Dancer reflects on American Ballet Theatre’s return to the stage
NEW YORK — To see a rehearsal for “Giselle” is to get a glimpse into the countless grueling hours a ballet dancer spends preparing for any role.
American Ballet Theatre‘s James Whiteside and Isabella Boylston hope to recapture what was lost during 19 months away.
“I think my biggest fear during the shutdown was not being able to come back to what I love doing, which is performing,” Whiteside said during a very short break.
And for good reason: for ballet dancers to accomplish their incredible feats, they often work nine or more hours a day, six days a week.
I sat down with Whiteside in March 2020, just a few days into the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and he was worried even two to four weeks away could be detrimental.
19 months later, he’s reflective.
“Nothing compares to rehearsing all day and performing. And when I’m not doing that over, and over, and over, and over again, you know, the body sort of atrophies and it’s really difficult to get back into, you know, performance shape,” the principal dancer said. “So it’s been a lot of a lot of work and hard work, but worth every moment.”
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