Category: Articles

Posts for teachers and students about various topics.

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Choreography for Four Little Swans

SWAN LAKE, ACT II

Four Little Swans

Enter Upstage Left Cross Hands in front, B+ R foot front

Hold counts 1-3, cou de pied R foot devant on count 4

Enter Upstage Left Cross Hands in front, B+ R foot front

Hold counts 1-3, cou de pied R foot devant on count 4

1.Traveling R change coupé back and front, step R (cou de pied L bk),L(cou de pied R bk), continue for counts 1-8, 1-2 (head to R)

Small grand jeté onto R ouvert (3)-head lowers to look down at R leg),

Pas de bourrée LRL to 5th (4&5)

Relevé passé L to front of knee (6)-head changes to look L

Roll thru on R, lowering L to cou de pied front (7) hold (8)

2.Repeat step 1 to L, R, L (1-16, 1-16, 1-16)

Except last time relevé passé R leg, close R front 5th position plié (7) hold (8)

3.Entrechat quatre relevé passé R leg closing 5th back (head L on passé)(1-2)

Entrechat quatre relevé passé L leg closing 5th back (head R on passé)(3-4)

Four echappé to 2nd closing 5th, head moves L, down, R in half circle) Step travels upstage (5-8)

4.Repeat step 3 three times more (4 times altogether)

5.Chassé relevé 1st arabesque R (1&) Fondu L at cou de pied back (2) small temps levé R

Repeat L (3&4) Repeat 6 times more (8 arabesques altogether)

After last arabesque L, tombé onto R leg croisé devant

6.Traveling back on diagonal upstage Left, small coupé changes like in step 1

Step L cou de pied R front (1) step R cou de pied L back (2) Repeat (34)

Jeté á la seconde L onto diagonal and cou de pied R front (56)

Relevé R leg écarté devant 45˚ (7) Tombé R across (8)

7.Repeat step 6 three times more (4 times altogether)

After last écarté devant, roll thru on left foot and cou de pied R back (no tombé) (8)

8.Pas de chat downstage R on diagonal 15 times (head downstage R) (1-15)

Attitude croisé devant L, in fondu on supporting leg (16)

9.Embôité attitude devant RLRL 45˚ (head front en face)(1-4)

Embôité attitude derrière RLRL 45˚ (head down en bas)(5-8)

10.Repeat step 9 three times more (4 times altogether)

11.Pique L, retiré R to front of knee (traveling stage L)-head tilts L

Tombé R across (head tilts L), Tombé R across (head tilts R) 7 piques in all (1-7)

Attitude devant R leg (8)

12.15 embôités devant traveling downstage, step L on count 16 or pique to 1st arabesque letting go of hands, step onto L and lower to R knee.

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Dance Career Alternatives

Many dancers simply dance, without thought to what might happen if they became injured and unable to continue dancing. It’s important to think about alternatives to a dancing career, not only due to unforeseen circumstances such as injury, but after you retire from dancing at the ripe old age of forty or older (if you’re lucky). One of the best ways you can ensure continued employment in the field you love is to begin teaching dance. Ballet companies usually have a school associated with them, and this is the perfect place to begin training as a teacher. Being a great dancer doesn’t necessarily mean you will be a great teacher, but the best way to learn how to teach is to do it!

There are many wonderful books about teaching ballet. Some of my favorites include these:

Classical Ballet Technique, by Gretchen Ward Warren
This book goes into great detail about the tradition of ballet, the ideal body structure and posture for ballet, methods of teaching, positions of the body and when to introduce steps, and includes notes on classroom etiquette, a pronunciation guide, and glossary of terms.

The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training & Technique Second Edition, by Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger with forward by David Howard
In this book you will find a history of pointe dancing, the foot and pointe shoe making process, the fitting process, caring for shoes, basics of teaching pointe, sample pointe classes, and pointe-related injuries and their remedies.

Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet, by Gail Grant
You will find diagrams for directions of the body and feet. Arabesques, port de bras, and positions of the body are described for the Cecchetti Method, the French School, and the Russian School (Vaganova).

There are many other careers that are dance-related, too. Click here to see a listing. You may end up going back to school to get certification in physical therapy; you may decide to get a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in dance so you could teach at the university level; you may find that you have creative talent in the area of choreography; you might open a dance wear store, like I did. The opportunities are endless, and your expertise will be valued by beginning students and their parents, by audiences, and by school administrators if you wind up teaching, choreographing, or even selling dance wear (and knowing how to fit shoes properly).
Do any readers have ideas to share about alternative careers for dancers? Feel free to leave a comment below!

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Life After Dance

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I just learned that Merce Cunningham died last night at the age of 90. He danced until the very end of his life. This, in itself, is incredible. His legacy is monumental. So now I’m feeling a bit low, and wondering how he managed to stick with it into very old age. I’m thinking that Merce Cunningham created a way of moving that was specific to his body type, as he was known for a particular style all his own. Then there are people like me, who try to contort our bodies into shapes that were not meant for our body types at all—leading us to middle-aged back pain and chronic tendinitis.

What do you think? Even if you’re only seventeen, how do you see yourself in the future? Do you think dancing will be more an aid or a hindrance to your physical well-being when you’re forty years old? I had a chiropractor who talked to me when I was twenty-four. He said he was worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk when I was forty. I laughed. But now I’m forty-one, and I’m realizing he had a point.

I wouldn’t trade my years spent dancing or teaching for anything in the world. It’s the love of my life. But I can see how realistic the teachers are in Russia when they determine whether or not a child should begin studying dance by first looking at his or her proportions and physical tendencies. If someone is not blessed with a dancer’s body, they are not expected to dance. However, I’m thankful here in America we are all able to pursue our dreams, regardless of our potential.