Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
Musings of a former ballet dancer who’s returned, years later, to the studio as a student.
I’m a big fan of the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker (and just reviewed a 2021 performance for Bachtrack HERE) but this year I’m proposing a different Nutcracker must-see. My classical music readers will be happy to hear I’m favoring an orchestral performance of Tchaikovsky’s score this time, and not the ballet. And yet, fear not, … Read more
Google “Top 10 classical ballets” or something similar, and you’ll find a whole slew of lists that, in truth, really don’t vary a whole lot. Some feature more contemporary ballets and include the works of Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine. Others opt for the whimsical and light, like Coppélia and La Fille Mal Gardée. … Read more
You’ve quite possibly seen a copy of “Isle of the Dead,” a painting by Swiss symbolist artist, Arnold Böcklin. The dreamy, haunting portrait depicts a small rowboat traversing a lake. In the boat a figure shrouded in white stands, transporting a draped coffin, as the rower behind steers the boat to shore, a rocky island … Read more
Is there a World Ballet Day happening in 2022? Happy to report, yes! It’s November 2nd and details are HERE. It’s officially World Ballet Day 2021! It’s Tuesday, Oct 19th (in Australia – here on the West Coast it’s 6pm) and here’s the all-important link: https://worldballetday.com The annual event is hosted once again by … Read more
Picture this. You are an American teen, utterly enthralled by ballet, Russian ballet in particular. You’re an aspiring ballerina and you’re really, really, really good. The Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, having seen you dance, invites you to study with them. And not just the program for foreigners; this is the prestigious mainstream training for … Read more