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Susan Jaffe Named Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's New Artistic Director

Photo courtesy of Susan Jaffe

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre announced today that former American Ballet Theatre principal Susan Jaffe will succeed Terrence Orr as artistic director of the company, effective July 1. Jaffe becomes PBT's seventh artistic director and only the second female director in the company's history.

Dubbed "America's Quintessential American Ballerina" by The New York Times, Jaffe comes to PBT after eight years as dean of the dance program at University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Jaffe joined ABT II at age 16. joining ABT's corps de ballet in 1980, at age 18. She was promoted to principal dancer just three years later, and was a company star until her retirement in 2002. Jaffe has held a wide range of teaching and leadership positions since then, and has also choreographed for ballet companies and colleges around the country. She recently launched The Effect of Intention, a series of live and online wellness workshops and audio meditations.

Pointe spoke with Jaffe shortly after receiving the news of being named to her first artistic directorship.

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Letter From a Ballet Teacher: How My Own Home Isolation as a Teenager Deepened My Love for Dance

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As a ballet teacher adjusting to the startling new world we are living in with Covid-19, I keep thinking of my dance students and the worry they must feel adapting to this stressful situation. Being stuck at home can be frustrating and scary, particularly when your ballet studio feels like a second home. I wanted to share my own experience dancing in isolation as a teenager, and what I learned from it. Hopefully my story will help buoy your spirits for the better days ahead.

When I was a senior in high school, a professional ballet career was all I wanted in my life. While training at an intensive ballet program in Virginia, I was so focused on getting a job that when I came down with an illness (chronic mononucleosis), I refused to stop dancing. Unfortunately, this caused me to become even sicker. I eventually had to fly home to Florida, where I was required to rest for several weeks. This period of home isolation felt torturous at the time, but I learned important lessons that later made my professional career much more rewarding.

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How This College Student Is Using Her Ballet Training to Help Children Learn to Read

Talia Bailes leads a Ballet & Books class. Lindsay France, Courtesy Ballet & Books.

Talia Bailes never imagined that her ballet training and her interest in early learning would collide. But Bailes, a senior studying global and public health sciences at Cornell University, now runs a successful non-profit called Ballet & Books, which combines dancing with the important but sometimes laborious activity of learning to read. And she has a trip to South America to thank.

In 2015, before starting at Cornell, Bailes took a gap year and headed to Ecuador with the organization Global Citizen Year to teach English to more than 750 students. But Bailes, who grew up training at a dance school outside Cincinnati, Ohio, also spent time teaching them ballet and learning their indigenous dances. "The culture in Ecuador was much more rooted in dance and music rather than literacy," she recalls. Bailes was struck by the difference in education and the way that children were able to develop and grow socially through dance. "It left me thinking, what if dance could be truly integrated into the way that we approach education?"

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The Royal Ballet Ends Its Association with Liam Scarlett After Misconduct Investigation

Liam Scarlett. Bill Cooper, Courtesy ROH.

The Royal Ballet announced yesterday that it has ended its association with the choreographer Liam Scarlett.

Scarlett, who has served as the company's artist in residence since 2012, had been under investigation for sexual misconduct against Royal Ballet School students. However, in a brief statement released yesterday, The Royal Ballet said that the independent investigation, led by Linda Harvey Associates, had found "no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students of the Royal Ballet School."

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Take Virtual Class From Your Kitchen With These Four Pros

One of the hardest parts of hunkering down to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is giving up our daily routines. And for dancers, that means class. Last week we shared a number of online teaching platforms (including Miami City Ballet principal soloist Lauren Fadely's new virtual ballet school), but now there are even more options. Over the weekend a handful of pros stepped forward to share that they'll be giving virtual class via Instagram or Facebook Live. So stake a claim to your kitchen counter, and start organizing your schedule for the week.

Have you seen an option for online class that we've missed? Share it in the comments and we'll add it to this list!

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David Hallberg to Become The Australian Ballet's Next Artistic Director

David Hallberg. Daniel Boud, Courtesy The Australian Ballet.

Yesterday evening, international ballet star David Hallberg took fans by surprise with an exciting announcement: In 2021, he will become the artistic director of The Australian Ballet. Hallberg will follow in the footsteps of current director David McAllister, who's been at the helm for nearly 20 years.

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Calling All Adult Ballet Students! Here's a List of Summer Programs Especially for You

Students at Sun King Dance's Adult Ballet Camp. Jenny McQueen of Capture Photography, Courtesy Sun King Dance.

For adult recreational dancers, summer isn't just a time for swapping out warm-up sweaters for breezy tees—it's also about taking your training to the next level, and perhaps packing your bags for a ballet workshop. Why should teens and pre-professionals have all of the fun? Fortunately, there are scores of adult summer programs all over the United States, and even abroad for those of you looking to sprinkle in a little sightseeing after your final reverénce. (Can't wait for summer? Check out these spring workshops at National Ballet of Canada and Sarasota Ballet.)

What can adults expect from a weekend or a week of dance training? Everything from technique to repertoire to yoga. Most of all, it's a chance to just dig in and dance, without a pesky to-do list waiting for you after class. Here are some summer programs designed for adult recreational dancers to keep on your radar.

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Congratulations to the 2020 Prix de Lausanne Winners!

The eight 2020 Prix de Lausanne prize winners. Photo by Rodrigo Buas, courtesy of PdL

The 2020 Prix de Lausanne has officially come to a close after a thrilling week of classes, coaching sessions, competition performances and networking forums. The annual competition, which was live streamed around the world and watched over 1.1 million times, gave 77 dancers an opportunity to perform and take class in front of an international panel of judges. In addition to a classical variation, candidates had to master a contemporary solo by Mauro Bigonzetti, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Cathy Marston, Wayne McGregor, Heinz Spoerli or Richard Wherlock.

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Sept/Oct 2020
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