The Ballet Blog

Why ballet ?

“Ballet is a particularly special art form for me because I am always striving for more – more grace, more strength, more precision, more everything. But pushing myself out of my limits is what makes ballet so enticing and exciting. A dancer can always learn more about their craft.”

What is your daily routine at the moment ?

7:20am: I wake up and make a protein shake.
8:30am: I am at the O2 Fitness gym (membership sponsored by Carolina Ballet) on the elliptical for stamina and on the mat doing Pilates mat for strength/core. My workouts last an hour or less.
9:40am: I am at the Carolina Ballet studios warming up, breaking in shoes, and getting ready for class.
10am-6:30pm: The company has a 1.5hr warm-up class and then a 6 hours day of rehearsals. After my day, I go home, do some schoolwork (I take distance education classes at NCSU), eat dinner, hang out or call friends, and ice if necessary. I try to get eight hours of sleep and start it all over.”

(Source: theballetblog)

“Refusing to be held back by a nightmarish past or ugly stereotypes, teen ballerina Michaela DePrince is ready to soar”

        Long before she was on the path to pursuing her dance dreams, she lived in a total nightmare. Michaela was born in Sierra Leone, a small West African country that was ravaged by civil war between 1991 and 2002. When Michaela was just three, her beloved father—”I was a daddy’s girl,” she says—was shot and killed by rebels. Only a week later, her mom died from starvation. An uncle whisked Michaela away to an orphanage, where she became known as Number 27. “We were all ranked from the most favored to the least, and I was at the very bottom for being rebellious and having a skin condition called vitiligo, which produces white freckles on my neck and chest,” she says. “They called me ‘devil child.’ ” She shared a grass sleeping mat with Number 26, a girl named Mia, who was shunned for being left-handed; the two became inseparable.
        Horrific violence was the norm each day, according to Michaela, who painfully remembers witnessing the brutal killing of the one teacher at the orphanage who cared for her. “She was pregnant, and the rebels, whom we called ‘debils,’ grabbed her as she left the school grounds. I squeezed through the rails of the gate and tried to go to her rescue, but I was very small and no help at all,” she recalls. “The debils bet on whether her baby was a boy or girl. Then one of them slit her open, pulled out the baby and threw it away, and then cut off my teacher’s arms and left her to die. For years afterward, I feared being chased by debils.”

(Source: theballetblog)

“….Stressed out from her hectic schedule, Ringer became physically and emotionally depleted. She says, “I would be so tired and I would think, `If I eat that extra—whatever—it would give me more energy the next day.’” Early in 1996, Ringer suffered a severe back injury that sidelined her for nine months. When she came back, she was heavier and began to lose parts. The company tried to put her in costumes with more coverage, but soon even that wouldn’t work. “It was mortifying,” says Ringer. “Dancing had become anathema for me.” At the close of the 1997 summer season, she left NYCB by mutual agreement, with the caveat that the door was always open…”

(Source: theballetblog)

(Source: bunhead212)

“Angel Corella, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, has announced he will retire from the Company after the 2012 Metropolitan Opera House season in New York City. Corella will give his farewell performance in the role of Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake on Thursday, June 28, 2012, dancing opposite Paloma Herrera as Odette/Odile.”

(Source: theballetblog)

“On the eve of her first trip to North America, 25-year-old prima ballerina Altinay Asylmuratova stashed cans of soup, vegetables and tea in her suitcases. She wasn’t anticipating starvation abroad. She just wanted to be able to spend her per diem travel allowance on presents such as videotape recorders from the decadent West, because neither Altinay nor many of her 130 compatriots in the renowned Kirov Ballet of Leningrad had ever performed or traveled in North America.”

(Source: theballetblog)

(Source: sarabex)

“Q: What makes these rarities and why are they so difficult to dance?

New York City Ballet doesn’t do these any more so they don’t get seen as much. They are hard because they require a lot of stamina and technique. Also, Balanchine asks dancers to move in ways different from classical training, such as crossing their arms when they bring them up, to create a bigger movement, and being light on their heels to move faster. And it’s just his genius - you have to step up to it.”

(Source: theballetblog)

“The Russians loved her so much that they named cakes and caramels after her. A group of her fans even ate a pair of her ballet shoes after her last performance in 1842. These were cooked, garnished, and served with a special sauce so one hopes that they tasted good!”

(Source: theballetblog)

misscandicelauren:

He’s the best…..

Ethan Stiefel to Retire as Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre

Ethan Stiefel, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 1997, will retire from the Company at the conclusion of the 2012 Metropolitan Opera House season in New York City, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Stiefel will give his farewell performance in the role of Ali, the Slave in ABT’s production of Le Corsaire on Saturday evening, July 7, 2012. 

“She says that late in the pregnancy she had never felt me move or kick. My parents had a season subscription to the Joffrey Ballet in NYC, and while watching the performance in the theater, my mother felt me move, apparently reacting to the music by kicking and rolling, for the first time.”

(Source: theballetblog)

(Source: theballetblog)

“The project exposes young audiences in grades four through six to classical ballet through workshops and performances. Held in the schools, the 45-minute long movement workshops provide a hands-on learning experience for both students and teachers.”

(Source: theballetblog)

(Source: blackballerinas)

“New York City Ballet’s Peter Martins is making about $629,000 a year while 11 corps members are cut.

One doesn’t go into dance to get rich. When Baryshnikov was head of ABT, he had an agreement with the Board by which his annual salary was one dollar: he was compensated by guesting. While that may be extreme, it gives you some idea of what most people in this profession will do to keep their vision afloat.”