May 29th is the 100th anniversary of The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), a collaboration between the composer Igor Stravinsky and the choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. The ballet premiered in 1913 in Paris, where it caused something of a … Read more →
So…there’s this anime show called Princess Tutu. It’s one of the most profoundly odd things I’ve ever seen. I haven’t seen much anime, so I’m probably ignorant of genre conventions, but it’s so odd. Not necessarily in a bad way, … Read more →
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Starz is developing a new ballet-based, “female-driven” drama. The untitled entry revolves around a young female ballet dancer named Claire with a troubled past who joins a ballet company in New York. The project, which … Read more →
Ballet doesn’t frequently make headlines in the United States, but when it does, those of us associated with the ballet world generally hope that it’s for better news than this. Sergei Filin, artistic director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, was badly … Read more →
Reader Lucreza Borgia asked if dancers (like actresses) were historically considered prostitutes, which raises the highly interesting topic of dancers’ changing social status. I’m mainly referencing Jennifer Homans’ Apollo’s Angels, which is an excellent comprehensive history of ballet (and to … Read more →
I’ve wanted to write about ballet and feminism for a while, but I’ve had a hard time figuring out where to start. I studied ballet very seriously as a teenager, with the intention to pursue a professional career. So it’s … Read more →
So, I enjoyed the second episode of Breaking Pointe much better than the first. The show gets down to the actual business of dancing, and we see a lot of Petit Mort in rehearsal. The dancer who didn’t have her … Read more →
The CW is running a reality show about Ballet West in Salt Lake City, and the first episode aired yesterday. Coming from a ballet background, I was intrigued to see the show, especially since a former classmate dances with the … Read more →