Patricia Barker

http://www.dance-teacher.com/2013/12/face-to-face/
Tough love: “There’s nothing like having a talented dancer in front of you who doesn’t understand hard work. After I spent one year as an apprentice and another in the corps de ballet at PNB, Francia Russell didn’t renew my contract. (It was renewed at the end of the summer.) At the time, I didn’t realize what the company wanted from me and didn’t know what I wanted for myself. And I definitely learned a lesson from that. It’s my job to take a younger dancer with a lot of talent who is rough around the edges, and make sure she understands her social graces and work ethic. I don’t let my dancers get away with anything.”