It's so nice to hear it from the dancer's perspective when as an audience we simply see all the grandeur and 'effortlessness' incorporated into such a ballet. You really emphasized on good partnership in this video, perhaps you could make a video and how a female and a male dancer can become good partners? Like I heard that often the female dancer tries to help by trying to do the majority of the work but that just makes partnership harder? Would love to hear your take! Thank you so much for all your guidance!
Thanks to you for sharing !! I also appreciate to way you explain about your health and how comfortable you are with your body despite of your illness. I think you are a well balanced person and that young people need to have someone like you to look up too ! I'm not a ballet dancer but I wished it so much when I was growing up ! : ) I enjoy watching your videos, they let me see how hard I would have had to work !! But also how beautiful and amazing ballet is !! Thank you !!
i was wondering if maybe one day you could show one of your old solo videos side by side of you dancing it now so we can kinda see how much you've grown and just to kinda see how its supposed to look because obviously your better now. just a little idea idk.
I love when you hit your fifths/sous sous! Brings me back to my training, my teacher, who was trained by Balanchine for a large part of her pre professional career, always stressed- " I want to see two heels when in fifth en point!" And girl, you nail it! You don't see that clean, heels forward sous sous anymore....
Love these commentaries, I really liked how you told us the story of the arms in the aurora solo variation, I never knew that but it adds so much more meaning. Awesome dancing and please keep on doing these
YES to these types of videos! It's so amazing to hear the actual commentary - both what the technique is 'supposed to be', which is when you realise ballet dancers are human, and the commentary from the dancer's perspective, like the partner thing, oh there's this detail (Balanchine spot), shoes aren't right. It just makes everything not only more knowledgeable, but also expands on the grandeur of the ballet world - every little itty bit matters
I appreciate your mistakes, as a young dancer striving for perfection it's good to have a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. Thank you so much for sharing, so educational !!!
Bless your heart doing this at 21! There was a sophistication in your movement quality which belied your years, wasn't there? I agree that those promenades are a bear! Lovely, Kathryn. Thanks for sharing this.
I love "Sleeping Beauty" it was the first and only professional ballet I ever saw. My dad took me it was performed by a Russian ballet company. I took ballet for 8 years all the way to pointe. I love your channel and live for your commentaries!
I'm not a ballet dancer but do love watching it, and having the commentary from not only a trained dancer but the actual dancer I'm watching is really really fantastic - I can't see the tiny mistakes like the dancer not ending a step in fourth so to have someone say so is really helpful. Please do more of these - even if you hate watching yourself, I like watching you; you're a beautiful dancer!
I just saw my cousin as Aurora with the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and watching your version helped me understand the story as well as how impressive and difficult it is to do this role. It allowed me to appreciate everything she did so much more, so thank you for this and all of your videos.
As a non-dancer I know nothing about technique and stuff, so I'm so happy for this kind of insight! I just love your dancing. You did such an amazing job and I bow to your artistry. You are so graceful and precise, and you put so much of natural yet very clear expression into your dancing. Just... wow!
You have such beautiful hands and fingers! I feel like so many dancers now have these sharp, harsh looking hands. Yours are so strong but so soft and graceful. Loved this, well done!
LOVE these videos with the commentary, they're so reassuring for me because I always feel so tired after variations despite the "short" length (I typically do 2-3 minute dances at least). Love hearing the nit-picky things you notice about your own dancing too, I never would notice those kinds of things without the comments but they help a lot to give insight on how to do the steps correctly.
i loveeee these! i could watch you comment on entire ballets. you give such amazing points (pun intended) and critique it really helps! please do more!
I really like these and appreciate your insights into making certain steps successful, such as the fish sequence or covering for an off-balance finish. Thank you so much for sharing, and I look forward to seeing more of these videos!
Yes! These commentary videos are really helpful and very interesting, I think it's a great way of learning because we don't have just the video to rely on, but we also have your sincere comment on your own work and I think it's brilliant! Thank you very much 😘
These are brilliant! I'm learning so much and you strike such a great balance between the perfectionism needed for the art form and the realities of the human body! Please make as many as you can - I, for one, will watch them all! Thank you Xjx
I absolutely love these videos! It is so funny because to me everything you do just looks perfect yet you are highlighting bits that were errors and your commentary is gold haha 💛💛💛
I had no idea I had waited for this video. This is my favorite piece and I thought you looked perfect when I saw the original video, but it's very interesting to hear your side of the story. Please keep up with this format, I love it.
I simply heart you and your commentaries... What you share is very admirable. I enjoy it all the more, because you're approachable about it without any diva fluff. Salut! 😊🙃
You were so on music in the solo part. I watched a lot of professional performance of that variation. Many ballerias had issue hitting the music with a live orchestra. It is so satisfying to watch that you were able to achieve that!
Of all the great things you do on your channel, I think I enjoy your commentaries the most. It's super, super interesting to have a professional giving the play-by-play. Dancers are supposed to make it look effortless (which you always do), but as a devoted ballet lover who trained at a just-under-pro level, I know the steps and what's involved in the mechanics and transitions and it's light years away from effortless. I really appreciate the added dimension your comments give us as your audience. Thank you so much for that. In a related aside -- your port de bras is unexpectedly lovely. I never really think much of NYCB- trained dancers in the way of port de bras; it's one of the few glaring weaknesses of the Balanchine method, IMHO. NYCB dancers are all highly musical, they have incredible speed and stamina, and wonderful feet. But not so much on the arms, and rather stiff hands, as a rule. You, however, are a delightful exception to that rule!
Yes please do more commentary. I'm not in ballet at all, so it's nice to know how you feel on the other side as you dance. Thanks and you're a wonderful dancer by the way! ^.^
ohhhhh I had no idea about the story behind the port de bras in the variation! That's perfect! I love the subtle meaning and importance it adds to the choreography :)
I've watched the original video many times. Your commentary was truly fascinating. I DID always wonder what that arm movement meant at 6:28. It's a very specific look. Now I get it!!! Thank you!
Guess what? I got approved for pointe last night! I have to thank you, Katy, because I have watched all of you videos and you give such great tips. Thanks for making such helpful videos!
These videos are amazing. I showed them to my husband, and he loved it! It helped him understand what was going on in the scene. Very, very cool. Please keep making these!
These are my new favorite videos, they're so interesting! I'm a singer studying dance to get a better grasp of performance and have better control of my body. I didn't expect to become so invested in ballet and I love knowing more about what I'm watching. Please, please, please keep making these!
I love your videos, my mom was a dancer but I was never any good at it. your videos are so accesible and interesting. i love them. hearing you do the commentary was grand because its always fun to see the performer's take on their craft, even though its always cringy to watch oneself perform, or at least that's how I always felt.
I LIVE for these videos!! I only do Ballet for fun and fitness (no hopes of going pro, I'm in my 20s), and I'm a guy, but I absolutely _love_ hearing your commentary and seeing what it is I don't see. I really hope you continue these!!
Love! Katie, would you please consider teaching a variations class where we wanna-bes can learn (simplified!) versions of variations from the classics. Just for fun! You have so much to offer, I'm sure the younger students would get a lot out of it too because there are so many details to cover, right? Thanks for explaining the spotting-to-the-front. I always wondered about that one. Is it harder? To my eyes, I both love it because we see your beautiful face; and I find it odd to see someone moving through space not looking where they are going...do you happen to know what Mr. B's thinking on that was?
Just stunning Kathryn!, thank you for posting your beautiful dancing , a joy to watch and I'm so happy for you that you're able to return to your passionate dancing after your illness. I wonder if you would consider doing a vid on tips for beginning ballet as an overweight adult ? And tips for the same xx
I love this, it's like 'Katie's internal monologue while watching her own dancing.'
It's so nice to hear it from the dancer's perspective when as an audience we simply see all the grandeur and 'effortlessness' incorporated into such a ballet. You really emphasized on good partnership in this video, perhaps you could make a video and how a female and a male dancer can become good partners? Like I heard that often the female dancer tries to help by trying to do the majority of the work but that just makes partnership harder? Would love to hear your take! Thank you so much for all your guidance!
Thank you! Great idea- I definitely need to do a video on partnering. Thank you for the suggestion! xoxo
Yay! Thank you! Looking forward to your new videos!
I ADORE these commentaries !!! :)
Thank you!
Thanks to you for sharing !! I also appreciate to way you explain about your health and how comfortable you are with your body despite of your illness. I think you are a well balanced person and that young people need to have someone like you to look up too ! I'm not a ballet dancer but I wished it so much when I was growing up ! : ) I enjoy watching your videos, they let me see how hard I would have had to work !! But also how beautiful and amazing ballet is !! Thank you !!
i was wondering if maybe one day you could show one of your old solo videos side by side of you dancing it now so we can kinda see how much you've grown and just to kinda see how its supposed to look because obviously your better now. just a little idea idk.
Ooh that's a great idea. Thank you!
Beaders
I love when you hit your fifths/sous sous! Brings me back to my training, my teacher, who was trained by Balanchine for a large part of her pre professional career, always stressed- " I want to see two heels when in fifth en point!" And girl, you nail it! You don't see that clean, heels forward sous sous anymore....
Those fish dives were incredible.You looked so beautiful and regal throughout.
When you kept talking about how tired you were ❤️ An artist makes everything look easy
Love these commentaries, I really liked how you told us the story of the arms in the aurora solo variation, I never knew that but it adds so much more meaning. Awesome dancing and please keep on doing these
Yes! Thank you for telling us the meanings behind the movements and miming!
Thank you so much! I will!
YES to these types of videos! It's so amazing to hear the actual commentary - both what the technique is 'supposed to be', which is when you realise ballet dancers are human, and the commentary from the dancer's perspective, like the partner thing, oh there's this detail (Balanchine spot), shoes aren't right. It just makes everything not only more knowledgeable, but also expands on the grandeur of the ballet world - every little itty bit matters
LOVE this! Can you do commentary for Aurora's birthday entrance? That might be my favorite part of the ballet, and I would love to see you do it!
Ooh yes! It's also one of the hardest parts of the ballet because you literally feel like you are shot out of a cannon!
Kelly Omg I love that part too!!❤
5:14 HOW THE ACTUAL EFF DID YOU NOT FALL FLAT ON YOUR FACE OMG MY HEART JUMPED WATCHING THAT WHOO THATS ENOUGH CARDIO FOR ME TODAY
I'm SO glad that a technical ballet dancer such as you has a UA-cam channel. And a good one ❤️
Thank you Morgan!
I appreciate your mistakes, as a young dancer striving for perfection it's good to have a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. Thank you so much for sharing, so educational !!!
I love the commentaries! it's so interesting hearing criticism and tidbits of background information from a trained eye. thank you for this!
Bless your heart doing this at 21! There was a sophistication in your movement quality which belied your years, wasn't there? I agree that those promenades are a bear! Lovely, Kathryn. Thanks for sharing this.
fascinatiing to hear the details about the miming,and emotions that the dancing is putting across.
I love "Sleeping Beauty" it was the first and only professional ballet I ever saw. My dad took me it was performed by a Russian ballet company. I took ballet for 8 years all the way to pointe. I love your channel and live for your commentaries!
I'm not a ballet dancer but do love watching it, and having the commentary from not only a trained dancer but the actual dancer I'm watching is really really fantastic - I can't see the tiny mistakes like the dancer not ending a step in fourth so to have someone say so is really helpful. Please do more of these - even if you hate watching yourself, I like watching you; you're a beautiful dancer!
This was lovely, thank you so much for sharing. Hope to see more commentary videos and learning more about ballet in the process.
Those fish dives were beautiful!
I just saw my cousin as Aurora with the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and watching your version helped me understand the story as well as how impressive and difficult it is to do this role. It allowed me to appreciate everything she did so much more, so thank you for this and all of your videos.
As a non-dancer I know nothing about technique and stuff, so I'm so happy for this kind of insight! I just love your dancing. You did such an amazing job and I bow to your artistry. You are so graceful and precise, and you put so much of natural yet very clear expression into your dancing. Just... wow!
These commentaries are so educational and I really enjoy them because they make me appreciate dance even more!!! Thanks Katie you are so cute
This pas de deux is so clean, it’s breathtaking. well done!
The ending of the pas de deux was gorgeous! ❤️
You have such beautiful hands and fingers! I feel like so many dancers now have these sharp, harsh looking hands. Yours are so strong but so soft and graceful. Loved this, well done!
I love the commentary videos, especially when you explain the significance of each move!!!
So educational! Please make many more.
I will!
“I’m dying, I can’t breathe, I have to turn, wonderful!”
OMG IM CRACKING UP RN
I absolutely love all the commentaries
LOVE these videos with the commentary, they're so reassuring for me because I always feel so tired after variations despite the "short" length (I typically do 2-3 minute dances at least). Love hearing the nit-picky things you notice about your own dancing too, I never would notice those kinds of things without the comments but they help a lot to give insight on how to do the steps correctly.
i loveeee these! i could watch you comment on entire ballets. you give such amazing points (pun intended) and critique it really helps! please do more!
Haha thank you! I will!
I think these might be my new favourite videos of yours, it's just really great to see your insight and all the little things that you teach!
Absolutely love these commentaries. Your insight and critique is both interesting and really fun!
Loved this.Thank you for sharing.Your partner was impressive in the fish dives. I always enjoy when the male dancer lifts his front foot.
I really like these and appreciate your insights into making certain steps successful, such as the fish sequence or covering for an off-balance finish. Thank you so much for sharing, and I look forward to seeing more of these videos!
Thank you so much for fantastic commentary videos. Your commentary really enlarges my perspective on ballet. I can enjoy ballet even more.
Those are great Katie ! And it's so amazing to see you dance, you're so graceful and beautiful!
I absolutely love these commentaries!!!!!!
I really enjoy hearing these and seeing the dance from the dancers point of view!
Yes! These commentary videos are really helpful and very interesting, I think it's a great way of learning because we don't have just the video to rely on, but we also have your sincere comment on your own work and I think it's brilliant! Thank you very much 😘
love the commentaries!! I find them so fun, interesting and quite informative! Would love to see more:)
Love, love, *love* these performance commentaries!!! Thanks so much!
Please do more of these commentaries! I love hearing about the dance from the ballet dancer's point of view
I love this one! It must be such a treat to dance Aurora. A technically and character-wise demanding role on such breathtaking music!
I love these commentaries!! More please!
I love all of these, please keep them coming as well as tutorials, i miss those
These are brilliant! I'm learning so much and you strike such a great balance between the perfectionism needed for the art form and the realities of the human body!
Please make as many as you can - I, for one, will watch them all!
Thank you
Xjx
I just went to Ballet West's production of Sleeping Beauty last night. How fun to go to see this video posted today! I'd love to see more of these. :)
Love love LOVE these commentaries! More please ☺
That was THE most beautiful Pas de Deux. I think that one is my favorite especially with you.
I absolutely love these videos! It is so funny because to me everything you do just looks perfect yet you are highlighting bits that were errors and your commentary is gold haha 💛💛💛
Liked before watching. Love these vids
Thank you Leah!
Oh this is just lovely! This pas and variation are SO hard. Loved your commentary! (And your dancing of course!)
She kept saying oh this is the hardest part and oh this is my favorite part! Haha😂😂 love the these videos though and can totally relate
I had no idea I had waited for this video. This is my favorite piece and I thought you looked perfect when I saw the original video, but it's very interesting to hear your side of the story. Please keep up with this format, I love it.
These are so interesting and enjoyable, Katie! Please do more!!!
I simply heart you and your commentaries...
What you share is very admirable. I enjoy it all the more, because you're approachable about it without any diva fluff.
Salut! 😊🙃
So beautiful! Yes, love the commentary!
You were so on music in the solo part. I watched a lot of professional performance of that variation. Many ballerias had issue hitting the music with a live orchestra. It is so satisfying to watch that you were able to achieve that!
2019 and It is stunning! Mistakes and all! ( I saw no mistakes, you know much more than I) Bravo
love your dancing, thank you Kathryn. yes, please post more videos of your dancing with commentary.
Thank you! I will
Awww I really love hearing your commentary, fun facts and stories :)
I love it! And your commentary was lovely and also most importantly very educational!!!
I love these videos. The commentary brings so much insight to this, so helpful :)
Of all the great things you do on your channel, I think I enjoy your commentaries the most. It's super, super interesting to have a professional giving the play-by-play. Dancers are supposed to make it look effortless (which you always do), but as a devoted ballet lover who trained at a just-under-pro level, I know the steps and what's involved in the mechanics and transitions and it's light years away from effortless. I really appreciate the added dimension your comments give us as your audience. Thank you so much for that.
In a related aside -- your port de bras is unexpectedly lovely. I never really think much of NYCB- trained dancers in the way of port de bras; it's one of the few glaring weaknesses of the Balanchine method, IMHO. NYCB dancers are all highly musical, they have incredible speed and stamina, and wonderful feet. But not so much on the arms, and rather stiff hands, as a rule.
You, however, are a delightful exception to that rule!
Kathryn you are such a graceful and beautiful ballerina! I am a ballerina as well and you are such an inspiration to me! Keep doing what you love!
Yes please do more commentary. I'm not in ballet at all, so it's nice to know how you feel on the other side as you dance. Thanks and you're a wonderful dancer by the way! ^.^
ohhhhh I had no idea about the story behind the port de bras in the variation! That's perfect! I love the subtle meaning and importance it adds to the choreography :)
These are really wonderful! Please keep doing them!
I've watched the original video many times. Your commentary was truly fascinating. I DID always wonder what that arm movement meant at 6:28. It's a very specific look. Now I get it!!!
Thank you!
Guess what? I got approved for pointe last night! I have to thank you, Katy, because I have watched all of you videos and you give such great tips. Thanks for making such helpful videos!
I defenetly love this kind of videos 😉😊
Thank you!
These videos are amazing. I showed them to my husband, and he loved it! It helped him understand what was going on in the scene. Very, very cool. Please keep making these!
These are my new favorite videos, they're so interesting! I'm a singer studying dance to get a better grasp of performance and have better control of my body. I didn't expect to become so invested in ballet and I love knowing more about what I'm watching. Please, please, please keep making these!
This is GREAT! Please do more videos like this!
I'm loving all of these commentaries!! Keep it up please!
You are so talented! Please keep these videos up, I love them!
I love your videos, my mom was a dancer but I was never any good at it. your videos are so accesible and interesting. i love them. hearing you do the commentary was grand because its always fun to see the performer's take on their craft, even though its always cringy to watch oneself perform, or at least that's how I always felt.
These are so wonderful! I look forward to more!
AMAZING! Keep doing these please Katie!!!
I love these videos. showed them to my boyfriend to show him how hard ballet is. looking forward to more of them:)
Fabulous! Loving the commentary.
I could watch you dance all day. You are a gorgeous ballerina✨🙌🏻
I LIVE for these videos!! I only do Ballet for fun and fitness (no hopes of going pro, I'm in my 20s), and I'm a guy, but I absolutely _love_ hearing your commentary and seeing what it is I don't see. I really hope you continue these!!
Looove these commentaries!
You are just such an inspirational role model.
I love these videos. Thank you so much. I hope you will make more
Yes! I love the videos with commentary!
I love love love your commentary! It's so interesting and helps us understand what it's like to be on stage :)
Love! Katie, would you please consider teaching a variations class where we wanna-bes can learn (simplified!) versions of variations from the classics. Just for fun! You have so much to offer, I'm sure the younger students would get a lot out of it too because there are so many details to cover, right?
Thanks for explaining the spotting-to-the-front. I always wondered about that one. Is it harder? To my eyes, I both love it because we see your beautiful face; and I find it odd to see someone moving through space not looking where they are going...do you happen to know what Mr. B's thinking on that was?
Just stunning Kathryn!, thank you for posting your beautiful dancing , a joy to watch and I'm so happy for you that you're able to return to your passionate dancing after your illness. I wonder if you would consider doing a vid on tips for beginning ballet as an overweight adult ? And tips for the same xx
I watch all the time, great dancing Katie
This is one of my favorite ballet clips you've ever posted, so I loved seeing you analyze it!!
I LOVED this, your dancing is ABSOLUTELY beautiful. 😍 I love the costume as well.
absolutley love These ballet commentary Videos! Keep goint! xoxo
Yes! Keep doing commentaries I enjoy them very much!
Ooofff my feet hurt just watching this. Mad respect!!
I loveee your commentaries!!!
I love watching these you are so talented