Performing overseas is more than an adventure. For these dancers, it means personal, artistic, and financial breaks.     To launch her career, Isadora Duncan sailed for Europe in search of audiences who could appreciate her work and producers who could enable her to do it. In Paris she encountered Loïe Fuller, another expatriate who […]

This year my career has taken off. I’ve got challenging roles back-to-back, plus great guesting gigs. But instead of feeling happy, I’m becoming cranky and irritable. I think, eat, and dream of ballet. What’s wrong? —Dancer on the Go, New York, NY   Welcome to success! I’m sure you wouldn’t trade it for the back […]

These dance program grads made the leap to professional life with persistence, training, and luck.     Some call it tunnel vision. Others speak of good timing. Many describe it as a matter of hedging one’s bets. Bellamy F. Eure’s journey from student at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts to professional dancer with Philadanco involved […]

What—and when—to eat and drink before performing     Whether you dance through a season’s worth of high-powered performances, or just gear up periodically for a couple of big ones, you have probably tried every possible food combination to help fuel you past your first entrance. You’ve eaten power shakes or steaks, had protein bars […]

San Francisco Ballet’s Tina LeBlanc blends technique, verve, classicism—and range.     At best, judging dancers by their national origin is a fool’s game. But who can resist playing it when the dancer is Tina LeBlanc? Watch her perform for 20 minutes and you will know why she is the quintessential American ballerina.   The […]

Dance Magazine‘s annual look at who’s new and breaking through in 2006.     Powerhouse Cricket Because he jumps higher and quicker than anyone alive, hip hop and underground house dancer James P. Colter is nicknamed “Cricket.” A fearless capoeirista, Cricket bounces across the stage, launching his small, compact body into flight and flipping off […]

The late Fernando Bujones’ account of the competition that made him a star.     Fernando Bujones was a spectacular bravura technician with superb partnering skills; his stage presence blended charm, courtesy, and an impish playfulness. Exceptionally clean and effortless in his approach, he influenced many of his peers, as well as students who saw […]

The other day I jammed my big toe into the floor doing quick ronds de jambe à terre. Strangely, this happened on both sides of the barre, causing a sharp pain as each big toe bent backwards. Did this occur from switching to softer split-sole canvas slippers? Or is it the result of the bunions […]