Allow me to start with a question. In the average graduating class of any dance program (in styles that use pirouettes), how many of the graduates can do a quadruple, clean, controlled, pirouette with consistency? Forty percent? Fifty? Seventy percent? Think carefully before you answer. I do realize that there are many styles of dance, […]

My doctor sent me to a hormone specialist to be checked out for a possible metabolic disorder after a series of unexplained fractures. When my blood tests came back, I wasn’t prepared to hear that the problem was due to my super-healthy diet (I eat a lot of raw carrots). Once she saw that the […]

Every dancer wants to open their competition score packet and see high marks that sing their praises. But a less-than-stellar score can quickly sour what was meant to be a positive learning experience. While winners walk away with cash prizes, glistening trophies and scholarships to their dream schools, it can be tempting to let a […]

The entrancing power of Instagram can’t be denied. I’ve lost hours of my life scrolling the platform looking at other people documenting theirs. What starts as a “quick” fill-the-moment check-in can easily lead to a good 10-15 minute session, especially if I enter the nebulous realm of “suggested videos.” My algorithm usually shows me professional […]

Have you ever referred to your feet as biscuits or your pointe shoes as dead in front of a non-dancer friend or family member and seen a wave of confusion cross their face? Dance, like most activities, is chock-full of words and phrases used only by those in the know. In honor of their 90th […]

Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin doesn’t appear to have completely shed his bad-boy skin. A new video from Rankin Hunger Magazine, “Sergei x Rankin,” shows us what happens when Polunin is given total freedom to explore his tendency for raw, emotional movement. Paired with British photographer Rankin, the duo creates a captivating video that explores […]

We’re used to seeing Maddie Ziegler own the room whenever she steps on the dance floor. So the idea of her learning a dance routine from Instagram star, Everleigh Soutas initially seemed a little backwards. Then we found out that Everleigh’s original performance of this solo earned her first place in her division, at Revolution […]

Sore arches may be one of the peskiest pain spots dancers deal with. This small area on the bottom of your feet may seem minor, but it actually does a lot of work: Your arches are what allow your feet to support the weight of your entire body. While any sharp, unbearable pain should always […]