Week of December 21-25, 2020

To Read
To Watch
To Do

Gift Ideas for ABT Fans!

We explore some of our favorite ABTKids Daily entries from this past year, and share some last minute gift-giving ideas for ABT fans!

Meet Dancers Monday

Two Truths and a Lie!

Five ABT dancers invite you to play a game of "Two Truths and a Lie!" Each dancer gives you three facts about their ballet beginnings and you get to guess which one is the lie!

Name

Thomas Forster, Principal DancerWhich is the lie?

"I received a full scholarship to The Royal Ballet School in London, England."

"I was also talented in the sport of cricket but I chose to pursue ballet instead."

"When I was eight years old I loved the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and wanted to take karate, but I was too young to enroll in classes. My mom signed me up for ballet classes instead."

Calvin Royal III, Principal DancerWhich is the lie?

"The first ballet I ever danced in was The Chocolate Nutcracker."

"Before joining ballet I played football, and started ballet because I heard it could help me to be lighter on my feet."

"After my first year of ballet, I wanted to quit to study acting."

Carlos Gonzalez, Corps de BalletWhich is the lie?

"I made the difficult decision to pick ballet over soccer, which I excelled in as a child."

"I started dancing because of a group of friends."

"I’ve always enjoyed moving to music for as long as I can remember."

João Menegussi, Corps de BalletWhich is the lie?

"At ten years old I almost gave up on ballet to become a hip-hop dancer."

"Once my teacher created a solo on me full of handstands and cartwheels because I wouldn’t stop doing them in class."

"My first variation I ever performed was from the peasant pas de deux in Giselle ."

Nathan Vendt, Corps de BalletWhich is the lie?

"I didn’t begin dancing until age 14."

"My first dance role was Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats."

"I have a blackbelt in Taekwando."

Time is Up!

Gift Idea!

In honor of the publication of the Random House Children’s Book Boys Dance!, we celebrated the passion, enthusiasm, and dedication of all the young boys that have fallen in love with the art of classical ballet.

Young readers can enjoy both Boys Dance! and B Is for Ballet, available now.

Teaching Artist Tuesday

Join one of ABT’s Teaching Artists as they introduce you to ABT and its ballets. Learn a dance, stop and sketch, and don’t forget to have fun!

Up this week: ABT Teaching Artist and ABT JKO School faculty member Leann Underwood!

The Nutcracker - Snow

Gift Idea!

Leann is one of the distinguished ABT alumni on the faculty for the Open Division Adult Ballet Classes, available to adults ages 16 and up.  Give a class pass to your favorite aspiring dancer!

What’s up Wednesday

Putting it Together: The Journey to Opening Night

Of Love and Rage had its World Premiere on March 5, 2020 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. Enjoy a rarely-seen time-lapse video capturing the entire process of bringing this amazing production to life for the first time!

Gift Idea!

For the ballet fan that loves getting a peek behind the scenes, consider the gift of membership! ABT members enjoy special access to content and events. Family Memberships are available too!

Throwback Thursday

Edward Verso

Join ABT legend Edward Verso as he describes his first performance in Jerome Robbins’s iconic ballet Fancy Free, and what happens when the audience knows the choreography better than you!

Gift Idea!

Any fans of ABT’s rich legacy will love American Ballet Theatre: A History! Produced by American Masters for the Company’s 75th Anniversary, this comprehensive documentary is available now on DVD.

Funtime Friday

The Nutcracker Cake Pops (and a Puppet Show Too)

by Emily Hayes

The Nutcracker Cake Pops

Simple Vanilla Cake

Ingredients

1 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Buttermilk or Whole Milk
Pinch of Salt

Preparation

Butter and Flour one 9 inch round cake pan and preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add in one egg at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Repeat with the second half of the dry mixture. Add the buttermilk and beat until just combined. Spread the batter into the lined cake pan and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Simple Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
2 tbsp Milk

Preparation

Whip the butter until creamy. Slowly sift in the Powdered sugar one half cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until the icing is smooth and silky.

Assembly

After the cake has fully cooled, crumble it into fine pieces. Add in a little bit of icing at a time until the mixture holds together when it is formed into a ball. Form the cake pop mixture into your desired shapes and let them chill in the fridge for 10 min.

Heat up a small amount of candy melts or chocolate and prepare the lollipop sticks and foam board. When the cake pops have finished chilling, take a lollipop stick and dip one end into the candy melts. Push it into the cake pop about half way and wipe off the excess chocolate. Stick the lollipop stick into the foam board to hold the cake pop upright as it sets.

Melt some more candy melts in your desired dipping colors and add in a small scoop of paramount crystals or shortening to thin out the mixture. While the cake pops are slightly cold and the candy melts just warm, dip them head first into the chocolate. Rotate and lightly tap off the excess for a clean polished look. Let the cake pops set at room temperature.

Decorate your cake pops however you would like! Sprinkles, chocolate, candy, fondant and much more. Get creative and happy baking!

Cooking Word Search