For Caitlin Simmers, Surfing Is a Dance Born on the Waves - The New York Times
archive.today webpage capture Saved from history←priornext→ 25 Aug 2026 21:37:55 UTC All snapshots from host www.nytimes.com WebpageScreenshot sharedownload .zipreport bug or abuseBuy me a coffee SKIP TO CONTENT SKIP TO SITE INDEX Section Navigation Search LOG IN Credit... OK McCausland for The New York Times CRITIC’S SPOTLIGHT A Surfer, the Ocean and a Pas de Deux Born on the Waves Caitlin Simmers, a world champion surfer, sees her sport as dance. How does this translate? She’s as seamless as a ribbon. Credit... OK McCausland for The New York Times Listen · 7:23 min By Gia Kourlas Aug. 19, 2026 For his ballet “Ondine” (1958), the great British choreographer Frederick Ashton spent hours studying the surge and swell of ocean waves. “I wanted the movement to be fluid like the rhythm of the sea rather than the ballet steps,” he once said. The role of Ondine, a water nymph, was created for Margot Fonteyn, a rare ballerina whose effortless dancing and floor-skimming pointe work could c