Ah, pointe shoes: They are our forever frenemies. Much as we’re obsessed with them, even the most serious bunheads can have difficulty figuring them out. That’s where The School at Steps’ Pointe Shoe Workshop and Fair comes in. Part advice panel, part shoe sale, the annual event brings together experts from all corners of the […]
Dancers (including director Damian Woetzel, right) rocking out at the Vail International Dance Festival. Photo by Caitie Kakigi. National Dance Day is this Saturday, July 27—and the town of Vail, Colorado, home of the awesome Vail International Dance Festival, is celebrating in style with a three-hour dance-a-thon fundraiser. (It’ll benefit four dance-y organizations, including the […]
Every year, Vail International Dance Festival in Vail, Colorado plays host to some of our all-time favorite dancers and choreographers. The rep is always incredible, as is the location—the picturesque mountains, flowers and fields of Vail are a stunning backdrop for this event. This year was no exception, with plenty of new premieres (seven, to […]
Every July, New York City Ballet heads to Saratoga Springs, NY for their annual residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and every July, us members of the dance world watch in envy as NYCB company members’ Saratoga photos start filling our Instagram feeds. Sara Mearns rehearsing onstage at SPAC (Photo by Kyle Froman Photography) They’ve got […]
I’m also thankful for dancing turkeys. Thank you, dancing turkeys, for dancing. And being turkeys. What are you thankful for this year? Finally hitting that 6 o’clock penchée? Being cast in your dream Nutcracker role? Getting your first pair of pointe shoes? Here at Dance Spirit, we have a Thanksgiving tradition: Each year, everyone on […]
When I was maybe 10, a museum near my hometown exhibited a bronze cast of Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen sculpture. I went to visit her, and quickly discovered that my first impulse—to imitate her iconic fourth-position pose—was shared by dozens of other baby ballerinas. There was a whole crowd of us gathered around the […]
In our October issue, we talked to New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck about her musical theater turn in the brand-new show Little Dancer. Inspired by Degas’ famous sculpture and directed and choreographed by Broadway guru Susan Stroman, the musical is set to open at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center later this month. Little Dancer […]
You know the sculpture: A young girl in a tutu stands in an open fourth position, gazing up in awe as if she’s watching a prima ballerina leap before her. But you probably don’t know the story behind the sculpture—the story of ballet student Marie von Goethem, who, at age 14, became the muse of […]