Get to the Pointe — dance

If you're into ballet at all, you probably know about YAGP - Youth American Grand Prix - even if you don't know you know about YAGP. Youth American Grand Prix is the world's largest non-profit international student ballet competition. YAGP holds regional competitions around the world, open to dancers 9-19, giving dancers-in-training stage time, master classes, and most importantly: opportunities to be seen by some of the most prominent figures in ballet.  You might recognize YAGP from the 2011 documentary, First Position. This film featured YAGP as the vehicle for many hopeful dancers to win scholarships to major ballet companies around...

Josephine, meet Jo Jo Siwa! Although their names are so similar, Josephine has only caught a glimpse of the fabulous Jo Jo Siwa in past Dance Moms reaction videos.  So this week, we decided to let them meet - digitally of course. Josephine watches Jo Jo take a dance class for the first time in several years. Similarly, Josephine has not taken a dance class in about 20 years either! She totally relates to the pre-class anxiety and drive towards perfectionism. How would you feel taking dance class for the first time in a while? 

This week, Josephine reacted to a piece by Jerome Robbins called "The Mistake Waltz." This amazing choreography is just part of Robbins' comedy ballet, The Concert (Or The Perils of Everybody) which was created and shared with the public in 1956. It features a group of ballet dancers making, well, mistakes! Still beautiful, definitely hilarious.  Robbins is often recognized as the most influential American choreographer of the 20th century, being a vital part of New York City Ballet. You may have seen his other work in West Side Story as well as Fiddler on the Roof. Need a little giggle...

This week, Josephine dipped her toes in the Barbie Cinematic Universe for the first time. All of the Barbie ballet movies are set in the context of Barbie, telling her younger sister Kelly, fairy tales - with a ballet twist of course.  Since Josephine grew up with brothers, she never watched these movies. She was mostly interested to see how the children's movie would handle the darker themes of the ballet. There are many versions of Swan Lake globally, but in general, it's a tragic ending. Odette usually dies of heartbreak in swan form - and Black Swan really cashed in...

Grab your tissues, everybody. This week Josephine reacted to Eugene Lee Yang's coming out video, simply titled "I'm Gay." Released on YouTube in 2019, this dance shot film tells Eugene's story. Born and raised in a conservative, Catholic town in Texas, he struggled through his adolescence with his sexuality, but also his Asian identity. The video shows the conflict he faced as an adult, and where he stands now. Needless to say, Josephine picked up a lot of what Eugene was putting down. As a fellow Korean, there were many moments of empathy. Like this video, we are also fundraising...