Author: Marilyn Nelson illustrator: Susan Kuklin
Title: Beautiful Ballerina
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2009
Ages: 4-8
ISBN: 9780545089203

Written by Newberry Honor winner Marilyn Nelson, Beautiful Ballerina is a visual and lyrical celebration of ballerinas. Every page of Nelson’s flowing poetry is accompanied by bright, colorful photographs of young ballerinas from the Dance Theater of Harlem’s school. Tiny ballerinas stretch, point their toes, and mimic the older ballerinas as they fly through the air in grand jetes or balance en point. Every step captured by the camera was professionally choreographed by Endalyn Taylor, the Director of Dance Theater of Harlem. Words and poses are equally inspiring for a variety of readers, from young dancers to adult aficionados.

Life is a dynamic process. Things move and change constantly, and we do the same. Every so often along the way we are bound to trip up and make… a mistake. For some, the thought of making a mistake brings up a lot of fear: fear of looking bad or ridiculous, fear of being noticed, or fear of losing self-esteem. However, ask any group of people if anyone among them has never made a mistake in their life, and the answer will be a resounding “no”. But maybe, just maybe, they serve a purpose.

We can count on making mistakes in life, and plenty of them. But if no one is immune, then they must serve some purpose. They are learning tools. It can even be argued that they are necessary to success and growth. Each mistake we make is an opportunity to evolve. If we are willing to spend some time thinking about making changes to improve things in the next round, we will come out ahead.

Dance classes or classes of any sort are the place to experiment and try new things without fear of failure. If there is any good place to fall on your face, this is it. GO ahead, make the mistake, and then try, try again. Chances are that you won’t need 10,000 tries to get it right, like Thomas Edison did while inventing the lightbulb.

Even if you do fall on your face, it’s a chance to get up and try again. A steady pace wins the race. And really, we’re all in it together.

If you love the Beatles and ballet, then this slice of news should bring a smile to your face: Paul McCartney, ex-Beatles band member, has just been commissioned to write music for a ballet. Details are a secret at this point; McCartney only said, “I don’t know much about it,” but he is very excited to try something new and different. One has to wonder what the costumes will look like, and who the lucky dancers will be…

Looking around these days it seems like everyone (and their dog) (literally) is wearing a tutu. Age doesn’t matter; whether young or old, there’s a tutu somewhere out there with your name on it. No longer reserved for costumes or childhood dress up props, tutus are everywhere.

Those who are looking for tiny tutus can head over to FAO Schwartz, where Tutu Couture seamstresses will whip up a frothy custom creation. Karl Lagerfeld recently tried his hand at designing a tutu for the role of the Dying Swan, a role first made famous over one hundred years ago by Anna Pavlova. No matter how you look at it, tutus are vogue, and have been featured in Vogue as a part of this year’s spring collections.

It looks like tutus aren’t just for ballerinas anymore.

During my recent radio interview about what life as a ballerina was like, memories rushed to the surface, making it all real again. It’s been more than twenty years since I stopped dancing professionally, but it’s an experience I carry with me always. As another ex-dancer colleague recently commented, “Dancers stand out in a crowd”. There are reasons for this. Dancers are very physical creatures. After so many years of intensive training, our bodies are shaped differently, and move differently. Grace has been ingrained and at the forefronts of our brains for decades.

Although I chose to move on from ballet as a career choice, I am grateful for the years I spent dancing, for other reasons besides the obvious. So many of the things I learned as a dancer are directly applicable in every other aspect of my life, from parenting to poetry:

1.Discipline and dedication. Continuing to show up gets you where you want to go. As a freelance writer, nothing happens unless I apply myself.

2.Memory skills. As a dancer, I had to remember where and when every step happened. As a working single parent I change hats constantly, and have to remember a lot. I once counted how many items I had to remember before breakfast was even served…let’s just say it was a heckuva lot more than seven impossible things.

3.How to take care of my body. The body is how we get around in the world. If our vehicle is constantly low on gas, or runs in fit and starts, everything else we do is affected… and compromised.

4.Practice makes perfect. Skills build over time. Any time applied in a given task will pay off in the long run. This is true in everything, from hula hooping to learning to play an instrument.

5.Mistakes are learning tools. No one performs perfectly all of the time. Mistakes are part of life, and learning from them helps us to grow.

6.Always do your best. There is great peace of mind knowing that you are giving something your all. No one can ask any more of you than that.

7.Keep a good attitude. Life is a lot more fun when you approach it with a good attitude. Sometimes attitude alone can carry you through difficult times.

8.Growing and improving are lifelong processes. There is always room to improve. This doesn’t mean mentally whipping yourself, but looking for ways to strengthen yourself in areas that are challenging.

9.It’s okay to ask for help. Sometimes there are questions we can’t answer, challenges we are up against, or things we’d like to do that we can’t do alone. Asking for help is a sign of strength of character, and it doesn’t hurt…you or anyone else.

10.Each of us has unique gifts. There has not and never will be another you. No one does things the way that you do. Find a way to share your unique gifts with others, and everyone benefits.

We can do whatever we dream about…if we believe we can.

To hear the interview about life as a ballerina, visit: http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_1057_Grier_Cooper.mp3

Although she became one of the most famous prima ballerinas in America, Maria Tallchief was a young girl much like many other young girls her age. She loved horses and exploring the wide, open spaces of nature. She was born in Oklahoma, the daughter of a Native American Indian Chief of the Osage Nation. Her mother had dreams for Maria and her sister, Marjorie, to become famous entertainers. When Maria was three, she was sent to ballet class. Even when she was young, she was already working very hard. Her days were filled with schoolwork and ballet and music lessons. She and her sister often performed at local events and rodeos.

In 1933, when Maria was eight, the family packed up the car and drove to Los Angeles to start a new life. Maria was amazed to see huge groves of orange trees and the Pacific Ocean, which scared her a bit, since she had never seen so much water before. Before she knew it, her mother had found a new place to live and a new ballet school, right in the neighborhood where they made their first stop after arriving in Los Angeles.

Maria never really committed to being a ballerina until she was twelve, when she began classes with the famous Russian ballerina named Bronisalva Nijinska, who had a powerful personality, and was a very demanding teacher. From her, Maria learned to be disciplined and precise and that being a dancer requires hard work. It was at this time that she made the choice to become a ballerina and dedicate herself to her art.

Her burning desire to dance brought her to many places, including Europe, where she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Paris Opera. While she was in Europe, she met George Balanchine, a Russian choreographer. She became his wife, and they returned to America, where he founded the New York City Ballet. Maria became the company’s first prima ballerina. She danced as many as eight performances a week, and her legend grew because she was such an energetic and powerful dancer. Balanchine created more than thirty-two ballets for her, including The Firebird, and the Sugarplum Fairy in the Nutcracker. The ballets she danced were very difficult, but her dancing looked effortless. Her complete devotion, discipline and hard work made her incredibly famous.

Tallchief danced with New York City Ballet until 1960, although she was a guest artist in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1955-1956, where she was paid the highest salary a dancer had ever received. In 1962She was Rudolph Nuryev’s chosen partner for his first televised American performance after he defected from Russia. She continued to dance with New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater and other groups until her retirement in 1965. The announcement of her retirement came as a shock, since she was only forty-one years old, but she made the decision to retire while she was still in her prime.

She chose to share her considerable knowledge and love of dance with other young dancers, teaching them to devote themselves with a single point of focus as dancers. She founded the Chicago City Ballet with her sister Marjorie in 1981, and served as artistic director there until 1987 and artistic advisor to Chicago Festival Ballet from 1990 through present day.

Maria Tallchief received numerous awards and honors during her career, including the Kennedy Center Honors in1996 (along with Johnny Cash, Jack Lemmon, Edward Albee, and Benny Carter). In 1999 she was awarded the American National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

Since 1982, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet has been revolutionizing the world of ballet in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The company is known for its unique approach to choreography; at once dynamic and original, it is a synthesis of a variety of cultural traditions and classical ballet, yielding a vocabulary of movement that is unprecedented. In the past, King has collaborated with a diverse group, including celebrated tabla drum master Zakir Hussein, musicians and dancers from the Lobaye Forest of Central African Republic, and Shaolin monks.

The company performs annually in the spring and fall in the Bay Area, and tours worldwide during the rest of the year. They have been featured in dance festivals in Montpellier, Wolfsburg and Holland, and enjoyed success in Venice and France, among others. During the summer 2010 season, they will appear in South Korea, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom presented the 2nd Annual Mayor’s Art Award to Alonzo King in October 2008, calling him a “San Francisco treasure”. He has been honored with numerous other awards, such as the Jacob’s Pillow Creativity Award, the US Artists Fellowship (given to the 50 finest artists from all disciplines currently creating work in America), and the Bessie Award for Choreographer/Creator, the NEA Choreographer’s Fellowship, the Irvine Dance Fellowship, and five Isadora Duncan awards.

The Alonzo King LINES Dance Center offers classes to teens and adults, honoring their commitment of education and community involvement. Alonzo King LINES Ballet School trains young ballet dancers through year-round and summer programs. Recently, King teamed up with Dominican University to offer a BFA program in dance. It is the only BFA program in the country that is led by an active, world-renowned choreographer.

For more information about LINES, visit them online: http://www.linesballet.org/

Title: to dance: a ballerina’s graphic novel
Author: Siena Cherson Siegel, Illustrator: Mark Siegel
Ages:8-12
Publisher: Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2006
ISBN: 978-0689867477

The world of a young ballerina springs to life on the pages of this colorful, gripping tale. Each page details the daily routines, thoughts, and dreams of a dancer as she moves to New York City to study at the School of American Ballet.

A fantastic read for anyone who loves ballet and wonders what the life of a dancer is like, the graphic novel format makes the story all the more real. George Balanchine, partnering class, pointe shoes, schoolwork, and the hum of New York are only part of the picture. In the end, the love of dance is what shines through.

Striped Stretch Cotton Ballet Sweater by KD dance – Accentuate Your Curves In Style

I could have sworn it was moving on toward summer, but Mother Nature apparently has alternate plans at the moment. This has been the week to pull out extra layers for added warmth, and I often turn to my favorite stretchy, stripey black number. It was designed for ballet dancers, but it’s chic enough that it can be worn out of the studio or out on the town just as easily. For most dancers, stretchy fabrics are among God’s greatest gift to man, since freedom of movement is always a top priority. Stretch cotton is both comfy and liberating… it looks and feels great.

Most people would love to know what dancers eat; after all, part of their job is staying strong and slender, and who wouldn’t want to know their secrets? National Dance Week has taken all of the guesswork out of this challenge by compiling Barre Food a cookbook of recipes by world-famous dancers from Jacques D’Amboise to Cynthia Gregory. Now you can learn exactly what dancers consider to be a healthy and tasty meal, and support National Dance Week at the same time. How cool is that?

For more information, visit: http://www.nationaldanceweek.org/n_merch.htm