So the year is officially underway and so far we are off to an excellent start. While some classes are having to jump right into preparations for ballet exams, I have noticed that across the board everyone came to class during the first week open to learning and ready to work hard. Let's hope that the enthusiasm and determination lasts throughout the year.
September is always a month that can leave us feeling exhausted. After the first week not only was my body hurting but I also had some sleepless nights. I found myself so wound up about getting back into the regular schedule that I couldn't turn it all off at night. I dreamt about everything from battement fondu, to placing kids in lines. One morning I woke up wondering if I really did give such a harsh correction to a student. It took a few minutes to assure myself that it hadn't really happened. Phew!
No matter how busy we get, I think it is incredibly important to get out to see dance performances as often as possible. Calgary is fortunate enough to have a professional ballet company and we have to make sure that we don't take this for granted. With continuous cuts to the arts and the expense of having a professional ballet company, being able to go to the ballet is a foreign thing for many people who live in Canada. When I was young and living in Saskatoon, The National Ballet of Canada (NBoC), Alberta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) would visit every few years. Nowadays, I know that for the most part only the Royal Winnipeg Ballet is able to visit larger centers in Saskatchewan. The Alberta Ballet takes its tour only as far as Edmonton. Let's consider ourselves fortunate to have the Alberta Ballet close at hand and when companies like the NBoC visit Calgary, it really is something to get excited about.
Even with as much history as there is when it comes to ballet, in order for it to survive, it is really important that it continue to evolve and respond to changes in its audiences. Canadian ballet companies have done a great job in creating new works that appeal to a broader audience base and encourage newcomers to fill theatre seats. RWB had a very successful tour of Moulin Rouge not too long ago and Albertans are still raving about the recent Elton John tribute, Love Lies Bleeding. Sure there is great value in remounting the greats like Giselle and Swan Lake but Calgarians had no hesitations when the NBoC announced it would bring a mixed program to Alberta in celebration of its 60th Anniversary.
The evening boasted 4 short ballets, 3 of which were contemporary and the fourth which was classical at first glance but had a playful hungarian flare. The opening piece, the second detail, was choreographed by William Forsythe and opened to a very monochromatic scene. The stage was draped in white with grey folding chairs lined up against the back. The dancers all wore grey and the word "the" was placed downstage off of centre. The score used a variety of instruments but was quite monotonous. With quirky choreography and intricate patterning, there was no doubt that the piece was a feat for the dancers. With that said, it was all too much after a few minutes had past. The meaning of it all was quite abstract and the pace was so relentless that to absorb everything that was happening was just too much. When the dancers finally did do a short sequence in unison I don't think I was the only one in the audience that thought, "Finally!"
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch, offering something for everyone. Other Dances, choreographed by Jerome Robbins featured only two dancers, accompanied by a single pianist who played live on stage. Dancing to a selection of Chopin's mazurkas, the two dancers performed the piece effortlessly, bringing a light, airy, playfulness to the theatre and establishing an informal and light hearted relationship with the accompanist. The mood and atmosphere was a welcomed contrast to the previous piece. The Man in Black, which followed, was a brilliant piece choreographed by former artistic director to the NBoC, James Kudelka. This piece was likely the most accessible to the audience and showcased choreography with meaningful images and inventive partnering. Kudelka built in a continuous trotting rhythm throughout that gradually slowed in tempo as the subject matter became a bit heavier. This rhythm also seemed to mark the passage of time. The four dancers stayed connected for the majority of the piece and even added a bit of line dancing!
The big piece of the evening was Crystal Pite's Emergance. I had seen this piece before and remembered being so impressed by the movements and illusions. The endless tunnel upstage gave the lighting designer a lot of creative opportunity and, similar to the second detail, the score was quite ambient with no melody. Pite did an amazing job of coming up with movements that so closely resembled the emerging of an insect-like creature and brought her viewers into a prehistoric world where females banded together to protect themselves from the group of approaching males. They stayed in step with one another by counting allowed, an aspect that added to the primal feel of the piece. Perhaps it was because I had seen it before that I wasn't quite as impressed. There were times when I felt that the dancers were a bit off as a group and that the spacing could have been just a touch sharper.
All in all, bringing a mixed to program to the Jubilee was a treat for everyone. What is great about this style of production is that since each piece is so different, someone who may not be that familiar with ballet gets a fresh start with each piece and is offered a taste of everything. I hope that the company can come up with another reason to tour out west again sometime soon. For me, the performance was a source of inspiration as we gear up for Cinderella and competition choreography. For our younger dancers, let's hope that it was an eye-opening evening out. Hopefully they went home with an appreciation for the diverse range of movement, style and subject matter that ballet is capable of.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
New Year's Resolutions
Hey all! It has been quite a while since my last post but the month of August turned out to be much more action packed then expected. A part from having a few lazy days earlier in the month, August was full of summer camps, boot camp, and teaching workshops. I even had a chance to reunite with some of my teaching friends in Ontario. Along with the great weather, it was a surprisingly fulfilling month that has left me ready to take on the dance season that lies ahead.
Whether your time away from the regular dance season is spent on the beach or in some kind of intensive, it's always great when you can come back to the studio with fresh ideas and renewed energy. On August 15th we began our first week of summer camps which brought over 100 kids between the ages of 3 and 12 through our doors. Many of these kids were new to dance and did an amazing job of learning multiple numbers over the course of five days which were performed for friends and family at the end of the week. As always, the little ones were cute, hilarious and never failed to come up with the most inventive ideas when storytelling through movement. It was so great to meet so many dance and Glee enthusiasts and I really hope to see them again sometime soon. Near the end of August our competitive dancers resurfaced, fresh faced and ready to take on a week of boot camp. This year, classes included ballet, acro, broadway jazz, and afro jazz. For some, getting back into it was a bit of a struggle while for others it was apparent that they were more than ready to get back at it.
I myself had an opportunity to attend the Royal Academy of Dance's (RAD) teacher's course which introduced the new syllabus for Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate. Not only did I love the new ideas that the RAD is incorporating but they are also taking risks that will challenge students and help keep ballet training in tune with the progress that is being made in other forms of dance. The course I attended was in Saskatchewan and was attended by some really lovely teachers. There was a great feeling of comradery in the room. You could tell that everyone was inspired and excited by the new work.
One thing about teaching dance is that even though you are always in the room with many people, it can be quite isolating at the same time. This summer I had a chance to get together with my ballet teacher since childhood, as well as four of my best friends in Ontario, all of whom teach dance. Having an opportunity to chat about training methods, obstacles we encounter, and ideas for choreography was awesome and has put me in a great state of mind.
In January we always make resolutions for the year, but I think it's also a good idea to do a similar thing in September, when we're preparing to hop back into a busy routine. I have decided for myself to focus more on quality of movement in the hopes of creating more depth and layers to the overall performance of my dancers. I have also realized that I often focus on turn out from the thigh but that it would also be beneficial to make more of an emphasis on how this work at the top of the leg travels down to the end of the foot. I am currently listening to as much music as I can and will hopefully come up with a nice variation that will challenge myself and my dancers. When I chatted with Erika and Meaghan, they both agreed that this year they would try to focus more on repetition rather than trying to cover a wide variety of steps. We all agreed that more results are achieved when teachers take time to allow students to work on a smaller number of steps for a longer period of time. Sometimes it is easy to get ahead of ourselves and move on to the next thing before students are ready. Apart from that, Erika and Meaghan reiterated that above all, their goal each year as teachers and business owners is to instill a love of dance in each student and to make sure that everyone who has taken a class, leaves having had an enjoyable and positive experience. As a ballet teacher, I frequently encounter adults who tell me how horrible their experience with ballet was as a child. I am in full agreement that at the end of the day, what matters the most is that our students look back on their experience with fond memories.
I really hope that our students make similar resolutions for themselves, whether this means trying to focus more in class, fix an old habit, discover how to work a new muscle, make a new friend or follow a conditioning routine at home. I'm looking forward to 2011 being a year where lasting friendships are made, challenges are met with determination and achievments, no matter how small, are reached.
Whether your time away from the regular dance season is spent on the beach or in some kind of intensive, it's always great when you can come back to the studio with fresh ideas and renewed energy. On August 15th we began our first week of summer camps which brought over 100 kids between the ages of 3 and 12 through our doors. Many of these kids were new to dance and did an amazing job of learning multiple numbers over the course of five days which were performed for friends and family at the end of the week. As always, the little ones were cute, hilarious and never failed to come up with the most inventive ideas when storytelling through movement. It was so great to meet so many dance and Glee enthusiasts and I really hope to see them again sometime soon. Near the end of August our competitive dancers resurfaced, fresh faced and ready to take on a week of boot camp. This year, classes included ballet, acro, broadway jazz, and afro jazz. For some, getting back into it was a bit of a struggle while for others it was apparent that they were more than ready to get back at it.
I myself had an opportunity to attend the Royal Academy of Dance's (RAD) teacher's course which introduced the new syllabus for Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate. Not only did I love the new ideas that the RAD is incorporating but they are also taking risks that will challenge students and help keep ballet training in tune with the progress that is being made in other forms of dance. The course I attended was in Saskatchewan and was attended by some really lovely teachers. There was a great feeling of comradery in the room. You could tell that everyone was inspired and excited by the new work.
One thing about teaching dance is that even though you are always in the room with many people, it can be quite isolating at the same time. This summer I had a chance to get together with my ballet teacher since childhood, as well as four of my best friends in Ontario, all of whom teach dance. Having an opportunity to chat about training methods, obstacles we encounter, and ideas for choreography was awesome and has put me in a great state of mind.
In January we always make resolutions for the year, but I think it's also a good idea to do a similar thing in September, when we're preparing to hop back into a busy routine. I have decided for myself to focus more on quality of movement in the hopes of creating more depth and layers to the overall performance of my dancers. I have also realized that I often focus on turn out from the thigh but that it would also be beneficial to make more of an emphasis on how this work at the top of the leg travels down to the end of the foot. I am currently listening to as much music as I can and will hopefully come up with a nice variation that will challenge myself and my dancers. When I chatted with Erika and Meaghan, they both agreed that this year they would try to focus more on repetition rather than trying to cover a wide variety of steps. We all agreed that more results are achieved when teachers take time to allow students to work on a smaller number of steps for a longer period of time. Sometimes it is easy to get ahead of ourselves and move on to the next thing before students are ready. Apart from that, Erika and Meaghan reiterated that above all, their goal each year as teachers and business owners is to instill a love of dance in each student and to make sure that everyone who has taken a class, leaves having had an enjoyable and positive experience. As a ballet teacher, I frequently encounter adults who tell me how horrible their experience with ballet was as a child. I am in full agreement that at the end of the day, what matters the most is that our students look back on their experience with fond memories.
I really hope that our students make similar resolutions for themselves, whether this means trying to focus more in class, fix an old habit, discover how to work a new muscle, make a new friend or follow a conditioning routine at home. I'm looking forward to 2011 being a year where lasting friendships are made, challenges are met with determination and achievments, no matter how small, are reached.
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