Tina Martin, Ballet Florida, Benois de la Danse nominee

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The recent thread on the latest Benois de la Danse made me think of Tina Martin, Ballet Florida's leading ballerina for many years. Martin was a Benois de la Danse nominee two years ago.

Martin chose to remain at Ballet Florida when she could certainly have had a significant and much mroe visible career elsewhere. She was exceptional, in my book, whether performing Balanchine and Robbins, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Cinderella and Juliet, or leads in contemporary pieces like Caniparoli's Lambarena and McIntyre's Second Before the Ground.

When we think about Ballet Florida's possible demise, it's good to recall the opportunities that the company offered to dancers like Martin.

Martin was astonishing as the Chosen One in Mauricio Wainrot's Rite of Spring a couple of seasons back. She took incredible risks and invested everything in the every second of the role.

Here are the final 8 minutes of the Ballet Florida staging:

Two other dancers are prominent in this clip: Marcus Shafer (Martin's regular partner, including the performance for the Benois de la Danse) and Maria-Angeles Llamas.