Today we share an interview with Colby Nielson, a dance teacher in Palmer, Alaska. His family has started a wonderful project using dance as a means to touch the hearts of people with special needs.
Q. How did the Super Stars Begin?
A. The Super Stars came from an idea when my mom, Michelle Deemer, and my sister, Shanelle Gangstad, went down to speak at a national special needs convention. While there they saw a singing group that was made up of people with special needs. They liked the idea so much that when they returned home they wanted to start a dance team with special needs, dance being big in our background. They rented a small 12×12 space and Shanelle began teaching a few of her friends from the special needs program at the high school, which she was heavily involved in. From those original 5 we have grown to 25.
Q.Other than building and space limitations, what are some other challenges you have faced?
A. Some other challenges include not being able to increase price above $5 a class due to low budgets of our students, not being able to change the time/day of the class due to our special needs students being very strict on their schedules and not doing well with change. We have to deal with providers being the ones who take them to class so getting to talk to their gardians or parents is almost always through third party. Trying to schedule performances is tough because they often have special olympics activities on the weekends and again with the having to stick to a same schedule all the time.
Dancers don’t typically court fame in the same way as other celebrities. However, without dancers, you wouldn’t have musicals, street dance or choreographed extravaganzas like Michael Jackson’s landmark masterpiece Thriller. Through interpretive movements that take a huge amount of coordination, balance and control, dancers are able to express what actors can’t. These are 10 of the most famous dancers named Ken.
Ken Ard – After working with greats like Nina Simone as a child, Ken Ard eventually went on to perform choreography for some of the most prominent jazz artists of the 21st century. Predominantly a ballet dancer, Ken drifted towards jazz during the 90s, which culminated in the release of his first jazz album, “Ballads, Blues & Cocktails.”
Ken Berry – He is better known as a sitcom actor, most notably for his roles in F Troop and The Andy Griffith Show. However, Ken Berry was also an accomplished dancer and singer. On Broadway, he made appearances in The Billy Barnes Revue and in George M!. Berry was also a frequent guest on Abbott and Costello, as both a singer and dancer.
Ken Cosgrove – Played by Aaron Staton in the popular series Mad Men, character Ken Cosgrove tried his hand at tap dancing in one episode – replete with tweed suit and cane. Nobody quite knows what the impromptu dance added to the scene, but it went viral on the Internet, as these things often do. There were a number of parodies created of the scene, including one that uses Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” as the musical backdrop. The Internet is often a cruel puppet-master, but in this case the uncalled for publicity only served to push the show to even greater heights.
Kenneth Walker – This former dancer with the Ballet Pacifica launched the Kenneth Walker Dance Project in 2004. The non-profit project aims to bring dance to communities that never get to experience any form of the expressive arts. To date, the project has successfully introduced shows to a number of festivals across the country, and it grows in strength with each passing year. It is Kenneth Walker’s hope that the project will introduce dance to a generation who would have otherwise never have had the chance.
Ken Fury – B-Boy Kenny – as he’s known on the streets of Pueblo, Colorado – taught himself to break dance at the age of 11. He later pursued his dream with Full Circle Productions in New York, before landing dancing roles in commercials for Toshiba and Starburst. Fury remains a big name on the street dance scene, hugely famous in this relatively small circle of performers.
Kenny Everett – This madcap British comedian had a penchant for dance that was just as crazy as the rest of his routine. Everett’s dance style was, for lack of a better term, unconventional for the time. However, by today’s standards his moves would be hailed as the latest craze. Unfortunately, Kenny lost his battle with AIDS in 1995, a terrible loss to both his family and the British public.
Kenneth MacMillan – From 1970 to 1977, MacMillan served as the artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London. His work in choreography is where his true talents were, although he was an accomplished dancer in his own right, too. Some of his notable works included Valses nobles et sentimentales in 1966, and Anastasia in 1967 and again in 1971. MacMillan sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1992, at the age of 62.
Kenneth Branagh – Although he is commonly known for his Shakespearean roles, Kenneth Branagh has danced in West End musicals, on screen during the British Television series “Thompsons,” and in many other productions. It is no surprise, then, that Branagh has been tipped to take over the job as head of the National Theatre.
Kenny Ortega – Another great choreographer, Kenny Ortega worked with Madonna on “Material Girl” and in Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” live performances, winning awards for both. However, his greatest work was on the choreography for the iconic dance movie Dirty Dancing, which starred the late Patrick Swayze. Dirty Dancing is still heralded as being one of the best dance-centric movies to this day.
Kenny Loggins – Better known as the voice behind “Footloose,” Kenny Loggins inspired a generation to dance. The movie, starring Kevin Bacon, was one of many pivotal movies focused on the medium of dance in the 80s. Bacon’s seminal performance made Footloose an iconic movie, however, it was Loggins’ voice and catchy guitar riff that sold the title song.
Special thanks to Kenney Myers of kenneymyers.com for sharing this article!
One thing I never imagined when I was dancing were the effects it would have on my body later in life. At the peak of my dancing career, my chiropractor said he hoped I could walk when I was forty. I laughed. But it stuck in my head. And here I am on the other side of 40 and I know if he could see me now he’d be singing, “I told you so!”
Dancing was a most glorious part of my life, although it was short-lived. I was healthy and took care of myself, and mostly dealt with sore muscles and fatigue. But while practicing a lift with my partner I somehow came down and landed on his shoulder. The lift was a hard one, because my sense of where I was in space was totally off. He threw me up so I was horizontal to the floor and then I was supposed to twist 2 or 3 times coming down. This was right before my graduate concert in which I was dancing three different roles, including a modern solo that involved a lot of jumping and crouching and rolling on the floor (I was a “sprite” or “elfish creature”). Another piece was choreography by my partner and had some corps dancers, and the last was the bedroom scene in Romeo and Juliet. This choreography was pretty contemporary and also involved some unusual lifts that made my ribs hurt on a good day!
We patched up my ribs with bandages that matched my skin and wrapped it around a few times. It was tight but I could still breathe. No one could see it under my costumes. Still, it was probably foolhardy to go on with the show, but as dancers do, we went on with the show! It was the last step before I graduated and left Arizona, and it had to be done. The show went fine but my ribs were sore for a long time after that. Continue reading “Bilateral Cheilectomy Facing the fallout from years of dancing en pointe“
Many dancers don’t realize how fortunate they are to have live piano music during their ballet classes. Now that I’m writing about dance, I’ve decided to search around the world for some of these pianists who make their living playing for ballet.
I was astounded when I first heard Massimiliano’s music for ballet class. His music is not only played with the technical expertise of a concert pianist, it is soulful, unique, soaring. And now I have the great honor of introducing my readers to Massimiliano Greco, composer and pianist. He works for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and is currently the Main Pianist and Music Director for the Académie de Danse Princesse Grace. Here is some of his music for adagio at the barre.
“What most impressed me, and I have to say, even surprised about Massimiliano Greco is his total adjustement, because of being an exquisite pianist and musician, not only to the demands of the dance, of which he is humble and devoted accompanist, but the sensible and intelligent introspection in the ballet world. He follows, underscores the rhythms, the cadences and the fascination of dance, so with him, masterfully, you can listen to dance and see the music.” –Alberto Testa, Dance Journalist, writer of dance books
Massimiliano Greco
Inside Ballet: At what age did you begin your piano training?
Massimiliano Greco: I started to study piano at seven years old and it was very casual. I remember I was with my parents at a friend’s house and there was a piano. My mother asked me to try to play it. It took not so much time to understand how it worked and I began to improvise with one finger. Since then I can say that I have always played piano.
Inside Ballet: How did you come to begin accompanying ballet classes?
Massimiliano Greco: When I was younger, I never thought of playing for the ballet. I was trained to become a concert pianist. In fact, towards 1992 I had already done a lot of concerts.
Then unfortunately I had a car accident that stopped me for one month. In that period of sadness I tried other jobs as a pianist. There was a small dance school near my home and someone told me that I could play the piano for ballet classes. I asked the school and they let me try it. And even if I was a little “shocked” from the different working situation, it went really well!
Inside Ballet: What is it that you enjoy most about playing for ballet; what is it that makes you want to continue doing it?
Massimiliano Greco: At the beginning I was interested as a composer. I liked the possibilities of creating a communication between the phrases that drew the dancers in with their arms and legs and phrases of musical melodies. Still now, each time I find dancers capable of connecting their movements with the phrasing of my music something special happens in the air…that’s Art! In that moment I think miracles are possible. In my life I’ve met many passionate dancers and I’m sure I’ll meet many others with whom I’ll create an artistic atmosphere, an artistic communication. Music and dance together can change the world and make it better.
Many dancers and ballet masters asked me to record CDs for their classes, so I made a collection of 12 CDs for ballet classes and choreography. Now I can say that my music is known in many parts of the world.
Inside Ballet: How does someone learn to play for ballet classes? Are there piano books for ballet accompanists, or do you have to find music and put the musical selections together yourself?
Massimiliano Greco: When I started I didn’t know anything about playing for ballet…for me it was very far from my knowledge as a musician. My luck was in starting with RAD syllabus. They have fixed music scores and so I immediately started to understand what kind of music is good for pliés or for a frappe etc. In any case there’s not much, talking about books, about playing for ballet. And about the scores there’s more, but the pianist has to do personal research creating his own repertoire for the exercises in the class.
Usually pianists get their experience playing day by day but many of them give up because at the beginning the work can be very hard and difficult to understand from the normal training of a pianist.
That’s why I decided to teach other pianists to play for ballet. In my academy I’m responsible for a complete “Ballet Pianist Course” to train pianists for this job.
Inside Ballet: Do dance accompanists connect to discuss new ideas with each other (online or otherwise)?
Massimiliano Greco: At the moment there’s not a special connection between ballet pianists. Personally, I know some colleagues all around the world, but they’re casual contacts created from specific occasions. In fact, I want to create an official database of all the ballet pianists in the world—pianists who work in ballet companies, professional academies and freelance ballet pianists—a sort of official professional ballet pianists’ register. Then my idea is to organize an international meeting in which we can meet each other and we can play for classes with the support of ballet masters and dancers. I hope to start the organization of this project in the next season.
For more information on ballet class CDs, you may email him at [email protected].
Greco accomplished his musical studies and graduated with the highest marks at the Conservatory of Music “N.Piccinni” of Bari, studying with Maestro Hector Pell. He also studied musical composition with Maestro Ottavio De Lillo, in Bari, and won 1st prize in several piano competitions.
If you haven’t yet discovered the piano music of Gill Civil, then you’re in for a treat! Here you can find two musical selections for grand battement in 4/4 to go along with the combination below. One is called Cavalcade, the other is Jubilee Stride. These are from her album called Dancing Keys 2.
5th position at the barre
1 Tendu devant (front) 2 Lift to grand battement devant 3 Lower to point tendu devant 4 Close 5th position 5-6 Grand battement front, close 5th &7 Passé close 5th back &8 Degagé side and close 5th front 1-7 Repeat side &8 Degagé back, close 5th back 1-16 Repeat all from back
Repeat a second time with pirouette from 5th instead of passé
Music available from http://pianomusicforballet.com
The professional life of a dancer is relatively short. You spend about ten years training, and then hope to dance into your 30’s (and if you’re lucky, until you reach 40). There are many dance career alternatives. However, what if for some reason you want to venture away from dance and go into something completely new? How do you know what you’d be good at, how you’d learn something new, and how to get your foot in the door?
I found this thorough list when searching for careers that would be good for “creative types”. Another article on that site gives some great advice for planning a career path. I agree that you should be careful not to become intimidated or overwhelmed by what your new endeavor will entail, and then never even take the first step forward in your new pursuit. Once you start finding out more information, getting whatever training you may need, and eventually looking for jobs in that field, you might be surprised at how quickly the momentum picks up. I can give a recommendation that I now wish someone had given me when I was studying ballet at the university, and that is to minor in something else. If I’d minored in business, it would have made it infinitely easier to start and run my dancewear store, or to run a ballet school.
I’ll tell you a little about my personal story, because I changed career paths a couple of times for different reasons. My intention during all my years of training in dance was to dance professionally and teach ballet. Since I hoped to teach at the university level, my education included getting a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance. During this time, as well as after, I was able to dance professionally, but unexpected life events came into play as well as injuries I’d never anticipated that caused me to cut my professional career short. I found love, married, and discovered my Achilles tendinitis was so severe that I could no longer dance en pointe without excruciating pain – all in the space of about two years. And then I became pregnant with my first child and that changed my priorities around completely.
While I was dancing in Lexington, Kentucky I visited the local dancewear store several times. I found that they were not very willing to get me what I needed (something as simple as canvas ballet shoes) if it wasn’t something they currently carried. Their store was very small and the leotards were Lycra with vivid colors and strange designs. It was difficult to find things for a ballet dancer there. This is where my first career change began to take shape. It all started with this thought, “I wish there were another store in this town”. If I were to have a store, I imagined, I’d staff it with dancers to add credibility and to give expert advice on fittings to customers. I’d carry several brands of pointe shoes and offer leather and canvas ballet shoes, as well as leotards in more subdued colors and with more traditional styles (such as cotton or supplex camisoles, tanks, three quarter, or long sleeves).
From this one thought came the realization of my own dancewear store in Lexington! I knew little about running a business, but took it one step at a time until one day we turned the sign to ‘Open’ and began to sell items that were quite different from the other store. There was a market for both (they catered to cheerleaders, gymnasts, and the like, and we catered to the serious student and professional), so we quickly became well known and successful. After nearly ten years in business, we sold the store to move to North Carolina. Dance Essentials, Inc. in Lexington has now closed completely, but I’d learned so much about business software (QuickBooks, etc.) and about using Microsoft Office applications like Excel.
Once we arrived in North Carolina, my husband still hadn’t found a job and it was imperative that I submit applications immediately. As Charlotte is a huge financial center, I landed an entry level position at the headquarters of a large bank. Fast forward twelve years and I am an Information Technology professional, honing my skills in software development and support, and turning my attention to the business analysis side of things. Who’d have thunk it possible? Definitely not me.
Life throws curveballs and it’s up to us to make opportunities out of them. One thought can change your life. If it’s appealing to you and learning about the career is stimulating, then keep on trucking. Get yourself on LinkedIn and start networking with like-minded individuals and those who may be able to connect you to your next thought. Good luck!
