Yesenia Ayala has been a standout ensemble dancer ever since her Broadway debut in 2017. Now, she’s stepping out of the chorus, playing Anita in the new West Side Story revival on the Great White Way. It’s the fulfillment of a dream that seemed a far reach from her childhood living room in Gastonia, NC. […]
With musicals like Hairspray, Grease, Peter Pan, and The Wiz earning prime-time spots on big networks, complete with celebrity-studded casts and flashy new choreography, there’s no question that live TV musicals are here to stay. But what’s it actually like to perform in one? We followed dancer Conor Ryan during the rehearsal process for Jesus […]
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 […]
Lani Dickinson’s power, grace, and raw presence make her a standout with AXIS Dance Company, whose mission is to change the face of dance and disability by featuring a mix of disabled and non-disabled performers. Born in China, Dickinson was adopted by an American couple and started dancing at 8 in Towson, MD. She attended […]
Fourteen-year-old Kennadi Boese is a teenage dance superhero. For one thing, she’s successfully living a double life. One day, she’s studying dance and going to school in Colorado like a normal teenager; the next, she’s booking major L.A. gigs like the Kids’ Choice Sports Awards. It’s not just Kennadi’s schedule that’s super-powered: Her turns are […]
You probably know Ava Cota as the lovely, leggy dancer who was rejected from the Abby Lee Dance Company, on “Dance Moms,” because she was “too tall.” Now, that lanky frame is propelling her career as a model. Ava just made her New York Fashion Week runway debut, and we’re guessing it won’t be the […]
Amy Seiwert is an important voice for contemporary ballet. Since 1999, her company Amy Seiwert’s Imagery has been showing San Francisco audiences just how experimental, passionate, and relevant ballet can be. It’s a philosophy Seiwert developed over 19 years dancing with the LA Chamber Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and Smuin Ballet, and while choreographing on major […]
You know Galen Hooks as the choreographer who creates the stellar dance moves for dozens of viral videos, and the dancer who’s performed for everyone fromthe Biebs to Rihanna. But now she’s gearing up for two different roles; director and composer. Hooks’ new dance film, “Wait for Me,” was written, composed, directed, styled, and choreographed […]