Adult recreational performance opportunities are also transformative for those who never thought there was room for them in dance to begin with. “My idea of who could and couldn’t do ballet was very warped as a kid,” says Janay Lee, 25, an au pair who’s participated in the artÉmotion intensive the last two summers. For a long time, Misty Copeland was the only brown ballerina she knew of—none of the other stars she saw looked like her. Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, she did some dance at school and church, but didn’t start taking ballet until she was 18. “It’s like one of those dream careers that I never quite pursued.”

If you follow Louisville Ballet on social media, you may have noticed a statement posted to its channels last week. Titled “An Open Letter Against Hate and Prejudice,” it says “we cannot and will not be bystanders to hate and prejudice. As artists we have a duty to challenge preconceptions respectfully and to tell the […]

Earlier this summer, strange billboards and bus-stop ads started popping up around Louisville, Kentucky. A woman, Jessica, was sending public messages—that seemed really personal—to a guy named Chris. Things like, “Chris, maybe we should try role playing” or “Chris, let’s talk about your performance issues.” Photo courtesy Louisville Ballet Theories were tossed around on a […]

Louisville Ballet artistic director Robert Curran makes an exciting announcement. Photo by Sam English, via Louisville Ballet. On Friday, Louisville Ballet announced what may possibly be the best news a ballet company can receive in today’s economy: It had been given an anonymous donation of $1 million. While the windfall, from an unnamed New York–based donor, […]