Last night I was perusing Netflix for an educational documentary (okay, maybe I was really looking for a sappy rom com—shh!) when something popped up on my screen: First Position. As in the super-awesome Youth America Grand Prix documentary First Position! I was thrilled to say the least. But before I could hit play, a […]
This Saturday is a very, very happy day for the dance world: The legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem will give its first performance in eight years. It’s a triumphant moment for the company, which fought its way back (under the leadership of Virginia Johnson, former EIC of our sister magazine, Pointe) from a crippling debt […]
This year’s documentary on Youth America Grand Prix, First Position, has been hogging all the limelight lately (understandably—it’s awesome! Read our take here.) But if you loved it as much as we did, you’re in luck because, over the last couple years, some equally captivating dance documentaries have been released. Here are two of my […]
It’s official: First Position is now playing in a theater near you, and it may just be your new favorite dance movie (look out, Center Stage). If you haven’t heard about this awesome documentary, here’s the gist: The film follows insanely talented young ballet dancers for a year as they prepare for and compete in […]
Michaela DePrince (Rosalie O’Connor) Ballerinas aren’t often described as powerful. Strong? Maybe. Dynamic? Sure. But when you watch 17-year-old Michaela DePrince, a student at The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, powerful is the first word that comes to mind. While her technique is elegant and fluid—particularly her expressive, eloquent port de bras—underneath […]
Aran Bell performing Don Quixote at Youth America Grand Prix. Photo by Nina Alovert, courtesy YAGP. It’s not just that Aran Bell can nail a picture-perfect quintuple pirouette, with a sustained relevé to finish. Or that the 13-year-old can whip out split jumps effortlessly at the end of an exhausting variation. Despite his small stature […]