Lauren Jankowski's Blog

*This is the collected recommended links from all the Ballet Marvel posts. I recommend bookmarking this post because I will update it when I add two characters to the project.

(Special thanks to my best friend for helping me curate the ballet links. Seriously, she found pretty much all the ballet links and then proofread this whole document to make sure all the links worked)

Costumes

All Ballet Marvel costumes made by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)
All Ballet Marvel accessories made by Carol Datura Riot, the Potions Mistress (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Ballet Marvel Playlist on YouTube

Ballet Links

Ballet Evolved (A playlist from the Royal Opera House YouTube channel that is a fascinating overview of the history of ballet. Really worth a watch)

Wayne Sleep performing the Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake (this is just a really fun video. Wayne Sleep now occasionally coaches dancers at the Royal Ballet)

Kristen McNally

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/kristen-mcnally
Royal Ballet Flickr

Videos

Rehearsing Carabosse for the first time
Rehearsing The Sleeping Beauty (starts at 6:35 and the Carabosse section ends at 30:15)
Performing Carabosse
The Pig & Pepper Scene from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Chance to Dance
Accepting the Olivier Award for Flight Pattern
Choreographing for Deloitte Ignite 2014
Rehearsing The Statement
Another rehearsal of The Statement
Performing in Flight Pattern
The Statement extract
Rehearsing Flight Pattern (from 22:20 – 1:10:48)
Rehearsing The Statement (from 38:23 – 1:02:46)
Moderating a panel on MacMillan’s Romeo & Juliet
The Metamorphosis – Making the surreal, real (presenting)
The Metamorphosis – Interview (presenting)

Articles

https://dancetabs.com/2013/04/the-royal-ballet-draft-works-spring-2013-london/
Kristen McNally: How I Made Metheus with the BalletBoyz
Be Stunned by Two Women’s Dynamic Dance in “Duet” (McNally choreographed this piece)

Pictures

Rehearsal pictures from The Statement

Marcelino Sambé

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/marcelino-sambe
Royal Ballet Flickr
Marcelino Sambé’s Instagram
Marcelino Sambé’s photography Instagram

Videos

Rehearsing The Cellist
The Cellist Pas de Trois
Rehearsing “Kitri and Basilio” from Don Quixote
Rehearsing The Nutcracker (2016)
Rehearsing the Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux, from The Nutcracker (2020)
Rehearsing piece by Christopher Wheeldon (2018)
Performing in Flight Pattern
Spring Draft Works extract – Othello’s Limbo
Rehearsing Optional Family

Dancing with Anna Rose

La Fille mal gardée
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux extract
The Nutcracker Act I pas de deux
Rehearsing the La fille mal gardée coda

Miscellaneous Videos

Insights: Kenneth Tharp in conversation with The Royal Ballet for Black History Month
Discussing his career to date
Getting In: A Dancer’s Perspective (an interview with Sambé)
A Short Film starring Marcelino Sambé
Hello, Marcelino (Really cool short video of him dancing)
Dancing on a Beach (Notice how he feels the music and translates it through his body)
Accepting the Olivier Award for Flight Pattern
Land of Nod (choreographed by Marcelino Sambé)
Marcelino Sambe (Royal Ballet): Flames of Paris Variation, YAGP 2009 (Age 14)
Live at Samsung KX: Marcelino Sambe’s Christmas Ballet
The Nutcracker Documentary on Francesca Hayward: Marcelino clips here and here
Figure 5 – Marcelino Sambé

Articles

“I’ve Got a Life Outside of Ballet” (Evening Standard)
Royal Ballet: Back on Stage Review (Dance for You Magazine)
Dance Tabs: Marcelino Sambe tag
Website for Romeo & Juliet: Beyond Words (trailers, pictures, behind the scenes videos)
Ballet Should Not Just Be for Elite Kids
The Royal Ballet’s Princely Powerhouse
On Life, Love, Lockdown, and His Idea for an Othello Ballet
One Giant Leap: Meet the New Generation of Male Ballet Stars
Music Triumphs over Tragedy: Marston’s Moving The Cellist Ballet Premiered by The Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Stars on Roles They Dream of Dancing
Interview in The Times (behind a paywall)
A Review of Flight Pattern
In Conversation
The Show Must Be Paused
Dancers in Lockdown
The Royal Ballet’s New Romeo & Juliet Share Their Secrets to On-Stage Chemistry

Pictures

Sambe and O’Sullivan in the Bluebird Pas de Deux
Pictures and short descriptions of Dances at a Gathering and The Cellist
As Brother Clown in Winter’s Tale
A Picture from the rehearsal of Optional Family
A Picture from the rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet

Alexander Campbell

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/alexander-campbell
Alexander Campbell’s Twitter (he’s delightful on Twitter)
Royal Ballet Flickr
Alexander Campbell’s Instagram

Overview

Leap of Faith (documentary, also on YouTube here)
Alex Campbell, Principal, Royal Ballet (solid and interesting biography from DanceAustralia)

Videos – Performances and Interviews

Bluebird Pas de Deux
Where We Are (a lockdown piece, by Alexander Campbell & Anthoula Syndica-Drummond)
Boys Own Dance: An inspiring discussion with male role models in the world of dance
Within the Golden Hour
Hans-Peter’s Mime
Comparing Mercutios (link goes to the full video, Alex Campbell’s bit starts here)
Why the Royal Ballet love performing Don Quixote
Why the Royal Ballet love performing Dances at a Gathering

Videos – Rehearsals and/or Presenting

Rehearsing The Mad Tea Party
Rehearsing Mercutio for Romeo and Juliet (2015)
Aeternum in Rehearsal
Kangaroo Rat from ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
Aladdin Pas de Deux (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
Alice in Wonderland Rehearsal (as presenter)
Works By Frederick Ashton (as presenter)

Cricket

The tale of a “real life” Billy Elliot
Interview with Guerilla Cricket (watch until about 4:29, skip the bit that’s just cricket, start again here)
Aussie Dancer Inspiring England’s Cricketers (Cricket.com)
Sporting Plan to Boost Boys in Ballet (BBC)

Miscellaneous

Baby Alex Campbell (gif) (Also found here)
Internet makes audiences harder to wow, Royal Ballet’s newest stars say (The Telegraph)
Meet London’s Ballet Boys (Evening Standard. You may have to scroll some.)
On Glitter (BBC)
A Quote from here:

“I remember watching videos of Mikhail Baryshnikov when I was younger and I wanted to be like him,” says Cambell, citing Baryshnikov as a major inspiration throughout his career.

“He is so exciting to watch that I couldn’t help but want to try it. I was always drawn to the excitement of performing and it was definitely that element of the career that made me want to pursue ballet.”

Honest Photographs that Show the “Sweat, Blood, and Repetition” behind the Royal Ballet

Joseph Sissens

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/joseph-sissens
Royal Ballet Flickr
Joseph Sissens’ Instagram

Videos

Jojo
Moving Lines
Insights: Kenneth Tharp in conversation with The Royal Ballet for Black History Month
Dance Europe Interview
Performance from when he was in school
The Statement extract
Rehearsing The Statement
Rehearsing The Mad Hatter
Another rehearsal of The Statement
Rehearsing the Neapolitan Dance for Swan Lake
An Illustrated Farewell
Rehearsing Flight Pattern (from 22:20 – 1:10:48)
Rehearsing The Statement (from 38:23 – 1:02:46)

Articles and pictures

The Show Must Be Paused
An Interview (behind a paywall)
Rehearsal pictures from The Statement
Dance Magazine’s 2020 “25 to Watch” (scroll to find him)
Sissens in Obsidian Tear
Calvin Richardson and Joseph Sissens rehearsing (by Tristam Kenton)

Beatriz Stix-Brunell

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/beatriz-stix-brunell
Royal Ballet Flickr
Royal Ballet Flickr, part 2
Beatriz Stix-Brunell Instagram

Videos

Rehearsing Alice in Wonderland (Alice and the White Rabbit)
Rehearsing the Mad Tea Party
Rehearsing the Caterpillar Scene
Rehearsing “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux” from The Nutcracker (2017)
Rehearsing “Juliet and Paris” from Romeo and Juliet (2019)
In Conversation with Beatriz Stix-Brunell
Friend & Foe by Xiaomi Studios
Emeralds first variation
The Art of the Pas de Deux
Getting in character for the courtesans in Manon
After the Rain extract
On Raven Girl
Rehearsing Raven Girl
Alice in Wonderland Rehearsal Clip
Rehearsing Sleeping Beauty
The dancers in this series of intros are Beatriz Stix-Brunell and William Bracewell

Articles

You’re Never Comfortable as a Dancer
Royal Ballet Star Trades Stage for Frosh Life at Stanford
A Week in the Life of Giselle’s Beatriz Stix-Brunell
Dance Tabs: Beatriz Stix-Brunell tag
Honest Photographs that Show the “Sweat, Blood, and Repetition” behind the Royal Ballet
Beatriz Stix-Brunell
What Dancers Eat: Beatriz Stix-Brunell’s Daily Diet
Two articles on “Duet“: CNN, BBC
Honest Photographs that Show the “Sweat, Blood, and Repetition” behind the Royal Ballet

Edward Watson

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/edward-watson
Personal Website
Royal Ballet Flickr
Edward Watson Instagram

Videos – Performances

The Winter’s Tale – Leontes (This is perhaps the best portrayal of jealousy that I have ever seen in any medium)
The Winter’s Tale – Act I Trial scene (The focus of this one is more on Hermione, but he’s in it a little bit.)
Clips from Mayerling
Mayerling Bedroom Pas de Deux
Woolf Works – Orlando pas de deux
Monotones II – Pas de Trois
Infra – Final duet

Videos – Rehearsals

Romeo & Juliet sword fight
Mayerling Masterclass
Song of the Earth
Monotones II
24 Preludes
Woolf Works
Another Woolf Works Rehearsal clip (starts at 1:13:12)
Carbon Life
Tetractys – The Art of Fugue
Ed Watson coaches dancers in Romeo and Juliet rehearsal (2019; starts at 1:17 and goes to 32:55)

Videos – Interviews and Other

Edward Watson: dancing ballet’s darkest roles
Insights: Edward Watson on Becoming a Principal Dancer
Edward Watson Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet
Edward Watson and Wayne McGregor (From my best friend: “This one’s really good.”)
Preparing for Mayerling
Ballet vs Theater: Two different interpretations of Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale
Christopher Wheeldon, Joby Talbot and Edward Watson on the Winter’s Tale
Creating Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
The Royal Ballet artists on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Mayerling Costumes
Edward Watson accepting his Wing Men of the Year Culture Award
Edward Watson and Wendy Whelan on Whelan/Watson: Other Stories
de La Cuona new Studio Collection featuring Edward Watson
Edward Watson ‘In Rehearsal’ (see the article below)
Itziar Mendizabal and Edward Watson THE ROYAL BALLET (partially in Spanish)
CNN feature on Men in Motion at London Coliseum (From my best friend: “I freely acknowledge that I mostly included this for the clip of Ed Watson dancing as Spider Man.  Other than that and some other clips of him dancing, I’m not sure about this one.  It might not be worth including.” From me: “Ed Watson dancing as Spiderman is always worth including.”)
The Metamorphosis – Interview
Edward Watson: Kafka’s Metamorphosis
Inside the Royal Ballet Healthcare Suite
O2 Romeo & Juliet Blog 1 and Blog 2
Opera, Ballet, and the Bard (Lauren Cuthbertson and Ed Watson, “Hermione & Leontes”)
Performing at the closing ceremonies at the London Olympics

Articles

Royal Ballet Stars on Roles They Dream of Dancing
Edward Watson to retire as a Royal Ballet’s principal dancer and other company’s end-of-Season announcements
The Royal Ballet’s Edward Watson: ‘It’s not normal to do this to your body – but it is possible’
Portrait of the artist: Edward Watson, dancer
Portrait of a dancer
Edward Watson: this is what ballet does to your body
Edward Watson (in rehearsal)
Prince Charles celebrates the Royal Ballet’s Principal dancer Edward Watson
Edward Watson to retire as Royal Ballet principal dancer
Edward Watson & the way into MacMillan
The ballet dancers growing old gracefully
Royal Ballet dancer fed up with critic’s references to his ginger hair
Edward Watson awarded MBE for services to dance

Photos

Honest Photographs that Show the “Sweat, Blood, and Repetition” behind the Royal Ballet
Giant leap off stage: farewell to the Royal Ballet’s stunning Edward Watson – in pictures

Anna Rose O’Sullivan

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/anna-rose-osullivan
Royal Ballet Flickr
Anna Rose O’Sullivan Instagram

Videos — Rehearsals

Rehearsing “Queen of the Dryads, Amour” from Don Quixote
Rehearsing the Sugar Plum Fairy Pas de Deux, from The Nutcracker (2020)
Sugar Plum Grand Pas de Deux rehearsal clip
Rehearsing “Songbird and Enchanted Fairies” from The Sleeping Beauty (2016)
Rehearsing the “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake
Cupid Variation
A First Glimpse of The Royal Ballet’s Illustrated ‘Farewell’ with Twyla Tharp
Voices of Spring, with Valentino Zucchetti

Videos — Performances

La Fille Mal Gardée – Act I Pas de Deux
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux extract
Don Quixote – Cupid Variation
Nutcracker Act I Pas de Deux
Concerto – First Movement (with James Hay)
Concerto – Final Movement
Within the Golden Hour Quartet
Solo from when she was 10

Videos — Interviews and Other

A Day in a Life with Anna Rose O’Sullivan
Anna Rose O’Sullivan on Her Debut in The Nutcracker
Why the Royal Ballet Love Performing The Nutcracker
What’s it Like to Perform in The Nutcracker
Why the Royal Ballet Love Performing Concerto
Royal Ballet Dancers Keep Moving under Lockdown (and an article too), and the YouTube link for the same video
From Kitchen to Stage: Royal Ballet Dancers Prepare for Reopening
Anna Rose O’Sullivan Interview for London Children’s Ballet
Interview, Age 9

Dancing with Marcelino Sambé

La Fille mal gardée
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux extract
The Nutcracker Act I pas de deux
La fille mal gardée coda rehearsal royal ballet

Articles

A Day in the Life: Anna Rose O’Sullivan
An Interview with Ballet Dancer Anna Rose O’Sullivan
Cupcakes & Conversation with Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Soloist, The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet’s New Romeo & Juliet Share Their Secrets to On-Stage Chemistry
There’s a Difference Between Wanting to Reach Your Full Potential and Getting to the Top
I Dreamed of Dancing in Darcey Bussell’s Shoes… Now I’m the Royal Ballet Lead in The Nutcracker
Royal Ballet’s Uplifting Nutcracker with Francesca Hayward, Alexander Campbell, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, James Hay, and the Ubiquitous Gary Avis
The Little Girl Who Went from Pigeon-Toed Baby to Soloist at the Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Leaps out of Lockdown
Anna Rose O’Sullivan tag on DanceTabs

Pictures

Sambe and O’Sullivan in the Bluebird Pas de Deux
A Picture from the rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet

*I’m including links to the rehearsals to many of these productions. Rehearsals tend to be rather long (most are more than an hour), but they give you a great sense of the dancers and the stories. Also, they’re just really interesting to watch. Special thanks to my best friend for finding all of these and sending them to me.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Steaming on Marquee TV

Playlist of the making of, behind the scenes, and clips from the ballet
The Mad Tea Party (because this is amazing choreography)

Rehearsals

2017 Rehearsal (1 hour, 2017, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, James Hay, “Alice & the White Rabbit”; Calvin Richardson, Joseph Sissens, “the Mad Hatter”)
Mad Tea Party (11 minutes, 2012, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Alexander Campbell, Liam Scarlett, James Hay)
Caterpillar Scene (15 minutes, 2017, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Fernando Montaño)
Card Scene (10 minutes, 2017, corps de ballet)

Cinderella

Streaming on Marquee TV (The Dutch Ballet’s 2014 production)

The Sleeping Beauty

Streaming on Marquee TV (The Royal Ballet, 2016 production)

Playlist of behind the scenes, making of, and clips
Clip: Carabosse Curses Aurora (McNally is just astonishing in this role)

Rehearsals

2016 Rehearsal (1 hour 15 minutes, 2016, Kristen McNally, Olivia Cowley, “Carabosse”; Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Tierny Heap, ” Songbird and Enchanted Garden Fairies”)
2019 Rehearsal (1 hour 14 minutes, 2019, Yu Hang, “Fairy of the Woodland Glade”; discussion of “Les Beaux Dormants”; Sae Maeda, Leticia Dias, “Songbird and Golden Vine Fairies”)
Carabosse (15 minutes, 2011, Kristen McNally)
Pas de Deux* (20 minutes, 2014, Yuhui Choe, Benjamin Ella)
Pas de Deux* (10 minutes, 2016, Yasmine Naghdi, Matthew Ball)
Fairies and Cavaliers (20 minutes, 2019, a lot of people)
Rose Adage (20 minutes, 2019, Fumi Kaneko, Joseph Aumeer, Téo Dubreuil, Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød, Thomas Mock)

Flight Pattern & The Statement

Streamed on the Royal Opera House site (both were only available for a limited time)

Clip of Kristen McNally and Marcelino Sambé
Crystal Pite on her ballet “Flight Pattern”
“My way of coping with the world at the moment” (Crystal Pite on “Flight Pattern”)
A clip from “The Statement”

Rehearsals

Flight Pattern (1 hour 10 minutes, 2017, Kristen McNally, Isabella Gasparini, Mica Bradbury, Solomon Golding, Calvin Richardson, Joseph Sissens)
Two Pieces by Crystal Pite (1 hour, 10 minutes, 2021, Francesca Hayward, Isabella Gasparini, Cesar Corrales, “Solo Echo”; Ashley Dean, Joseph Sissens, Kristen McNally, Calvin Richardson, “The Statement”)
The Royal Ballet Rehearse “The Statement” (2 minutes 41 seconds, 2021, Ashley Dean, Joseph Sissens, Kristen McNally, Calvin Richardson)

**Crystal Pite is a choreographer to watch. She has an astonishing talent. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Jewels

Streaming on Marquee TV (Mariinsky Ballet)

Playlist of behind the scenes, making, and clips

Rehearsals

2017 Long Rehearsal* (1 hour 11 minutes, 2017, Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, “Rubies”; Marianela Nuñez, Thiago Soares, “Diamonds”)
Rubies* (6 minutes, 2017, Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae)
Diamonds* (8 minutes, 2017, Marianela Nuñez, Thiago Soares)

The Winter’s Tale

Streaming on Marquee TV (The Royal Ballet streamed the production with Ed Watson for a brief period of time on YouTube, which I was lucky enough to see)

Playlist of behind the scenes, making of, and clips

Rehearsal

Winter’s Tale (1 hour 20 minutes, 2018, Fumi Kaneko, “Hermione”; Tierny Heap, “Paulina”; Akane Takada, “Perdita”)

The Nutcracker

The 2016 and 2018 productions are streaming on Marquee TV

Playlist of behind the scenes, making of, and clips

Rehearsals

2015 (1 hour 5 minutes, Lauren Cuthbertson, Matthew Golding “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”; Fumi Kaneko, James Hay, “Vivandière and Soldier Dolls”)
2016 (1 hour 10 minutes, Letitia Stock, Marcelino Sambé, “Hans-Peter & Clara”; Clare Calvert, “the Rose Fairy”)
2017 (1 hour, Tierny Heap, Mayara Magri, “the Rose Fairy”; Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Nicol Edmonds, “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”)
2018 (55 minutes, Isabella Gasparini, David Yudes, Gary Avis, Thomas Mock, “Clara, Hans-Peter, Drosselmeyer, Mouse King various scenes”)
2020 (51 minutes, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Marcelino Sambé, “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”; Romany Pajdak, Leo Dixon, “Hans-Peter & Clara”)
Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux (24 minutes, 2012, Fumi Kaneko, Nehemiah Kish)

7 characters. 7 weeks.

When I first started putting Ballet Marvel together, my idea was to make it a fun project to help me overcome my discomfort with having my picture taken (I explained a little more in depth in the intro post to the project). It’s funny looking back at that video because I remember once it was finished I dropped my head down and wondered how the hell I was going to get through seven weeks of this. I was shaking so much.

Then when the time came, I put on the Ballet Loki costume and I spun around, watching how the skirt swished, and I couldn’t help but smile. I thought about all the ballets and Marvel movies I had watched throughout the pandemic. This project was going to be a love letter to them, among other things.

This may just seem like a silly little cosplay project, but the fact that I was able to do this (take so many pictures of myself and actually like some of them), is huge for me. That I had fun while doing so is something I never even thought possible.

Marvel and ballet helped me get through the worst of the pandemic. I want to take a moment to thank the artists behind both and the ones who helped me bring Ballet Marvel to life.

Thank you so much to my bestie, who was my rock during the worst days of the pandemic. Thank you for sharing your love of ballet with me and introducing me to the Royal Ballet and the phenomenal dancers of the company. I always look forward to watching ballets and rehearsals with you. Ballet Marvel is dedicated to you (love you!).

Thank you to my costumers, BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram) and Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram). I was so lucky to find artists who are huge fans of ballet and just as excited about this project as me. The costumes and accessories you made, your phenomenal talent, made this project so special and made me feel so confident while wearing them. I could not be more grateful and look forward to our future collaborations.

Thank you so much to the Royal Ballet (Instagram: @royaloperahouse) for streaming so many amazing ballets throughout the pandemic. They provided much needed entertainment and wonder and awe while we were all trapped inside, scared and often bored. Thank you to all the casts and crew who come together to create such incredible ballets.

Thank you to the dancers I covered. Kristen McNally, Marcelino Sambe (@marcisambe), Alexander Campbell (@acampbell_1), Joseph Sissens (@joseph.sissens), Beatriz Stix-Brunell (@bstix_brunell), Edward Watson (@edwatson11), Anna Rose O’Sullivan (@annaroseosullivan) for sharing your art with the world. Watching your performances was often a lifeline during the worst days of the pandemic. Your dancing often reminded me of the joy and beauty in the world. It reminded me that the pandemic would eventually be over. Thank you.

Thank you so much to the actors who bring these incredible characters to life on the big screen: Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston), Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth), Karen Gillan (@karengillan), Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana), Brie Larson (@brielarson), Elizabeth Olsen, and Pom Klementieff (@pom.klementieff). Thank you to all the directors, writers, and crews who work so hard to bring these amazing movies to the big screen. They were a much needed comfort during a very difficult time.

Thank you to all the friends who offered words of encouragement. Thank you to everyone who reacted to these posts. It really means the world to me.

Ballet Marvel is also dedicated to my late friend, Billy, who always told me I was stronger than I realized. While I regret I’ll never have a picture with my friend, I know he would have really loved Ballet Marvel. He would have loved to see me having fun and embracing myself as a whole and loving the person I have grown into. I’m really proud of that.

This isn’t where Ballet Marvel ends. My artists and I are already in the progress of planning two additional characters who I really wanted to include but didn’t have the time to squeeze in before my own self-imposed deadline. Those will debut in the spring/summer. Be sure to follow my blog and Instagram so you will see that when I post it.

I plan to bring some of these costumes to conventions with me, because they are truly stunning works of art. If you’re going to attend SDCC, ECCC, or C2E2, I will be at all three shows and I will be wearing at least one (and possibly two) Ballet Marvel costumes. If you’re going to be at a convention and want to see a particular costume, feel free to request it. These pieces are even more stunning in person and I love showing them off.

I’m also going to post a blog post this afternoon of the collected recommended links. If you are interested in learning more about ballet, that’s a great place to start. Thank you so much to my bestie for helping me compile that.

I hope all of you enjoyed the show! Thank you for joining me

Thus concludes Mantis week. What a great character to end on

Special thanks again to Pom Klementieff (Instagram) for bringing this fantastic character to life and showing that emotions can be a real strength, even a superpower. Thanks to James Gunn (Instagram) for doing such a phenomenal job directing the Guardians of the Galaxy series and bringing such unique stories to life.

Mantis week has been dedicated to Emmy Jackson (Instagram) and Dawn Low (Instagram). Give them a like and a follow, show them some love. They’re phenomenal people and I consider myself so lucky and fortunate to call them friends.

Mantis costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

One last Ballet Marvel post will go up tomorrow. Thank you, everybody!

In which I discuss another ballet I really enjoyed: The Royal Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.

Mantis costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Disclaimer: I’m in no way affiliated with the Royal Ballet or Royal Opera House and are not driving any benefit from talking about them.

The Nutcracker recommended links

The 2016 and 2018 productions are streaming on Marquee TV

Playlist of behind the scenes, making of, and clips

Rehearsals

2015 (1 hour 5 minutes, Lauren Cuthbertson, Matthew Golding “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”; Fumi Kaneko, James Hay, “Vivandière and Soldier Dolls”)
2016 (1 hour 10 minutes, Letitia Stock, Marcelino Sambé, “Hans-Peter & Clara”; Clare Calvert, “the Rose Fairy”)
2017 (1 hour, Tierny Heap, Mayara Magri, “the Rose Fairy”; Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Nicol Edmonds, “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”)
2018 (55 minutes, Isabella Gasparini, David Yudes, Gary Avis, Thomas Mock, “Clara, Hans-Peter, Drosselmeyer, Mouse King various scenes”)
2020 (51 minutes, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Marcelino Sambé, “Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux”; Romany Pajdak, Leo Dixon, “Hans-Peter & Clara”)
Sugarplum Fairy Pas de Deux (24 minutes, 2012, Fumi Kaneko, Nehemiah Kish)

Mantis was a really fun character to figure out a ballet interpretation of. The design changed a little from the initial preliminary sketch.

Originally, Karolina designed this costume with leggings. However, when making the costume, she found the leggings to be visually boring and decided to scrap that idea and give ballet Mantis a skirt. I think the end result is perfect.

The helm was also a fun one to design. Carol said it was basically like designing reverse Loki horns, which I love.

The design is reminiscent of the ballet I planned to talk about for Mantis week: The Nutcracker. Originally, the plan was to paint it with a holographic paint, which was gorgeous (it was white, but turned gold when the light hit it). In the end, the color was just a little too white and so we went with a champagne color.

As always, it has gorgeous Swarovski crystals that give it that beautiful glisten.

(The tips of the antennae are even slightly feathered, just like Mantis’ antennae. This is one of my all-time favorite helms. I love it so much!).

Mantis preliminary sketch and costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm sketch and helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

“Telepaths know thoughts. Empaths feel feelings. Emotions.” ~ Mantis, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

“[Mantis touches Drax and starts laughing hysterically] I’ve never felt such humor!” ~ Mantis, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

Mantis costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Discussing another one of my absolute favorite dancers: Anna Rose O’Sullivan of the Royal Ballet

Nebula Costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Nebula Helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Disclaimer: I’m in no way affiliated with the Royal Ballet or Royal Opera House and are not driving any benefit from talking about them.

Anna Rose O’Sullivan Recommended Links

Royal Opera House Page: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/anna-rose-osullivan
Royal Ballet Flickr
Anna Rose O’Sullivan Instagram

Videos — Rehearsals

Rehearsing “Queen of the Dryads, Amour” from Don Quixote
Rehearsing the Sugar Plum Fairy Pas de Deux, from The Nutcracker (2020)
Sugar Plum Grand Pas de Deux rehearsal clip
Rehearsing “Songbird and Enchanted Fairies” from The Sleeping Beauty (2016)
Rehearsing the “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake
Cupid Variation
A First Glimpse of The Royal Ballet’s Illustrated ‘Farewell’ with Twyla Tharp
Voices of Spring, with Valentino Zucchetti

Videos — Performances

La Fille Mal Gardée – Act I Pas de Deux
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux extract
Don Quixote – Cupid Variation
Nutcracker Act I Pas de Deux
Concerto – First Movement (with James Hay)
Concerto – Final Movement
Within the Golden Hour Quartet
Solo from when she was 10

Videos — Interviews and Other

A Day in a Life with Anna Rose O’Sullivan
Anna Rose O’Sullivan on Her Debut in The Nutcracker
Why the Royal Ballet Love Performing The Nutcracker
What’s it Like to Perform in The Nutcracker
Why the Royal Ballet Love Performing Concerto
Royal Ballet Dancers Keep Moving under Lockdown (and an article too), and the YouTube link for the same video
From Kitchen to Stage: Royal Ballet Dancers Prepare for Reopening
Anna Rose O’Sullivan Interview for London Children’s Ballet
Interview, Age 9

Dancing with Marcelino Sambé

La Fille mal gardée
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux extract
The Nutcracker Act I pas de deux
La fille mal gardée coda rehearsal royal ballet

Articles

A Day in the Life: Anna Rose O’Sullivan
An Interview with Ballet Dancer Anna Rose O’Sullivan
Cupcakes & Conversation with Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Soloist, The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet’s New Romeo & Juliet Share Their Secrets to On-Stage Chemistry
There’s a Difference Between Wanting to Reach Your Full Potential and Getting to the Top
I Dreamed of Dancing in Darcey Bussell’s Shoes… Now I’m the Royal Ballet Lead in The Nutcracker
Royal Ballet’s Uplifting Nutcracker with Francesca Hayward, Alexander Campbell, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, James Hay, and the Ubiquitous Gary Avis
The Little Girl Who Went from Pigeon-Toed Baby to Soloist at the Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Leaps out of Lockdown
Anna Rose O’Sullivan tag on DanceTabs

Pictures

Sambe and O’Sullivan in the Bluebird Pas de Deux
A Picture from the rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet

“The crabby puppy is so cute. He makes me want to die!” ~ Mantis, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

“If I touch someone, I can feel their feelings.” ~ Mantis, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

Mantis costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

The introduction to the final Ballet Marvel character: Mantis! I adore this character so, so much and I am thrilled to have a cosplay of her. Look at my antennae!!!!

Mantis costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Mantis helm by Carol Datura Riot (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

As mentioned in the video, thank you to Pom Klementieff (Instagram) who plays Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. Klementieff is such a phenomenal actress and gives this character so much heart and hope and shows that emotions can be a real strength, something that should be shown more often. Thanks also to James Gunn (Instagram) for bringing this character into the series and allowing her to be the unique adorable character that she is. Mantis was the perfect addition to the Guardians and I look forward to seeing her more in the future.

Mantis week is dedicated to my friend Emmy Jackson (Instagram), who is a phenomenal author (the “Empty Cradle” series is phenomenal and one of the very, very, very few dystopian novels I will read) and encouraged my habit of cosplaying everywhere. That meant a great deal.

Mantis week is also dedicated to my friend, Dawn Low (Instagram), who is a phenomenal performer and artist. Her Raks Geek group made me really want to try some kind of dance cosplay. I really hope to see a Raks Geek show live sometime soon, because it looks like a ridiculous amount of fun.

That’s a wrap on Wanda Maximoff week! She was a fun character to cosplay.

Next week is the final week of Ballet Marvel. I can’t believe we’ve already reached the end of this huge project. It feels like it just started yesterday. I’m going to miss this.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Olsen for bringing the phenomenal character of Wanda Maximoff to life on the big screen. I cannot wait to see her future appearances in the MCU (including in the Doctor Strange sequel).

Wanda Maximoff week has been dedicated to Jason Gutierrez (Instagram) and Jonathan Allen (Instagram). Give them a like and a follow, show them all the love. Their Funko pictures always make me smile

Wanda Maximoff costume by BeBaGo (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)

Wanda Maximoff helm by Carol Datura Riot, the Potions Mistress (Etsy, Facebook, Instagram)