Today's Spotlight Saturday article focuses on innovative modern dancer Isadora Duncan, who believed that dance should be freedom of movement. An early portrait, in Greek dress She was born Angela Isadora Duncan on either 26 May, 1877, or 27 May, 1878 (lost records make it hard to discover which), in San Francisco, United States. She was the youngest child of Joseph and Mary Duncan, and had three siblings, Raymond, Augustin, and Elizabeth, herself a dancer. Shortly after her b

The Hawera dancing competitions wrapped up this morning after four days of beautiful dancing. We're extremely proud of all of the students who performed - all of that hard work paid off! Below, I've posted some of the pictures that Alison, Rebekah, and students' parents managed to get of the dancers. In other news, World Ballet Day is getting ever closer! To watch the livestream, go to http://worldballetday.com on Tuesday, 4 October for some truly fabulous dancing - previous

Today's #ThrowbackThursday is a rare gem of a ballet: The Awakening of Flora, or, as it was originally known: Le Reveil de Flore. Now performed only in Russia, the one-act ballet is one of Marius Petipa's lesser known contributions to the repertoire. Students of the Vaganova Academy as Aurora, Flora, Diana, and Hebe The ballet is a ballet anacreontique, that is, a lyrical ballet. It doesn't have a fairytale inspiration in the manner of other ballets of the period, like The Sl

It's Tutu Tuesday! Here's some sixties glamour: George Balanchine with dancers of the New York City Ballet, before the premiere of his ballet Jewels. With him are Diamond, Ruby, and two Emeralds, all wearing classic Balanchine costumes, including the characteristic short fluffy tutu. Aren't they gorgeous? - Selene

Just a quick post tonight - good luck to all our wonderful students who are preparing to dance at either the Hawera or Palmerston North Competitions this week. Break a leg! Hopefully I'll be able to post some photos once the week is over. In other news, get ready for World Ballet Day next Tuesday, October 4. I'll be covering it on the day and will post extra details on where you can watch the live stream late next week. I can't wait! - Selene

Today's Spotlight Saturday focuses on famous Native American ballerina Maria Tallchief. On the cover of 'Dance Magazine', 1954 She was born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on 24 January 1925, to parents Alexander Joseph Tall Chief and his wife Ruth. Tall Chief, known by the nickname 'Betty Marie', had five siblings, including her sister Majorie, a ballerina in her own right. Her great-grandfather had helped negotiate the deal that gave the Osages rights over

The subject of today's #ThrowbackThursday is one of the greats of the classical tradition: The Sleeping Beauty. The ballet represents a meeting of great minds: the story comes from the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, the music was written by the great Tchaikovsky, and the choreography was devised, like so many 19th century ballets, by Marius Petipa. Aurora and the Prince, Grand Pas de Deux, Mariinsky Ballet Usually set in a fairy tale version of France, Perrault's home count

It's that time again! Here's a little something from the past: New York City Ballet prima Diana Adams in costume for George Balanchine's 1951 La Valse. She wears a simple but elegant Romantic tutu, decorated with flowers. Photo credit to George Platt Lynes. Enjoy! - Selene

Today's Spotlight Saturday focuses on the extremely influential Jean-Baptiste Lully. Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lully Lully was born Giovanni Baptiste Lulli in Florence, Italy (then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany), on 28 November 1632. His father and grandfather were millers. Lulli was reasonably well educated, able to read and write, and play music. He could play the violin particularly well, and used to say that a Franciscan monk had taught him to play the guitar. Lulli

It's #ThrowbackThursday, and today I'm focusing on the 20th century ballet Gaite Parisienne ('Parisian Gaiety'). The ballet was choreographed by the great Leonide Massine for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1938. Massine used music by Jacques Offenbach and a libretto by Comte Etienne de Beaumont. Le Lionne makes her entrance, Bolshoi Ballet Gaite Parisienne is a one-act ballet, and follows the interactions of a group of people who patronise a fashionable Paris cafe over th