George Birkadze spends some of his mornings as a guest teacher at Boston Ballet. But this ballet dancer and choreographer also spends much of his time training as a professional martial arts fighter. In fact, Birkadze has a black belt in not one but three different styles including Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, and Kyokushin karate. (He’s […]
Lani Dickinson’s power, grace, and raw presence make her a standout with AXIS Dance Company, whose mission is to change the face of dance and disability by featuring a mix of disabled and non-disabled performers. Born in China, Dickinson was adopted by an American couple and started dancing at 8 in Towson, MD. She attended […]
For the past decade, Merritt Moore has been living a double life as both a professional ballerina and a quantum physicist. While dancing with Zurich Ballet and Boston Ballet, she received her undergrad degree from Harvard in physics, and she’s currently pursuing a PhD in quantum physics at Oxford while performing with English National Ballet […]
We’re on somewhat of a dance photography kick here at DS, so we figured we’d keep it going in a very big way: an exclusive interview with Rachel Neville, the photographer responsible for all those absolutely drool-worthy dance photos on your Instagram feed. We caught up with Neville at PurePoint Financial in NYC, where she […]
Merritt Moore is a ballerina who just so happens to be graduating from Oxford University with a PhD in quantum physics. Is she even human? The jury is still out on that – but the 29-year-old, who earned her undergrad degree from Harvard, has actually found dance to be a powerful tool that assists her […]
Yes, Dance Spirit, there really is a Santa Claus. And we’ve got proof—namely, the delightfully silly stunt Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker Bear pulled off last week to celebrate the start of ticket sales for BB’s 2017 production of the holiday ballet classic. For reasons that would maybe be clearer to me if I were a Bostonite, […]
What does dance mean to you? That’s the question Boston Ballet principal John Lam asks his fellow company members in a moving new short film. The dancers’ responses, which we hear as we see them performing fluid choreography by Lam, are lovely: “Joy.” “Change.” “Truth.” “Love.” “Freedom.” It’d be a meaningful watch even if it […]
Erica Cornejo in “Swan Lake.” Photo by Gene Schiavone. With her lovely, expressive face and delicately refined port de bras, Boston Ballet principal Erica Cornejo seems tailor-made for soft, feminine roles like Giselle and Odette—and her nuanced portrayals of those heroines have earned her critical acclaim. But then she busts out her explosive jump in […]