Pretty much every ballet student struggles with fouettés, those fiendishly difficult turns that require both crazy strength and laser-sharp precision. But even the pros, who can make 32 of ’em look effortless, still get a bit of fouetté fear—especially when they’re fouetté-ing at the end of Swan Lake‘s Black Swan pas de deux, one of […]
Mark your calendars, bunheads! On Monday, January 29th, at 2:45 PM (EST)/11:45 AM (PST), Pacific Northwest Ballet will be streaming a live rehearsal of Act II of Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake. There are few things cooler than getting a front-row seat to a major ballet company’s rehearsal, especially when swans, Prince Siegfried, and Tchaikovsky’s lush […]
Arabesque can be one of the most breathtaking positions in ballet. But achieving a long, graceful arabesque requires a particular combination of strength and flexibility. Struggling to get past 90 degrees? We asked Pacific Northwest Ballet School instructor Nancy Crowley for 10 tips to improve your arabesque. 1. Warm Up Strategically Warming up is, as […]
Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Madeline DeVries can move with both liquid grace and razor-sharp precision. A Southern California native, DeVries grew up training at the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy in Canyon Country, CA. She later studied at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s professional division on full scholarship, and spent summers training with Houston Ballet, The […]
Pacific Northwest Ballet recently broadcast one of its summer course’s advanced level pointe classes, and the whole video is crazy #goals. Each exercise is executed with beautiful precision by the elite group of students, and instructor Marissa Albee (a former PNB Soloist) provides detailed insight with each correction. What’s even more inspiring is the fact […]
When it comes to the West Coast, it’s easy to see why L.A. often steals the show—flashy classes, performances and companies, all under the captivating Hollywood lights? It’s a dance lover’s dream. But the West also offers tons of other strong dance communities, and they’re worth knowing. Packed with everything from renowned ballet companies to […]
Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Noelani Pantastico is famous for her passionate stage presence and strong, powerful technique. Originally from Oahu, HI, Pantastico trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and frequently attended summer courses at PNB. In 1997, she joined PNB as an apprentice, and was promoted to principal in 2004. Four years later, she joined […]
I feel like we lost a part of our collective childhood yesterday when Maurice Sendak passed away. Who didn’t grow up loving his slightly twisted, often hilarious, and always beautiful books? While he was best known for Where the Wild Things Are and his other illustrated stories, Sendak contributed to the dance world, too. Today […]