

#Throwback Thursday: Marco Spada
This week's #ThrowbackThursday is Marco Spada, or The Bandit's Daughter. Following our concert on Sunday, senior ballet students will have the opportunity to watch the Bolshoi Ballet's reconstructed production of Marco Spada, starring David Hallberg, Eugenia Obraztsova, and Olga Smirnova. David Hallberg as Marco Spada, Bolshoi Ballet Marco Spada, ou La Fille du Bandit is based on an Opera comique by Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber and Eugene Scribe, which premiered in Paris in 1


Tutu Tuesday
It's Tutu Tuesday, and contrary to last week's assertions, my regular posts have failed to appear. My apologies! Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon, but with the concert this Sunday, things have gotten a bit hectic. In the meantime, here's a beautiful snapshot of Waltz of the Snowflakes from the New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker. - Selene


Tutu Tuesday
Our concert is two weeks away, and I've been sitting in a pile of half-finished costumes for the last week - so posts have been a bit scarce. My apologies! It's time to get back on schedule with Tutu Tuesday. This week features Anna Turchaninova (photography credit Niv Novak). - Selene


Tutu Tuesday
It's Tutu Tuesday! The studio is in full swing preparing for our concert on December 3, and I'm barely a quarter of the way through my pile of costumes to sew... In the meantime, here's Yasmine Naghdi and Dawid Trzensimiech in Eugene Onegin with the Royal Ballet. - Selene


#ThrowbackThursday: The Blue Dahlia
This week's #ThrowbackThursday features another little-known ballet, The Blue Dahlia. The Blue Dahlia, or Le Dahlia bleu, was a fantastic ballet in two acts. Both the libretto and the choreography were by Marius Petipa, while the score was by his frequent collaborator, Cesare Pugni. The ballet was premiered by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, on May 12 1860. The original cast included Petipa's wife Maria Surovshchikova-Petipa as t


Tutu Tuesday
This week's Tutu Tuesday is a bit retro; Russian ballerina Elizaveta Gerdt in a classic 'bell' tutu, or what I have preferred to term an 'Imperial' tutu, thanks to its extensive use by the Russian Imperial ballet. - Selene


Spotlight Saturday: Marie Petipa
This week's Spotlight Saturday features famed Russian ballerina Marie Petipa. In costume for the Czardas in 'Coppelia', revival by Petipa, 1884 Marie Mariusovna Petipa was born on October 17 1857 in St. Petersburg, the daughter of prolific Russian ballet master Marius Petipa and his first wife, ballerina Maria Surovshchikova-Petipa. With Pavel Gerdt in the Bacchanal of the 'The Seasons', 1900 Marie trained under her father and made her debut aged 18 at the Mariinsky Theatre i


#Throwback Thursday: The Beauty of Lebanon
This week's #ThrowbackThursday features The Beauty of Lebanon, or The Mountain Spirit. Otherwise known as La Belle du Liban, ou L'Esprit des montagnes, The Beauty of Lebanon was a little-known fantastic ballet in three acts. The ballet had a libretto by Marius Petipa and E. Rappoport, choreography by Marius Petipa (that prolific Russian ballet master) and a score by Cesare Pugni (Petipa's equally prolific collaborator). The ballet was premiered by the Imperial Ballet at the I