CDA INTERVIEWS THREE RISING MALE STARS OF CLASSICAL DANCE

The biggest story at the VIII USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi this past June was the impressive virtuosity of the young male dancers. CDA interviewed three medalists on the brink of promising careers who dazzled judges and attendees, and we strongly suspect will be thrilling ballet audiences in the very near future. We invited them to talk about their training, aspirations, and diverse perspectives on a life in Classical Dance.

CDA COVERS THE INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION (IBC)

CDA was in Jackson, Mississippi to cover IBC VIII to see some of the world's most promising young dancers vying for recognition. Get a glimpse of Jackson and the competitors taking an elective class. Profiles of the rising stars of the ballet world — and the teachers and coaches who've trained and prepared them for competition — are coming soon.

CDA ATTENDS THE 2006 "VAGANOVA PRIX"

See the results from the competition held in legendary St. Petersburg, Russia. You may have trouble finding them anywhere else. Held concurrently with this year's Vaganova Academy Conference, the event drew ambitious dancers from three continents eager to compete in the cultural capital that shaped the ballet tradition and has produced so many of the world's finest performers.

A CLASSICAL DANCE OASIS IN THE ARID SOUTHWEST

In 2003 former professional dancers Joshua and Natasha Brooksher founded Southwest Classical Dance Institute (SCDI) in Mesa, Arizona. They talked with CDA about their journey, their vision, and the challenges they've faced as teachers, ambassadors, and custodians of the Classical Dance tradition.

GETTING INSIDE THE DANCER:
INSIGHTS OF MASTER TEACHER MODRIS CERS

Master teacher Modris Cers, beloved instructor with the National Ballet of Latvia, shares his insights on teaching Classical Dance. See how this renowned pedagogue approaches his training and helps his students realize their artisitic and technical potential.

CDA INTERVIEWS ANNA-MARIE HOLMES

Learn what the accomplished dancer, teacher and choreographer had to say about Classical Dance Training & Staging the Classics on the eve of her New York debut of Raymonda for ABT. See what light Ms. Holmes sheds on the state of ballet training today and the challenges of mounting a grand production of one of the great traditional ballets.

CDA TEACHER PROFILE: MARLENE TURBIN WELDON

Meet the ballet teacher from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, and compare notes with this veteran of twenty-eight years on everything from her greatest challenges as a champion of the arts in a small community to her most gratifying moments as an instructor of Classical Dance in the town where she was born and raised.

PEDAGOGICAL SPOTLIGHT ON SUR LE COU-DE-PIED

Get a comprehensive and pedagogically rigorous view of an important and pervasive piece of the Classical Dance vocabulary. Come away with a more detailed grasp of this familiar but all too often misunderstood component of so many steps, from pas jeté to petit battement.