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Check out the lovely and talented Miss Madison Abeo!
The young dancer recently attended a Coastal Dance Rage convention where she was asked to assist choreographer, Francisco Gella during his master class! {How fabulous is that?!} In the video, Madison is wearing Vala Dancewear’s “Triumph”. Below the video clip are photos of Madison wearing “Siren”. Doesn’t she look darling?! We especially enjoy the bold splash of hot pink! Excellent choice! 
{Video/Photos courtesy, Mariangela Abeo}
As you (may) already know, Lindsi Dec – soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet – is one of our stunning Vala models. We’re pleased to announce she’s PNB’s latest featured dancer on YouTube. Check out her ‘Dancer Profile’ video here. (PS: Check out her awesome developpes! Oh…my…goodness!)
Behind the scenes at the Vala Shoot: Laura Getting Into Position wearing Vala's "Enchant" Leotard
Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist and Vala model, Laura Gilbreath is–in a word–breathtaking. Her fabulous extensions, incredible technique and striking beauty make for a rather bewitching combination! We adored her in “3 By Dove”, wept over her haunting interpretation in “Afternoon Ball”, and were mesmerized by her peacock variation in “Nutcracker”. But what we find most intriguing however, is her stunning work ethic! This young woman’s been busting her chops since she was a teenager–an attribute which led to her success with Pacific Northwest Ballet!
We recently caught up with the talented dancer and asked her some of our–and your–burning questions. Here are her answers…
Please share with our readers about how you got started in ballet.
I guess you could say I started dancing because my mother always had such a love and appreciation for it. She danced (ballet) up until she was in high school, and so when she had two little girls, it was only natural that she expose us to this beautiful art form. My sister is two years older than I am, and she began lessons when she was about 4. When Mama and I would go pick her up (I was 2 1/2 at the time), I would constantly be dancing around in the waiting room wanting to join the class. The teacher and my mother must have gotten sick of seeing me jump around because they let me join the creative movement class early.
In a recent interview, you mentioned that you’d attended School of American Ballet when you were younger. Can you tell us how old you were when you accepted into their program? Was this your “dream” school at the time?
I started going to SAB for the summer course when I was 11, and then I began attending as a year-around student when I was 15. I would definitely say this was my dream school when I was younger. Aubrey Morgan (used to dance with NYCB) and Janie Taylor (currently dances with NYCB) are from my studio and they both attended SAB. I wanted to do exactly what they did. It all sounded so amazingly wonderful and exciting. I prepared my mother early on that I would be leaving home at an early age.
How did your family feel about such a big move?
As I said, my mother was somewhat prepared that I would leave home early, but that did not make it any easier. Not to mention the fact that she had already let one daughter go at the age of fifteen to train in ballet as well. My sister, Elizabeth, trained at the Harid Conservatory for 2 years and then ended up attending Indiana University. Before that, she did some trainee work with Ballet Austin. She still does some dancing occasionally around New Orleans. She is a beautiful dancer. So I guess all in all everyone was very supportive of the move and happy that I was fulfilling my dreams. Daddy just wanted his little girl to be safe and to be able to visit me when he could!
What was it like for you to live so far from home for the first time? How did you handle homesickness? (I think I’d personally have a panic attack..LOL)
It was hard being away that young. I think I talked to Mama on the phone probably 5 times a day! At the time I felt so grown up and sophisticated, but 15 is a baby looking back on it. Mama would try to visit at least every few months and Daddy would come as often as his work schedule would allow. The good thing about being at a place like SAB is that everything is in that one building: cafeteria, dorms, studios, and there were plenty of things to do in a 10 block radius, so my mom never had to worry about me galavanting around the city. My friends and I had plenty of good, clean fun in the dorms!
So what prompted your move to Pacific Northwest Ballet?
I moved to Seattle after attending 2 summer courses at PNB. When you are at SAB for the winter, they encourage you to go somewhere else for the summer to experience different places. I chose PNB. My last year at SAB, I started to see that NYCB was not looking like it was going to work out for me, and, where I didn’t know a lot about PNB, what I had heard and knew about the company I liked. So I became a Professional Division student in August, 2002, then I got my apprenticeship in the spring of 2003. And I’ve been here ever since!
And we’re so happy about that, too! So what’s a typical “day in the life” like for you?
A typical day in the life of me? Well, since we usually work until 7 pm, we don’t have to start our morning warm-up ballet class until 10:15. Seems crazy to people with “normal” jobs but that extra sleep can really help when the days are long and exhausting. I get up at 8 am when we have class at 10:15. I immediately go to my dog Bonnie and let her outside to play, eat, etc. My boyfriend, Jerome (Tisserand), and I like to eat outside in the mornings if it’s nice. We will usually throw the ball to Bonnie before we leave too. Then it’s off to work. Class goes until 11:45 and rehearsals start at 12:05. Our lunch break is 3-4 and then rehearsals start back from 4-7. Now everyday is not this full. Some days you might have 12-1 then 4-5 and be done. It just depends on what we’re working on. Right now on Tuesday and Wednesday nights I have Spanish class through Seattle University. It’s spanish 1 and they will also be offering spanish 2 and 3 consecutively. These Seattle U classes are great, and I try to take all that I can in order to slowly chip away at getting my degree one day. If I don’t have some SU class (they last until 9:30), I love to come home and make dinner. Then usually a bath is in order and then it’s bedtime for me by 11:00. Not too exciting, huh?!
I think it sounds very exciting, actually! {Grins} Okay, next question. With it being the holiday season, would you mind sharing your favorite “Nutcracker” experience with us?
I guess my favorite Nutcracker experience/memory would have to be getting to do Clara as a young girl in New Orleans. That was such a special time for me. It was my first real dancing part in point shoes, and I remember feeling so beautiful. Now, that has carried over into adulthood as I get to take on the role of Clara with PNB. Last year was my first year doing the part, and I have fallen in love with it! I love that it is not only beautiful dancing, but a wonderful chance to act as well. Clara is by far my favorite role.
I think the same can be said for a number of “baby ballerinas”! Speaking of which, what advice would you like to share with young dancers?
My advice would be work hard each and everyday if you have the dream and desire to dance professionally as I did, but don’t miss out on your childhood. I remember afternoons when I would go over to my friend’s house to jump on her trampoline after school. Somedays I would be having so much fun that I didn’t want to go to ballet class. My mom would always say that was just fine and let me keep playing (until I had to come inside to do homework, of course!). But the point is, if you’re serious about it definitely pursue it, but always do it because you want to and because it makes you happy. I never missed a sleepover, I just arrived really late and left really early for my Saturday morning ballet class!
Thank you so much, Laura for taking time away from your busy schedule for us. We really appreciate it and cannot wait to see you on stage again very soon!
To check out Laura in action, please purchase your tickets to Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “Nutcracker”. Visit PNB.org for more information.
Lauren Warnecke; Photo Credit: Eddie Eng for Synapse Arts
“In the throngs of vigorous dance training, rarely do we stop to consider the idea of not dancing, or having a plan B if it doesn’t work out. I always considered myself a careful dancer, if not a rational one. I am meticulous about technique and proper form to prevent the chance of injury, but when the occasional sprained ankle or ingrown toenail came up my instinct was always to dance through it, or “walk it off”, as the saying goes.
What I didn’t and couldn’t prepare for was that one injury that got the best of me. The one I couldn’t walk off.”
This is a fantastic article written by a dancer who has “been there, done that” and lived to tell about it! If you’re struggling with a potentially career-ending injury, read on.
Marilyn Hess, center, stands beside her niece Angel Blain, left, and her daughter Mckenzie Lambright, right at The Pointe Arts Academy studio in Highland. The family trio started Dancers Against Cancer, an organization to help raise money for cancer patients and their families. ANDREW VAN WAGENEN/Daily Herald
Nearly every single one of us will be touched by cancer at some point in our lives. Whether it be through a loved one’s diagnosis or our own, cancer is a growing epidemic in this country and around the world.
In an effort to fight cancer head-on, Marilyn Hess, her daughter McKenzie Lambright, and her niece, Angel Blain founded Dancers Against Cancer (DAC). The family-based charity sells T-shirts and organizes a variety of fundraisers to help raise money in support of local cancer patients and their families. “Hess said DAC all began when a niece had a childhood cancer that became active again when she was 20 years old. As an aunt and mother herself, Hess said she felt helpless. Hess, Lambright and Blain designed a logo for Dancers Against Cancer and printed it onto shirts and hoodies. In a matter of weeks they were able to sell 700 shirts.” ~ Quote: Kirstin McQuivey, The Daily Herald.
To read the rest of this incredible story, please click here. To learn more about Dancers Against Cancer, please visit their website here.
Oregon Ballet Academy student Nathan Rowell and his classmates. AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Paul Carter
The Oregon Ballet Academy is working hard to turn the common misconception that ballet is strictly a ”girlie form of art” on its head. By providing free weekly classes, young men of all ages have the opportunity to learn and experience the beauty, discipline and power of dance. “In the two years since they began their boys-only program, husband-and-wife OBA owners John Grensback and Megan Murphy have seen their male enrollment grow from a handful to several dozen, ranging in age from 9 years to college age. “We really wanted to do a program for boys, but we knew it would be hard to get them to come because ballet isn’t something most boys think about doing,” Murphy said. “But we were able to get some grants, and John does the teaching. It’s great to see what these boys have accomplished.”
You can read the rest of this inspiring article here.
Dioscuri photo by Colleen Dishy, dancers Danny Boulet, Sylvain Boulet, choreographer Donald Byrd.
Attention Seattle dance fans! There’s still time to purchase tickets to the oh-so-fabulous Men In Dance Festival! The biennial treat opens this weekend and is shaping up to be its best year yet! Check out the press release below for more details. {PS: We’ll be there on opening night…will you?}
8TH FESTIVAL FEATURES NEW CHOREOGRAPHERS ON THE RISE AND BRINGS BACK PAST SUCCESSORS
(Seattle, WA) The 8th biennial Men In Dance (MID) Festival will be held at Broadway Performance Hall on the Seattle Central Community College Campus (1625 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122, (206)325-3113). The festival will run October 8th & 9th at 8PM, 10th at 2PM and 15th & 16th at 8PM, 17th at 2PM. Ticket price ranges from $12 to $20. Tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. Credit card purchases through Brown Paper Tickets. Cash and check sales only at the door.
As the longest running dance festival in Seattle, MID brings together a broad cross-section of dance. From the genres of classical ballet, modern and tap, to the most current contemporary techniques including, spoken word and site specific work it’s all encompassing. This powerful showcase will present new upcoming choreographic talent from Pacific Northwest Ballet, Cornish College of the Arts, and The University of Washington as well as some of our strongest choreographers from past festivals. For the first time MID will expanded it’s reach past the Seattle area to bring in dancers from the Portland, OR based company Northwest Dance Project (Artistic Director Sarah Slipper) to perform a work created by one of our favorite past choreographers Gérard Théorêt.
Returning choreographers of note: Donald Byrd, Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater, known for his thought provoking work will be premiering a new piece choreographed for Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Noted in 2008’s festival for his duet “Dioscuri” (inspired by the Greek myth of twin brothers Castor and Pollux) Michael Upchurch at the Seattle Times said the piece was a “sense of being immersed in a world at once rivalrous, tender and hermetic”. Also returning to the festival will be Olivier Wevers, Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal Dancer and Director/Founder of the contemporary dance company Whim W’Him. Fresh from his company’s premier last year, Wevers brings a new era of collaboration and artistry with his choreography that is sure to set the bar for the festival. One of the founding female choreographers, Deborah Wolf, Professor of Dance at Cornish College of the Arts, will be returning to premier a new piece. Wolf has received acclaim for her 2008 festival submission “The Hip Deep Family” inspired by the gothic humor of illustrator Edward Gorey, by being picked as one of the finalists at On The Boards A.W.A.R.D. Show!, produced by the Joyce Theater Foundation.
New choreographers to note: Sonia Dawkins Director/Founder of Sonia Dawkins Prism Dance Theatre will have her premier at the festival this year. Dawkins is known for explosive powerful movement with rhythm, speed and clarity of intention. She will create a new piece for five male artists that focus on the “Voices of a Male”. Also new to the festival this year is Barry Kerollis; dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet. Kerollis has been showcased three times at PNB’s annual Choreographer’s Showcase, and has already been noted for his work being “poignant, thrilling, architectural looking and momentum building”. Kerollis will create a new piece for the MID festival that is inspired by a Brazilian instrumental group. David Lorence Schleiffers, graduate of the University of Washington and Artistic Director/Resident Choreographer of Quark Contemporary Dance Theatre, will make his debut with our festival this year. He will be reworking a former piece that looks at multiple aspects of male interaction including playfulness, friendship and a need for affection.
Our complete list of choreographers is as follows: Week 1 – Donald Byrd, Barry Kerolis, Cheryl Johnson, Wade Madsen, Jason Ohlberg, David Lorence Schlieffers, Eva Stone, Alia Swersky, Olivier Wevers, Deborah Wolf. Week 2: Sonia Dawkins, Louis Gervais, Cheryl Johnson, Geoffrey Johnson, Jason Ohlberg, Christian Swenson, Alia Swersky, Gérard Théorêt, Markeith Wiley, Deborah Wolf.
As part of our community outreach, MID will be hosting a cross promotional ticket exchange with other performance venues. In order to support all the great performances in the Seattle area we will offer discounted ticket prices for audience members that show a ticket stub from a participating performance group during the time of our performances. Another way we are giving back to our community is by participating in the first Arts Crush. This new month long festival will connect artists and audience with invigoration new experiences at hundreds of events across our region. We will also be bringing back our family matinee performances, as we are committed to the idea that, dance is for all ages. We hope that this festival inspires young people, particularly young men, to pursue their interest in dance.
For more information go to our website: www.menindance.org or visit our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Men-In-Dance/148709745156521?ref=sgm
Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, works with Orlando Ballet dancers Patric Palkens and Katia Garza.
Seems like everywhere you look, there’s another production of Giselle popping up! In this article, “Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, has been looking in on rehearsals for “Giselle” as he visits the company led by his friend Robert Hill, an alumnus of American Ballet Theatre.” (….) Read the article here.
Robin Gilbert Campos performs with Carlos Fittante in Bali.
Even under the best conditions, dancing on pointe isn’t exactly a cake walk.
Now imagine how much harder it would be to glide across cement or worse–gritty, marble tiles? (Gasp!) Impossible, you say? Well, ballerina Robin Gilbert Campos of BALAM Dance Theatre begs to differ. In fact, this highly adaptable dancer is performing this month in Bali on some of the most challenging dance surfaces–from mud and moss to unsecured carpet! (Shudder)
Robin recently sat down with BALAM’s artistic director, Carlos Fittante to discuss the perils of pointe work in Bali: “Ballet and point dancing have a very specific training practice and environmental conditions, including being able to take ballet class and rehearse on a good floor on a regular basis. There is not an opportunity for any of that here in Bali. In this tour, we have had to rehearse on an outdoor cement courtyard, often wet with rain, mud and moss, while wearing our walking shoes. The temple stages we perform on are also cement with a thin carpet pieced together without being secured by tape, and sometimes the temple stage floors are bare marble tiles covered with grit. I have my point shoes rubberized as a precaution.” ~ Quote Robin Gilbert Campos
(I don’t know about you, but I definitely wouldn’t want to attempt such a feat!) To read the rest of Robin’s amazing interview, click here.
Over 200 dancers prepare to break the Guinness World Record of the most dancers en pointe in Central Park on Monday. Photo courtesy: DNAinfo.com
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