It’s been 12 years nearly to the day that I last reported on a hurricane for Dance Magazine during Katrina, which devastated much of New Orleans. Now, as you are well aware, Harvey is approaching that level of catastrophe, with 18 deaths, a record rainfall of 51 inches, more than 10,000 Houstonians in shelters, and […]

These days, it’s not uncommon to see men dancing on pointe. Sure, the Trocks have been doing it forever, but now even men in traditional companies are seeing the benefits of training in pointe shoes. And yet, we’ve never seen anything like this video of Houston Ballet’s Hayden Stark, Derek Dunn and Daniel Durrett performing […]

By the end of the summer, two major international ballet companies will have new artistic directors. And they’ll both be American. Today, The Royal New Zealand Ballet announced that current Grand Rapids Ballet artistic director Patricia Barker will take over the company later this month. The former Pacific Northwest Ballet star will succeed Francesco Ventriglia, […]

When Houston Ballet demi-soloist Harper Watters first posted a short video of himself in bubblegum pink heels, he went to sleep with 4,000 Instagram followers. He awoke to more than double that, and 500-plus comments. Now at nearly 65,000 followers, Watters knows he (and his partner in crime, fellow Houston Ballet dancer Rhys Kosakowski) struck […]

To promote its revival of Stanton Welch’s Cinderella, Houston Ballet recently posted a short video on social media. It wasn’t the regular teaser of expertly edited performance footage, but instead a parody on the hit show “The Office.” While ballet and comedy may seem to be unlikely partners, this works. Trust us; we laughed more […]

The dance artists to keep an eye on in 2017

Being a soloist has its perks, like bigger roles and a bigger paycheck. But it has a less glamorous side, too. Soloists take on corps roles, principal roles and everything in between. The rank comes with more pressure and a demanding schedule, which can take its toll mentally and physically. Though the promotion validates a […]

Houston Ballet dancers raise funds for their community through a self-produced performance project. Oliver Halkowich (back) rehearses corps member Shahar Dori. Photo by Amitava Sarkar, Courtesy REACH. One day during spring break of this year, Houston Ballet principal Connor Walsh coached corps member Shu Kinouchi on the intricate steps of his newest work. Soloist Allison […]