Shelby Elsbree, a young dancer who I had the pleasure of meeting while she has been at SAB, has made a grand jetee clear across the Atlantic. At the expressed invitation of Nikolaj Hubbe, Shelby joins the Royal Danish Ballet.
Kyle Froman has generously provided the above photo of Shelby.
Earlier this month I watched Shelby taking Jock Soto's partnering class at SAB; she had just received the summons from Copenhagen and was in a swirl of planning and packing yet she looked cool and calm in class. Shelby is an expressive dancer with a very distinctive presence; it was easy to see why Nikolaj would want to grab her for Royal Danish before anyone else beat him to it.
Please join me in wishing bonne chance to a young ballerina on her grand adventure.
Good luck Shelby!
Posted by: Laura | February 25, 2009 at 08:21 PM
What an honor for a young dancer to be taken in to the Royal Danish. The photograph is very nice.
Posted by: Nina | February 25, 2009 at 09:17 PM
Shelby is a lovely person as well as a lovely dancer. Denmark's gain is our loss. Good luck Shelby.
Posted by: Barbara B. | February 26, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Shelby is such a beautiful dancer - I am so happy for her. I see that the Royal Danish Ballet is about to premiere on March 14th a fantastic all-Balanchine program: Symphony in 3 Movements, La Sonnambula, and Symphony in C. Wow, doesn't that sound like a dream program! I hope we hear reports back. What an exciting time this must be for Shelby - congratulations to her!
Posted by: Monica | February 26, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Shelby as you know, Sylvie, Robert and I are so happy for you. Bonne chance and "merde". By the way the photo is fantastic and you look so beautiful!!
Lots of love,
Heidi, Robert and Sylvie.
Posted by: Heidi Volosov | February 26, 2009 at 05:27 PM