This month we have chosen Adria Ballet Beat for our “Dance Blog Spotlight”...keep reading to learn more about Adria and what you can see on her site…
1. Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?
It’s safe to say I’ve been dancing for more than 45 years. On my blog I describe myself as “a passionate unprofessional.” I was indeed on a professional track as a child, training at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School in NYC under the legendary Margaret Craske. But I left the Met at 13 years old, pulled out by my parents who “didn’t want a dance career for their daughter.” Years later, while studying journalism at New York University, I returned to ballet by taking class with The Joffrey Ballet, whose studios were located in New York’s Greenwich Village.
I had the opportunity to reconnect with the ballet world on a professional level as event coordinator of the 2007 American Ballet Theatre Dancer Reunion at the Metropolitan Opera House, and again as event coordinator for The Antony Tudor Centennial Celebration at The Juilliard School in 2008. I am currently Web Coordinator and Archivist for the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust.
I still take class, currently at New Jersey Ballet. Some things are just “in you” and become a lifelong passion. Dance, for me, is a mandate.
2. When did you begin your blog-and why did you start it? What does your blog cover?
I began my “personal blog” – adriaballetbeat.com – in June, 2011. The idea was to “share my thoughts on ballet, including an inside peek at the professional and ‘unprofessional’ ballet world, past and present.”
As a child, while studying at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, I was selected to be a “supernumerary” in a number of operas, including La Giaconda, Parsifal and L’Elisir d’Amore. That childhood experience, “behind the scenes” in the “old Met” (torn down in 1966 to make the move to NYC’s Lincoln Center), and then at the “new” Met, fueled my lifelong passion for the arts. I wanted to share the memories of that world as well as some of the many stories emanating from my work with American Ballet Theatre and The Tudor Trust. For example, being under the orchestra pit at the new Met searching through their incredible archives; being applauded by Juilliard dancers in-studio after being introduced as a member of The Tudor Trust; watching a rehearsal of the of La Bayadère at ABT studios and being so moved by the “Shades” scene I wound up in tears.
In addition to blogging on my “professional” experiences, I decided to include posts on the “every day” – from why classes end with a “reverence” to why dancers are so possessive of their spot at the barre.
3. What has been the best part about participating in the dance community online?
Technology has given the dance community a voice – it’s no longer what the mainstream or trade media wish to print – bloggers, tweeters, Facebook fans, posts, retweets, blog comments – we, as a community, now have the capability to engage each other in real time, share ideas, opinions and information. We can trend topics on Twitter and create a fan base on Facebook; blogs have subscribers, dance news is worldwide, 24 hours a day. I think being a part of the dance community online is an amazing opportunity to reach out and connect with others who share the passion.
4. What other dance blogs do you read?
There are many wonderful dance blogs out there, but I do have a few favorites! I thinkTobi Tobias writes very thoughtful reviews and intelligent criticism in her ArtsJournal blog, SeeingThings – she’s a brilliant dance critic with a keen perspective. I also enjoy Carla Escoda’s blog, Ballet to the People – she has strong, interesting opinions on ballet and the dance community, and has a really cool flash site! Rebecca King’s blog, Tendu’s Under a Palm Tree is also up there – Rebecca is a Corps dancer with Miami City Ballet. I like reading the perspective of a young dancer with a regional ballet company.
Follow Adria Rolnik on for the latest ballet news & links to breaking stories in the Arts.
BIO: Adria P. Rolnik was born in New York City and received her early ballet training at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School under Margaret Craske. After graduating from New York University she pursued a career in marketing and public relations.
Adria became active in project work for both public and private non-profit organizations after years spent as director of media relations for a New York based midsized public relations consulting firm.
Adria had the opportunity to reconnect with ballet, her passion, as event coordinator for the May, 2007 American Ballet Theatre Dancer Reunion at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. She also served as event coordinator for The Antony Tudor Centennial Celebration at The Juilliard School in March, 2008.
She currently serves as Web Coordinator and Archivist for the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust, is Editor of the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust eNewsletter and Administrator of Tudor Trust fan page. In June, 2011, she began a personal blog, Adriaballetbeat.com, which shares her “thoughts on ballet, including an inside peek at the professional and ‘unprofessional’ ballet world, past and present.”
