It’s officially Nutcracker season, and you know what that means: Snow! Sugarplums! Hot chocolate! 40-foot tall Christmas trees! This year, Boston Ballet took their performance previews to the next level. Their “Frozen Snowflakes” video captures the spirit of the snow scene from every angle imaginable by using awesome 3-D imagery. (ABT just used a similar method with a 360-degree camera […]
Every ballet dancer has a pointe shoe prep process that’s akin to a sacred ritual. And while some modifications are meant to make feet look prettier, the most critical tricks help those precious shoes last as long as possible—because at $60 to $100 a pop, they have to. We rounded up some of the best […]
Nutcracker is always a bit of a slog. But in the days between Christmas and New Year’s? Ayyyyyyyy. Sure, the end of the run is in sight, but that also means you’ve already put your poor feet through dozens of shows. And without all the holly-jolliness of holiday shopping and cookie baking and present wrapping […]
If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of, it’s ballerina makeup tutorials. And this Christmas, Elle has gifted us with an amazing look at five NYCB dancers’ Nutcracker looks. Unsurprisingly, these ladies are pros—after all, they dance in around 50 performances, which means lots of time to perfect their looks! From Sugarplum Fairy to […]
We’re reaching the time of year when the fatigue of Nutcracker, regionals and school haven’t quite been replaced by late-season stamina and the mercy of winter vacation. But guess what? You’re almost there, and we’ve got your back. Here are a ton of tried-and-true ways to stay motivated and healthy through the tough winter season. Food Don’t […]
Ah, Nutcracker: Everyone’s favorite holiday tradition, the reason many of us fell in love with dance in the first place and probably the most draining, exhausting, injury-inducing thing we do all year. Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Elizabeth Murphy and Jerome Tisserand (photo by Angela Sterling) But dancers know Nutcracker is more than a fluffy story that doesn’t actually […]
Are you just not feeling the holiday spirit this year? Is the Nutcracker inundation—you know, between actual Nut performances and the ceaseless stream of Tchaikovsky playing in every mall in the world—making you feeling a little, well, Grinchy? (THOSE DARN WHOS AND THEIR NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE.) Let English National Ballet help you with that. […]
It’s October! And you know what that means: While the normals are busy planning their Halloween costumes, you’re busy rehearsing The Nutcracker. (Well, and planning your Halloween costumes, too. Those Fraternal Twins outfits aren’t gonna make themselves.) One of the best things about Nutcracker is that it gives lots of dancers their first shots at […]