Week of March 15-19, 2021

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Spring Week

This week on Saturday, March 20 the Northern Hemisphere will celebrate the March Equinox, the astronomical first day of spring when the sun crosses the equator line, heading north in the sky!  After Saturday, the Northern Hemisphere will begin to tilt towards the sun, which means more daylight hours and warming temperatures.

So if it’s warm in the Northern Hemisphere can you guess what’s happening in the Southern Hemisphere?

That’s right! It’s the opposite: the March Equinox marks the beginning of autumn because the Southern Hemisphere starts to tilt away from the Sun.

While most follow the astronomical March 20 as the “official” first day of spring, meteorologists will disagree and say that spring begins on March 1.  This allows them to observe seasons over different time periods, which over the course of the year, all begin on the first of March, June, September, and December.

Of course, there are other ways to determine the beginning of spring. Some choose to follow the shadow (or not) of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, others know when pitchers and catchers report to Major League Baseball Spring Training… But everyone knows it’s spring when you start to learn and rehearse your dance routines for your year-end dance recitals!

Meet A Dancer Monday

Corps de Ballet Dancer Scout Forsythe

Today we sit down with ABT dancer Scout Forsythe to talk all things spring, including her time dancing in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons.

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 Wendy Clark.

Spring Characters from Alexei Ratmansky's The Seasons

What’s up Wednesday 

Winston Goes to the Warehouse (Episode 4): Sprung Dance Floors

Join Winston, a student at the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, as he makes his first ever trip to ABT’s warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Throwback Thursday

We pull a photo from our archives and share it with a member of the ABT family.  You never know what stories may come from a single snapshot!

Stephanie Williams
Corps de Ballet
Joined ABT 2012

“How has it been a year? As I think back to exactly a year ago when ABT had spent two weeks in Orange County, California at Segerstrom Center for the Arts premiering Alexei Ratmansky’s Of Love and Rage (or OLAR as we like to call it), I am filled with nostalgia for the stage.

My final performance was of the character Plangon. She is clever, caring yet cunning and definitely has her own interests in mind! I thoroughly enjoyed exploring her character and bringing her to life during the performances. It was a beautiful run of OLAR on the Segerstrom stage. A stage that as a Company we have cherished and thrived upon and one that I thought I’d be seeing a lot sooner than I have. This year I have not stepped back onto the stage and as an artist that has been the most difficult thing. It has made these last performances so very clear in my mind and memory and I cannot wait to get back onto that stage when the time comes. Thinking about the ritual of doing my hair and make up and warming up backstage, hearing the orchestra tune, and doing pinky circles with my colleagues and friends. It’s these moments that we do not and will not take for granted.

It is still surreal to me to think that we were all on stage, in the rehearsal studios doing what we love to do and interacting and not really noticing how close we were to one another. It is this closeness and care between the artists and the staff at ABT that I miss and I honestly cannot wait to get back to.

Until then we have the memory of these special performances in California!

View More Photos from Of Love and Rage!

Writing Prompt

Write about a fun memory from last spring!

Funtime Friday

Word Puzzle: SPRING

How many words can you make from “SPRING”?

Click the image to download the worksheet.