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It was in the artistic milieu of Greenwich Village that Modern Dance icon Martha Graham met Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), the Japanese-American sculptor who would become her longtime collaborator. Read on to find out more.
Television keeps trying to bottle the world of ballet, and most attempts slip through the frame. In this article, TWoA looks at Étoile and why a series filled with extraordinary dancers still couldn’t capture movement, risk, or the pulse that keeps artists glued to old rehearsal clips. Read on for a clear look at what televised dance needs—and why so few shows manage it.
Balancing a dance career with an academic degree sounds impossible until you hear Anastasia Cheplyansky explain how she did both. In this article, TWoA looks at her path from Atlanta Ballet to Dutch National Ballet, and how studying psychology reshaped her approach to training, pressure, and performance.
As the school year begins, reading lists shift from summer novels to the books that shape a creative life. In this article, TWoA highlights three essential titles—Allegra Kent’s memoir, Twyla Tharp’s creative guide, and The Swans of Harlem—each revealing what it really takes to build a career in dance and the arts.
Rudolf Nureyev’s tenure at the Paris Opera Ballet didn’t just add new ballets to the repertoire—it transformed the company’s technique, taste, and identity. Read more to see how his directorship reshaped French classicism, expanded the repertory, and forged a generation of dancers who still define the company today.
For many years, Zenaida Yanowsky was one of The Royal Ballet’s most singular principals—rigorous, magnetic, impossible to forget. Now a coach shaping dancers across major companies, she speaks with TWoA about precision, presence, and the quiet authority behind great performance. Read on.
August Bournonville’s choreography gave Denmark a ballet identity of its own: rounded arms, delicately musical footwork, and allegro that seems to float rather than land. Learn how this nineteenth-century master shaped a national style that remains unmistakable on stages today.
In the fashion world, pointe shoes have been having a moment. But pointe shoes are anything but a recent phenomenon; despite their current aesthetic popularity, their origins date back as early as the 1730s.
Josephine Baker (1906-1975), an icon of the Jazz Age, was a woman of many talents. In addition to being a groundbreaking dancer, singer, and actress—even being the first Black woman to star in a motion picture—Baker was a World War II spy and a civil rights activist.
Paris Opera Ballet’s Chun-Wing Lam is probably the only dancer in the world to combine a successful dance career with running his own wealth management firm. TWoA talked to Chun about moving from Hong Kong to Paris when he was fourteen, about the unique promotion system at the Paris Opera Ballet, and about the artistic and mental benefits of having two careers at the same time.
Perhaps you notice patterns within yourself that stir as the winter colours into spring or the summer burns into autumn. Russian avant-garde composer Igor Stravinsky captures this most masterfully in The Rite of Spring.
Choreographer spotlight on Jean-Christophe Maillot of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo! His choreography appears so naturalistic on his dancers, it seems to flow from the soul onto the stage…it’s tough to think of anything better than that.
Renowned for his energetic footwork and playful musicality, Justin Peck has forged an incredibly prolific career as New York City Ballet’s Resident Choreographer. Peck began his choreographic journey in 2005 as a student at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s affiliated ballet school, and now twenty years later, he has produced over 50 ballets.
Chloe Helimets, 15, is one of eighty-six dancers selected to compete at this year’s Prix de Lausanne taking place from 2 to 9 February 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland. TWoA talked to Chloe about growing up in a ballet family, her ballet journey, and about the best way to approach competitions.
Fedor Dostoevsky’s dark psychological novel Crime and Punishment is a masterpiece of world literature. Last autumn, you could find it in the dance bags of many dancers at American Ballet Theatre: choreographer Helen Pickett and co-director James Bonas were turning the book into a ballet for American Ballet Theatre. The company will perform the production at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ins Washington on 12-16 February 2025. TWoA talked to ABT dancer Joseph Markey, who created the part of Luzhin, and who will have his debut as Raskolnikov in Washington.
Curling up and watching a movie during the cold winter months is one of the best ways to unwind. For those who wish to continue to learn and indulge in dance while recuperating from stressors like Nutcracker performances or final exams, check out some of these beautiful dance films.
There are some performances that stick with you. Paloma Livellara Vidart’s interpretation of Christopher Wheeldon’s “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” at the Prix de Lausanne 2024 is one of those. TWoA talked to the Prix de Lausanne 2024 prize winner about her dance journey from Buenos Aires to Monaco and about her first couple of weeks at New York’s ABT Studio Company. Get ready for some deeply personal insights.
From 25 September 2024 until 9 February 2025, Edges of Ailey will inhabit the entirety of the 18,000 square-foot fifth floor of Manhattan’s Whitney Museum. It is the first commemoration of this size and breadth of choreographer and director Alvin Ailey, celebrating the many themes Ailey grappled with in launching a dance company that sought to center Blackness as a gift in the concert dance world.
Have you ever had a dream that made you realize something about your subconscious? What if you found out that many movie musicals of the 1950s actually expressed those dreams through dance?
Scared of fouettés? Here is the person you should blame: Pierina Legnani.
The dance world is mourning the sudden death of Michaela Mabinty DePrince at the age of 29. Michaela was born in Sierra Leone in the middle of a brutal civil war. By the time she was three, she was a war orphan. Michaela was adopted by Charles and Elaine DePrince and raised in America. She has been an inspiration to many, as a dancer, as an ambassador for black representation in ballet, and as an advocate for children affected by conflict and violence. Read our tribute.
Are you planning to compete at a ballet competition this school year? Choosing the right variation is a key condition for success. What principles should guide your choice? TWoA talked to Inna Bayer, artistic director of Bayer Ballet Academy, and one of her students, Crystal Huang, prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne 2024, the Youth America Grand Prix 2024, 2024 YoungArts (Dance/Ballet) and of the Grand Prix at the 2024 South Africa International Ballet Competition.
Crystal Huang, 15, is having a remarkable year. Until about two years ago, Crystal was training in commercial dancing. In 2024, Crystal became a prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne, one of the most prestigious international ballet competitions. She is also a prize winner at the Youth America Grand Prix 2024, 2024 YoungArts (Dance/Ballet) and of the Grand Prix at the 2024 South Africa International Ballet Competition. TWoA talked to Crystal about her unusual dance journey, gathering some valuable tips on how to succeed at competitions.
In ballet, the present recalls the past. Knowledge is passed down and repertoire is preserved through memory. Combine the past and the present in a game I’d like to call “New York City Ballet - Dancer Doppelgangers”!
A butterfly. A petal unfolding. A dazzling prism. A snowflake. American dancer and choreographer Loïe Fuller (1862-1928) was able to evoke each of those images during her swirling, spiraling Serpentine Dance. Meet Taylor Swift’s Muse.
In the lavish world of the Ancien Régime (France before the 1789 Revolution), dance was considered to be just as important as music, literature and the visual arts. This was, in part, down to one man’s tastes. Beyond his role as the divinely ordained ruler of France—an “absolute” monarch—Louis XIV (1638-1713) was also a prolific dancer.
Yuka Iwai is a principal soloist with K-Ballet Tokyo. Two weeks before K-Ballet’s recent revival of Giselle, she found out that she would step in for an injured dancer and dance Giselle at the production’s opening night. TWoA talked to Yuka about the special challenge of learning a principal role in two weeks.
Martha Graham (1894-1991) was a trailblazing American modern dancer and choreographer. She told powerful stories through dance. Strong women were at the centre of her work, from the heroines of Greek myths to the female pioneers of the American frontier.
Agrippina Vaganova, the woman behind the world-famous ballet method, almost faced arrest under Stalin’s regime. Read how she survived a political crackdown that targeted many artists of her time.