Donizetti Variations<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n\n\n![\"Bouder,](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\")
Bouder in Donizetti Variations<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cI debuted this during my \u2018falling\u2019 era. I was so excited to be onstage that I\u2019d jump a little too high or something, and down I\u2019d go. Not a little \u2018Oops,\u2019 but a face-plant. When Andy [Veyette] and I ran out for the pas de deux, I fell right away. It was during a pause in the music. As I got up in the silence, I nodded at the conductor like, \u2018Thanks for waiting.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I just love this ballet because it\u2019s pure joy\u2014it\u2019s very me. And it has my signature step, the Italian pas de chat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Tarantella<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\nBouder in Tarantella<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI first danced this at CPYB and I was very excited about getting to shake a tambourine. I thought, \u2018OMG, a prop! I am so in.\u2019 But it was harder than I thought. It took me a while to not shake the other hand, only the tambourine. My coach, Sally [Sara Leland], would just shout \u2018Left hand, stop it!\u2019 I\u2019d walk around my house practicing not shaking my left hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe steps are funky and quirky. I tell younger people they just need to do it over and over. Once it\u2019s in your body, it never leaves. It was always a go-to for gigs and ballet galas. It\u2019s only six minutes, so you can just go to town with it, give it everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stars and Stripes<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\nBouder in Stars and Stripes<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI also did this at CPYB, dancing with Jonathan Stafford. Then I did it as my workshop ballet at SAB two years later. In the solo, I kept going too far in the wide-leg jumps. When Peter Martins came in to coach, he added a beat to each, so I wouldn\u2019t do a straddle split. I laughed because that made it harder, but I kept it in the choreography all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, by Peter Martins, after Petipa<\/h2>\nBouder in The Sleeping Beauty<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThis was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, but it didn\u2019t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, \u2018You\u2019re the Sleeping Beauty.\u2019 I thought: Did I manifest this?<\/p>\n\u201cI felt very changed after this role\u2014I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2<\/em>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty<\/em> into 45 minutes. There\u2019s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick [Richard] Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie [Susan] Hendl, she didn\u2019t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, \u2018I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like \u2018Yes,\u2019 and there were tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFirebird<\/em>, <\/em>by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Firebird<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn\u2019t know when to come out. I didn\u2019t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Firebird is a complex character. I\u2019ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn\u2019t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nThe post Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder\u2014morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school\u2014until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. \u201cI go through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Donizetti-Variations-in-2010_Paul-Kolnik-copy-1-796x1024-1.jpg\")
\u201cI debuted this during my \u2018falling\u2019 era. I was so excited to be onstage that I\u2019d jump a little too high or something, and down I\u2019d go. Not a little \u2018Oops,\u2019 but a face-plant. When Andy [Veyette] and I ran out for the pas de deux, I fell right away. It was during a pause in the music. As I got up in the silence, I nodded at the conductor like, \u2018Thanks for waiting.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I just love this ballet because it\u2019s pure joy\u2014it\u2019s very me. And it has my signature step, the Italian pas de chat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Tarantella<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\nBouder in Tarantella<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI first danced this at CPYB and I was very excited about getting to shake a tambourine. I thought, \u2018OMG, a prop! I am so in.\u2019 But it was harder than I thought. It took me a while to not shake the other hand, only the tambourine. My coach, Sally [Sara Leland], would just shout \u2018Left hand, stop it!\u2019 I\u2019d walk around my house practicing not shaking my left hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe steps are funky and quirky. I tell younger people they just need to do it over and over. Once it\u2019s in your body, it never leaves. It was always a go-to for gigs and ballet galas. It\u2019s only six minutes, so you can just go to town with it, give it everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stars and Stripes<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\nBouder in Stars and Stripes<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI also did this at CPYB, dancing with Jonathan Stafford. Then I did it as my workshop ballet at SAB two years later. In the solo, I kept going too far in the wide-leg jumps. When Peter Martins came in to coach, he added a beat to each, so I wouldn\u2019t do a straddle split. I laughed because that made it harder, but I kept it in the choreography all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, by Peter Martins, after Petipa<\/h2>\nBouder in The Sleeping Beauty<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThis was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, but it didn\u2019t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, \u2018You\u2019re the Sleeping Beauty.\u2019 I thought: Did I manifest this?<\/p>\n\u201cI felt very changed after this role\u2014I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2<\/em>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty<\/em> into 45 minutes. There\u2019s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick [Richard] Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie [Susan] Hendl, she didn\u2019t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, \u2018I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like \u2018Yes,\u2019 and there were tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFirebird<\/em>, <\/em>by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Firebird<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn\u2019t know when to come out. I didn\u2019t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Firebird is a complex character. I\u2019ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn\u2019t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nThe post Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder\u2014morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school\u2014until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. \u201cI go through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tarantella_Paul-Kolnik-1-copy-1024x697-1.jpg\")
\u201cI first danced this at CPYB and I was very excited about getting to shake a tambourine. I thought, \u2018OMG, a prop! I am so in.\u2019 But it was harder than I thought. It took me a while to not shake the other hand, only the tambourine. My coach, Sally [Sara Leland], would just shout \u2018Left hand, stop it!\u2019 I\u2019d walk around my house practicing not shaking my left hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe steps are funky and quirky. I tell younger people they just need to do it over and over. Once it\u2019s in your body, it never leaves. It was always a go-to for gigs and ballet galas. It\u2019s only six minutes, so you can just go to town with it, give it everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stars and Stripes<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\nBouder in Stars and Stripes<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI also did this at CPYB, dancing with Jonathan Stafford. Then I did it as my workshop ballet at SAB two years later. In the solo, I kept going too far in the wide-leg jumps. When Peter Martins came in to coach, he added a beat to each, so I wouldn\u2019t do a straddle split. I laughed because that made it harder, but I kept it in the choreography all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, by Peter Martins, after Petipa<\/h2>\nBouder in The Sleeping Beauty<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThis was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, but it didn\u2019t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, \u2018You\u2019re the Sleeping Beauty.\u2019 I thought: Did I manifest this?<\/p>\n\u201cI felt very changed after this role\u2014I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2<\/em>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty<\/em> into 45 minutes. There\u2019s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick [Richard] Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie [Susan] Hendl, she didn\u2019t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, \u2018I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like \u2018Yes,\u2019 and there were tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFirebird<\/em>, <\/em>by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Firebird<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn\u2019t know when to come out. I didn\u2019t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Firebird is a complex character. I\u2019ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn\u2019t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nThe post Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder\u2014morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school\u2014until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. \u201cI go through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Stars-Stripes_Paul-Kolnik-copy-1024x771-1.jpg\")
\u201cI also did this at CPYB, dancing with Jonathan Stafford. Then I did it as my workshop ballet at SAB two years later. In the solo, I kept going too far in the wide-leg jumps. When Peter Martins came in to coach, he added a beat to each, so I wouldn\u2019t do a straddle split. I laughed because that made it harder, but I kept it in the choreography all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, by Peter Martins, after Petipa<\/h2>\nBouder in The Sleeping Beauty<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThis was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, but it didn\u2019t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, \u2018You\u2019re the Sleeping Beauty.\u2019 I thought: Did I manifest this?<\/p>\n\u201cI felt very changed after this role\u2014I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2<\/em>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty<\/em> into 45 minutes. There\u2019s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick [Richard] Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie [Susan] Hendl, she didn\u2019t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, \u2018I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like \u2018Yes,\u2019 and there were tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFirebird<\/em>, <\/em>by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins<\/h2>\n\n\nBouder in Firebird<\/i>. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cThis was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn\u2019t know when to come out. I didn\u2019t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Firebird is a complex character. I\u2019ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn\u2019t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nThe post Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder\u2014morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school\u2014until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. \u201cI go through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/The-Sleeping-Beauty-in-2010_Paul-Kolnik-copy-1024x683-1.jpg\")
\u201cThis was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, but it didn\u2019t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, \u2018You\u2019re the Sleeping Beauty.\u2019 I thought: Did I manifest this?<\/p>\n \u201cI felt very changed after this role\u2014I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty<\/em> into 45 minutes. There\u2019s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick [Richard] Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie [Susan] Hendl, she didn\u2019t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, \u2018I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like \u2018Yes,\u2019 and there were tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn\u2019t know when to come out. I didn\u2019t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Firebird is a complex character. I\u2019ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn\u2019t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Ashley Bouder on the Ballets That Have Defined Her Career<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder\u2014morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school\u2014until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close. \u201cI go through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2<\/em>, by George Balanchine<\/h2>\n
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tschaikovsky-Piano-Concerto-No.-2_in-2007_Paul-Kolnik-copy-796x1024-1.jpg\")
Firebird<\/em>, <\/em>by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins<\/h2>\n
![\"Bouder,](\"http:\/\/www.fullrenovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Firebird_Paul-Kolnik-copy-1-790x1024-1.jpg\")