Watching the Radio City Rockettes perform a dazzling array of precision dance routines in their annual Christmas Spectacular show is a tradition many New Yorkers use to welcome the winter season. But how do these leggy ladies spend their off-season and what do they do to maintain their pristine technique, strength, and stamina when they’re […]
When former ballet dancer Kayci Treu first joined the ballroom team at Brigham Young University, her coaches would often reprimand her for “backleading,” or performing steps without waiting for cues from her partner. The Vaganova-trained dancer had done her fair share of ballet pas de deux—but, as she explains, “that’s about a ballerina being supported […]
We’ve all been there—smack in the middle of the improv portion of an audition, when suddenly our brain freezes over. All the creative movement born out of story telling and honest expression becomes the same right-battement over…and over…and over again. Yikes!🙅 Here are four prompts to help you break that dreaded right-battement cycle. Use them […]
Yes, the other dancers in your company or on your team often feel more like family than friends. But what if the girl next to you at the barre is actually your sister? These six sets of siblings gave Dance Spirit an inside look at what stage-ready sisterhood is all about. Jacalyn and Abby Tatro […]
At a summer program right now? Don’t leave home without these eight dance bag essentials that’ll get you through your crazy day of classes. Seriously, they’re lifesavers! 1. Emergency Kit Thinkstock Be prepared for any minor disaster with just-in-case essentials: nail clippers, scissors, Icy Hot, Advil, needle and thread, Band-Aids, etc. Plus, having a kit […]
Here’s a five point friendly reminder to be a stellar student! Give it a read, and apply it to your classes this coming week! 1. Don’t look at the clock. It’s rude. Don’t do it. When you look at the clock, you’re communicating to the teacher that you’re tired of class and ready for it […]
Well, if you’re Broadway vlogger and dance newbie Tyler Mount, super-easy! In a special video for Playbill.com, Broadway CATS Christine Cornish Smith, Tyler Hanes and Ahmad Simmons lead Mount through a phrase from the feline-tastic musical’s opening number, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats.” How did Mount do? Doesn’t really matter. There are plenty of other […]
Watch the beginning of nearly any jazz class and you’ll probably see dancers moving their hips or ribs to the beat of the music. They’re doing isolations, which are movements that involve only one part of the body while the other parts remain still. Dancers most often isolate their heads, shoulders, hands, ribs or hips. […]