Feast For The Senses Part II:Music That Makes You Move
Music is to dancers as oxygen is to the rest of us; a vital part of existence that we simply can't do without. It's the driving force for all dancers and creators of dance. But there's music and...
View ArticleFavorite Dance Firsts
January is a month of firsts. With just a few days left to this month, I thought I'd share some of my favorite and memorable dance firsts: The post Favorite Dance Firsts appeared first on Grier Cooper.
View Article5 Best Places to Dance
I've danced in a lot of different places over the past four decades... some of them memorable because they were magnificent, others... not so much. But being one of those people who prefer to focus on...
View ArticleHow a Mentor Changed My Life
Who are the people who have changed your life? Somewhere in the middle of celebrating Mother's Day I thought about someone who was often like a mother to me: my first ballet teacher, Irene Wiley Lander...
View ArticleSchool of American Ballet’s Summer Intensive: Week 1
This week is the first week of one the most major events of the summer for young ballet dancers: the School of American Ballet's Summer Intensive. From now through the end of July, during the five...
View ArticleThe School of American Ballet Summer Intensive: Week 2
There was a lot to figure out in the early days of my first Summer Intensive at the School of American Ballet. Once I had figured out how to navigate my way through the Metro North train system and the...
View ArticleWhat A Summer Intensive at the School of American Ballet Feels Like
While every day at the School of American Ballet held all the promise of my ballet future, I often felt one step behind, unsure of where I stood or whether I was even noticed. There were some days when...
View ArticleDebunking Ballet Myths
While many people admire ballet as art form, it's also often criticized. Unhealthy body image is one of the most common complaints. But are these criticisms based on reality or myth? Let's examine some...
View ArticleBallet’s Most Loaded Question
When I was a professional ballet dancer I often felt penned in by a strange irony: although I'd been one out of crowds of thousands of dancers chosen to dance with Miami City Ballet, I found myself...
View ArticleHow to Move Past Failure
During the time I was a ballet student at the School of American Ballet falling in class was one of my greatest fears. While the fear wasn’t necessarily rational (I never did fall in class) it lurked...
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