Les Etés de la Danse

WHY ARE WE NOT IN PARIS RIGHT NOW?

I mean seriously, it seems like everybody is in Paris right now. I am oozing with a serious case of FOMO. Different ballet companies from all over the world have been flying into the 'city of lights' to perform in Les Etés de la Danse (summer of dance) festival at La Seine Musicale, a theater located on the outskirts of Paris. 

This year's festival is a two part event. The first part of the festival is a homage to Jerome Robbins. This year marks the centennial of his birth. Program one and two contained some of the best works by the beloved choreographer performed by some of the most outstanding artists of this generation. The ballet companies participating included:

• The New York City Ballet
• Miami City Ballet
• Joffrey Ballet
• Perm Opera Ballet
• Pacific Northwest Ballet

The New York City Ballet brought some of their biggest names including Tiler Peck, Sara Mearns, and Tyler Angle to perform in Dances at a Gathering, probably one of Jerry's best works. They also brought Suite of Dances performed by Anthony Huxley (his debut) and Joaquin De Luz. 

The Joffrey Ballet shared the same program with NYCB, rounding it out with Interplay and Glass Pieces. Program two included In the Night and Other Dances (both performed by Miami City Ballet), The Four Seasons (performed by Perm Opera Ballet), and Opus 19/The Dreamer (performed by PNB). The only ballet missing from these festivities, in my opinion, is West Side Story Suite. 

The dancers in the Pacific Northwest Ballet are the lucky ones extending their stay until July 7th. They comprise part two of the festival. They also have two programs:

• Program I
• Tide Harmonic (ChristopherWheeldon)
• Red Angels (Ulysses Dove)
• Little Mortal Jump (Alejandro Cerrudo)
• Emergence (Crystal Pite)
• Program II
• Her Door to the Sky (Jessica Lang)
• Slingerland Duet (William Forsythe)
• Appassionata (Benjamin Millepied)
• Waiting at the Station (Twyla Tharp) 

Even though it is too late to see the homage to Robbins, I would fly over in a heartbeat to see the programs put together by PNB. The works listed above are choreographed by some of the leading choreographers in the world of ballet today. 

I personally have been dying to see Emergence, and it couldn't hurt to also grab a pain au chocolat along the Seine on my way to the theater in the city of lights. 

Summer Ballet Fix

So knowing that ballet is quite scarce during the summer in New York City due to most New Yorkers traveling to the Hamptons and what not, I thought I would use this post to help you with your summer ballet fix.

I want to give you books to read, movies to watch, and even some performances to see, all related to our favorite subject. Let us first start with performances, although they may be scarce, there are some pretty great things happening this summer in New York:

• ABT is still at the Met for another two weeks! 
• One of the best things about their spring season is that it extends into early July, filling the void after the seasonal depression left by New York City Ballet's summer layoff. This week they are performing Don Quixote, and then Whipped Cream by Alexei Ratmansky the following week, to finish their season. 
• The Ballet Festival at the Joyce is being held between today (June 26th) through July 7th
• There are some pretty big names headlining this festival like two former Miami City Ballet principals (Carlos Guerra and Jennifer Kronenberg) bringing new works, Joshua Beamish's ensemble MOVETHECOMPANY, and the Ashely Bouder Project founded by Ashley Bouder herself featuring themes of diversity and feminism. I personally love the intimate space that is the Joyce, and might attend a few of these performances myself. 
• Dorrance Dance, founded by Michelle Dorrance
• This group of hoofers, will be performing on June 28th for a FREE outdoor show at the Prospect Park Bandshell. I know she is a tapper and not a ballet dancer, but she has risen to fame and notoriety through the Vail Dance Festival, and has famously worked with huge ballet names like Tiler Peck. It's too good to pass up.

If none of those dates work for you, here are some films that you can pull up on Netflix or iTunes (or maybe even on an airplane):

• Ballet 422
• Since Justin Peck just won a Tony award for his choreography in the revival of Carousel on Broadway (which is also a good show to see), I thought it fitting to recommend this documentary featuring a behind the scenes glimpse into his creation of New York City Ballet's 422nd ballet. 
• Wendy Whelan: Restless Creature
• This film follows Wendy Whelan in her final days as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. It also chronicles her struggle with hip surgery and rehabilitation. On a more personal note, I cried multiple times throughout the film. It is both inspiring and a little sad. I also hear it's featured as one of Delta's in flight movies, so you can watch it on your way to vacation or summer programs. 
• Misty Copeland's A Ballerina's Tale
• This is another must see documentary that follows Misty's struggle with injury and also her plight as a female black ballet dancer. I personally haven't seen it, but it is on my summer to do list.
• Center Stage
• Because this movie is the greatest and never needs an introduction and should be watched at least once a year. 

Finally here are some recent ballet books I have been reading or will read this summer:

• Dancing on My Grave
• As I mentioned in a previous post, I finally read Gelsey Kirkland's autobiography. You can find everything in this book, from gossip about former famous principal dancers to her struggle with eating disorders and drugs. It is a cautionary tale, and also a fabulous beach read. 
• Any book by Lincoln Kirstein
• Stop now if you want an easy read, because you are not going to find it with this author. As one of the forefathers of ballet in America, Lincoln has an extreme wealth of knowledge due to his obsession with this fine art, and his privileged upbringing. It took me forever to get through one of his books, because I had to look up almost every art reference, but I feel better for it. 
• Brenda Dixon Gottschild's The Black Dancing Body
• This book is on my current reading list. She is one of the leading experts in the African American presence in European concert dance culture. It is a necessary read for anybody in the ballet world, because we need to enter into this dialogue with her and with others in our field about diversity and inclusion in the ballet world. 

Well I think that is enough for now, looks like we are going to have our hands full this summer. I know I personally will be doing a few of these things on this list, but I hope you all do too. 

Top Ten Ballet Instagram Accounts

Ok so, there are about a million ballet Instagram handles out there. Or at least it seems that way. I should know, as a ballet dancer myself, my explore page is full of them. From prima ballerinas to wanna be students, you can easily fill up your Instagram feeds with images of long legged ballerinas and turning video after turning video after turning video.  

The problem is, with so many people to choose from it is hard to select specific people to follow. I personally like to follow dancers or ex-dancers that like to share behind the scenes information and also show a bit about their well-rounded personal lives.

I like to get to know a person before I follow them. Call me old fashioned, but that is just how I feel. I also like to laugh and learn from the people I follow. That is why I created this list. You can easily stumble upon beautiful photos of self promotion. If that is what you are looking for I can create a list of those too. But this list is comprised of my top ten favorite ballet Instagram accounts for the reasons provided below:

1. Ballet Moods (@balletmoods): This might be every professional dancer's favorite Instagram account. It is full of memes highlighting the ups and downs of company life. They have 40.3K followers and even have some cool t-shirts with their best memes for purchase. This account is also popular because there was a mystery surrounding who actually owned the account. My theory is that it is a male dancer from the Joffrey Ballet. 
2. Kurt Froman (@kurtfroman): Kurt Froman is a former dancer with the New York City Ballet and current dance and movement coach for films. The most recent film he worked on was Red Sparrow coaching Jennifer Lawrence. I love this account because he shows behind the scenes photos and videos from his current film projects. Also his account is full of archival videos of both New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater. I don't know how he has access to all of these rare videos, but I couldn't be happier that he decided to share them with us. 
3. Biscuit Ballerina (@biscuitballerina): This account is run by Shelby Williams, a soloist with Royal Ballet of Flanders. She is actually an incredible dancer and you can see that by checking out her personal account (@shelbybiscuitlife). However, she is also fantastic at making herself look like a truly terrible dancer. Her biscuit ballerina character is hilarious. This persona boasts about her skills onstage but the videos show her in all of her biscuit glory. This is a must see to believe kind of Instagram account. 
4. Michaela DePrince (@michaeladeprince): Michaela was born with vitiligo in Sierra Leone, where both her parents died during the civil war. She discovered ballet by picking up a dirty magazine caught in the wind near her orphanage. She was later adopted and placed into ballet, and is now a soloist with Dutch National Ballet. Her Instagram is full of inspiration and encouragement for ballerinas everywhere.  
5. Isabella Boylston (@isabellaboylston): Isabella is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater. Her account is comprised of gorgeous photos of her stunning ballet bod along with a lot of behind the scenes shots of her preparing for future roles. She recently started a book club, which I love. Yes, ballet dancers read! My favorite thing about her account is her friendship with James Whiteside, number six on this list. 
6. James Whiteside (@jamesbwhiteside): James is also a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater and friends with Isabella (they call themselves the Cindies, it's super cute). My favorite thing about James' account is that he moonlights as a drag queen and isn't afraid to push gender boundaries. He is also currently dating Milk who was a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race. 
7. Paul Solari (@pauliosovari): Since my favorite dancer/photographer account is no longer active (@dalberda), I selected Paul to be number seven on this list. His account is full of behind the scenes shots of the Staatsballett Berlin. Most of the artistic photos are black and white closeups of dancer feet and tutus. They beautifully show both the artistic and the athletic side of ballet. 
8. Steven McRae (@stevenmcrae_): Not only is Steven a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, he is also a doting husband and father of two. His page is full of ballet, fitness, and fatherhood. He beautifully documents the joy of being a father. He is also currently showing his recovery from his injury, which is inspirational to me because I am also currently recovering from injury. 
9. Ashley Bouder (@ashleybouder): Since we have a ballet dad, we should also have a ballet mom! Ashely Bouder is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Her page is full of ballet shots, politically charged posts, and adorable photos and videos of her daughter Violet Storm. My favorite videos are the ones of Ashley getting ready for a show with Violet sitting on her lap. This is one ballet mom that proves she can do it all. 
10. Jenelle Manzi (@jenellemanzi): Jenelle is also a dancer with the New York City Ballet. However, what I like most about her page are the recipes she posts. Jenelle bakes everything with natural, energizing, and indulgent ingredients. After years of dealing with food allergies, she has created recipes that help her body get through a difficult work day, but also taste amazing. I would know, I have personally tasted a few of her treats!

There are many other ballet Instagram accounts out there that I love, but the list above is comprised of just my top ten, with my favorite definitely being Ballet Moods. This list contains a little bit of everything, and I made sure to add in something for everybody. The point here, is that ballet dancers are more than just ballet dancers. We have other interests like books, philanthropy, feminism, healthy eating, and even drag. I find it refreshing to see ballet dancers as well rounded human beings. 

Follows these dancers and let me know what you think!   

#SweatBeauty

So let's talk Wikipedia... don't fret this will be ballet related, I promise.

Wikipedia is an extremely useful tool when you need to look up something really fast. Mostly, because it is usually the first thing that pops up as a search result. Just yesterday I ended up on Wikipedia because I was googling Gelsey Kirkland. I just finished her out-of-print autobiography, Dancing on My Grave, and I wanted to find out what she has been up to. That is the benefit of Wikipedia, the information is up to date because any one person can edit at any point in time. Also why it is sometimes unreliable. But, I digress.  

The Wikipedia entry on Ms. Kirkland led me down the rabbit hole (as most wiki searches do) and I found myself bouncing from page to page dedicated to educating the masses about the world of ballet. This is when I happened across the PUMA Wikipedia page (devoted to the athletic brand not the jungle cat). 

I was interested in this page because PUMA for the past two years has been the major athletic sponsor of the New York City Ballet. We even used their ath-leisure wear in our most recent 2018/2019 season campaign. I ended up on their Wikipedia page, because I was hoping to see the name of my company next to the names of the celebrities that PUMA also sponsors. 

However, I was extremely disappointed. I didn't see our name anywhere! This corporate agreement has been contracted for two years already. On top of that, various women's collections have been designed in our name and image for the women who are looking for a ballet inspired gym look. 

I am proud of this collaboration, but also sad to see that it wasn't mainstream enough to make it on the brand's Wikipedia page. So, I took it upon myself to remedy that. 

Below is the last paragraph under the sponsorship headline on PUMA's Wikipedia page:

In order to support its women’s business, PUMA endorses supermodel Cara Delevingne and actress Selena Gomez.^[19][20] In December 2014, Rihanna was also named Creative Director, overseeing direction of the womenswear line.^[21] Puma is now also a proud sponsor of the Korean boy band, BTS, as of February 28, 2018, they are now one of Puma's many global ambassadors due to the band's major rise in fame. Singers The Weeknd and Big Sean are also brand ambassadors, having created their own collections.^[1][2]

Those are some big names! I decided to add my excerpt after these celebrity names to draw even more attention to the collaboration between PUMA and the New York City Ballet. I also kept it as short as possible so readers would take the time to glance at my submission. Below is my contribution:

To expand their horizons even further, PUMA began sponsoring a major internationally known ballet company, The New York City Ballet.[1] The two year sponsorship agreement began between the companies in 2016. In spring/summer of 2017, their first collaborative collection the Swan Pack arrived on the scene. Since then, further collaborations have ensued, including New York City Ballet's most recent advertising campaign #SweatBeauty. This campaign is based on the famous quote by George Balanchine (the company's founder), "First comes the sweat. Then comes the beauty." 

I have to say that I am quite proud of my first Wikipedia edit. Hopefully, this will help the collaboration become more mainstream. Click this link to see it live. 

Review: ABT's New Harlequinade

American Ballet Theater’s new Harlequinade was a feast for all senses. The costumes, the music, the dancers, and the choreography all worked together to create a stunning performance at the Metropolitan Opera House on Friday, June 8th at 8pm. Alexei Ratmansky has done it once again.

With the help of his wife Tatiana, Alexei Ratmansky has been reconstructing different ballets by Marius Petipa using Stepanov notation found at the library at Harvard. Last time it was Sleeping Beauty, powdered wigs and all. This time it was Petipa’s famous commedia dell’arte, Harlequinade. 

This was an odd choice of ballet by Mr. Ratmansky as noted by Brian Seibert, a critic from the New York Times. Mostly, because Harlequinade isn’t your typical story ballet. It is not as familiar as Sleeping Beauty, probably because the story hasn’t been Disneyfied. Also, there are only two other versions currently done in the world, and one is often danced right across the plaza by the New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theater. 

However, Ratmansky has a talent for breathing new life into a dated story. One of his strong suits is his comedic timing evident in almost every ballet he does. Even though this was a reconstructed work by another choreographer, you could still find some of Ratmansky’s unique humor throughout the evening. 

One particular section that had the audience rolling, was when Léandre (the heroine Columbine’s wealthy suitor) showed up with his two lackeys to serenade Columbine with his poor singing. Keith Roberts played this role with aplomb and his two lackeys, played by Carlos Gonzalez and Luis Ribagorda, were the perfect goading sidekicks.   

Another highlight was Ms. Sarah Lane, the true star of the evening. Sarah played Columbine with grace and ease even while she was dancing the most difficult choreography compared to her costars. During one of her variations she had to do rotating hops on pointe while also performing a grand rond de jambe with her leg. It was extremely impressive and had both my guest and I grabbing each other with excitement.  

My only qualm with Ms. Lane, was that her shoes were very loud. It was distracting as an audience member. After watching her hop en pointe throughout the ballet, I understood why she needed those hard shoes, but I wish that next time she performs she could take some time to bang her shoes against the wall. A technique often used by ballerinas so their pointe shoes don’t make so much noise.  

After reviewing the performance, I believe that this ballet is a must see for theatergoers in New York City. It might not be the best ballet for ABT's Met season audience (there wasn't much applause at the end of the ballet) but if you are a fan of commedia dell'arte, Harlequinade will keep you laughing in your seat. Sometimes it is nice to go to the ballet and laugh instead of cry. 

Dress Code for Theatergoers

Proper dress to both the ballet and other types of theater is seriously in decline. I attended the ballet the other evening (review to come this week) and was appalled by what some people were wearing to the ballet. Even my date, I won't mention his name here because he admitted that he was embarrassed by his dress, wore blue jeans to attend the performance at the Metropolitan Opera House this past Friday evening.

In his defense, he lives in Brooklyn and spent the whole day up until the time of the performance on the Upper West Side, with no time to go home and change. However, in my opinion he could have planned ahead knowing that we were going to attempt to buy student rush tickets that evening. It was a temporary lapse in judgement for him, but it brought my attention to the other ballet goers around me. 

Only the balletomanes (ballet enthusiasts) were properly dressed, most others were wearing some ghastly outfits. Now, I am not by any means suggesting that you should wear a ball gown or a tux to the ballet (even though there is a time and a place for such a thing), but I am suggesting that the art form be honored with respect and a little extra effort towards flair and elegance.  

I believe that ripped jeans, flip flops, sweats, ath-leisure wear and most shorts (for men) are unacceptable forms of dress, especially for an evening performance. Also, because most theaters blast the air conditioning it would be advisable not to wear shorts and flip flops anyway to stave off the frostbite.  Also, hats are most unwelcome, mainly because they obstruct the view of fellow audience members in your vicinity. And, while we are briefly on the topic of obstructed views, I would also like to recommend that women try not to wear their hair so high, so that the people behind them can see. Beehives are most definitely NOT a good idea. Luckily, they are not in style during this era, even though some older ladies still rock it.

I suggest that when in doubt you should over dress especially in New York City. Suits for men are always welcome, but nice pants and and nice shirt also do the trick. Ties and jackets are not necessary especially during the summer months. Dresses or nice pants and a top are a great option for women.  As long as you stay away from the items listed above or anything too casual you should be ok.

The ballet should be treated as a special occasion to dress up for. You wouldn't wear flip flops and jean shorts to a club. Would you? I know certain clubs and lounges wouldn't even let you in if you did. You should feel comfortable attending any performance but you should also make sure that you do it in style.

Ballet Oscars

Let us bathe in the most glamourous night of the ballet world…

When you think of flashing lights, gorgeous designer gowns, and a red carpet, what comes to mind?  For me, it is the glitz and glamour of an award show.  More specifically the most prestigious award show, the Oscars. The ballet world has their own version of the Oscars and they just happened last weekend at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on June 5^thand 6^th.

In case you are not up to date with your ballet news, this affair is a two day event that begins on night one, with the awards ceremony and performances by certain nominees, followed by celebratory tribute performances the second evening. Artists always try to top themselves, and dancers are no exception to the rule. Therefore, one night is not enough for the most prestigious awards show, which honors the most notable choreography, choreographers, composers, designers and dancers every year. Other award platforms, like the Youth American Grand Prix competition circuit, also have more than one night of performances to celebrate their special occasions.   

During the first night of the Benois de la Danse, the awards were handed out to the winners of each category. The second evening followed up with a tribute to choreographer Marius Petipa. This year’s laureates (winners) were chosen by a panel of judges comprised of former award winners, cherished choreographers, ballet stars, and leaders of the most prominent companies all over the globe. The 2018 panel included Juri Grigorovich (President of the jury), Eleonora Abbaganto, Samuel Wuersten, Nicolas Le Riche, David Mccallister, Tamara Rojo, Boris Eifman, and Nora Esteves. Just like the Oscars, it is a privilege just to be nominated, but there can only be one winner for each category. The categories are lifetime achievement, choreographer, female dancer, male dancer, composer, and designer.    

The lifetime achievement award was given to Natalia Makarova. No surprise here, Makarova defected from Russia during the Soviet era to pursue ballet stardom in the United States. She has already received a Kennedy Center Honor, which is an extremely high status symbol to win in the United States. Maybe the Russians delayed awarding her this prestigious honor because of her defection so long ago? Best choreographer was awarded to Deborah Colker for her piece “Dog Without Feathers,” with her namesake company and Yuri Possokhov for his piece “Nureyev,” with the Bolshoi Ballet. Sae Eun Park was awarded best female dancer because of her interpretation of the leading part in George Balanchine’s Diamonds, with Paris Opera Ballet. Both Vladislav Lantratov and Isaac Hernandez were awarded best male dancer. Vladislav for his interpretation of Nureyev with the Bolshoi Ballet and Isaac for his dancing in both Don Quixote and La Sylphide.  Ilya Demutsky was chosen as best composer and Kirill Serebrennikov for best designer, both for their work with Nureyev. 

Nureyev is the clear winner of the Benois de la Danse this year. Due to the controversial nature of the story, it is surprising the ballet made it to the stage in the first place. One of the highlights reported from the event was that Maria Kotchetkova performed the first evening in an original Chloé design during a new world premiere by David Dawson. Kotchetkova, known for her crazy street style, never ceases to entertain us with her new and daring fashion choices. 

All in all, this year's awards proved to be all the glitz and glamour that everybody expected. Hopefully 2018-19 brings even more drama and controversy to the stage.  I know I personally look forward to next year's new boundary pushing work worthy of a Benois.  

And a 5, 6, 7, 8!

Hello all and welcome to my blog!

My name is Kristen Segin and I am a corps de ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet. The New York City Ballet is one of the top tier ballet companies in the United States and all over the world. Our founding choreographers were George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins and our repertory includes works by many famous choreographers including Alexi Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, and our resident choreographer Justin Peck. I adore dancing with this company, because we are in the forefront of new developments within the world of ballet, and we are not afraid to push existing boundaries. 

With this blog, I hope to use my unique knowledge of this world to break old ballet stereotypes (the tiara and pink tutu) and open your minds to a new way of thinking about this crazy, glamorous art form. We will discuss trending choreographers, ballerina influencers, diversity of the art form, performance reviews, the ath-leisure trend, fashion house designers, stage makeup and other topics of the like. I hope to use my unique perspective as a dancer in this world to keep you constantly informed and en pointe (I am so sorry for the ballet pun, but I couldn't help myself).  Please join in the discussion!