I only want to see you, only want to see you
In the purple rain

Prince has always been a big supporter of ballet… if you didn’t know…. before he partnered up with Misty Copeland he lent his music to Joffrey Ballet for the ballet Billboards. It premiered January 27, 1993 in Iowa.  The crazy part about this ballet is that it is choreographed by four different choreographers. Actually, this ballet has been a part of my life for a long time. When I was younger at a studio I danced at, there was a signed poster of all of the Joffrey Dancers and Prince hanging in the big studio.

Sorry there is no music- it is copyrighted. But this ballet made me realize that there were hundreds of ways to combine genres of dance. And I knew… classical ballet was never going to be my dream… I wanted to move in hundreds of ways… But then I got hooked and addicted to Balanchine technique and that was that (lol).

I also went to school in Minneapolis and there is a bar there called First Ave where I spent quite a few nights… First Ave is where he basically grew up playing and basically supported the bar over his career making guest appearances and showing up randomly.

In 2009 Prince asked Misty Copeland to join him in his cover of Crimson and Clover and then became a muse to Prince. Prince then donated money to American Ballet Theatre. 250k to be exact.

So, as we lost this great artist— for me, I will remember his contributions to the ballet world and how it has changed the color of ballet, changed choreography and the way we perceive ballet.