/20 LIVE Cinema Season. Filmed at London's Covent Garden, the season continues through the spring and includes seven ballet productions—some pre-recorded, some captured live—ranging from 19th century classics to world premieres by Cathy Marston and Wayne McGregor. "We make sure we really give a mix of what you can get at the Opera House," says Royal Ballet artistic director Kevin O'Hare. "The idea that you're never really far from the theater is a nice one, and it's caught on fast."
