Today's Tutu Tuesday is from the Vaganova Ballet Academy's final graduation performance, though I unfortunately cannot identify the dancer. - Selene

This week's Spotlight Saturday features Italian prima ballerina Carlotta Brianza. Born in 1867 in Milan, Italy, Brianza trained under Carlos Blasis at the La Scala Ballet School. She made her debut as prima ballerina with the La Scala Ballet in Manzotti's Excelsior. In 1883, she toured America in a production of the ballet, and in 1887 performed it in St. Petersburg at the Arcadia Theatre. Above: Postcard image from an unknown ballet; below: either as Aurora in Act II of 'The

This week's #ThrowbackThursday is the Romantic ballet Napoli, or The Fisherman and His Bride. Act I begins in the market. Teresina is waiting to meet her sweetheart, Gennaro, a poor man. Her mother, Veronica, disapproves and introduces Teresina to two other suitors in the hope she will leave Gennaro. These men are older but rich, Peppo the lemonade seller and Giacomo the macaroni seller; Teresina, to her mother's dismay, rejects them both and goes off to meet Gennaro. When hi

Today's Tutu Tuesday features Yekaterina Kondaurova of the Mariinsky Ballet in the Diamonds section of Balanchine's Jewels. - Selene

This week's Spotlight Saturday focuses on French ballerina Mathilde Froustey. In 'La Bayadere' Born June 8 1985 in Bordeaux, France, Frosty began ballet training in 1994, aged 9, to help with a back problem. In 1998, she started training at the Marseille National School of Ballet. Her teacher, Colette Armand, then suggested that she audition for the Paris Opera Ballet School, which she did, joining the school in 1999. In 'Don Quixote' with Pierre-Arthur Raveau She joined the

This week's #ThrowbackThursday is Ondine, a ballet which has two incarnations: the first by Jules Perrot, and the second by Sir Frederick Ashton. Alexandra Ansanelli as Ondine, Royal Ballet (Ashton) Both ballets base their libretto on the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque. The story is similar to the tale of The Little Mermaid. The plot follows Palemon, a mortal man, who marries the naiad Ondine. However, in a twist on several other 19th century ballets (for exampl

It's Tutu Tuesday! Here's Stanislava Postnova of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, possibly costumed as Flora in Le Reveil de Flore (The Awakening of Flora); such a stunningly simple tutu. - Selene

Today several of our competition students performed at the Special Children's Extravaganza in New Plymouth. We were pleased to be invited back this year, having performed several times at the event in previous years. Here's a few photos which I managed to get: Above and below: Eden dancing her barefoot solo 'Evening Star' Above and below: Maya dancing her ballet solo Above and below: Bayly dancing her jazz solo 'Jungle Jazz' Above and below: Amelie dancing her demi character

This week's #Throwback Thursday is a little known Petipa ballet, Mlada. Mariya Skorsyuk as Cleopatra's shade, 1892 (Rimsky-Korsakov) The ballet may never have come about if it weren't for the plans of a group of composers known as the 'Mighty Handful'. In 1870, Cesar Cui, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, and Ludwig Minkus started work on an opera-ballet intended to premiere in 1872. Unfortunately, the project was soon abandoned, despite the score

Today's Tutu Tuesday is Ekaterina Krysanova and Semyon Chudin in Don Quixote at the Royal Opera House, during the Bolshoi Ballet's 2016 London season. Thanks for reading! - Selene