10 ballet novels [for adults] you’ll love

For a long time, “ballet fiction” meant the books that catered to young girls, slim tomes with pink, appealing covers. Noel Streatfeild’s more substantial and highly popular Ballet Shoes comprised my ballet fiction-reading youth. I adored the book. I compensated for its lack of competition by reading it over and over, annually, through my youth … Read more

10 bits of wisdom [to self] for the New Year

I’ve gleaned a lot of wisdom over the past two years, most of it the hard-earned, head-shaking kind. During this time period, coincidentally [or not], I recommenced a daily mindfulness meditation practice. You wouldn’t think that sitting on a pillow at 4:45am for twenty minutes, doing nothing but observing the rise and fall of your … Read more

10 things you didn’t know about tutus

Interested in my dance-related fiction? Check out the Ballet Theatre Chronicles ( Off Balance , Outside the Limelight, Ballet Orphans), as well as  A Dancer’s Guide to Africa. Just click on their titles! You see professional ballet dancers wearing them onstage. And this, you already know: they are beautiful, glittery, ethereal, like moving pieces of art. … Read more

10 Essentials for the adult beginner’s dance bag

A common question I get asked goes something like this: I’m taking a ballet class again after many years. I’m not even sure what to wear as an adult, or what to bring,  What should I wear or bring, so that I fit in and don’t stand out as oblivious? Okay, a valid question, and … Read more

10 Don Quixote ballet trivia bits

This article is about the ballet, Don Quixote, in general. Curious to read my review of the San Francisco Ballet’s February 26, 2022 performance at the War Memorial Opera House? Click HERE. Do you know your Don Quixote ballet trivia? So maybe you’ve seen the entire ballet, or plan to. Here are ten bits to entertain and … Read more