Embracing the Dark

We are not having winter in California this year, although it’s very clear the rest of you are. In regards to that, we’re sorry. Really, we are. The high-pressure system locked into place over our state is pushing the weather north and east of us and dumping it all over you. This is not our … Read more

5 other things I learned from ballet

This week at The Ajennda (www.theajennda.com) , a dance-related blog run by Jenn Romano, I was invited to contribute to the site’s “What I Learned From Ballet” section. I wrote a ruminative little piece about discovering beauty, grace, within ballet, during my adolescent years in Kansas that seemed otherwise devoid of those things. I also … Read more

10 ways to eat like a ballet dancer

Revised for 2019 Over at Q&A, someone asked about what ballet dancers eat. It’s a common enough question; people are thinking if they could get a hold of that diet, that mentality, well, they’d be set for life. Or they have this image of anorexia and lifelong self-denial. I told the reader to dispel the notion of … Read more

Chopin for Everyone

I’ve always liked Chopin and I’m wondering now if maybe everyone with at least a hint of classical music under their belt does as well. Particularly ballet peeps: it’s so ideal for pliés and the adagio section of class, or the stretching between barre and center work. One time I was in a San Francisco … Read more