You don’t need to venture too far into France to find its wow factor. Indeed, within minutes of exiting the ferry or Channel Tunnel, you can be staring a fire-breathing dragon in the face. The Dragon de Calais is a 25-metre-long mechanical beast that stomps along the renovated sea front carrying 48 passengers on its back (adult ticket €9.50), emitting jets of fire, steam and water from its nostrils. It was created by the team behind Les Machines de L’île, a collection of steampunk wonders including a 12-metre elephant, in Nantes.
This year, Calais’ dragon is joined by Le Varan, a giant iguana that crawls around the town and the old fishing district with room for 25 passengers (adults €8.50). While you’re there, explore the beaches along the coast at Hardelot-Plage and visit the Chateau d’Hardelot, with its history of Franco-British relations.
Celebrate Monet in Rouen
Rouen cathedral, which Monet painted more than 30 times. Photograph: SC Stock/Getty Images
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet’s death and many galleries and venues in Normandy and Paris have events planned. You don’t need to face the crowds at Giverny or the Musée d’Orsay to appreciate the great artist’s work, though. Instead, visit Rouen, where Monet found the ever-changing, silver-grey light on the intricate and imposing facade of the cathedral so inspiring he painted it more than 30 times (from the window of what was, at the time, a ladies’ undergarment shop opposite).
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen has the largest collection of French impressionist works outside Paris, including one of the cathedral paintings and works by Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley. While you’re there, explore the Boucles de la Seine natural regional park, where you can cycle between the loops of the River Seine through orchards and past the ruined Abbaye de Jumièges.
Visit a postman’s palace in Drôme
The Palais Idéal, created by Ferdinand Cheval. Photograph: DV Travel/Alamy
The Dauphiné region, close to Grenoble, combines breathtaking scenery and curious attractions. Chief among them is the Palais Idéal, a whimsical monument built over 33 years from the late 19th century by Ferdinand Cheval, a postman whose inspiration came from the travel journals and postcards he delivered on his 20-mile round. On the facade of the 10-metre-high palace, you’ll see mythical creatures and mysterious grottoes, Egyptian temples and Swiss chalets, while the small on-site museum recounts the stories of Cheval’s tragic life, and those who fought until the 1960s to have the structure recognised as a listed monument.
Nearby, explore the jaw-dropping Vercors mountains, with precipitous roads such as the Combe Laval route, which was chiselled out of the rock in the 19th century to transport timber. Also visit the fascinating Grotte de Choranche underground caves, with curious, spaghetti-like stalactites, and the town of Pont-en-Royans, where medieval houses hang high over a gorge.
Discover Brittany by bike
A cyclist on the Traversée Bretonne passes a chateau in Nantes. Photograph: Un Monde à Vélo
Cyclists have always been spoiled by the smooth, car-free cycle paths throughout France, and now the Traversée Bretonne, a new route through the heart of Brittany, offers a fresh challenge. Starting in the city of Nantes, the 14-stage route takes riders past the curious mid-century architecture of Saint-Nazaire (such as the Soucoupe, a sports centre shaped like a flying saucer), then on to the “Atlantic Riviera” at La Baule, with its belle époque villas and vast beach.
Further along, the lively city of Rennes is perfect for rehydrating: Rue Saint-Michel is nicknamed Rue de la Soif (thirsty street) because it has a bar approximately every 7 metres. The route finishes with a nice flat stage at Mont-Saint-Michel. traversee-bretonne.com
Celebrate figs in the Var
Figs for sale at the Fête de la Figue in the village of Solliès-Pont. Photograph: Laurent Parienti
Plan a late-summer sojourn in the Vallée du Gapeau, inland from Toulon, which is renowned for its fig orchards: local people say the trees like their heads in the sunshine and their feet in the water. At the end of August, the start of the harvest is celebrated with the lively Fête de la Figue in the village of Solliès-Pont. As well as the bountiful market, there are tours of the groves and a lively four-course dinner with music in the village’s main square.
While you’re there, hike in the wooded valley and admire the curiously shaped “elephant rock”. Visit the local olive oil mill at Moulin à Huile du Partégal (entry free) to explore its ancient grove and taste its oils; and stroll the unspoiled villages of Solliès-Ville and Solliès-Toucas. valleegapeau-tourisme.fr
Taste cheese in the Jura mountains
Cheese at La Maison du Comté. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy
To truly understand the flavours of French cheeses, it pays to visit the landscapes in which they are made. One of the most enchanting areas for a foray in fromage is the Jura mountains, the home of comté cheese. Here, as part of the Routes du Comté, you can visit the so-called cathedral of comté at the Fort Saint-Antoine (tour reservations essential, €11), where Fromageries Marcel Petite ages its 100,000 wheels of comté between the stone arches of a 19th-century military fort. Nearby, next to the Lac de Malbuisson, Restaurant du Fromage offers a comté and savagnin wine fondue in its Swiss-chalet-like surrounds.
An hour west, the town of Poligny is home to La Maison du Comté, a visitor centre dedicated to explaining how the cheese is made and infused with the flavours of the 130 plants from the spectacular landscape on which the cows graze. montagnes-du-jura.fr
Hunt for bric-a-brac in Normandy
A flea market in Honfleur. Photograph: Peter Andrew Richardson/Alamy
Take a road trip to the bucolic Perche regional natural park in southern Normandy, an area of rolling hills, cider farms and charming villages. It is ideal, too, for those who love hunting for vintage treasures and bric-a-brac. Near the towns of Bellême, Mortagne-au-Perche and along the D923 road between La Ferté-Bernard and Nogent-le-Rotrou, you will find many brocante shops and warehouses with artfully displayed items on offer.
The area is a popular weekend destination for Parisians, hence the abundance of good restaurants. In the village of La Perrière, La Maison d’Horbé B&B and wine bar (rooms from €142.50) is set in an antiques shop, while in Saint-Hilaire-le-Châtel, the Hotel les Prés has its own restaurant (rooms from €142). perche-tourisme.fr
Relive history in the Vendée
Cahriot racing at the Puy du Fou theme park. Photograph: Arthur Aumond
You need never utter the word Disney once you’ve discovered the Puy du Fou, a theme park like no other, in the countryside of the Vendée. With bombastic historical re-enactments of Viking invasions, Roman chariot races, medieval jousting and more than 2,500 actors across the park, many of the shows are big on wow factor.
Yet there are also experiences that evoke a quieter sense of wonder – walk through the cabins and hull of the 18th-century ship La Pérouse and see its myriad flora and fauna gathered from around the world, before it sinks in a storm in the South Pacific. Moving, too, is the Amoureux de Verdun experience, which puts you in the trenches of Verdun in the first world war, where actors play out a love story. Adult tickets from €47, puydufou.com
Swim in a tidal pool in Brittany
Saint-Malo’s Piscine de Bon Secours. Photograph: JJ Farquitectos/Getty Images
There are several tidal swimming pools along the Emerald Coast in Brittany. At Dinard, the Piscine de Mer overlooks the vast main beach, alongside stately belle époque villas and maritime pines; and from Saint-Malo’s Piscine de Bon Secours, you can walk at low tide to the island of Grand-Bé for a great view back to the walled town.
The Emerald Coast is good for hiking too, so make a point to stroll out to the dramatically perched Fort La Latte on the Cap Fréhel headland. dinardemeraudetourisme.com
Explore the wild Aubrac plateau
The volcanic landscape of the Aubrac plateau. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy
Many holidaymakers speed through the centre of France on the autoroute known as La Méridienne (A75), bound for busy beaches of the Med. Those who prefer more solitude, however, should exit sooner (exit 39 to be precise) and venture west on to the extraordinary, volcanic landscape of the Aubrac plateau. Here, stone-walled meadows abound with wild flowers and the buron huts that once housed cowherds and cheesemakers have been converted into welcoming rustic restaurants, such as the Buron de Born, serving local potato and cheese dishes such as aligot and truffade. At night, the total absence of light pollution makes it ideal for stargazing. tourisme-en-aubrac.com
BROCKWELL Lido has been saved just days after its operator went into administration.
The popular lido in Herne Hill that’s open year-round, which also has an on-site gym and café, has been taken over by the local council.
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Brockwell Lido has been saved after its operator went into administrationCredit: AlamyThe art deco lido has been open since the 1930sCredit: Alamy
Brockwell Lido has been open since 1937, but there were fears that it would close when its operator Fusion Lifestyle went into administration on April 1, 2026.
However, Lambeth Council has already stepped in to take control of the outdoor pool, gym and café.
It confirmed that it will transfer to its in-house leisure service called Active Lambeth from July 1, 2026.
Luckily for keen swimmers, there will be no interruption and the lido will continue to be open to the public.
It’s a very popular south London lido and attracts nearly 200,000 visitors during the peak summer season.
The swim spot was even crowned the ‘Best Lido in Britain’ by the AA in 2025, based on its popularity, reviews, value, and other factors.
Last year, it was also named the ‘Best Lido in London’ by Time Out.
Brockwell Lido opened in the 1930s with the aim of creating an “oasis in the city” for locals, many of whom cannot afford a holiday, according to its website.
The unheated 50-metre lido is on a Grade II-listed site and is open throughout the year.
During the winter when the water is at its coldest there are two sauna pods so visitors can warm up after their swim.
Under Fusion Lifestyle’s operation, tickets were priced at £9.50 for an adult swim and £6 for juniors.
Brockwell Lido also has a gym, outdoor space for sunbathing and an on-site café which serves up hot and cold drinks, and sourdough pizzas.
Brockwell Lido welcomes thousands of people during the summerCredit: Alamy
Just one month later, the decision was reversed by the executive committee of Teignbridge Council.
The 25-metre outdoor pool first opened in the 1970s and opens seasonally, usually having its debut in May half-term.
It has partial opening hours in June and July and then opens full time during the summerholidays.
The pool is heated and holds various swim sessions, from public to fun sessions, as well as activities like aqua fit and aqua circuits.
Check out one of our favourite seaside towns in Devon…
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Sidmouth, Devon Take a trip to Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast and wander down Jacob’s Ladder to its pretty shingle beach. Make sure to walk along the promenade and check out the independent shops and boutiques. Stay at the four-star Harbour Hotel for sea views and traditional afternoon tea from £135 per room.
Legendary street artist and activist Shepard Fairey was omnipresent at the High Desert Art Fair, which unfolded in and around Pioneertown over two unseasonably hot days last weekend. Founded more than seven years ago by art dealer Nicholas Fahey and artist manager Candice Lawler, the event has morphed from a few dozen people in Lawler’s living room to a few thousand roaming the dusty, sunny environs of the kitschy Old West town, with ancillary events in Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree.
Fairey, who bought a home in the area during the COVID-19 pandemic, DJ’d a spirited opening night party at the Red Dog Saloon — spinning punk, post-punk and new wave hits by Joy Division, Fugazi and Black Flag to a packed house of art fans wearing paint-splattered DIY couture — and he spoke during the weekend’s most anticipated panel alongside Devo frontman and gallery owner Mark Mothersbaugh in a conversation moderated by singer-songwriter Harper Simon, son of folk icon Paul Simon.
Artist Shepard Fairey DJ’d the opening night party of High Desert Art Fair at the Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown. The set was heavy of punk, post-punk and new wave.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
Fairey was forthcoming about his opinions on art, politics and technology, drawing applause at one point for saying that using AI in art is not something to be afraid of. His assessment came after he lamented the fact that social media algorithms punish “decency” and reward “flamboyant narcissism and controversy.” He then joked that the “algorithm’s gonna love this. S— is gonna go nuts,” before talking about his recent collaboration with the digital artist known as Beeple who’s notorious in the art world for selling an NFT of his art in 2021 for $69.3 million.
The Red Dog Saloon was packed with art and music fans during the Friday night opening party of the High Desert Art Fair, which drew thousands of people to Pioneertown during the last weekend in March.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
“He’s either the vanguard of a new way of working, and a maverick, a trailblazer, or he’s the worst thing that’s happened to art ever, or in between, or both, or neither,” Fairey said as the crowd laughed. “That’s totally my opinion.”
During a late-March event held in Fairey’s hometown of Charleston, S.C., Beeple Studios presented “Shepard Fairey: Obey and Resist,” which leveraged AI to help guests create their own Fairey-inspired paintings. During the panel, Fairey called the results “almost idiot-proof.”
He then elaborated on his feelings about AI’s encroachment on the art world, saying that if he were part of the “traditional art world thinking” he wouldn’t dare “go over to the dark side of digital art and AI, because that’s cheating.”
“All those same people a few hundred years ago when Da Vinci was using the camera obscura were like, ‘Get your proportions right, just by eye. Don’t use a cheating tool,’” Fairey said before taking the analogy to cave paintings and noting that those same types of naysayers would’ve been unhappy when it was discovered that horse hairs at the end of a stick were useful for distributing pigment and might have said, “That’s not keeping it real, bro. Use bloody elbow like everyone else.”
Fairey called that type of thinking “idiotic.”
“A tool in service of someone with a genuine vision that bends the tool to their will, rather than having themselves bent to the tool — that’s what creativity is about,” Fairey said.
The conversation about AI art started when Mothersbaugh, who was headlining a music set at Pappy & Harriet’s later that night, admitted that he was “fooling around with AI” and “just making myself laugh, like mutating old Devo photos and videos. It cracks me up. … I don’t know what is ever going to happen with it. Maybe they’ll just always live on my phone and eventually get thrown away or lost or something.”
The stage is set for an experimental music show by the General, featuring the stylings of Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
It’s a rock ‘n’ roll art fair
The idea that AI won’t cannibalize artists and their work on a massive scale is refreshingly utopian, but in many ways so was the fair itself. It takes magical thinking to grow anything in the harsh desert environment, which is why artists have been making the trek for decades. There was a youthful, rock ‘n’ roll vibe to the proceedings that was punk in quality but earnest in its quest to be seen.
Mothersbaugh’s gallery, MutMuz, occupied one of 20 rooms reconfigured as show spaces at the Pioneertown Motel, as did Gross!, a Chinatown gallery founded by former Liars drummer Julian Gross and populated with the work of musicians such as Karen O, O’s costume designer Christian Joy and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe.
A work of painted fabric by Karen O‘s costume designer Christian Joy hangs in Gross! Gallery at the Pioneertown Motel during High Desert Art Fair. The gallery is owned by former Liars drummer Julian Gross who features plenty of work by fellow artists.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
Desert pioneers are key to the spirit of the place
The fair featured tours of a number of the most interesting attractions in the area, including the Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art in Joshua Tree and artist Andrea Zittel’s arts outpost and residency program, High Desert Test Sites.
Old computers are stacked at the center of an installation titled “Carousel” (1996) by Noah Purifoy at the Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art in Joshua Tree.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
Purifoy’s fantastical assemblages made of found objects and unloved detritus provided the most fitting example of the creative desert mindset. Outsider art in every sense of the word, and laden with scathing political and social commentary, Purifoy’s installations morph and change in the elements. A nonprofit exists to preserve them, but tour guide Teri Rommelmann said preservation efforts aren’t meant to alter the course of nature and time, but rather to save the work from sinking into the sand.
Noah Purifoy’s 2001 installation “White/Colored” is the most frequently vandalized piece in the outdoor Joshua Tree museum dedicated to his work.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
Another aspect of the preservation work is erasing vandalism, which happened most during the pandemic, and was quite telling in its main target: An installation featuring a water fountain marked “White” next to a toilet affixed with a water fountain mouthpiece and labeled “Colored.”
Noah Purifoy’s sculpture “Ode to Frank Gehry” (2000) stands in the sand as part of the Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art. The piece was once featured in a show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and transporting it can be quite tricky.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
At High Desert Test Sites, Zittel’s famous A-Z West escape pods are no longer used for camping after the city said the nonprofit would have to attain a commercial camping permit to continue. Nonetheless, the organization’s 80 acres are home to a variety of artist residencies, which use the windswept isolation of the desert to activate dormant ideas. It was just announced that environmental artist Lita Albuquerque will have a residency at the site.
Andrea Zittel’s famous A-Z West escape pods at High Desert Test Sites can no longer be used for camping, but they still dot the nonprofit’s 80 acres of land as an example of the creativity that the desert environment unleashes.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
The tiled kitchen that artist Andrea Zittel designed for the main residence at High Desert Test Sites, which she lived in for nearly 20 years and can now be rented by artists in residence.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
Art is everywhere in the desert — and growing
The success of this year’s High Desert Art Fair bodes well for the future of the area as a cultural destination.
Next year will see the return of Desert X, which for the first time will keep its large-scale, site-specific installations up for six months, timed to coincide with other SoCal cultural happenings including the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Frieze. There are also semi-permanent art installations everywhere in the area, including along driveways and the roadside. This includes a hair salon and museum in Joshua Tree, and the recently opened Reset Hotel in Twentynine Palms features dozens of rooms in retrofitted shipping containers, some with outdoor bathtubs and firepits. The hotel has also carved desert trails in its backyard, with plans to build an art park filled with installations.
The shipping container rooms at the new Reset Hotel in Twentynine Palms feature outdoor living spaces with firepits and bathtubs. Some overlook trails that will lead to a planned art park on the property.
(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)
An influx of artists, collectors and art fans will surely have an impact on an area that is already wary of gentrification and the rising cost of living that accompanies it. But there will be no stopping progress, only a utopian, Fairey-like hope that those who come will be inspired to keep and nurture the magical qualities of the place.
“Everyone is at least a dormant ballet nerd,” declares 22-year-old Eden Lim, while sitting for an interview in the suburban Dallas studio where she and her sister, Jordan, 24, film and edit their popular YouTube channel “Ballet Reign.”
Judging from the near-universal backlash to Timothée Chalamet’s recent bad-mouthing of ballet, Eden’s summation of the central tenet of their show may be true. With 67,000 subscribers in 166 countries and growing, the Lim sisters are mixing Gen Z humor and exuberance with astounding erudition to bring ballet to a new generation and fire up older, longtime fans.
With episode titles such as “Addictive Ballet Moments to Alter your Brain Chemistry” and promises like “This will increase your lifespan and double your morale,” they are on a mission to ensure that ballet not only survives but thrives.
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Mirthfulness is the Lim sisters’ medium, but their message is serious. During each show, they parse video clips of great performances, often by explaining the history of the piece and giving detailed behind-the-scenes stories. They dissect the most famous pas de deux with trenchant insight and introduce their audience to the greatest dancers, including Natalia Osipova and Roberto Bolle. With signature, irrepressible enthusiasm, the sisters help viewers see precisely what makes the shows and dancers so extraordinary.
Eden, left, and Jordan Lim of YouTube channel “Ballet Reign” trained as professional dancers before deciding to focus on their show full time.
(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)
A video clip featured in the “Addictive Ballet” episode shows New York City Ballet principal dancer Ashley Bouder launching herself into a jeté so high she seems to leave Earth’s gravity. In midair she manages to turn herself 180 degrees before being caught by her partner, despite her momentum seeming to drift into his arms like a feather blown by a breeze.
While watching the singular feat, Eden exclaims, “Call the news channels! We found a person who can actually levitate!”
Jordan says the goal is to make viewers feel equipped to say, “I understand what’s going on, and I can appreciate it, and I can appreciate that this was done well.”
“Ballet Reign” launched three years ago with modest hopes. The sisters sought a mere toehold in the YouTube universe, aiming for a narrow niche audience of fellow ballet fanatics (“ballet nerds”) ages 16 to 25. To their initial astonishment, they have attracted a far wider viewership spanning all ages, even followers who hitherto had only scant interest in ballet. They have drawn in many young children and older adults, with those 65 and up now their third-largest subscriber group.
The show has rapidly won acclaim from within and outside of the ballet world — perhaps because the depth and breadth of their knowledge makes it hard to shake the suspicion that they secretly are Ivy League professors.
The Lim sisters speak with sophistication about classic ballets and dancers they love — delivering their message through a whimsical show that has attracted fans of all ages.
(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)
They comment with equal sophistication on ballet steps, choreography, history, musicology and the minute details of costume design. Eclectic references pop out of nowhere — a metaphor from quantum physics, an aside that the flute is the instrument whose sound is closest to a sine wave, that a serinette is an 18th century music box used to teach caged canaries to sing.
Even actual professors laud the show.
Nicolas Krusek routinely shows “Ballet Reign” episodes in his classes for adults on ballet history at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Krusek says what makes the show compelling “is the spirit of the videos, just the sense of joyousness and benevolence that they communicate, and a real sense of reverence for the art and the artists.”
John Meehan, a Vassar College professor of ballet and former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, calls their episode on Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” ballet “amazing,” adding that it conveys at least as much information in much more palatable form than a “dry” university lecture.
Julie Cronshaw, director of the Highgate Ballet School in London, says even for learned, longtime balletomanes the show opens up a whole new realm of understanding and appreciation. For those weighed down by adult concerns, watching an episode leaves them feeling uplifted.
This is why Jordan believes “Ballet Reign” has attracted a significant older audience — and also because the sisters honor tradition.
“They’re looking at the content and saying, ‘These are pieces that I grew up watching. And these are the dancers that I adored when I was younger,’” Jordan says.
Eden says she hopes “it’s because our content, and the way we deliver it, is able to touch hearts.”
The Lim sisters keep a disciplined schedule, turning out polished, deftly produced episodes 52 weeks a year.
(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)
The show also benefits from its high production values, with expertly edited clips from performances, clever blurbs of text and quirky cutaways to, say, a pole vaulter as an allusion to how high a dancer jumps.
Episodes generally begin the same way, with the sisters sitting behind a table with an old-fashioned radio-days microphone nicknamed “Mike-elangelo” between them. Eden kicks things off by announcing, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ballet Reign.”
A flash of superimposed text identifies them as “*Very certified*, extremely serious ballet experts.”
Jordan and Eden revel in each other’s company, finish each other’s sentences and play off each other with insightful or witty interjections.
“We grew up best friends from the beginning, and that’s never changed,” Jordan says.
They keep a disciplined, grueling schedule, turning out polished, deftly produced episodes 52 weeks a year.
Comments validating their efforts come in frequently. “You really helped me through a dark time,” reads one. Another notes, “I was going through a really difficult life transition and having your videos helped me get through.”
Jordan says, “That’s a sort of impact that I genuinely did not see coming.”
The sisters are openhearted and enjoy revealing ballet’s best-kept secrets, but they have kept a remarkably mysterious online profile. Until now, they have never even disclosed their last names, let alone anything about their background, education or experience.
There is also nearly nothing on the internet, and fans have long wondered about their credentials, including whether they are professional dancers themselves.
On the show the sisters certainly come across as if they were. Surprisingly, the answer is no — with an “almost” caveat.
The oldest of four siblings, Jordan and Eden spent nearly all of their childhood in Ottawa. From the time they were small the sisters beelined toward becoming professional ballet dancers. Jordan says when she was 4 she got up at the crack of dawn every day and put in a VHS tape of a ballet class that her mother, Mary Lim, had bought. With fierce determination, she performed tendus and relevés along with the older students on the tape.
Eden’s ballet fascination quickly followed. Mary says she soon realized she had no choice but to send them to ballet school.
“Obviously, if you look at a 4-year-old doing ballet at 7 a.m. every single day, you’re like, OK, let’s try lessons,” Jordan says.
Eden, left, and Jordan Lim of “Ballet Reign” are the oldest of four siblings and spent nearly all of their childhood in Ottawa before relocating to Texas to pursue their careers.
(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)
By 2015, the girls needed a better ballet school than was available in Ottawa. Their parents packed up the family and moved to Dallas, where the pair enrolled in the Ballet Academy of Texas. Aside from ballet classes they were entirely homeschooled, but they had plenty of experience dancing in school performances, ballet competitions and with real companies.
Mary says the intent was “to give them an opportunity to move and carve their own path … We wanted them to find their passions.”
The moment the sisters had worked for all their lives arrived in 2020, when the time came to set off around the country — and the world — to audition for ballet companies. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit just as they got started, and almost everything in the ballet world shut down.
Jordan says the hiatus led them to reflect for the first time on whether their lifelong ambition was truly what they wanted. At the same time they groped for a way to put their passion for ballet to temporary use.
For years the sisters had fantasized, half-seriously, about having their own YouTube channel. Eden convinced an initially reluctant Jordan it was time to make the daydream real, and “Ballet Reign” premiered on Dec. 21, 2022.
The sisters say they convinced themselves they were using the show to take “a gap year” while waiting out the pandemic. As the first months passed, and their audience widened and sent glowing feedback, they began to realize they were having a big impact and touching lives. It dawned on them that this wasn’t just an interlude but their calling.
In an agonizing twist, just as the show had gotten underway, Jordan received word she had been accepted by a professional ballet company. She turned down the offer.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Jordan says, but in retrospect the right one.
Nicholas Brendon, best known for portraying the loyal, wisecracking Xander Harris in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” died Friday from natural causes after dealing with a congenital heart defect and other health issues in recent years. He was 54.
His family shared news of his passing in a statement posted on the actor’s social media accounts. While it’s “no secret Nicholas had struggles in the past,” they said, he was on medication to manage his diagnosis and “optimistic about the future” at the time of his death.
His siblings and parents asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of “a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart.”
“He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create,” the family stated. “Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was.”
Brendon was born in Los Angeles in 1971 and began his acting career in the mid-’90s. He got his big break in 1997 when he was cast as Harris in “Buffy.” Over the show’s seven-season run, Brendon became a central figure, portraying the witty, insecure but dependable “everyman” in the gang’s battles against the forces of darkness.
He starred in his first feature film, “Psycho Beach Party,” in 2000, playing the love interest Starcat in the indie flick that’s now regarded as a cult classic.
After “Buffy” ended in 2003, Brendon continued working in television, making appearances on series such as “Without a Trace,” “Private Practice,” and “Kitchen Confidential.” He also played a recurring role as FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch on “Criminal Minds.”
In 2022, his family shared that he had been rushed to the hospital because of tachycardia, a condition that makes the heart beat abnormally fast, and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that is common in twins. Brendon has an identical twin brother named Kelly Donovan, who appeared as his stand-in and double in episodes of “Buffy.”
The “Criminal Minds” star also underwent multiple spinal surgeries to manage cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition in which nerve bundles in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly. His serious spinal injury was triggered by a fall in 2021, which required emergency surgery to prevent paralysis, his manager Theresa Fortier said in a statement at the time.
In recent years, he developed a love for painting and the arts and enjoyed sharing his emerging talent with family and friends, his family said.
Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
This city has everything you need for a great week away, from a long sandy beach to plenty of shops and restaurants, plus family-friendly attractions for days out with the kids in May half term
The beach stretches for over five miles(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The cheapest destination for a week in the sun has been revealed as budget-conscious Brits look for ways to get away in spring or summer for less.
The figures are based on pricing data for package holidays departing between June 1 and August 31 and were compiled by loveholidays, which offers affordable flight and hotel combinations.
A week at this coastal gem will set you back £230 per person on average, working out at a budget-friendly £33 a night, leading loveholidaysto crown it the most affordable destination for a week away.
Moroccan coastal town Agadir took the top spot thanks to its cheap flight and hotel combinations, and generally inexpensive food, drink, and days out. The main draw of Agadir is its long coastline with golden sands and its clear blue waters have earned it Blue Flag status.
Its beach stretches over five miles, and the sea can be choppy with strong currents, which has made it a popular surfing spot. If you want to swim, then there are some natural pools where you can take a dip when the tide comes in.
Along the beach is a lively promenade, lined with palm trees, and along here you’ll find a huge selection of places to eat, bars, souvenir shops, and places to hire surfboards and water equipment. Many hotels can also be found along this strip, allowing guests easy beach access during their stays.
You can also wander into the modern city centre for lots more restaurant options and a huge range of malls and shopping areas. Many visitors recommend the Marina Shopping Mall on the waterfront, which has international brands and lots of al fresco dining options.
It’s also worth visiting the Souk El Had market for bargains and an excellent way to test your haggling skills. Other than fixed price stores, everything in Morocco can be haggled, and with over 6,000 stalls and shops, you are bound to find something you like among the colourful rugs and textiles that hang from the walls.
Agadir’s centre was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1960s, so many of its historical sites are gone. However, La Médina d’Agadir gives you an idea of what the old city looked like, and it’s a faithful recreation of the traditional market. You’ll see stallholders weaving fabrics and painting ceramics outside their stalls, so you can see how these beautiful items are made. If you’d like to see more of Old Morocco, take a tour of Souss-Massa National Park which includes a visit to a traditional Berber village where people still live in beautiful clay houses.
Agadir is also a great option for May half-term, and with highs of 26C and dry weather, you can enjoy lots of beach and pool days. Take them for a day at Crocopark, a zoo that specialises in all things scaly, from crocodiles to snakes, and you can see these creatures basking in natural desert landscapes.
Agadir Dolphin World is another place families will love. It has regular dolphin shows, and visitors can get up close to these friendly mammals.
If you prefer to book your flight and hotel separately, there are a few airlines to choose from. Ryanair offers flights from Birmingham, London-Stansted, and Leeds Bradford, where fares start from as little as £17 one way. Jet2 and easyJet also fly from several regional airports, and most flights take just under 4 hours.
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