The Shrinking Dancer

When the dancer shrinks? Oh, wait… it’s a different dancer without a headdress. From Sandi Kurtz: A few years ago, Pacific Northwest Ballet was in the middle of a run of Balanchine’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Their production was designed by Martin Pakeldinaz, and one of the costume elements for Hipolyta […]

October 13, 2014  |  Read Article

The Trouble Laugh

When your director has specifically told you to not laugh… and then your partner’s pants rips. From Stephanie Salts: One of my biggest issues at work is giggling. I think things are funny. I’m a little goofy (but my work is always my priority). My director has a lot of patience […]

October 9, 2014  |  Read Article

The Grandma-Sees-All

When your crotch splits mid-performance and your grandma is left staring at your dance belt… From Luke Willis: I was performing with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in Nicolo Fonte’s piece “Left Unsaid.” We wore Gucci suits and ripped the shit out of them. One performance my grandma flew out to see me. […]

October 6, 2014  |  Read Article

The Art of being a Woman/Beast

BY KATIE GAYDOS As a dancer in the Bay Area, I’ve found myself lately shying away from writing critical responses to local dance performances. I assumed writing about the work of people I encounter on a regular basis within the dance community would violate some professional boundary between the personal […]

October 4, 2014  |  Read Article

The Shimmy Switch

When you accidentally switch costumes with the dancer next to you who is definitely a different size, and then you are asked to shimmy… From Jessica Bremner: I was in a high school dance troupe and we were doing a jazz routine to “Teach Me How to Shimmy” by Smokey […]

October 2, 2014  |  Read Article