#Kirov Academy of Ballet

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour: Spotlight on THE STRICKEN by Morgan Shamy!

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the TBR and Beyond Tours blog tour for The Stricken by Morgan Shamy! I've got all the details on this YA dark academia/fantasy below.

About the Book

title: The Stricken author: Morgan Shamy publisher: CamCat Books release date: 5 March 2024

What if our spirits walk to another life while our bodies sleep? Every day in Clara’s world, a dark cloud descends upon her town. The storm comes like clockwork, erasing everyone’s memories. Everyone except Clara. But after Clara’s father mysteriously disappears, things change. The Diviners, captive souls who feed off memories, come for her. With the help of a mysterious figure, Clara escapes the Diviners and flees to Khalom, a city in a parallel world, where she hopes to find refuge. There, Clara discovers that she is a Noble—one of the few people to have knowledge of both worlds, along with the ability to venture between the two. Forced to live the Noble life, Clara goes to school with peers who want her dead. Meanwhile, a rare and dangerous power begins to stir inside of her. The power of Death. And it grows until she’s not sure if she can control it. When the Diviners break through the city’s defense and students begin to turn up brain dead, Clara must find a way to harness her newfound power in order to stop the attacks before the city—and her mind—is wiped clean. For readers who enjoy A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, Crave by Tracy Wolff, House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik.

Add to Goodreads: The Stricken Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Morgan Shamy is an ex-ballerina turned YA writer. She has been immersed in the arts since the young age of 4, where she performed alongside a professional ballet company for over seven years, and has danced on prestigious stages like soloing at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She has taught hundreds of girls in her fifteen years of teaching, where some of her students have received full-ride scholarships to schools like School of American Ballet, the Harid Conservatory, Kirov Academy of Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, to name a few. Morgan discovered writing when her three-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer. It was through that experience which instilled the need to share art and magic with children through words on the page.

Connect with Morgan: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Make sure to check out the Instagram Tour too! The full schedule can be found here.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han gambled around the world for decades

Hak Ja Han and Sun Myung Moon went nightclubbing in Las Vegas, gambling in Atlantic City and bought a $65 million hotel-casino in Uruguay.

Sun Myung Moon, Lord of 500 slot machines (in Uruguay)

Las Vegas Salvation: A Member’s Story

… if there were many ancestors who enjoyed gambling, many evil spirits on the hands …”

Suicide of Moon money mule in Uruguay as Moon opens casino (She was the mother of three children left behind in Japan.)

Sun Myung Moon speaks: “Famous actresses gamble, lose money then fall into debt … then are forced to sleep with men.”

_______________

Former KCFF Bookkeeper, Sophia Kim, Convicted of Tax Crimes in 2012 She used these funds for day trading, gambling and other personal expenses

Kirov Ballet Academy of DC Exec, Sophia Kim, Stole $800K to Feed Gambling Addiction, Feds Say in November 2019

_______________

Cold-War Fascism, and Neo-Moonies: The bizarre backstory most media are missing

Moon’s primary Japanese backer — “Japan’s archangel,” in his own words — was philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa (1899-1995). Sasakawa was a pre-war fascist leader, proud Class-A war-crimes suspect, and billionaire magnate, who cut his teeth alongside Kodama as a war-profiteer in the Japanese campaigns of aggression during World War II before becoming a gambling tycoon after the war.

_______________

Sun Myung Moon: “Dr Yang knows so much about Las Vegas. … When I go to Las Vegas I do not lose money. Maybe I should train a few people.”  East Garden, July 12, 2010

_______________

“Rev. Sun Myung Moon: Emperor of the Universe” documentary: Narrator: “Publicly Moon railed against gambling. But Nansook says he took her and the rest of his entourage to Las Vegas. An assistant would place bets for him. Did you say to him, ‘Father, I thought we were supposed not to gamble.’” Nansook Hong: “No, of course not. Haha. If I wanted to die, maybe. No, no, we never raised any questions or doubts. We just had to be there accepting.” LINK

_______________

The Dark Side of the Moons – Nansook Hong Nansook says now that she knew from the very beginning that her husband was a monster and that her in-laws were little better. The honeymoon was in Las Vegas — a place she had never heard of — with the True Family in tow. In the casino she watched the Mother of the True Family “cradling a cup of coins and feverishly inserting them into a slot machine”. The “Messiah”, who publicly condemned gambling, explained that it was his duty to mingle with sinners to save them. He would position a senior church official at the blackjack table and whisper instructions from behind. “So you see, I am not actually gambling myself,” he told his young daughter-in-law. LINK

_______________

Uruguay’s freewheeling banking system operated as a laundromat for drug money. Moon bought a bank.

_______________

“Onni Durst is a woman of guts. While she was at a slot machine in Las Vegas, she completely ran out of coins; she went to the next person, smiled, and borrowed some coins.”

Sun Myung Moon (May 19, 1980, New York City)

_______________

Onni Durst’s trips to Las Vegas casinos, New York, and Seoul – and her luxurious lifestyle.

_______________

Tiger Park gambled – Dan Fefferman explains:

September 18, 1999 “In the US, Rev Choi succeeded Tiger Park… I have mixed feelings about Tiger Choi. I really don’t think the Cadillacs were a big problem. We had bought even more expensive cars for Tiger Park. I remember him totaling his BMW one time. But no one minded when Tiger Park used money. Even if he had been in Atlantic City gambling all night, he’d always come back to the center and sleep on the floor with the brothers. Then he’d jump in his BMW and drive by himself through the night to the next center. He was a man of the people.” LINK

_______________

VIDEO:

$42M of Donations Gambled Away by Hak Ja Han & Unification Church Leaders in Las Vegas

[lovelyballetandmore]

Kirov Academy of Washington DC

[whatisonthemoon]

“The closure comes less than a year after Sophia Kim, a former bookkeeper at the Kirov, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in federal prison for bank fraud after being charged with embezzling more than $1.5 million from academy coffers. In a recent court filing, however, Marc G. Hall, a new attorney for Kim argues that the amount she stole was overstated by as much as $600,000.“

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Happy (late) birthday to the incredible Mikhail Baryishnikov!!!!  68 years of magnificence and hopefully a billion more!!!

[balletroyale]

Anyone anxious for an update on Olga Morgulets, the delightful young dancer of the Vaganova Academy featured in the documentary, Dance of the Little Swans, can see her dancing in the front of the Garland Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty on the Mariinsky stage.

[entertainment]

Entertainment Spotlight: Kylie Jefferson, Tiny Pretty Things

If you recently binge-watched Tiny Pretty Things, you may recognize Kylie Jefferson, who stars as Neveah. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Kylie began dancing at just four-years-old. By age six, she was the youngest student accepted to academy level at the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA). As her passion for ballet grew, Kylie came to split her preteen summers between DADA and Washington D.C.’s Kirov Academy of Ballet. She graduated from Boston Conservatory in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in contemporary dance. Kylie’s first gig as a choreographer was for ScHoolboy Q’s “CHopstix” (featuring Grammy-Award nominee Travis Scott) which earned her a Universal Dance Awards nomination for Favorite Music Video Performance. On stage, Kylie has performed at various award shows, including the 2020 Grammy Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. 

Can you take us through a typical day on the set of Tiny Pretty Things?

Usually starting with an early morning, arriving to set around 6:30am. After eating breakfast, arrive at hair and makeup (which was a hotspot on our set, always a good time and space to soak up some love). Then I’d get into wardrobe and arrive on set to block the upcoming scene; this would be a time for me to also work with our acting coach Maria or scene partner. On dance days, we would have time set aside to warm up—with a cast ballet class for those whose schedules permitted, or on our own. I always loved to sneak away and use the Pilates reformer that was actually built as a prop for the show. We were allowed and encouraged to utilize the gym equipment props. After shooting a few scenes, I would most likely have a rehearsal, an acting session, wardrobe fitting, and lunch/dinner. Being Kylie, lol, I always slid a nap in during that time. I’d come back to set to film another scene and wrap up the day around 2am.

You’ve been dancing since you were four years old. What are the most important lessons that dance has taught you?

Work ethic.

Tapping into emotions.

“What you do in rehearsal is what you do in performance.”

How did your experience as a lifelong dancer impact how you approached the role of Neveah in Tiny Pretty Things?

For me, it was remembering some of my own experiences. Neveah also struggles with emotions Kylie never knew how to properly articulate, so there were scenes where Neveah gave me a chance to show up for moments in my life I had not healed from or handled properly.

What do you geek out about?

It’s the little things for me, chocolate chip cookies have my whole heart. Pilates is my fav! And who doesn’t love a brand new pair of pointe shoes?!!

What’s a fun fact about the making of Tiny Pretty Things that fans would be surprised to find out?

Some of the photos on Neveah’s bedroom wall at The Archer school are actually of amazing dancers I’ve known for years: Chloe Arnold (Syncopated Ladies & choreographer of Late Late Show w/ James Corden) and Ashley Nicole Mayeux (Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Alvin Ailey). I was so thrilled to be able to include women who’ve inspired me along my journey. It was also extremely cool to be a part of the process in that way.             

Describe each of the following in one word: Who you are, what you value the most, and what you’d be if you were a food item.

Who I am: everything.

What I value most: self-love.

What I’d be if I were a food item: chocolate chip cookie!

Thanks for taking the time, Kylie! Tiny Pretty Things is now streaming on Netflix.

[whysojiminimnida]

As a Cecchetti-trained ballet dancer (woot-woot), your description of Jimin doing hip hop was deeply relatable, also felt similar to the first time I tried tap... my feet. just don't do. the thing. You spend so much time trying to control every little thing, and then you're given a style that says "loosen up!" or "lower your center of gravity!" and your brain short circuits for a sec

Hi hi fellow balletomane - Enrico in the house! It's a great method to build a base, yeah? Oh hey let's stare at Baby Jimin in high school doing his thing:

Most modern ballet descends from Cecchetti, RAD, Vaganova and/or Bournonville, or in the case of Balanchine from both Cecchetti and Vaganova. Or in RAD's case from Marie Rambert - and she trained with Cecchetti. For my money Vaganova is my favorite but you can see the differences and blends in technique in most professional dancers. We all got trained somewhere by somebody. Cecchetti method is so excellent because it is standardized, it is absolutely methodical, and it incorporates all the anatomy you need to get it right. And in higher levels it grades mostly on artistry because by Grade Four you better have your technique in line, amirite? I apologize, kids. I get super nerdy and academic about ballet but I think if you read me at all you knew this. Oh look more pretty Jiminie doing some modern-y stuff that is pretty on his arms and OMG that lovely bit at the end, and none of this is Cecchetti like at all:

Regardless of school of technique, we all do get trained, right? We learn to hold isolations. Muscles go in specific spots and you hold them up or down or in or out or elongated or twisted like a dishrag (port de bras) or tight in a specific way. Angles are never in question if your technique is a solid one.

Just looking at Jiminie he looks a bit like a Russian. He does. The man is probably a Vaganova-method trained ballet dancer in my opinion, with Bolshoi big moves thrown in like English on a billiard ball. His hands are sooooo Kirov I just... gah. He's beautiful. I mean LOOK AT HIM: (He also has a bit of the Travis Wall going on in his contemporary but I suspect that's because Travis Wall is literally EVERYWHERE)

Which MAKES SENSE. The Korean National Ballet uses Vaganova in their academy but also has an exchange program with the Bolshoi. And Jiminie is a bit Bolshoi when he jumps and we know that the Bolshoi's training method is bigger and louder. So I'm gonna guess that Jimin's ballet teachers are probably Russian trained by way of Korea and looking at his technique that makes total sense. And his contemporary teachers are Travis Wall fans. Interestingly (as we know), Jimin didn't start out training as a dancer. He started out training as a martial artist. And that lends itself to a couple of specific things we see in his technique. One is his lower legs specifically from the knees down, including his feet. Guys don't train their arches the way girls do because largely they are not en pointe. They need their metatarsals for stability and their Achilles tendons for jumps and lifts. But Jiminie can have quite nice feet, we've seen him point them, we know it can be done ;)

The other is his barrel roll aerial (which probably has a cool martial arts name but I don't know it). Y'all know what I'm talking about. It's done in Tae Kwon Do and Kendo and Aikido and Kenpo as well as Goju-Ryu and I'm sure other disciplines. Jimin is a master of the lateral aerial and even uses a similar technique in his tours en l'air, angling himself forward and using his arms as rudders (which is a very Bournonville choreo choice but he leans for it every time). It makes for a beautiful rotation in the air. Tell me that man doesn't know his angles. Anyway anyway I have blathered on long enough, you got me over here just watching the man dance and running my jaw and not even addressing your original ask which: Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I could run my jaw about Jimin's dancing for hours. Probably will. You asked though ;)

[doubleattitude]

YAGP Finals Results 2022

Pre-Competitive

Hope Award

Asuka Hara

Classical Dance Category-Women

Top 24

Ellary Day Szydlar

Alicia Miyu Wills

Anne Takahashi

Tiffany Emmanuela Tanugraha

Silvie Kharatian

Nina Miro

Yelyzaveta Bidenko

Hikari Otomo

Kurumi Saito

Kae Osada

Chloe Wang

Ekaterina Pichkova

Top 12

Eve Vlahodimos

Mikhaela Felicia Maleke

Asuka Hara

Morgan Ligon

Chaeyool Kim

Annie Webb

Laura Paquim

Kiera Sun

Top 3

Yuna Yamada

Mikaela Cameron

Maria Qixin Tian and Shaqueena Yefta Hutasoit

Classical Dance Category-Men

Top 6

Alessandro Loiola

Dylan Custodio

Charley Toscano

Top 3

Ruan Santiago

Leon Yusei Sai

Michael Savio

Contemporary Dance Category-Women

Top 12

Emilia Dubiel

Asuka Hara

Savannah Manzel

Mikaela Cameron

Kya Massimino

Sachi Oza

Kae Osada

Vivien Palmer

Carrigan Paylor

Top 3

Kiera Sun

Morgan Ligon

Phoebe Ingram

Contemporary Dance Category-Men

Top 6

Owen Simmons

Nikolas Adarmes

David Mihail Anagnoste

Top 3

Michael Savio

Ruan Santiago

Dylan Custodio

Junior

Youth Grand Prix

Alexei Orohovsky

Women

Top 12

Ana Lorenza Blanco Peniche

Minori De Silva

Nozomi Akamine

Ruka Suginohara

Luisa Lisboa

Izzy Howard

Charlize Hardwick

Anna Chaziroglou

Top 3

Nao Nakajima

Yerin Ok

Sophia Koo and Crystal Huang

Men

Top 12

Eric Poor

Manoel Domingos

Cesar Ortega Garcia

Keisuke Miyazaki

Gramada Dragos

Minjun Suh

William Gyves

Alexei Orohovsky

Top 3

Denis Watanabe

João Pedro Dos Santos Silva

Clovis Couillard and Suhyeok Bang

Senior

Grand Prix

Not awarded

Women

Top 12

Monami Aoki

Yana Peneva

Mia Patton

Akvile Šulcaite

Nicole Liu

Sydney Upchurch

Saela Rivera-Martinez

Kako Sawai

Camila Lino

Top 3

Maya Schonbrun

Natalie Steele

Lexi Mccloud

Men

Top 12

Micah Levine

Killian Rudd

Carson Willey

Cristian Ponder

Justin Padilla

Andrew Shields

Dominic Abiel Godoy Martinez

Alexander Alvarez Silvestre

Hibiki Tsukamoto

Top 3

Arthur Wille

Zander Magolnick

Hoyeon Kim

Pas De Deux

Classical

Top 12

Leon Yusei Sai and Afina Gosla (Southland Ballet Academy, CA)

Sophia Yamazaki and Anthony Caio (Lapidari Nucleo de Artes, Brasil)

Eric Poor (12), Berkleigh Hernandez (CityDance School and Conservatory, MD)

Nicole Kosasih Widjaja and Jim Willis Ang (Marlupi Dance Academy, Indonesia)

Kennedy Kahler and Zander Magolnick (Elite Classical Coaching, TX)

Bella Ownby and Paxton Speight (International Ballet Academy, NC)

Nora Yun Schaefer and Alexander Nicolosi (Kirov Academy of Ballet, Washington)

Sophia Jones and Lisandro Neris Concepcion (Feijoo Ballet School, TX)

Haruna Watanabe and Hibiki Tsukamoto (Ellison Ballet - Professional Training Program, NY)

Top 3

Maya Schonbrun and Cruz Vining (Master Ballet Academy,  AZ)

Kyra Orozco-Davey and Samuel Morris (Grand Pas Classique City Ballet San Francisco, CA)

Nina Miró Verger and Asier Bautista (Jove Ballet de Catalunya, Spain)

Contemporary

Top 6

Milania Leone and Bryce Young (All American Classical Ballet School, FL)

Aubri Parker and Harris Yesenik (Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC)

Kailin Kratz and Kyawzwa Lwin (City Ballet - San Francisco, CA)

Sabina Rode and Engel Perez (ProVer, Mexico)

Top 3

Nali Dobrin and Gramada Dragos (Choreography High School ''Floria Capsali'' / Dance Planet, Romania)

Kailin Kratz and Kyawzwa Lwin (City Ballet - San Francisco, CA)

Michael Savio and Kya Massimino (Stars Dance Studio, FL)

Ensembles

Small Ensembles

Top 12

Gayane (Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington)

Angelasta (Balé do Teatro Escola Basileu França, Brasil)

Reframe (Elite Classical Coaching, TX)

Bluebells (Bayer Ballet Academy, CA)

Oceans and Pearls (West Suburban Ballet Conservatory, IL)

Rhapsody (Campaneria Ballet School, NC)

Pas De Quatre Part 1 (Pavlova Professional Coaching, TX)

Hens and Rooster  A&A Ballet, IL)

Gemini (Master Ballet Academy, AZ)

Top 3

Eureka! (Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts, MD)

Melliflous (Ballet de Galicia, Diego Landín, Spain)

Raymonda Cavaliers (UNCSA, NC)

Large Ensembles

Top 24

Moving Forward (Indiana Ballet Conservatory, IN)

Waves (Elite Classical Coaching, TX)

Untethered Soul (WestMet Classical Training, MN)

Hibiscus of the Night (MorningStar Dance Academy, GA)

Études (École de Ballet Tio, Japan)

Suits (Li's Ballet Studio, CA)

Bournonville Divertissement (Amirian Ballet AcademyMain, CA)

Carmen Suite (Colorado Ballet Academy, CO)

6;42 Again (On Your Toes Academy of Dance, IL)

Right Left Shuffle (Hinsdale Dance Academy, IL)

Chains Take (Joffrey Ballet School, NY)

Last Warning (Golden State Ballet Academy, CA)

Top 12

España (Next Generation Ballet at the Straz Center, FL)

Youth Freeway (Studio Croix, Japan)

Appearance of Light (Jacqueline's School of Ballet, UT)

Mechanisms (Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC)

Generation 143:08 (Conservatoire de Danse du Nouvel Opéra de Cracovie, Poland)

Nessun Dorma (ProVer, Mexico)

What Never Sleeps (Odasz Dance Theatre, NY)

Vita (Ellison Ballet - Professional Training Program, NY)

Top 3

Coppelia Friends Act 1 (The Art of Classical Ballet, FL)

Tang Dynasty (OAEC, TX)

Virus (Ballet de Galicia, Diego Landín, Spain)

Special Awards

Outstanding Choreography

Maria Konrad

Natalia Makarova Award

Charlize Hardwick

Shelley King Award for Outstanding Artistry

Minori De Silva

[galina-ulanova]

Nikolai Sergeyev and Svetlana Efremova (Kirov Ballet School, 1964)

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Universal Ballet Kirov Academy Building, Washington, D.C., sold for $22.5M – September 2022

By Keith Loria September 27, 2022 2:30 PM

https://commercialobserver.com/2022/09/washington-latin-school-acquires-historic-kirov-academy-building-for-23m/

The Universal Ballet Foundation, which shut down its Washington, D.C., nonprofit academy earlier this year due to financial hardship, has sold its longtime home, the Kirov Academy, for $22.5 million.

The Washington Latin School was the buyer and will use the 49,952-square-foot facility and site as its new campus, according to the school. ... “The Universal Ballet Foundation owned the property for 33 years and decided to close the school,” ...

Located at 4301 Harewood Road NE, the historic site is a former monastery building, built in 1914, that sits on 2.15 acres in D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood.

The three-story property was renovated in 1986 to its current design as a school for ballet.

The building consists of four ballet studios, dorm rooms, studio space, an industrial kitchen, a student lounge, administrative offices and a concert hall.

The Universal Ballet Foundation was founded in 1990 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Last fall, a former bookkeeper was sentenced for stealing more than $1.5 million over the course of nine months in 2018, and the pandemic only added to the organization’s financial problems over the last few years.

Additional material:

▲ Sophia Kim, also known as Sookyeong Kim Sebold, the former bookkeeper at the Universal Ballet Foundation.

Kirov Ballet Academy of DC Exec, Sophia Kim, Stole $800K to Feed Gambling Addiction, Feds Say in November 2019

Hak Ja Han and Sun Myung Moon went nightclubbing in Las Vegas, gambling in Atlantic City and bought a $65 million hotel-casino in Uruguay.

[swanlake1998]

Article: For transgender dancers, progress can't come fast enough

Date: March 8, 2020

By: Avichai Scher

Sean Dorsey was tired of being the only transgender dancer in the room. So he took the bold step of starting his own company, the San Francisco-based Sean Dorsey Dance, and become the first openly trans director of a full-time dance company. It was a milestone for transgender and gender-nonconforming dancers and choreographers, and Dorsey hoped it would lead to a more inclusive dance world.

The company is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, yet Dorsey remains the only openly trans artistic director of a full-time dance company in the country.

“We’ve definitely made progress since I started, when there was really no context for institutional or social support of trans dancers,” Dorsey said. “But there’s still a major lack of representation across the dance world.”

Dance, especially older forms such as ballet and modern dance, is mostly structured around strict gender lines. While the growing acceptance of transgender people in the United States has extended somewhat into the art form, trans dancers are often forced to choose between being their authentic selves and career opportunities.

Issues start in training

Dorsey’s choreography often deals with trans issues, and he is committed to being an advocate in the dance world for transgender people. But even in his own company, Dorsey is the only trans performer.

“In San Francisco, at least, I don’t have the luxury of holding an audition for trans dancers,” he said. “There just aren’t very many at the professional level.”

Dorsey said this is largely because barriers for trans and gender-nonconforming dancers start at a young age — as most training programs are gender-specific.

Jayna Ledford, 19, made headlines when she came out as transgender in an Instagram post in 2018. She was studying at the Kirov Ballet Academy at the time, a traditional ballet program in Washington, D.C. It was the first time a dancer at an acclaimed ballet school had publicly come out as trans.

Classes at Kirov, like most ballet conservatories, are generally separated by sex assigned at birth, and when students are combined, teachers offer different steps for men and women. Ledford, however, found ways to get the training that matched her gender identity, including dancing on her toes in special pointe shoes, which is done almost exclusively by women and requires unique training.

“I wanted to do what the females were doing,” she said. “I’d do it on the side and not pay attention to what the guys were doing. I’d also stay after class and practice pointe technique with my female friends.”

She hadn’t had the training other females at the school had, but she was hoping to transfer from the men’s program to the women’s.

“I knew I had a lot of catching up to do in terms of pointe work,” she said. “But just being in the room with the females, that’s what I wanted.”

The Kirov Academy told Ledford she could not join the women’s program unless she physically transitioned. Ledford was not ready for that, so she left the school. She was disappointed but now says she understands the academy’s position. The school confirmed Ledford’s account but declined to comment.

Maxfield Haynes, 22, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said the large, prestigious ballet school where they trained was not supportive of someone presenting as male wearing pointe shoes.

It wasn’t until Haynes enrolled at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University that they were able to explore the more feminine aspects of ballet technique. Ledford also found higher education to be more supportive than a conservatory. She now studies at Montclair State University and practices pointe technique daily.

Lack of professional opportunities

After NYU, Haynes chose to dance with Complexions Contemporary Ballet partially because the company is explicitly supportive of gender fluidity, and even had a specific role for Haynes that is gender-nonconforming. In the David Bowie tribute piece, “Stardust,” Haynes dons pointe shoes and was partnered with male dancers.

“It was everything I could have dreamed of,” Haynes said of the role. “As nonbinary, I like to get to show all aspects of gender. I don’t think about dancing like a man or a woman, just myself.”

Opportunities to dance roles that are gender-nonconforming are rare in the concert dance world, even if dancers are becoming more open about being gender-nonconforming in their offstage lives. And those who want to physically transition face a stark choice, as none of the major dance companies in the U.S. currently have openly transgender dancers on their rosters.

Alby Sabrina Pretto recently made the difficult choice to begin physically transitioning with hormone replacement therapy at the expense of her performing career. She was a dancer with Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male comedy troupe, for eight years. While she got to dance in pointe shoes, the style of the company is rooted in the comedy of men portraying women, which ultimately wasn’t how Pretto identified.

“There were moments I wanted to do things like a ballerina would and be ethereal and pretty,” Pretto said. “To dance like a woman.”

She knew that physically transitioning would mean she could not continue with the company.

“I wanted to have a career, and that slowed down my decision to transition,” Pretto said. “I waited until I felt like I had done what I wanted to do there.”

Liz Harler, general manager of Les Ballet Trockadero, said in a statement that transitioning does not disqualify dancers from the company.

“Dancers who expressed interest in transitioning to female have been told that their job would not be in jeopardy, though none have chosen to do so while continuing with the Trocks’ rigorous dancing and touring schedule,” Harler said.

Both Ledford and Pretto hope for the day when they can attend an audition and be hired without having to explain their gender identity.

Ledford said. “I’ll audition as any other woman. If I get in, then I’ll sit down and talk with them.”

Ledford is “optimistic” that this can happen in the next few years, but Pretto isn’t so sure.

“I am not naive, I know I cannot just audition for a major ballet company and join the female corps de ballet,” Pretto said. “But I would love for that to happen for me. It’s the ultimate dream.”

Her skepticism is partly based on the experience of her former Trockadero colleague, Chase Johnsey, who is gender fluid. He made headlines in 2018 when he was cast in a female ensemble role in the English National Ballet’s production of “Sleeping Beauty,” though it was not on pointe, and the heavy costume concealed his body. No additional female roles came his way afterward.

The question of who gets opportunities as a dancer often comes down to the taste of directors and producers and what they imagine their audiences want to see, not just ability.

Pretto danced a couple of character roles recently with Eglevsky Ballet, a growing ballet ensemble on Long Island, New York. The director, Maurice Brandon Curry, said he would consider Pretto for a female ensemble role next year, because her pointe work is “excellent,” though he wonders how some in the audience will react.

“Casting Alby in a female role would not be about passing as female, but I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge my concern about an audience member who was offended,” Curry said. “But art is not prejudice; it’s about inclusivity and open minds. If someone is not willing to have that experience, they don’t have a legitimate place in our audiences.”

Signs of change

Dorsey said that even having discussions about gender identity in dance is progress from when he started, and he’s encouraged by changes he’s seen: Most theaters either already have gender-neutral restrooms or create them for his company’s visit; trans and gender-nonconforming students attend his workshops in various cities and share with him their efforts to be accepted in their dance communities; the San Francisco Ballet persuaded him to lead a training session on gender identity in dance; and he was on the cover of Dance Magazine.

Ledford was recently a “Gaynor Girl,” a spokesperson for the popular pointe shoe brand Gaynor Minded. Pretto said she worked up the courage to use the ladies' locker room at one of New York’s busiest studios, Steps on Broadway, and no one seemed to mind.

Still, the art form has not yet caught up to reflect the audience, Dorsey said. His company has worked in over 30 cities in the U.S. and abroad, and he is usually the first trans choreographer a theater has presented. But he said the response from audiences is almost always positive.

“Dance audiences are ready and hungry for trans voices,” he said. “It's our dance institutions that are still catching up.”

[dance-world]

Evan McKie - National Ballet of Canada - photo by NYC Dance Project

Evan McKie was born in Toronto, Ontario and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School under such mentors as Glenn Gilmour, Peggy Baker, Laurel Toto and Mavis Staines. Thereafter Evan accepted offers to attend The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C and the John Cranko School in Germany. He began his career as a member of Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of fellow Canadian Reid Anderson and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2008. In 2012, Evan appeared with The National Ballet of Canada as a Guest Artist and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2013. In 2014, he joined the company as a Principal Dancer.

Evan is also a notable guest artist with the Paris Opéra Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and the Tokyo Ballet and performs in ballet galas and festivals around the world. Numerous in-demand choreographers who have created roles on him include Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, Mauro Bigonzetti, Christian Spuck, Kevin O'Day, Demis Volpi, Louis Stiens and Douglas Lee. Evan has also worked with legendary dance-makers John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Hans Van Manen, Jiří Kylián and the late Glen Tetley. Evan has commissioned works by Juliano Nunes, Douglas Lee, David Dawson and Andonis Foniadakis for performances at home in Canada and abroad. He has also commissioned musical compositions such as In Time We Trust by Kirill Richter. “Of all of today's international dance stars, McKie is one of the very brightest” hailed Danse Magazine, Paris.

[matushkanympha]

“This will not be an end,” Alina thinks as she smiles, her teeth bared as she bows to the crowd’s adoring applause. ‘This will not be the end,’ says her heart, thrumming in her chest as blood rushes through her veins and colours her cheeks. “This is not the end.” She says so to herself, glittering in the spotlight of her final bow— her final performance as a principal ballerina. 

Rumours dance on the tongues of the other principals and soloists, of the corpse de ballet: she is pregnant, she is to marry, she is injured, she is ill. The words swirl around like a tutu, like silk and crystals, like the waterfall of her night silk tresses as she lets her hair down from her bun. Perhaps one rumour is true. Maybe two. But, of course, it is no one’s business. The beloved Alina Filippova, the Bolshoi’s Nympha has retired at the very pinnacle of her career. The rest of her life would be spent cultivating the talent she found to be as equally, if not more talented than she had been. 

When she promptly turns to work as a Ballet Master-Repetiteur, however, some may think it exceptionally cruel. A former principal dancer to train her former rivals, a young woman who might play favourites, a former dancer taking on a position to make others shine brighter than she. But, those who think so have never understood Alina herself. The art of ballet is everything to her. It matters little to her if she can not be the one to dance— she will hone the talents of the ones she believes can.

GENERAL INFO

— Full Name: Alina Vasilievna Filippova

— Nickname(s): Alya or Alenka, Alinushka or Alinochka (familiar, affectionate), Al’ka (familiar), Matushka Nympha and Ma’nympha (formal, affectionate— nickname evolved from her being called Nympha when she was a principal dancer, used by Bolshoi dancers)

— Age: 35

— Date of Birth: 2 January, 1926

— Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

— Place of Birth: Petrograd

— Current Residence: Moscow

— Gender: female

— Sexual Orientation: bisexual

— Religion: non-practicing, non-religious

— Occupation: Ballet Master-Repetiteur for the Bolshoi Ballet

— Languages: English, French, Russian

— Dancer references: Svetlana Zakharova & Alessandra Ferri

PERSONALITY

— Positive Traits: artistic, charming, hard-working, successful, disciplined, adaptable,

— Negative Traits: unforgiving, strict, closed-off, perfectionist Hobbies: pin-collecting, attending films/shows, photography

— Likes: caviar with her blinis, hosting dinner parties at her family’s hotel, living and breathing the art of ballet, mirrors, cultivating talent, tea

— Dislikes: solyanka without adzhika and lavash, silence, being forgotten/unrecognised, lazy/entitled dancers, sickled feet, not being taken seriously, tangerine pie

— Enneagram: Type 3

— Temperament: Choleric

— Moral Alignment: Tempered good

ABOUT:

(death tw, parental death tw)

BASIC TIMELINE:

1881 — Paternal grandfather becomes a citizen of Russia. Originated from China and worked as the owner of a trading company/merchant.

1894 — Father is born.

1908 — Mother is born. Daughter of a Russian merchant and industrialist who financed and partially owns the Hotel Moska Intercontinental (Based on the Hotel Metropol Moscow).

1925 — October. Father passes away in a rail car accident.

1926 — Born in Petrograd

1930 — Moves to Moscow with her mother, residing in the newly reopened hotel.

1934 — Begins ballet training at the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute (renamed the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1957)

1944 — Graduates from the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute and is placed at the Bolshoi Ballet, although is ‘loaned’ to Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera Theatre and The Kirov Ballet throughout her career.

1958 — Retires from role as prima at 32, beginning her work at the Bolshoi Ballet as ballet master-repetiteur for the corps de ballet.

1960 — Promoted to ballet master-repetiteur focusing on primas and soloists, occasionally running evening technique and character classes for those interested (corps de ballet members are welcome) as preparations for Swan Lake begin.

DETAILS: 

Her father had passed after an accident months before she was born. And her mother, who had scandalously been pregnant out of wedlock, had found herself returned home— until she and Alina were moved to the family’s new business, a permanent tenant and proprietor’s representative at the Hotel Moska Intercontinental. 

Her first memories involve her running around the hotel, her unruly curls escaping their braids and as full and lively as she: Alenka filled with boundless energy. It is a happy place, brilliant and sparkling, an unconventional upbringing for a little girl of unconventional circumstances. 

While ballet had been an encouraged after-school activity for Alina when she had reached the age to begin training, it seemed to be the only time in the world that she felt she was happy. Dancing was hard work, yet the little girl thrived on it, producing long and clean lines with her movement with her head held high, making the determination and discipline required seem easy. She began her training at the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute when she was eight.

Although she was not the favourite of Agrippina Vaganova, she was a star pupil. Her enduring nature and sweet disposition made for an interesting combination, especially when her intense gaze stared not at others but at her own reflection as she worked on correcting even the smallest movement. If she could not be a favourite, she would strive to become the character assigned to her, would work towards the technical perfection that would leave those watching in awe. And that was precisely what she had done. 

As a dancer, Alina charmed the crowds. As a woman, she set her sights on enjoying her life with her fellow dancers, her social life never quite lacking from any invitations. After her graduation from the ballet academy, Alina returned to her family’s hotel, taking up a permanent residence there while she danced for the Bolshoi where she earned the nickname Nympha as she rose through the ranks.

Despite the suitors that have proposed, Alina swears that her first and only love is the art of ballet, perhaps holds it closer now to her heart as a ‘keeper’ of the art with her position of the Bolshoi. There have been lovers, there might have been a chance once. But the ballet had  always come first, and always would.

The worsening of her hip injuries in her early 30’s had hailed the end of her career as a dancer. Alina took her final bow dancing her favourite role as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty at the age of thirty-two. If she is still bitter about it (read: she’s still bitter about it), she will not let it show. However, Alina had wanted to do more, wanted to be a part of the ballet and achieve the coveted Prima Ballerina Assoluta title as the Bolshoi Ballet’s Nympha. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that she was promptly invited to begin serving as a Master-Repetiteur for the Corps de Ballet at the Bolshoi. In some cruel way, though, it does taunt her.

Promoted in 1960, the woman works as the Ballet Master-Repetiteur focusing on the primas and soloists. Nothing escapes the keen eyes of the Master-Repetiteur, not one who had built a reputation such as she as former principal dancer and renowned prima ballerina— living and embodying the characters, dancing with almost terrifying precision with every role she took on. She is determined, above all else, to protect and nurture the sacred art of ballet, and her strict yet maternal nature wins her the respectfully affectionate nicknames: Matushka Nympha and Mat’nympha from her Bolshoi dancers.

graphic template by: @castorbytes

[melmothblog]

Vaganova Ballet Academy professor, Irina Gensler, turns 90 today (July 22, 2020)!

Gensler studied at the Vaganova Ballet Academy (then the Leningrad Academy of Choreography), under Agrippina Vaganova herself. Upon her graduation in 1948, Gensler joined the Mariinsky Theatre (then Kirov Theatre). She stayed with the company util 1981.

This photograph shows Irina Gensler (foreground) in Agrippina Vaganova’s class:

During her professional career, Irina Gensler came to be regarded as a virtuoso character dancer. She has been teaching character dance at Vaganova Ballet Academy since the 1970s.

In 2016 and 2017, Nikolai Tsiskaridze engaged Gensler to help re-stage the Polish Ballet from “Ivan Susanin” and “The Hungarian Rhapsody” (respectively) for the academy’s graduation performances.

A short documentary about Gensler (English dubbed):