Sarah Lane (dancer)
Encyclopedia
Sarah Lane is an American ballet
dancer and a soloist
with American Ballet Theatre
(ABT).
. She started training for dance at the Memphis Classical Ballet in Memphis, Tennessee
. Her family later moved to Rochester, New York
where she continued her training at the Draper Center for Dance Education. At the age of 16, she attended the Boston Ballet
's Summer Program on a full scholarship. At the North American Ballet Festival in 2000 and 2001, she won first place and received the Capezio Class Excellence Award. In 2002 she received the highest medal in the Junior Division of the Jackson International Ballet Competition
. During that time she also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
, as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Also in 2002, she won the Bronze Medal at the Youth America Grand Prix Competition. Lane joined the American Ballet Theatre in August 2003 as an apprentice, moved up to the corps de ballet
in April 2004, and was promoted to soloist in August 2007. She won a Princess Grace Award in 2007 and received a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts in 2008.
" for Natalie Portman
in the 2010 film Black Swan
, a psychological thriller
about ballet dancers in New York City. In a March 3 blog entry for Dance Magazine
, editor-in-chief Wendy Perron
asked: "Do people really believe that it takes only one year to make a ballerina? We know that Natalie Portman studied ballet as a kid and had a year of intensive training for the film, but that doesn’t add up to being a ballerina. However, it seems that many people believe that Portman did her own dancing in Black Swan." This led to responses from Benjamin Millepied
and Aronofsky, who both defended Portman, as well as a response from Lane on the subject.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer and a soloist
Soloist (ballet)
In ballet, a soloist is a dancer in a ballet company above the corps de ballet but below principal dancer....
with American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
(ABT).
Life and career
Lane was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. She started training for dance at the Memphis Classical Ballet in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Her family later moved to Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
where she continued her training at the Draper Center for Dance Education. At the age of 16, she attended the Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
's Summer Program on a full scholarship. At the North American Ballet Festival in 2000 and 2001, she won first place and received the Capezio Class Excellence Award. In 2002 she received the highest medal in the Junior Division of the Jackson International Ballet Competition
USA International Ballet Competition
The USA International Ballet Competition, or USA IBC, is one of the world's top competitions for ballet. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, this competition is attended by dancers from all over the world to represent their country for bronze, silver, or gold medals in a variety of categories of...
. During that time she also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Also in 2002, she won the Bronze Medal at the Youth America Grand Prix Competition. Lane joined the American Ballet Theatre in August 2003 as an apprentice, moved up to the corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
in April 2004, and was promoted to soloist in August 2007. She won a Princess Grace Award in 2007 and received a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts in 2008.
Black Swan
Lane served as a "dance doubleBody double
A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined,...
" for Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
in the 2010 film Black Swan
Black Swan (film)
Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis. Its plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. The production requires a ballerina to...
, a psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
about ballet dancers in New York City. In a March 3 blog entry for Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
, editor-in-chief Wendy Perron
Wendy Perron
Wendy Perron is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and currently the editor-in-chief of Dance Magazine.Perron graduated from Bennington College in 1969. She began her career in New York as a choreographer and dancer with the Trisha Brown Dance Company and studied with Twyla Tharp...
asked: "Do people really believe that it takes only one year to make a ballerina? We know that Natalie Portman studied ballet as a kid and had a year of intensive training for the film, but that doesn’t add up to being a ballerina. However, it seems that many people believe that Portman did her own dancing in Black Swan." This led to responses from Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied is a French danseur, best known for his work as choreographer in the movie Black Swan .-Early life:...
and Aronofsky, who both defended Portman, as well as a response from Lane on the subject.
Selected repertoire
American Ballet Theatre- a Shade in La BayadèreLa BayadèreLa Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
- Blossom in CinderellaCinderella (Prokofiev)Cinderella is a ballet, Op. 87, composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception. The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it he...
- Amour and a flower girl in Don QuixoteDon Quixote (ballet)Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
- Anne in Christopher WheeldonChristopher WheeldonChristopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...
's VIII - the Flames of ParisFlames of ParisFlames of Paris is a classical ballet with music by musicologist and composer Boris Asafiev based on songs of the French Revolution, and originally choreographed by Vasily Vainonen, with design by Vladimir Dmitriev. The four-act ballet is based on a book by Felix Gras...
pas de deux - the Two of Diamonds in Jeu de CartesJeu de CartesJeu de cartes can refer to either of two ballets, both to Stravinsky's eponymous music from 1936:* Jeu de cartes , made by George Balanchine on his American Ballet and danced fourteen years later by New York City Ballet...
- the Chinese Dance in The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
- the Youngest Sister in Pillar of Fire by Antony TudorAntony TudorAntony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer.-Biography:Tudor, born William Cook, discovered dance accidentally. He began dancing professionally with Marie Rambert in 1928, becoming general assistant for her Ballet Club the next year...
- one of Juliet's friends in Romeo and Juliet, Sinatra Suite
- Princess Aurora, Princess Florine and the Fairies of Charity and Joy in The Sleeping Beauty
- the Polish Princess and a Little Swan in Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
- the White Goat in Sylvia, Theme and Variations
Publications
- "My (Double) Life as a Black Swan." The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, March 30, 2011.