To the Parents of April Jones

Dear parents of April Jones, I read the news today that Mark Bridger was found guilty of abducting and murdering your five-year-old daughter, April. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22687971 I read on and on, riveted and horrified that this atrocity could have happened. I saw the picture of your daughter, bent my head, and wept. Every parent throughout the world, upon … Read more

Ulyana Lopatkina and Her Swans

I discovered prima ballerina Ulyana Lopatkina two years ago through Ballerina, a 2006 documentary that is a must-see for any ballet student or enthusiast. It follows the careers of five extraordinary Mariinsky* ballerinas and the teaching institution that produced them, the prestigious Vaganova Academy, which auditions 3000 children annually for sixty places. The audition process … Read more

Tips for a successful and happy lifelong marriage

Today is my anniversary; my husband and I have been married twenty-one years. I am still dazed with my good fortune over it all. He is still the love of my life, the only person I want to wake up alongside, and it is my greatest wish that we continue to wake up alongside each … Read more

The Liebster Award: Warning… Candor Ahead

Fellow dance blogger Rachael from Back to First Position has honored me by nominating me for a Liebster Blog award. She describes it as “a blogger-to-blogger pay it forward kinda thing to recognize other bloggers whom we feel are great at what they do and deserve some recognition.” Here are the rules for accepting the … Read more

Augustin Hadelich: A Fiery Artistry

Call me sentimental, but when I hear a story about a talented performer in the arts world who suffers adversity and triumphs against tremendous odds, well, it steals my heart. It gets me rallying around that person. That I should be won over by the performer’s talent, musicality, peerless technique, before learning his backstory, well, … Read more