Pop Culture

Dancers & Dogs Teamed Up With a Local Animal Shelter for the “Muttcracker”


The holiday season is coming our way, and with it good cheer, a giving spirit and, of course, The Nutcracker. Our favorite photography duo, Dancers & Dogs, has found a way to garner that energy for a good cause: pet adoption.

A ballerina in a red and black lace costume holds a leash attached to a dog in a wheelchair apparatus.
Pratt + Kreidich Photography, Courtesy Dancers & Dogs

Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich, the St. Louis–based husband-and-wife team behind the popular photography project, have collaborated with Saint Louis Ballet and Stray Rescue of St. Louis for the second year in a row for what they’ve termed “Muttcracker.”

“Since the beginning of Dancers & Dogs, people have really wanted us to incorporate dogs that are up for adoption,” says Pratt. “We have a really strong relationship with Saint Louis Ballet, so we asked if they’d be comfortable wearing Nutcracker costumes to help get these dogs adopted in a new, fun and interesting way.”

Not only was this project the perfect way for Saint Louis Ballet to promote its Nutcracker, but it was a great fit for Stray Rescue as well. As the largest no-kill organization in the greater St. Louis area, it’s focused on saving pets that have been abused and neglected.

“They were really excited about showing their dogs in a positive way,” says Pratt.

A dancer dressed in a rat costume holds a small, blind dog.
Pratt + Kreidich Photography, Courtesy Dancers & Dogs

In choosing which pets would get their moment in the limelight, Stray Rescue picked some that already been given visibility on Instagram, and others that have had a harder time finding adoptive homes, like the elderly, blind chihuahua pictured with the Rat King above.

But working with rescue dogs that are largely untrained comes with a whole new set of challenges. “With ‘Muttcracker’ we’re keeping things really simple,” says Pratt. “We have the dancers do simple moves, or just sit and interact with them. These dogs have never seen anything like this before.”

Three ballerinas in Nutcracker costumes hold kittens in front of a pink background.
Pratt + Kreidich Photography, Courtesy Dancers & Dogs

Last year, all of the dogs that Pratt and Kreidich shot were adopted within two months of being featured. This year they worked with even more pups, as well as three kittens, but the team is hopeful that all of these animals will find new families in time for the holidays. Will any of the dancers they were photographed with end up taking a pet home?

“I don’t think so,” says Pratt, “But they really, really want to.”

On November 19, Pratt and Kreidich release
Dancers & Dogs, The Book
, their brand new coffee table photo book. A percentage of the proceeds will go to Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
Pointe magazine is giving away two copies to readers. Click here to enter!

The post Dancers & Dogs Teamed Up With a Local Animal Shelter for the “Muttcracker” appeared first on Dance Magazine.

A John Wick Spin-Off Centered on a Ballerina-Turned-Assassin Is Happening

When New York City Ballet soloist Unity Phelan appeared as a ballerina training to become an assassin in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum earlier this year, it could have easily been a one-off. This particular backstory has become prevalent at the movies over the last few years—take Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Red Sparrow and Natasha Romanov, aka Black Widow, of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though it’s become its own trope, it’s also been dealt with in a fairly cursory manner.

But we had an inkling that this might not be the last we heard of the idea in the John Wick franchise—and it seems our suspicions that Parabellum was testing the waters for a female-led, ballet-infused spin-off were correct.

A thin white woman in pointe shoes and a white leotard and skirt ensemble balances en pointe in second position. Her arms are at her side, elbows pulled back, and her head is dropped to look at the floor in front of her. Dark, intricate tattoos are visible across her back, above the edge of the scoop-back leotard. Beyond the stage, the red seats of an opulent theater are empty, save for a figure seated at a table midway in the orchestra.
Unity Phelan in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.Niko Tavernise, Courtesy Lionsgate

According to

Deadline, a project set in the same universe, tentatively titled Ballerina, now has a director: Len Wiseman, who got his start with the Underworld series in the early 2000s. The script is being penned by Shay Hatten (who wrote Parabellum), based on a concept optioned by Lionsgate in 2017 that sees a young woman trained as both a ballerina and an assassin seek revenge against the people who killed her family. (For those unaware, that’s a trope with which the John Wick franchise is quite familiar.)

While there’s no word yet on a potential release window (the fourth installment in the Keanu Reeves–led franchise is due in 2021), the fact that there is already a director involved means that this movie is really happening.

Casting is unknown at this point, though Parabellum did lay the groundwork for Anjelica Huston to reprise her role as The Director—the woman behind the program that turns young ballerinas into femme fatales (à la the Red Room in Marvel lore, which we’ll hopefully be seeing more of in next year’s Black Widow solo film). Less clear is whether Phelan will be in the running to turn her cameo into a starring role. Hollywood has a history of leaning on dance doubles to stand in for established actresses, but we have to say we love the idea of seeing an actual dancer take the lead. True, it’s likely that any dance sequences will be as perfunctory as they usually are in action flicks, but just imagine what that kind of facility could bring to the franchise’s already over-the-top fight sequences.

The post A John Wick Spin-Off Centered on a Ballerina-Turned-Assassin Is Happening appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Our Fave Red Carpet and Behind-the-Scenes Shots From New York City Ballet’s 2019 Fall Fashion Gala

New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala always gives us a chance to admire the dancers at their most glamorous, and this year was no exception. From premieres of new works by Lauren Lovette (paired with designer Zac Posen) and Edwaard Liang (with Anna Sui), to a sparkling rendition of Balanchine’s Symphony in C, to a star-studded red carpet and reception, we had plenty to swoon over, both onstage and off.

Sarah Jessica Parker, the mastermind behind this annual event, was pretty in pink on the red carpet—and Zac Posen, who designed costumes for Lauren Lovette’s The Shaded Line, cleaned up quite nicely as well.

Associate artistic director Wendy Whelan looked elegant (as always) in Chanel.

Choreographer and principal dancer Lauren Lovette got another Fall Fashion Gala premiere under her belt, and then SLAYED in this red Zac Posen number.

It was all a bit of a blur for former principal Robbie Fairchild, who came to support his sister, Megan Fairchild…

When Edwaard Liang joined the cast of his new ballet, Lineage, for curtain calls, Maria Kowroski greeted him with a massive hug that gave us all the warm fuzzies…

…and then they found one another at the post-performance reception (with Kowroski dressed in more Anna Sui, naturally).

Post-performance Indiana Woodward is an entire mood, and perfectly captured how we felt at the end of the whirlwind evening.

The post Our Fave Red Carpet and Behind-the-Scenes Shots From New York City Ballet’s 2019 Fall Fashion Gala appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Emma Portner Shines in This Apple Watch Promo

Tucked into an almost two-hour Apple announcement video is pure dance gold: a promo for the newest version of the Apple Watch featuring none other than the trailblazing jack-of-all-styles herself, Emma Portner.

Honestly, Portner’s electric, effortless grooving could sell ice to an eskimo. But the Apple Watch is also fitting.

(From Lauren and Chris Grant to FKA twigs, snaps to Apple for continuing their streak of using super-talented performers in their campaigns.)

Check out Portner below!

View this post on Instagram


Alright yeah this is crazy @apple

A post shared by Emma Portner (@emmaportner) on Sep 10, 2019 at 9:44pm PDT

The post Emma Portner Shines in This Apple Watch Promo appeared first on Dance Magazine.

10 Times Our Fave Ballet Dancers Made Turning Actually Look Easy

At this point, you’d think we’d all be used to the level of technical absurdity Daniil Simkin achieves when he’s playing around in the studio. But then he did this:

…and now we’re low-key appalled in the absolute best way.

After we picked our jaws up from the floor, we were inspired to dig up clips of some of our other favorite dancers turning like it’s no big deal. Here are just a few standouts.

Derek Dunn’s en dehors pirouettes in back attitude are okay, we guess.

Going from triple fouettés to pulling in for six is just another day at the office for Isabella Boylston.

Maria Kochetkova makes the deceptively simple arabesque turns from the Kingdom of the Shades act look like, well, a dream.

An oldie but a goodie: Ashley Bouder was still knocking out super clean fouetté turns while very pregnant.

In case you were worried, Aran Bell didn’t lose his mad turning chops between his “First Position” days and now.

When you’re Daniel Ulbricht, you celebrate making it through airport security with quad pirouettes.

All hail Queen Marianela Nuñez, who could probably have a nice cup of afternoon tea while nailing the Black Swan variation.

Honestly, we’ve never seen a video of Gillian Murphy turning that we didn’t love.

If we accidentally did 11 pirouettes, we’d probably react just like Adiarys Almeida does here.

The post 10 Times Our Fave Ballet Dancers Made Turning Actually Look Easy appeared first on Dance Magazine.

The Greatest Dance Movies of All Time, According to the Dance Magazine Staff

Seventy one years ago today, a new movie hit theaters: The Red Shoes. For a certain generation of dancers, this was the movie—the one that initially inspired them to step inside the studio.

For others, it was the first film they ever saw that finally “got” them. When Moira Shearer’s character Victoria Page answers the question “Why do you want to dance?” with the response “Why do you want to live?” she channeled the inexplicable passion of thousands who dedicate their lives to this art.

Of course, many dance movies have followed in The Red Shoes‘ footsteps. But not all are created equal. We polled some of the Dance Magazine staff to find out what they rate as the G.O.A.T. of dance movies. It turns out, there was a pretty clear favorite in the office.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)

“Well, the fact is that Girls Just Want to Have Fun *is* the best dance movie, because in it we have a heroine who defies the odds, a teenage girl who defies her father, a less than ‘it’ girl who captures not only the ‘it’ guy but in doing so, a phenomenal dance partner who wins them a spot as regulars on D (dance) TV! So it’s a female empowerment story wrapped in a contagiously fun ’80s prep/punk aesthetic. And then there’s the ode to Cyndi in the name…” —Joanna Harp, publisher/chief revenue officer

Watch It:
On YouTube, Amazon, Google Play, iTunes

The Turning Point (1977)

“Where else are you going to find Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine rubbing elbows with the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Antoinette Sibley? Loads of gorgeous dancing, a drama-filled plot that feels way more realistic than most of what we’ve seen in dance films in the 21st century (so far), and what has to be the most hilariously nightmarish scene of drunken dancing in existence. Oh, and Alexandra Danilova nearly steals the whole show without dancing a step.” —Courtney Escoyne, associate editor

Watch It:
On Cinemax

West Side Story (1961)

“Of course, it premiered on Broadway first. But this Technicolor film version totally wraps you up in the drama—mixing full-body dance shots (thank you!) with emotional close-ups, and making sharp, musical cuts from the Jets to the Sharks and back again. Plus, it gave my obsessed teenage self the chance to watch Jerome Robbins’ brilliant choreography over and over and over again. Steven Spielberg has his hands full if he’s trying to top it next year, but I can’t wait to see him give it a try.” —Jennifer Stahl, editor in chief

Watch It:
On YouTube, Amazon, Google Play, iTunes

Billy Elliot (2000)

“Everyone loves an underdog story, and this one has everything: chasing dreams, defying conventions, great acting, “electricity” and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake!” —Michael Northrop, fact checker

Watch It:
On Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play

An American in Paris (1951)

“Out of those old-school classics, this is the best. But anything that’s got Gene Kelly or Busby Berkeley or Fred Astaire involved, I’m down. I know it’s not technically dance, but I would love a redo of the gym scene in Gentleman Prefer Blondes. And I think one of my fav scenes is the modern dance scene in White Christmas that laments the move towards ‘choreography.’ Such an amazing time capsule. I love the old movies, but am looking forward to people reformatting them to better reflect modern times.” —Jennifer Roit, Dance Magazine College Guide editor

Watch It:
YouTube
, Amazon, Google Play, iTunes

Center Stage (2000)

“It’s so validating to have a dance movie that is super-mainstream and is also actually a good movie! I love how it’s almost become a cult classic over time, for dancers and nondancers alike. Plus, it introduced me to artists who I would grow to love onstage, not just onscreen, and to the funky tunes of Jamiroquai.” —Lauren Wingenroth, associate editor

“I seriously think I’ve seen the movie over 100 times and remember teaching myself all the dance scenes to get up and do during the movie.” —Suzi Schmitt, account executive

“It reminds me of summer intensives, watching with friends and trying to learn all the choreography.” —Nicole Buggé, director of marketing services

“It has the perfect combination of teenage angst and ballet drama (that’s not over-the-top à la Black Swan). Even today, it’s still such a quotable guilty pleasure, and comes with the bonus built-in layer of ‘Spot the Famous Dancer.’ Who wouldn’t want to catch glimpses of Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky and Julie Kent nearly 20 years back?” —Madeline Schrock, managing editor

Watch It:
On Sony Crackle (free!), Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play

The post The Greatest Dance Movies of All Time, According to the Dance Magazine Staff appeared first on Dance Magazine.

The Dance Community Has Come Together Over Lara Spencer’s Comments. But Who Is Being Left Out?

Last Friday, Dance Magazine published what has already become our most-read story of all time. At 2.8 million views and counting, our take on Lara Spencer’s cruel comments about Prince George taking ballet prompted an enormous response from both the dance community and those who were simply bothered by what amounted to the bullying of a 6-year-old on national television.

But Spencer’s comments struck a nerve for dancers especially. Rarely have we seen our field so united, or so passionate.

Most everyone agrees that Spencer’s comments were unacceptable and reflect broader ignorance about both dance and gender. But some more nuanced takes have been left out of the hundreds of new stories about the controversy.

We found some perspectives from the dance world you might not have seen yet—and broke down why they’re important:

Where Is the Outrage About Other Issues in Our Field?

Ballet Hispánico artistic director Eduardo Vilaro and choreographer and teacher Michael Foley bring up questions about the source of our outrage on this topic, and why it hasn’t surfaced for other issues in the dance field.

Yes, it was a rare moment that dance was featured on a mainstream platform. But it also demonstrated how much collective power we have as dancers—and how we aren’t necessarily using that power to fight for equity in our field.

Both Foley and Dance Magazine editor at large Wendy Perron point out the gender dynamics at work. Considering how complicated gender is in the dance field (85 percent of boys who dance in the U.S. are bullied or harassed, for example, and yet men ride a glass escalator to positions of power) it’s worth taking note of.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the History of Ballet?

Former New York Times chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay makes a valid point: Lara Spencer wasn’t just making fun of any boy doing ballet. She was making fun of a Prince and future King. But most conversations around Spencer’s comments have ignored the fact that ballet originated in the French courts and was primarily danced by men.

We can debate how relevant this context is, especially in light of the fact that, as many have pointed out, boys who want to dance who have less privilege than Prince George are the real victims here. But the omission speaks to how ignorant many in our country are about ballet and its history.

We know that Spencer’s comments—and how willing the other GMA hosts and audience members were to laugh at them—demonstrate a narrow, fragile view of masculinity.

But when we respond by arguing that ballet is actually macho, we don’t help much to push back against this mentality. In fact, sometimes when we try to make the case for ballet’s masculinity, we slip into trying to define who or what counts as manly (as evidenced by the popular t-shirts with slogans like “real men lift women”) which only does more harm. (Not to mention the sexism inherent in implying that it would be bad for a boy to like something feminine.)

Take the now-popular hashtag #boysdancetoo. As dancer and choreographer Ashley R.T. Yergens notes, it’s unclear if this rallying cry includes trans boys. (Since we’re talking about bullying, we should note that 83 percent of trans kids are bullied—and that’s before they even step into a dance studio.) Plus, young dancers outside the gender binary are being entirely left out of this conversation.

Have another take on Lara Spencer’s comments and the dance community’s response? Let us know by emailing lwingenroth@dancemedia.com.

The post The Dance Community Has Come Together Over Lara Spencer’s Comments. But Who Is Being Left Out? appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Fox News Mocks Lara Spencer’s Apology, Says Men Wearing Tights Will Be Harassed

After days spent rallying against “Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer’s flippant comments about boys doing ballet, the dance world triumphed on Monday. Not only did Spencer issue a lengthy on-air apology, complete with an interview with Robbie Fairchild, Travis Wall and Fabrice Calmels, but over 300 dancers gathered outside of the “GMA” studios for an impromptu ballet class.

The dance field seemed geared to press forward with positivity; a change.org petition urging “GMA” to cover the benefits of ballet for young men has gathered over 40,000 signatures, and many are examining the ways in which the #boysdancetoo movement can be made more inclusive. This made it all the more disheartening to open Instagram this morning and see that Fox News commentators Raymond Arroyo and Laura Ingraham took the bullying a step further last night, mocking Spencer’s apology on a program called “The Ingraham Angle.”

The segment starts with a “GMA” clip from Spencer’s apology to Fairchild, Wall and Calmels. Arroyo jumps in, saying,

Can you believe this? This is what politicians do when they offend an ethnic group.

Arroyo and Ingraham both go on to say that they briefly took ballet; Ingraham says she took one class and got kicked out. Arroyo adds,

People harass you if you walk around in tights, they’re going to harass you. It’s not exactly, you know, an exemplar of a male…This ended, by the way, with 300 dancers, mostly boys, doing a class in Times Square.

Here, the show plays a clip from Alex Wong’s Instagram account of the class doing port de bras. Ingraham interjects, saying,

They look like tai chi people.

Arroyo replies,

I hope she offends a mechanic next, so the boys know how to change the oil in a car.

Ingraham says that they have to move on, spurring Arroyo to turn to her in a bow with his hands in a prayer position, saying “Apologies” (an exact imitation of Calmel’s movement from the initial clip). Ingraham, of course, laughs.

Spencer’s initial comments struck such a deep nerve in people because they boiled down to bullying. Ingraham and Arroyo’s response goes far beyond that.

First of all, Arroyo seems to condone harassment of male dancers. (Note his use of words; harass is far harsher than bully.) And while Spencer used innuendo to hint at the fact that ballet is not masculine, Arroyo says it straight out, that it’s not an “exemplar of a male.”

The commentators also detour into racism. In comparing Spencer’s apology to a politician apologizing to an ethnic group, Arroyo is saying that he finds that practice laughable as well. But the most blatant example is Ingraham’s comment that the ballet class looks like “tai chi people.” While a comparison between ballet port de bras and tai chi could be an interesting topic for another time, with her phrasing, Ingraham manages to belittle Chinese culture, the ancient movement form of tai chi, ballet and the celebrated male dancers leading the class, all in one fell swoop.

While it’s hard not to be wildly angry that this sort of hateful, ignorant rhetoric is appearing on national television, Fairchild’s Instagram caption from earlier today is a reminder that the attention this story is getting is ultimately a win for ballet. “We riled those folks up @foxnews pretty good,” he wrote. Fairchild later removed the post, writing in his Instagram story that it “felt gross and dirty after all the beauty and love from earlier this week” to repost the video clip. “Life’s too short to bother with people who think apologies, forgiveness, and ballet are stupid,” he writes, “Onward and upward.”

And it’s true; since last week, millions of people have taken to social media in response, and dozens of media outlets have provided coverage. (Even a Fox Business story says that despite the controversy, ballet has led to lucrative careers for several male dancers, going on to list Baryshnikov, Nureyev and Benjamin Millepied, a paltry attempt to delegitimize the issues at hand.) Dance Magazine‘s initial story on the controversy has quickly risen to our most read story of all time.

This issue is catapulting a conversation about ballet onto a national platform. We have faith that the dance world will continue to respond gracefully, and that this is only the start of much more discourse to come.

The post Fox News Mocks Lara Spencer’s Apology, Says Men Wearing Tights Will Be Harassed appeared first on Dance Magazine.

We’re Drooling Over These 9 Dancers’ Summer Weddings

Love is always in the air during summer wedding season…particularly for ballet dancers who are putting their company layoffs to good use.

Over the past few months, lots of dancers have used their time away from the studio to say their vows and maybe squeeze in a honeymoon before the fall season starts. Take a peek at some of our favorite dancer-ly ceremonies—we dare you not to say, “Awww.”

New York City Ballet’s Sterling Hyltin got her happily ever after—and isn’t afraid to show it.

New York City Ballet principal Sterling Hyltin tied the knot with Ryan Bailes, a research analyst at an investment management firm, and looked about as happy as a bride can be.

Staatsballett Berlin’s Luciana Voltolini had a dreamy destination wedding.

Staatsballett Berlin soloist Luciana Voltolini (who used to dance with American Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet) married German cinematographer, musician and designer John Tyler Vesneski in a seaside ceremony in Split, Croatia. The delicate details of her dress were almost as jaw-dropping as the Adriatic coastline that served as the backdrop to their vows.

Joffrey Ballet’s April Daly and Miguel Angel Blanco performed the most elegant first dance.

The wedding of Joffrey dancers April Daly and Miguel Angel Blanco came complete with a costume change for the bride—and plenty of dancers attending as guests and members of the wedding party.

Ballet Hispánico dancers Melissa Fernandez and Lyvan Verdecia had their romance immortalized in The New York Times.

Ballet Hispánico’s Melissa Fernandez and Lyvan Verdecia returned to where they met—Havana—for a ceremony on the beach at Club Havana. The New York Times‘ Vows column went all in on the epic story of their romance.

National Ballet of Canada’s Skylar Campbell and Jaclyn Oakley looked like they stepped out of a wedding fashion spread.

National Ballet of Canada principal Skylar Campbell and corps member Jaclyn Oakley said “I do” on June 30 in Campbell’s home state of California. The pair met in 2009 at Banff Summer Arts Festival, just prior to joining NBoC as apprentices.

American Ballet Theatre’s April Giangeruso went full glam as a bride.

Earlier this month, American Ballet Theatre corps member April Giangeruso married Blake Bhatia, founder of digital recruiting agency Synergy Interactive, in a ceremony in Maryland. The newlyweds are now partners in both life and business: They’re co-founders of the trendy leotard brand Chameleon Activewear.

The post We’re Drooling Over These 9 Dancers’ Summer Weddings appeared first on Dance Magazine.

Lizzo Challenged the Internet to Make a Ballet to “Truth Hurts,” and Dancers Everywhere Are Responding

On August 20, pop goddess Lizzo tweeted, “Someone do a ballet routine to truth hurts pls,” referring to the anthem that’s been top on everyone’s playlists this summer. Lizzo might not know it yet, but ballet dancers are not known for shying away from a challenge. In the past two days, the internet has exploded which responses, with dancers like Houston Ballet’s Harper Watters and American Ballet Theatre’s Erica Lall tagging the singer in submissions.

Below are a few of our favorites so far, but we’re guessing that this is just the beginning. Ballet world, consider yourselves officially challenged! (Use #LizzoBalletChallenge so we know what you’re up to.)

Harper Watters

Houston Ballet soloist Harper Watters incorporated a jazzy flair to his response. We know Lizzo asked for ballet, but next time we’d like to see him in heels…

Erica Lall

American Ballet Theatre’s Erica Lall and James Whiteside took a break from rehearsal for this professionally filmed take. We love that Lall manages to flawlessly transition from a shoulder sit to twerking, all while lip synching.

Ballet Memphis

Ballet Memphis, we’re looking at you. Will your new Lizzo ballet be ready for your 2019–20 season?

Little Swans

We’re pretty sure that Lizzo asked for original choreography, but we’ll let this one slide since this user synched the song to this Swan Lake excerpt so perfectly.

Who’s next? Check out #LizzoBalletChallenge to find out!

The post Lizzo Challenged the Internet to Make a Ballet to “Truth Hurts,” and Dancers Everywhere Are Responding appeared first on Dance Magazine.