Bouder, wearing a tutu with a red velvet bodice and white ribbon-lined skirt, is caught at the height of a huge saut de chat, her face beaming. The ribbons on the tambourine that she holds in her right hand stream out behind her.

Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career

The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder—morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school—until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. “I go through little bouts where it’s really real and I feel like crying,” she says. “But I’m […]

What Does It Mean to Be a Ballet Company's "Scholar in Residence"?

A scholar of Russian literature and culture, Dr. Natalie Rouland works for the Kennan Institute, a DC think tank invested in building bridges between the United States and Russia. She also advises The Washington Ballet’s artistic director Julie Kent on staging classical ballets, serving as the company’s first scholar in residence. A native of Lexington, […]

What Does It Take to Be ABT's Wig & Makeup Guru?

Every dancer knows there’s as much magic taking place backstage as there is in what the audience sees onstage. Behind the scenes, it takes a village, says American Ballet Theatre’s wig and makeup supervisor, Rena Most. With wig and makeup preparations happening in a studio of their own as the dancers rehearse, Most and her […]

Snoop Around Backstage with Sarah Lane

Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor. Every time I step into the Metropolitan Opera House, I have this wild daydream about how great it would be to run past security and snoop around backstage. Well, lucky me—and you! The Wall Street Journal‘s new virtual reality series is […]

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