Ballet News | Straight from the stage – bringing you ballet insights

Cupcakes & Conversation with Sasha De Sola, Soloist, San Francisco Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? My husband Josh! He is always there to love and encourage me and I am so grateful for that. I am also motivated by the prospect of working on any of the ballets that [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with William Newton, Corps de Ballet, Houston Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? All the roles I would love to have the opportunity to perform one day…are one of the few things that can persuade me to get up at 8am. Regrettably, I am not a morning person. [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Fanny Gorse, Coryphée, Opéra national de Paris What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? Monday morning, I need a latte and some music on my way to the Opéra. Then I find my best friend Allister at the same place at the barre and the week can start! [...]

Cucpakes & Conversation with Erin Pritchard, Corps de Ballet, Tulsa Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? Definitely a nice cup of coffee On Mondays, I feel like it’s a fresh start to a new week. I always try to give myself a goal for the week. For example, it could [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Gillian Murphy, Guest Artist with Royal New Zealand Ballet & Principal with American Ballet Theatre Gillian will next star as Giselle in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of Giselle, co-choreographed by Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg. (7 November – 12 December)   How have you settled into life in New [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Igone De Jongh, Principal, Het Nationale Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? What motivates me in the morning is my 2 year old son! He usually wakes up at around 8 am and then we have breakfast all together with my husband and then the nanny [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation | looking at the stats It’s that time of year when it’s possible to take a bit of time to analyse the business and in particular, today, I wanted to highlight the immensely popular Cupcakes & Conversation interview series, which has been running since 2009. Looking at the breakdown of how many interviewees [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Kelly Myernick, First Soloist, Houston Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? I am motivated by the guilt that my husband Kyle has already been awake and at work for two hours! Why ballet? I met a surfer recently who, when I basically asked him, “why surfing?” replied, [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Aria Alekzander, Corps de Ballet, Houston Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? It sounds cheesy, but I try and set aside some time to myself each morning to be grateful. Listening to music while I get ready and thinking of a few things in my life that [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation … There are now four volumes of my interview series with professional ballet dancers called Cupcakes & Conversation with ..  From the back cover : “The grit and the glamour; your backstage pass into ballet.” It doesn’t matter whether you are new to ballet, a teacher, dancer or someone who just loves ballet, there is [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Sarah Van Patten, Principal, San Francisco Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? If Monday is the start of a new ballet then it’s always exciting to see what will be created. I love seeing what can evolve from nothing. I’m also always excited, not only by the [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Mireille Hassenboehler, Principal, Houston Ballet  What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? My son rises at 6:30!!! Seeing his sweet smiling face gets me going. When he is up and ready to go so must I. Why ballet? Can’t imagine life without it.  Placing my hand on the ballet [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Clare Morehen, Principal, Queensland Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday Morning? Routine. I am a routine driven person, which kicks in the second my alarm goes off at 7am on Monday morning. The thought of coffee initially gets my dazed body out of bed. Then it’s off to [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Meaghan Grace Hinkis, First Artist, The Royal Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? Eight am on a Monday morning, I am usually really looking forward to learning some new and exciting rep. The Royal Ballet has such a diverse repertory and each week we typically begin rehearsals for [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Chinatsu Owada, Alabama Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning? To remind myself that I have my body to dance and that I have supportive family who understand me living with my dream job makes me feel thankful and motivated. It makes me think “Let’s enjoy dancing while [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Andile Ndlovu, The Washington Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? Nothing really motivates me on a Monday.  I do not like Mondays as it is the first day of the week. Why ballet ? I do ballet because it is not a stereotypical activity that people [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Angela Malan, Senior Principal dancer, Ballet Mistress and Coach, South African Ballet Theatre  What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? I am motivated by the constant, yet unobtainable strive for perfection! Why ballet ? Ballet is the only thing that feeds all I need: my soul, my body, [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Piotr Stanczyk, Principal, National Ballet of Canada Piotr will dance the title role in Hamlet, which makes its North American premiere on June 1 in Toronto, Canada at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. He will also perform in Chroma by Wayne McGregor, June 13 to 17, 2012.   [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Julie Diana, Principal Dancer, Pennsylvania Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? A cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee with French Vanilla Coffeemate. Why ballet ? I initially wanted to be an Olympic gymnast, but I was scared of everything but the floor routine (and my tumbling wasn’t terrific). [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Amy Aldridge, Principal, Pennsylvania Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ?   Ballet class on Monday morning is how I’ve started my week since I was 15 years old. It has become equivalent to morning coffee for me. When I’m not dancing on the weekend I relax, [...]