Introducing Our 2017 “25 to Watch”
The dance artists to keep an eye on in 2017
Make 'Em Laugh: How Top Choreographers Find Their Funny
At one performance of David Parker’s Nut/Cracked in 2005, three-quarters of his audience walked out prematurely. But the same moment that caused the offense—a duet between two men with their thumbs in each other’s mouths—earned Parker hearty laughs from the remaining crowd, and eventually an enthusiastic standing ovation. Humor is subjective, and it can be […]
Working Out With Stella Abrera
In her first season as a principal at American Ballet Theatre, Stella Abrera experienced a kind of exhaustion she’d never known before. “For 14 years, I got used to gearing up to do one pas de deux or one solo, and I would usually feel fresh beforehand,” says 38-year-old Abrera, who was promoted in 2015. […]
The Boss: Julie Kent
After dying for the last time on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, body limp on a cold slab of marble beside her Romeo, Julie Kent rose as she had countless times before to receive the audience’s acclaim. As she stood there, surrounded by tearful colleagues and looking impossibly young in Juliet’s wispy sheath, […]
Say What? How Dancers Handle Their Worst Reviews
Melody Mennite’s first published review hurt like a punch in the gut. While dancing Clara’s solo in The Nutcracker, Mennite, then a teen, decided to sustain a balance for a few seconds. “I got greedy and held it too long and then fell flat on my face,” says Mennite, a principal dancer with Houston Ballet […]
Fuel the Fire
What should you eat before a performance? It can be challenging to find foods that give you the right amount of energy without weighing you down. But what’s perfect for one person won’t necessarily work for another. Every dancer has to experiment to find their own ideal pre-performance menu. Lauren Grant Dancer, Mark Morris Dance […]
Snoop Around Backstage with Sarah Lane
Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor. Every time I step into the Metropolitan Opera House, I have this wild daydream about how great it would be to run past security and snoop around backstage. Well, lucky me—and you! The Wall Street Journal‘s new virtual reality series is […]
Misty Copeland Gives Jimmy Kimmel a Ballet Lesson
Last night, ballet died. Well, at least that’s what Misty Copeland jokingly said after she tried teaching Jimmy Kimmel how to dance. The segment was part of Kimmel’s return to New York (he’s a native Brooklynite), and all week, he’ll be broadcasting his show from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Monday night’s episode included a video short in which Copeland […]