Having a pianist accompany your ballet class adds an element of liveliness that you just can’t get from a recording. I plan on interviewing some folks who accompany ballet classes for a living, but for now I wanted to share some things I learned today.
The definition of Mazurka (in Polish, mazurek) is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the second or third beat. (wikipedia.org)
There’s a blog post here by Jonathon Still about about using the mazurka in place of a waltz for some ballet combinations. He even points accompanists to a website with American Memory Sheet music where you can search for and find sheet music.
And here is a combination that would go well with a mazurka!
1-3 Grand battement devant, lower to tenu close 5th (arm 5th en haut) 4-6 Repeat to the side (arm 2nd) 1-6 Repeat back and side to complete en croix (arm arabesque, side) 1-2 Grand battement devant, close 5th (arm 5th en haut) 3-4 Grand battement side, close 5th back (arm 2nd) 5-6 Grand battement back, close 5th (arm to arabesque) 1-5 Cloche battement with INSIDE leg fbfbf (arm 5th en haut) 6 Close 5th position front 1-24 Repeat all from the back.
I’ve been thinking lately about how dancing can affect someone’s life in general, whether they continue to dance past high school and college or not. As a teacher I had many talented students who went on to study dance at the university level. Some found their way to NYC and Broadway, others are teaching dance, but many have gone into separate fields altogether. When I was younger I used to think that I had to be involved in dance or else all the hours I’d spent perfecting my craft were for naught. But is it true that what we learn in the dance studio can’t apply somehow toward our life in general? That there aren’t lessons about working hard, little by little, to see a change several weeks or months down the road that can help us no matter where we end up?
It saddens me that I’m no longer involved in dance the way I used to be. When my family moved away from Kentucky to live closer to my husband’s family in North Carolina, we left behind a thriving dance supply store (Dance Essentials, Inc.) and I left a wonderful teaching post as director of the ballet program at Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, Kentucky. My parents kept the store running for a few more years before selling it and joining us in North Carolina, and on a recent trip through Kentucky we stopped to find that the store had closed for good. It was sad to see our small legacy stamped out, so to speak. But I believe there was a higher purpose for our lives and it was time to move on.
Three years after moving to North Carolina, my father-in-law developed an aggressive, malignant brain tumor. We lived a short drive away—we could even walk if we had to—and it was a blessing to be available if he fell down and needed help. We were at his side when he passed from this world, and though we miss him terribly, we feel blessed that we were given those few years to spend with him. We witnessed a most impressive and dignified journey toward the end of life as he knew it, and saw his faith in God and the world-to-come gently bud and flower.
When we came here it was necessary for me to find a “real” job immediately, since my husband had not found work yet. I landed a job with First Union Bank (which became Wachovia, then became Wells Fargo) doing support work and developing simple reports in Excel and PowerPoint. From there I learned how to manipulate some simple Access database back ends, and started building a few new databases to make the reporting I was doing more automated.My father-in-law was not surprised by my interest and ability to jump right into software development. He was a project manager working on IT-related projects at Bank of America and elsewhere, and he encouraged me to move into the IT field full force. He saw that software development had a creative side and dancing had a technical side, so the two fields in his mind were a perfect fit, and the transition wasn’t as difficult for me as you might think.
By Jonathon Levy, Ballet Master & former Principal Soloist of Ballet Dallas.
Choosing a school for dance training can be a daunting task. In the United States, there are no guidelines or accrediting agencies for dance training, and that means anyone can open a ballet studio regardless of their background. If you desire training for yourself or your child, the primary concern should be for a long-term goal. Whether it involves professional career potential, a college degree program, or just a means of health and discipline, the training being offered will allow or inhibit every subsequent success in learning dance technique. The difference between adequate and inferior training is monumental, and will affect every opportunity that might present itself. A clear understanding of the fundamental components of professional training will illuminate the process of choosing the best training facility.
These are the essential components of learning and performing classical ballet: the tendue— the plié—the port de bras—aplomb (or stance; which includes extending, contracting, arching, and twisting); from these four the positional ideas can be formed and taught. These four ideas form the foundation of classical movement training, and incorporate rotation, elevation, and length (including lateral, and linear momentum; and the various qualities of movement, namely, gliding/sliding, darting, extending/stretching, turning, jumping, bending, rising[1]). Cecchetti[2] referred to these “qualities” as the seven fundamental movements of dancing. Current training methods have progressed far beyond the original concept of simply teaching students how to maintain and move between a set number of positions for the feet, legs, arms, head, and torso. Continue reading “Pedagogy: A professional’s insights on the art of training and the technique of classical ballet”
One year when I was a student at Indiana University, we had a whole week off for Thanksgiving. The week we came back to school we had technical and dress rehearsals for The Nutcracker, which opened the very next weekend! My toenails felt bruised and every time I had to go onto pointe the pain was excruciating. Just putting my pointe shoes on after a full week off made me cringe. I felt like my feet had become bloated and soft in such a short amount of time.
After that experience I made sure to do certain things during any extended breaks from dancing. Here’s a list of things you can do to keep from regretting time off, but still enjoy having that time off. Continue reading “Taking an Extended Break from Dancing”
Many children who start beginning ballet will be coming with a background in creative movement. I think it’s important to retain some of the aspects of creative movement in pre or beginning ballet, because the fact that they are continuing their ballet education means they’ve enjoyed dance up to this point. So for the first few lessons I’d say it would be good to begin in the center instead of at the barre, doing some stretching exercises for their legs and feet. You can also work on posture in the center before bringing them over to face the barre.
Use of the Feet
There are so many things for beginning students to learn about using the feet. Try not to overwhelm them in the beginning or they won’t be able to retain any of what you say. It’s all right if they don’t do everything right, as long as they are working on the aspects of what you’re trying to teach them that day. You can also work on some of the foot exercises while seated on the floor. You can begin with flex and point, stopping midway between so they can see what it looks like when their toes are flexed and their foot is pointed (you can show them that this is demi-pointe when standing). Holding their feet in a pointed position while they are seated on the floor, you can have them practice just lifting their toes and then pointing them repeatedly, and instill an understanding of the phrase “working through the metatarsal”. I don’t think they are too young to begin hearing such references to the anatomy of the foot, as long as you clearly explain to them what you mean when you say it.
Standing at the Barre
Once they are at the barre, it’s important to teach them the proper way to use it. This might take a good portion of the first few classes, just having them standing facing the barre with a light touch and elbows bent. Teaching them how to recognize if they are too close (elbows scrunched into the body) or too far away (hips pushing back) is an important lesson that they’ll use throughout all their years to come in ballet.
Using Good Posture
It’s hard for children to stand with their tummies in and their spines lengthened for any amount of time. Making a combination of this alone would be good a good exercise to include in each class, so that when you remind them to “pull up” and “lengthen your spine” during tendus or plies they will know exactly what you are wanting them to do. I think including breathing techniques would be an excellent thing to do when children are first learning ballet, so they do not equate pulling up with holding their breath.
Use of Turnout
If ever there’s a topic for disagreement among ballet teachers this is it! My point of view may not mesh with that of the directors at the school where you are teaching, so please understand that this is only my recommendation. I don’t believe in forcing turnout. Now that I’m over 40 and suffering the effects of forcing my own body into positions it wasn’t naturally inclined to make, I’m even more against it. I think it’s possible for someone to achieve a beautiful line and to dance with great technique and grace without having perfect turnout. To me, working with what you were given should be a top priority. If anyone tells you that you should consider buying fancy contraptions that stretch your limbs to an unnatural limit, or that you should even consider surgery, cover your ears and run in the other direction! This is not necessary, and it is definitely not healthy.
Again, sitting or lying on the floor is a great way to work on demonstrating turnout before involving the traction of the floor. Having the students lie on their backs and flex their feet, then slowly open their toes as far as their hips allow will show them where their natural turnout is. Of course, dancers work on increasing and improving their range of turnout, but I’m firmly against standing in a perfect 180 degree first position or working your leg directly to the side when à la seconde. At the barre, it’s good to teach the basics of plié and tendu and degagé from a parallel position before introducing the steps using turnout. This means mostly working to the front, but there are a lot of mechanics involved in using the feet properly, lifting the metatarsal and lowering it back down when closing. And for plié, keeping the body lifted as the legs bend and not letting the torso drop forward. After they have mastered tendu and degagé to the front from a parallel position, you can introduce the steps working to the side with their feet in a V (I wouldn’t necessarily call this first position right away, or they may begin trying to force their toes out too far).
Epaulement
In addition to working on plié, tendu, and degagé, you can begin working with epaulement in pre or beginning ballet. Teaching children all the ways to use the head is important, and will greatly aid them later when they are asked to use their head and arms along with their legs and feet. Just doing exercises that involve keeping the neck long when looking up, down, side to side, and inclining the head so the ear bends toward the shoulder is good for them. Slowly adding these head movements to plié or tendu facing the barre will help them to incorporate such techniques more quickly when they become more advanced. It’s a little like teaching someone to play the piano with two hands instead of just one. You don’t want to put this off for too long, or they’ll never feel comfortable with it.
Other Positions to Practice
Second position of the feet, Sur le cou de pied, sous sus, retire. Gradually add ¼ rond de jambe á terre en dehors after introducing tendu from 1st position.
In the Center
Easy steps for beginning students to practice in the center include temps lié through second position, which is also a good preparation for glissade, which you can break down for them to learn slowly. Using port de bras with head is a good exercise to do in the center. Kids love to jump! Teaching sauté in 1st and 2nd positions usually goes over well, emphasizing the importance of keeping the arms still and the torso upright. In preparation for turns you can have them practice spotting the front of the room while shuffling their feet in a circle.
Across the floor
It’s pretty easy to transform gallops into chassé across the floor, and prancing into embôité in low attitude devant. I also enjoyed teaching this age how to do chainé turns. I usually did this with their hands either on their hips or on their shoulders so they don’t have to worry too much about what their arms are doing and so they don’t get twisted up. We would practice just stepping on the flat foot to the side with head looking over their shoulder, then flipping (like a playing card) so their body is facing the back of the room and they’re looking over the other shoulder. Getting them to continue turning in the same direction is the biggest trick! 🙂
In all, this is a very fun age to teach. I think being sure to make the transition from creative movement to the more structured ballet class slowly is what will keep them wanting to come back. If you make too drastic a change they might just lose interest in ballet. Good luck! And if you have other ideas that work well for pre-ballet or beginning ballet classes, please share them in the comments!
Talking about validation in my DBT support group for parents of kids struggling with various types of issues has coincided with recognition survey results at the bank where I work. It’s interesting how people like to be recognized, as no two people are alike. Some people want praise weekly, others don’t feel that’s necessary. Some want rewards and others just want verbal praise. But everyone wants praise and recognition to be sincere. Working at a big corporation certainly differs from working as a ballet instructor, but giving sincere praise is an important component for both.
One thing I really miss about dancing is the immediate praise you get while performing a combination. Either you’re doing it all right and don’t get any attention, you’re doing something wrong and get a correction (which is not a bad thing at all), or you’re doing it really well and get praise like, “Good girl, Tammy!” That was my favorite one from my favorite teacher, Melissa Lowe. It was always my goal while doing turns across the floor or grand allegro to have her take notice and give me a “Good girl!” shout. And when I was teaching I made it a point to take notice when someone was pushing extra hard, or putting into practice a correction I’d given them, by saying something positive to them.
Praise can be the best motivator
When I was dancing, I know for a fact that praise did way more for my technical improvement than negative feedback. Some teachers I could just tell didn’t like me for some reason or another, and nothing I could do would get a nod of approval. Once I took an entire class where the teacher hated how I put my weight over the ball of my supporting foot when working on one leg. This was major. It was how I’d been taught to stand when doing tendus with the working leg, for instance. She wanted the weight to stay exactly where it had been when standing on two feet in 1st position. So I’d move into a tendu and fall over without hanging onto the barre for dear life. It was very odd and I never went back to her class again. I was also in severe pain for at least week afterward.
Now I’m working on bringing this validation and praise home. I realize that I pick at my own kids for the things I wish they didn’t do (“Your room is a mess! Pick up all these clothes—either put them away or put them in the dirty clothes basket!”) rather than praising them for the things they are doing right. “Thanks for emptying the dishwasher when I asked you to. It makes life a lot easier for everyone when we help each other out.”
Praise. Give it sincerely and give it often when deserved. It will improve this world. You never know what hassles people are going through in their personal lives, so showing praise for a job well done at work or in ballet class can sometimes be what is getting someone through the day.
