Daily Discipline

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.

Continue reading “Daily Discipline”

Degagé facing the barre

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Begin in 1st position

1-4  4 degagé to the side with R
5-6  Flex R foot and bounce low to floor to R side
7&8  2 quick piqué to right side and close 1st
1-8  Repeat to the left
1-4  Degagé en cloche w/R leg front, back, front (finish last one in fondu) hold count 4
5-8  Degagé en cloche back, front, back (ending in fondu)
1-2  Pull R to retiré, straightening standing leg
3-4  Extend 45° side in fondu
5-6  Relevé passé
7-8  Lower and close to 1st position
1-32 Repeat all beginning L

Pedagogy: A professional’s insights on the art of training and the technique of classical ballet

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”

Pointe Foot Exercise facing barre

1st position facing barre
1    Lift R heel and press over ball of R foot
2    Lift metatarsal to press gently over pointe
3-4  Demi plié
5    Begin to brush foot along floor into tendu side, but only to the metatarsal
6    Complete the tendu by fully stretching the foot to tendu side
7-8  Demi plié
1-8  Repeat all with left foot/leg
1    Tendu R front
2    Press over the pointe with some weight
3    Straighten to point tendu front
4    Flex R foot
5    Point back tendu front
6    Lower just the metatarsal of R foot, keeping heel lifted
7    Release to point degage front
8    Close 1st position
1-8  Repeat last 8 counts with L foot/leg
1-16 Repeat to the side with R and L

Rond de Jambe en l’air and Frappé

5th position, preparation sur le cou de pied
1-7  Single frappe en croix each position getting 2 counts (front out 1, in 2, side out 3, in 4, etc)
8  Close 5th position front
1  Brush side 45°
2-3 Single rond de jambe en l’air en dehors twice at 45°
4  Close back 5th
5   Brush side 45°
6-7 Single rond de jambe en l’air en dedans twice at 45°
8  Close front 5th
1-8  Cloche in attitude f-b-f-b-f-b-f (can go progressively higher) close 5th front in plié
1-2  Relevé passé
3  Developpé à la seconde
4  Lower supporting heel
5  Rond de jambe en l’air 90° en dehors
6  Double rond de jambe en l’air 90° en dehors
7  Close to sous-sus front
8  Turn toward barre to second side
1-32 Repeat all on second side

After second side, can close sous-sus back and turn away from the barre to first side
Repeat all from the back and using en dedans

Taking an Extended Break from Dancing

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”