2 Weeks Without Ballet!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

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It has now been two weeks (two weeks!) since I've been to ballet class. I'm trying to remember the last time I went two weeks without doing some kind of dancing!

I knew I would be missing one week of classes when I went on a trip with my mom, but unfortunately, I got sick at the end of my trip and have now spent another week away from class and feeling miserable :(

I believe things are starting to turn around now so I've been thinking about how I will do in class the first time back. I realize that two weeks off is really no big deal, but two weeks off after being ill feels different. I feel even more weak and lethargic. I'm really rather scared to see the condition I am in, though I know it's never as bad as I make it seem in my mind. At least that's how I'm hoping it will be!

I hope you all are staying well and enjoying your classes! Thanks for listening to me vent :)

-Jana




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Taking Corrections with Grace

Monday, February 17, 2014

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Sometimes it is easy to have a love/hate relationship with corrections. And, as an adult, it can be frustrating to be corrected about something that it might feel we have limited control over - i.e., turnout. Additionally, some teachers are naturally more crass than others.  While teenagers are sometimes more willing to 'take it', we adults have been out in the workforce or keeping children in line all day, and have much less patience if our class time feels antagonistic.

But let's remember the bottom line: corrections are our friend. Corrections are what keep us moving forward and getting better. And, even if a teacher says something in a way we don't care for sometimes, they are giving us attention through that correction, which means they see that we have potential. As a student, they always say the time to worry is when a teacher doesn't address you at all.

You should always feel comfortable enough with your teacher to address certain issues (privately, after class). If you really feel like you are being pushed in a way that isn't beneficial, talk to your teacher and let them know how you feel. If you would like MORE corrections and feel like you aren't getting enough, again let them know. Most of the time your teacher will be willing to work with you, or maybe they could give you more insight into a correction (it's not just the amount of turnout, but how you are turning out).

The thing teachers love to see are the people that take corrections and utilize them. If you do this to the best of your ability, it is likely the teacher will want to work with you more and more simply because it makes their work fun too!
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An Evening at the Ballet!

Monday, February 10, 2014

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This weekend I went to a triple bill production of Balanchine's Rubies, an original work by Matthew Neenan titled Exurgency, and the world premiere of Carmen, choreographed by Jacob Sparso.

My friend and Thursday night adult class instructor, Sarah, invited me to go with her! We drank red wine and talked shop :)

I loved Rubies and Exurgency. There were some parts of Carmen that felt a little thrown together or awkward, but there were also some really great parts. The music in the second half of Exurgency was so familiar to me. I swear I've heard it in a film or something. If it rings a bell with anyone else, please let me know in the comments!

And speaking of performances, did you hear about Jenifer Ringer taking her last bow yesterday? My aunt knows Jenifer's mother so she tried to get me a meeting with her while I was in New York this past fall, but it didn't work out. I don't think I knew at the time that she would be retiring just a few months later! I totally relate to what she says at the very end of that linked article.

Have you been to the ballet recently? If so, what have you seen?

P.S. We are so close to 1000 YouTube subscribers! We have surpassed 1000 YouTube subscribers!! Thank you all!!
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Finding my inner artist

Saturday, February 8, 2014

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It's always interesting to me how Jana and I tend to experience similar things at similar times with our dancing, even now being hundreds of miles away from each other. Reading her blog post about being shy sounded so much like what I have been feeling.

My relationship to the dance world has come in waves. I became a professional very young, then left, then went back, then had a baby, then went back...then decided I would never, ever leave the dance world again. A lot of amazing things have happened in my life that I would not trade AT ALL. But there are definitely big moments of regret about the dancing, if I could somehow remove the dancing part from the rest of my life (which of course, I can't).

What has been many, many years ago now, I danced among some really amazing people. People that have gone on to be principals and soloists in companies across the country, and who have received accolades they absolutely deserve. I'm sure our director keeps up with us all, but I have to wonder if he realizes the full extent of his success, not only as a ballet director, but as someone who trained us all in life. When I hear these people mentioned, there is talk about how they raise everyone up around them. I think our director knew how to look for that spark. The success they have seen is well deserved in every case, and the fact that I got to see them when they were young, and see how hard they worked, is still incredible to me.

Then there's me. In and out of the dance world. Dancing professionally at 17, only to leave it behind and never return to a full time professional company. Don't get me wrong - I love, love, love my life. But, it's hard to turn off the little switch that says, "That could have been you." That, no, I don't get to wake up everyday and go to a place where I watch amazing dancing all day. I didn't make the progress that those who continued professionally made. Sometimes, the fact that I even still try to call myself a dancer makes me feel like a fraud. A has been. A never was.

Now, I have this amazing second chance to still be dancing. Getting the opportunities I have now is unheard of. The problem is that I was never trained beyond the corps. I always wanted more (don't we all?), but I left the dance world the first time so young. Now I'm getting more, and I'm so happy, but there's this lingering doubt about whether I can do it or not. I used to be fearless - I would try anything, and go all out every time. Now I feel like I play it very safe. Granted, I think I need to in order to avoid injury, but I can feel I'm holding back. It's not just holding back physically, it's also the emotional. Of course, these two go hand in hand for dancers because it's the physical we use to demonstrate the emotional.

The question I am facing is how to become the artist. This is something every professional artist works through, but usually much younger than me. I'm facing this huge internal struggle of being so thankful I still have the opportunity to become what I know I can be, and being so frustrated that I allowed myself to put it off until now.

I know many adult dancers I talk to have similar frustrations: wishing they had started earlier, had done more, could do more, etc. While I am every bit the advocate that we can and should keep working, I also understand this struggle. Sometimes I feel like the artist that cannot stop painting the canvas and call a picture complete. Will I ever feel like I have done enough?

It's difficult to open up about this, but I also feel like it's an important dialogue. In many ways, I would rather not talk about it, and just try to seem like I have it all together. I have had many days when it seemed like it would just be easier to walk away from it all, and I did just that. Now I feel like I'm out of time - if I walk away again, I won't be able to go back. Physically it would be too difficult. But more than that, every time I have left my dancing, there has been an emptiness, and I don't want to be empty. Every heartache and frustration is worth it every time I step into first position.
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Giving yourself class!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

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Hello everyone!

One thing we get a LOT of requests for here at Ballerinas By Night is help with class! People want to give themselves class at home, but need new ideas. Since I have just finished up performing in the Nutcracker recently, I also saw many people wishing they had more ideas for giving themselves a warm up class.

A warm up class is going to differ from a typical class in a few ways. When trying to get ready for stage, you need to be extra efficient. Every combination needs to do as much as it can to get every part of the body moving. For me, a typical class will have a theme (maybe working on retire position at barre, then carrying that into turns and pas de chats in the center). In this type of class, I focus on certain muscle groups throughout the whole class in the hopes of making my students feel those muscles the next day (they love me for that, right?). I build my warm up classes, however, to be athletic and to work as many muscles groups as possible throughout the entire class. There is extra stretching and extra balances.

This class is an adapted version of what I have been teaching recently, and can also be used as a home class/workout. Of course, you can and should adapt it to your own needs. I highly suggest using music, and we even gave you some music suggestions for classes at home (remember that?).


First, I want to talk about the order of ballet class. If you get some ballet music, you will automatically have an order to your class if you just follow along with the CD. But, different styles will do certain exercises at different times, so if you are used to something else, of course customize to your own needs.

My preferred order is:


  1. Plies
  2. Tendus from 1st
  3. Tendus from 5th (If I am in a time crunch, I only do one tendu combination, but I prefer two.)
  4. Degages from 1st
  5. Degages from 5th (Same holds true for degage - can be combined into one combination.)
  6. Rond de jambe a terre
  7. Frappe
  8. Fondu (Again, I prefer to have one frappe and one fondu combination, but they can combined or switched out if you are short on time.)
  9. Adagio/stretch (I prefer to have a short adagio that continues into stretching, but this is another one of those that could be split up into two completely different parts, or adagio at barre could be skipped completely. If I know I am going to do an involved adagio in the center, I don't always do one at barre. Either way, I suggest stretching before grand battement.)
  10. Grand battement


Note: there are several other barre exercises that could be included, such as rond de jambe en l'air and petite battement, among others. I'm not going to address those in this blog post, but just know that this list is not 100% comprehensive.

Another note for the following: There are many different ways to write down and explain the steps for a combination, and many times the same step has several different terms that can be used to say the same thing. It doesn't mean that someone is wrong because they do or say something differently (this is so important). I find writing down steps like this extremely time consuming and frustrating, so I'm not going for perfection in how this is written out. Feel free to comment with any questions or if you need clarifications, however! I'm also not putting in counts for everything because in most cases it should be self-explanatory or open to interpretation. :-)

BARRE

Plies
Two demis, one grand. Forward bend, releve. Change position. Repeat in 2nd and 5th (no fourth). After 5th, tendu back to first, turn in and take 8 counts to stretch foward. Bend the knees, walk out and back, or whatever else you need. Roll up, reverse the arm stretching back. Plie, releve and balance.

Tendus from 5th (or could be done from 1st and repeated from 5th)
Tendu, plie, tendu, close. Front, pass back, pass front, close. Side close back, side close front (2 counts each), 4 tendus in 1 count closing 1st, 1st, 1st, 5th back. Repeat from the back. Balance sous-sus.

Degage from 5th (again, could be adapted to go from 1st as well)
Degage, plie, degage, plie. Out, pique, pique (SHARP), close 5th. Repeat side and inside leg front. Plie passe in four counts, two times. Stay in the last passe and balance retire.

Rond de jambe
4, two counts each. 4, one count each. 1 en lair in four counts. En dehors, en dedans. Circular bend, and reverse it. Take time here for whatever you need - lunge, etc. Take a balance. If you are still working on a good retire position, this is the time to face the barre and to check yourself. Only balance if you can maintain placement, otherwise just work on training the proper position with hands still on the barre. If you are more advanced, take an arabesque or attitude balance.

Frappe
4 in two counts each - front, side, back. Two double frappe side in two counts each, four counts of petite battement. Repeat from the back. Optional: repeat on releve.

Fondu
2 fondus in two counts each, 1 fondu releve, hold count 7, sous-sus count 8. En croix. Foot in hand stretch four counts front, carry side, let go and hold. Repeat. Hand in knee for attitude to the back, stretch as you need. Balance in arabesque, brush through to close fifth front.

Stretch

Grand battement
3 grand battement (2 counts each), plie stretch. Front, back, side. Six attitude swings starting from the back, ending to close front. Or, you could do seven, close back, and repeat from the back.

CENTER

Adagio
Rond de jambe front and carry back, on the fondu front and carry back, degage en lair (brush front to ninety degrees) on 5, 6, 7, close 8. Developpe side in four counts, fouette to third arabesque, hold, pas de bourree. Grand plie (four counts), carry the arms to fifth en haut and open, counts 5-8. Tombe pas de bourree (1-2), passe (3-4), passe (5-6), sous-sus 7, plie 8, prepare for left side.

Pirouette (this is a good combination for home use because it doesn't take up much room!)
Step up to sous-sus (1), plie (2), push to retire balance (3), plie (4), sous-sus (5), plie (6), pirouette (7), end with the leg extended a la seconde on the fondu (8), soutenu (1-2), tendu side (3), carry to tendu back (4), outside pirouette (5-6), finish (7), tendu back to fifth on 8 so you can go left.

First jumps
8 jumps in first, 4 jumps in second, 4 changement. Repeat left.

Basic petite allegro
Glissade jete, glissade jete, glissade assemble, glissade assemble. Three pas de chats, pas de bourree, three entrechat quatre, hold on 8.

Enjoy your class!

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Being a shy dancer

Monday, February 3, 2014

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I've always been a shy person. I've overcome a lot of it as I've gotten older, but for some reason I am still shy when it comes to showing emotion with my dancing.

But now with age, I find that when I use my upper body I feel more fulfilled when I'm dancing a combination. I want to start focusing on what my upper body and my head is doing as much as my feet and legs.

I recently saw this Ask Amy post on Pointe magazine's website from a reader asking about her teacher wanting her to use more épaulement. This particular part of Amy's answer really stuck with me:

"Our épaulement, or upper-body expression, is just as important as our legs and feet—it’s the heart and soul of our dancing, our personal signature."

It's so true. And right now my personal signature says ROBOT.

Because I feel shy to use my upper body in the first place, it makes it really hard for me to put myself out there to ask my teacher for help with this. It means they will start watching me for the one thing I am scared about! Ah! Not to mention how much harder it is to get your placement once you start moving your head around!

But Amy's advice is to start working on it in the mirror at home. I also think that taking pictures or video of yourself could help. Pictures really show you how much more energy you have to put through your body for it to show on camera. Like, you may think you're pointing your foot, but you could be wrong. (Mean Girls reference, anyone??) :)

Any other shy dancers out there who have conquered épaulement and showing emotion? I'd love to hear your advice in the comments below!
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