He later said he was taking ballet lessons to improve his technique on the ice.

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By the age of 14, he was studying Chinese opera movement and paying for his first ballet lessons with money earned by writing. (He later published two novels.) The turning point came when Lin studied with modern dance pioneers Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham - influences that could be detected flitting through his early work with Cloud Gate.

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Joel, who was born in the Bronx, said he was teased when he would get piano lessons since that teacher also taught ballet.

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The composer, who has worked with the likes of opera singer Bryn Terfel and the Royal Ballet, is also concerned that poorer families could miss out, with only wealthy parents able to afford music lessons.

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Business advice given, lessons learned, this collaboration between Harvard's best and SAMB may just be what the South African ballet company needs to keep its dancers on stage.

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