All posts tagged: Pointe

The Repair Shop: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer Julie Felix and her pointe shoes

The Repair Shop: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer Julie Felix and her pointe shoes

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Britain’s first professional black ballerina was left “winded” and “breathless” after witnessing the restoration of her historic pointe shoes on the BBC’s popular programme, The Repair Shop. Julie Felix, a London-born dancer who is of Caribbean heritage, brought the very ballet shoes she wore for her inaugural professional solo performance four decades ago to the reality series. Her emotional appearance offered a poignant reflection on the profound struggles she endured throughout her pioneering career, with her mother remembered as her staunchest supporter. Ms Felix recounted a pivotal moment in the 1970s when a London ballet company explicitly rejected her due to her race, stating: “we can’t have a brown ballet dancer in the line-up of the swans”. This stark discrimination ultimately compelled her to seek opportunities abroad, shaping her remarkable journey. She subsequently secured a contract with the all-black Dance Theatre …

The Repair Shop: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer Julie Felix and her pointe shoes

Julie Felix: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer and her pointe shoes

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Britain’s first professional black ballerina was left “winded” and “breathless” after witnessing the meticulous restoration of her historic pointe shoes on the BBC’s The Repair Shop. Julie Felix, a London-born dancer, of Caribbean heritage, brought the ballet shoes she wore for her first professional solo performance four decades ago to the popular reality programme. Her appearance offered a poignant reflection on the struggles she endured throughout her career, with her mother remembered as her staunchest supporter. Felix recounted a pivotal moment in the 1970s when a London ballet company rejected her due to her race, explicitly stating, “we can’t have a brown ballet dancer in the line-up of the swans”. This discrimination ultimately led her to seek opportunities abroad. She subsequently secured a contract with the all-black Dance Theatre Of Harlem, based in New York, a move that shaped her professional …

The Repair Shop: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer Julie Felix and her pointe shoes

Julie Felix: The emotional story behind Britain’s first Black professional ballet dancer and her pointe shoes

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Britain’s first professional black ballerina was left “winded” and “breathless” after witnessing the meticulous restoration of her historic pointe shoes on the BBC’s The Repair Shop. Julie Felix, a London-born dancer, of Caribbean heritage, brought the ballet shoes she wore for her first professional solo performance four decades ago to the popular reality programme. Her appearance offered a poignant reflection on the struggles she endured throughout her career, with her mother remembered as her staunchest supporter. Felix recounted a pivotal moment in the 1970s when a London ballet company rejected her due to her race, explicitly stating, “we can’t have a brown ballet dancer in the line-up of the swans”. This discrimination ultimately led her to seek opportunities abroad. She subsequently secured a contract with the all-black Dance Theatre Of Harlem, based in New York, a move that shaped her professional …

It’s Chalamet vs. ballet in this week’s news quiz. Are your answers en pointe? : NPR

It’s Chalamet vs. ballet in this week’s news quiz. Are your answers en pointe? : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

From left: Kai Trump, Bam Adebayo, Timothée Chalamet (or his reclusive twin, Tomothée). Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images; Peter Joneleit/Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images; Peter Joneleit/Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images It’s Friday the 13th, yet again. But this time, the ominous novelty date is two days before the Ides of March, which means the bad luck will cancel itself out. Meanwhile, if you’ve been paying attention to medicine, basketball and the British Parliament, you’ll get at least three questions right this week. Good luck! Source link

En Pointe  | Marina Harss, Lauren Kane

En Pointe  | Marina Harss, Lauren Kane

Published by José Betancourt

Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet, which premiered in Copenhagen this past fall, is an interpretation of Bach’s Art of the Fugue, a piece the composer left unfinished at the time of his death in 1750. As Marina Harss writes in our March 12, 2026, issue, the ballet shares the composition’s disrupted quality: “In Copenhagen Ratmansky was returning to a project that had been painfully interrupted when Russia invaded Ukraine.” So Harss traveled to Denmark, not only for the performance but also to spend time with Ratmansky and the dancers as they rehearsed before opening night. Harss has a particular affinity for Ratmansky’s work and for Ratmansky—she is his biographer. The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky’s Life in Ballet was published in 2023. As a critic, she writes on dance regularly and opera occasionally for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Hudson Review, among other publications. She has also translated books from the Italian and French, including The Mirador, Élisabeth Gille’s memoir of her mother, Irène Némirovsky; and Poem Strip, a graphic novel by …

‘Irresistibly twisty’ 13-part crime drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society is available to binge on ITVX

‘Irresistibly twisty’ 13-part crime drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society is available to binge on ITVX

Published by Daniella Wilson

Are you looking for a new crime drama you can stream for free? ITVX has added a 13-part mystery series, Grosse Pointe Garden Society, to its roster of shows – and it’s a perfect pick to help you binge your way through January. Originally airing on NBC and Peacock in February 2025, the show comes from writers Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs, who both worked on crime comedy Good Girls and inject a more soapy edge into Grosse Pointe Garden Society. Told over 13 episodes, the series follows four members of an elite suburban garden club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, who become embroiled in a murder. The show has often been compared to ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder – just swap Annalise Keating’s courtroom for a glam suburban garden club – as well as Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies. If you’re a lover of glossy, female-led mystery dramas, this one’s for you. Intrigued? Read on to find out everything you need to know about Grosse Pointe Garden Society. What happens in Grosse Pointe …