One of my favorite ballerinas of all time just retired this summer. You can read more about her career here. As a young dancer in New York, I remember being amazed along with my classmates (at the School of American Ballet), to find out (amid all the dancer gossip) that once she became a principal dancer, she never took a ballet class with the company again. When I saw her first perform Romeo and Juliet opposite Julio Bocca at ABT, I was blown away by their passion---they were so REAL---complete with passionate groping/kissing---it caused my fourteen-year-old mind to implode. I was so inspired by her. Here is a clip from Romeo and Juliet with another heartthrob, Angel Correra (he was drool bait for us baby ballerinas when he would drop by for the mens class--sigh).
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5 comments:
Oh, that clip is lovely. Just what a good ballet should be, effortless and emotional. She is a beauty to behold.
Wow, that was beautiful. I'm not up on my ballet gossip, so what does it mean that she never took a class with the company again? Is it normal to take classes as a principal to keep sharp? I'm confused, but interested.
It is very difficult to maintain such great artistry and technique and not take class every day. Even going without class for a few days can throw you off-kilter for a week. It seemed pretty shocking to us that she could just perform and never practice. I've never heard of another prima ballerina who has been able to pull that off.
Whatever, I'm sure she practiced on the side and didn't tell anyone - just to keep up the mystique.
I made my friends come with me to the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center last year, and the final duet with the Sugar Plum Fairy brought me to tears. There is something about a beautiful dancer that is so visceral.
Speaking of beautiful dancers, I just got my wedding pics and there are a tons of Celeste dancing it up. Your ballerina legs look fanastic, too!
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