Ballet can distance us from performers. The difficulty of the technique and the elusive artistry can make them seem immortal. But in New York City Center’s Studio 5 Great American Ballerina series, we observe them as down-to-earth and hard-working—willing, by dint of the format, to take criticism and incorporate it, live. And for those viewers […]

American Ballet Theatre principal Isabella Boylston’s bibliophilia has been well documented—particularly on Instagram Instagram, where she shares her reading recommendations through #BallerinaBookClub. But through a partnership with ALL ARTS, WNET’s dedicated digital art platform, Boylston is taking Ballerina Book Club to a whole new level, adding monthly author interviews with special guest stars. First up […]

One of the most inspiring things to witness over the past couple of months has been the incredible displays of solidarity among dancers and dance companies. None have been left untouched by this crisis, and so many have banded together to help each other out. American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland and her former colleague Joseph […]

On Instagram this week, Misty Copeland reposted a picture of two Russian ballerinas covered head to toe in black, exposing the Bolshoi’s practice of using blackface in the classical ballet La Bayadère. The post has already received over 60,000 likes and 2,000 comments, starting a long overdue conversation. Comments have been pouring in from every […]

It is perhaps the understatement of the century to say that Misty Copeland—American Ballet Theatre principal, trailblazing role model, and straight-up ballet icon—knows how to work a pair of pointe shoes. But a new campaign for Stuart Weitzman, in which Copeland trades her ballet “boots” for some boots of the more traditional kind, proves (yet […]

In the middle of one of New York City Center’s cavernous studios, Misty Copeland takes a measured step backwards. The suggestion of a swan arm ripples before she turns downstage, chest and shoulders unfurling as her legs stretch into an open lunge. She piqués onto pointe, arms echoing the sinuous curve of her back attitude, […]

Story ballets that debut during American Ballet Theatre’s spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House are always the subject of much curiosity—and, sometimes, much debate. Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre was no different. The ballet follows the eponymous heroine of Charlotte Brönte’s novel as she grows from a willful orphan to a self-possessed governess, charting her […]

Ballerina Raven Wilkinson passed away on Monday at her home in New York City at age 83. Wilkinson is best known as the first African American woman to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and as a cherished mentor to Misty Copeland. Raven Wilkinson presenting Misty Copeland with the Dance Magazine Award […]