#MyJoffreyLife: Personal Stories From Real Dancers
Student Spotlight: Jermaine Turnbow: A 2014 Summer Scholarship Recipient
Check out this inspiring video from 2014 summer scholarship recipient Jermaine Turnbow – who has overcome many challenges in his life to follow his passion to dance. Joffrey Ballet School student spotlights bring you closer to the students at our school that are just like you! Real stories from real dancers that inspire you to always give one hundred percent, check out the #MyJoffreyLife tab for more Student Spotlights! (more…)
#RisetoJBSChallenge Winners Announced!
We received an outpouring of videos for this contest and we want to congratulate all of the contestants! Thank you for sharing your passion, talent and enthusiasm with us. It was so much fun to watch all of you dance, but after much deliberation, we have made up our mind. All eight winners have been awarded a 2-week summer scholarship to the JBS summer intensive of their choice (international intensives excluded). Without further ado, we present our 2014 #RisetoJBSChallenge Video Contest Winners: (more…)
A Letter From The Sugar Plum Fairy
Dear Aspiring Ballerinas,
With Nutcracker performances right around the corner, this is such a fun and exciting time, but it is also a time for hard work and sacrifice. This year we have been given the exciting opportunity to perform the principle role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Joffrey Ballet School’s production of The Nutcracker. It’s been a difficult and exhausting process, but also a very rewarding one. There have been times when we weren’t sure how the role was going to come together. Days when we were sore and tired and felt like nothing was working,. These times truly test your ability as a dancer. The times when you must push through even though you feel you can’t. These are the moments you become stronger.
TweetChat Recap: Pointe Shoe Problems @BlochDanceUSA
As dancers, we have all had a pointe shoe problem before. Ingrown toenails, ill-fitting shoes, blisters… the list goes on. We recently chatted with Susie Riefenhauser from Bloch Dance on Twitter to answer all of your pointe shoe questions! Here you can read through the conversation and see all the great advice they had to offer. Thank you for a wonderful chat @BlochDanceUSA! Until next time dancers…
#MyJoffreyLife Twitter chats happen once a month on Wednesdays at 9pm. Join us for our next chat to discuss the pros and cons of competition life on November 19, 2014. Stay updated on all #MyJoffreyLife happenings by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube @JoffreySchool!
Student Spotlight: Bald Ballerina Maggie Kudirka Grande Jetes Over Cancer
This is a very special post for us. Not only is it the FIRST in our “Student Spotlight” series, but it is with someone who is very dear to our hearts. We recently sat down with our very own, Maggie Kudirka, the Bald Ballerina. A dancer in our Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, Maggie was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in June 2014 at the age of 23. In this intimate interview we discuss her journey from diagnoses to today and what she hopes to accomplish with her new initiative. Take a look!
Why I Do What I Do: Shaping the 21st Century Dancer
I began my professional dance career in 1981. Since I started dancing in college, in 1977, I didn’t have a specific goal as to where I wanted to end up. All I knew is that I wanted to dance, and needed to dance. I auditioned for everybody, and everything. I danced in clubs, and with small modern dance companies, and jazz dance companies, and contemporary ballet companies. I danced in music videos, and industrials. I danced in off-Broadway shows, and toured in musical theater touring companies.
My career took me around the world working with great choreographers and performers. Cab Calloway, Talley Beatty, Murray Louis, Alwin Nikolais, Donald Byrd, Jose Limon, Joyce Trisler, Paradigm Dance, just to dust the surface. I’m proud of my career. I had the time of my life doing what made me happy every day while making a living, and seeing the world.
In 1998 at 40 years old, I retired from full time dancing. I went on to teach in Universities around the metropolitan area. I think I’ve put in at least a year in every college and university that had a dance department. The farther I was away from dance as a dancer, the more I could study the challenges of what we do. I never felt the challenges when I was in it, but I could surely see the young dancers of today being challenged by something every day. As a teacher, I wondered how I could help the young dancer achieve the kind of successes I was able to achieve.
Join The #MyJoffreyLife Monthly Twitter Chat For Dancers
You are invited to join our monthly #MyJoffreyLife Twitter chat for dancers on Wednesday nights, from 9-10:00 p.m. EST! Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JoffreySchool and use Hashtag #MyJoffreyLife to join the tweetchat!
Welcome To The New Joffrey Ballet School Dance Blog – “The Joffrey Times”
WELCOME to our new dance blog! The Joffrey Times is a blog for all types of dancers: students, dance parents, dance teachers, professional dancers & even dance enthusiasts, by providing you with valuable tips, advice, and inspiration to fuel your dancing life.
