World Ballet Day – times, deets, links

Want deets for the Oct 5, 2017 event? Click HERE! Ballet fans around the world, mark the date: Wednesday October 1st. You are about to be blitzed. Never before has there been such a perfect opportunity for fans around the world to wholly immerse themselves in a day of ballet. Five companies, The Australian Ballet, The … Read more

The marvelous, mesmerizing Misty Copeland

She’s got 1,590,000 Google hits. Hers is the ballet dancer name on everyone’s lips. Her athleticism and beauty in the ad for Under Armour this past summer created a sensation that quickly went viral. She’s tiny for a ballet dancer, at five-foot-two. She has curves. She didn’t take her first ballet class until she was … Read more

Pointe Shoe Haiku

Young girl live for dance Teacher say “now pointe shoe time” Finally dream come true   Torture instrument Blame Marie Taglioni Romantic Era   Pink, peach, all hand-made Burlap, glue, many layers Bring lots of money   Freed, Gaynor Minden Feet on fire, toes squished and numb Soon blisters will form   Shoe hard like … Read more

Zen and Ballet: 10 Tips for the Journey

It’s time once again for my annual trek to Vajrapani for a three-day silent retreat. Last year, upon my return, I penned an article for Dance Advantage about how my meditation practice paralleled, oddly, my experience in taking ballet classes. Rereading it now, I’m grateful for the wisdom I’d accrued last year and utterly, wholly … Read more

Which way is the dancer turning?

All right, readers, opinions, please. Which way do you see the dancer turning? This psychological study fascinates me. My first reaction to seeing this, years back, had me thinking, oh, clockwise. Without question. I felt like surely it was a trick question. And, further, suggestions that I could make it go the other way seemed just as … Read more