Beyond the Barre

Giveaway: Ideology Dancewear!

2012-03-02T11:20:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Macy's publicity team, I get to give away a clothing item from the Ideology series! The winner will receive 1 item under $30.

Here's how to enter:

Go to the Ideology website.
What are your favorites? What would you wear in dance class? tell me—and them—what you think!
Leave a comment here telling me about your favorite Ideology item, your name, and your email address.
For 1 Extra point: link to sidebar/facebook/tweet this giveaway
For 3 Extra points: do a blog post about this contest, and link it in the comments

Rules

USA only (sorry!)
Contest ends March 15, 2012. (you can leave comments after that, but you won't be entered)

Good luck!

I'll go ahead and tell you my favorites: I really like the HOT pink windbreaker jacket, and the running shorts.

$1000 shopping spree? Yes please!

2012-03-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

Macy's © has a new line of Dancewear clothing called Ideology. Their clothing features things like dance pants, warm-up tops, sports bras, tank tops, and leggings.

For Spring 2012, Ideology offers an energizing color palette of hot pink, lime green, and rich magenta across clothes designed for the woman who wants to sweat, stretch, or just relax. Standout pieces include the Hourglass Tank, specially constructed to provide a flattering hourglass shape; Full-Length Pants, ideal for yoga, made with 4-way stretch for easy movement; a Seamless Sports Bra with wicking and antimicrobial protection; a sleek, water-resistant Cinched Waist Parka with a drawstring hood and contrast-color zippers, and a chic Dolman Sleeve Topper to throw on after the gym. The collection of jackets, sweatshirts, tops, bras, pants, shorts, and accessories ranges from $7.98 to $58. For a full view of the the Ideology collection, visit macys.com/ideology.

You'd love to win a $1000 shopping spree to buy new dancewear, right?

check this link! http://m80.com/m/2bx

Here are the rules:

1. Select a pre-recorded music track from the Facebook tab. You must one of the approved songs or your submission will not be considered.

2. Choreograph and record a dance to the track you’ve selected, keeping your video under 2 minutes in length. Your dance can be performed individually or with a partner.

3. Upload your video on the Facebook tab at Macy’s Facebook page.

Good Luck! And keep your eyes peeled for a GIVEAWAY here at Beyond the Barre!

Foot and Arch Tutorials

2012-02-23T11:33:00.001-08:00

Today I have three videos for you! More will come, promise. I have to film them, though.

What to do: Slowly releve in a parallell position, pushing up as high as you can. When you lower, lower slowly, making sure you resist "clopping" your heels down. Try to eliminate all ankle wobbles

What to remember: When working on Relelve, make sure your arches, toes, and knees are all lined up. Push all the way up on to your arch as high as you can. Check your feet from the front, and from the side.

Releve combination: 8 in first, 8 with plie, 8 in sur le coups de pied on each foot, 8 in second, balance in sousus, passe coupe balance in sousus, plie and stretch.

Remember: push your heel into the ground, like there's an orange under it! No wobbles!

Plies with arch presses:

Demi-plie like you normally would, but press your arch up onto demi-pointe. Stretch out the muscles under the feet. Make sure when you do this, your arch is lined up with your knees and toes. This exercise stretches and enhances the arch.

Balance

2012-02-21T18:01:00.001-08:00

Balance is so key in dance. Without it, you really can't do much of anything. These are a few key things to keep in mind when you work on balance.

Balance is an action, not a position

Balance is something you do, not something you find. Teachers often say "Find your balance." It is true that you have to find the correct position to balance in, but once you find, it, you have to keep it: and that doesn't mean staying still! Balancing is a combination of isometric movements (engaging muscles to hold still) and extremely small isotonic adjustments (isotonic means you're engaging your muscles and actually moving somewhere). Those adjustments, when you first start learning to balance, are large, and they look like wobbles. You will feel like you're falling. But as long as you keep working it and teaching your body how to adjust the hip without loosing the turnout, or how to push harder on the floor without loosing the abdominal strength, eventually balance becomes easy and steady.

Stack Up At Your Center

Think of your body as a set of building blocks: you have to line them all up in order for the tower not to fall. If one near the top is off center, it will pull the others down with it. If one near the bottom is off center, the others will fall off of it. This is why it's important to visualize every aspect of your body while you balance: not just your feet or your hips, but the whole body. You have to line everything up.

For women, our sense of balance is mostly in the sacrum, the top part of the tailbone. Men's center of balance is a little higher, directly behind the belly button. Once you find where your center is, think of both sides of your body being proportionate around it, like those building blocks.

Energy All Directions

Remember that center we talked about? Think about a glowing ball of energy right there, in the middle of your center of balance. Now, as you're standing in whatever position you need to balance in, visualize shooting steady thick streams of that energy straight down into the floor through your standing leg, and straight up into the sky through your spine. You should grow taller from both directions, because you're pushing down from your hips, and lifting up in your back.

Now, visualize your arms shooting streams of energy outwards from your body, and your working leg shooting out the direction it's pointing. No matter what position you're balancing in, you should be able to visualize shooting energy from your center out in all directions, like you're the middle of the clock with a minute hand for every minute.

This concept evenly distributes your force and your consciousness, so you're focused on all parts of your body at the same time, and helps you find the true center of your body in that position.

And don't forget, staring at something helps too! Shoot energy out of your eyes. Pick a spot, and shoot daggers at it.

Watch those knees!

2012-02-13T09:43:00.001-08:00

Let's talk about knees.

Shock absorbers

First of all, ballet dancers rely on their knees for more than they realize. In between the top of the Tibia (shin bone) and the bottom of the Femur (thigh bone), you have two half-moon shaped padded cushion-type-things, called Meniscus. Think of them as shock absorbers. Without them, your bones would be grinding against each other.

But dancers tend to be very hard on their Menisci. We do a lot of jumping, so they do a lot of shock absorbing. But if we don't help them along, they're going to give out.

One of the key ways you can protect your knees is to land your jumps with your knee directly over your two biggest toes, to roll through the foot as you land, and to press your heels into the floor. This distributes your weight correctly and keeps you in alignment, so you don't put extra strain on your knees.

Ligaments

There are tons of ligaments in your knees you need to take care of. The Co-lateral ligaments are two ligaments (that's the "co") on either side of your knees (that's the "lateral"). They keep your Patella (knee cap) from slipping side to side.

You also have the ACL and the PCL. ACL is Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Front, crossed ligament) and the PCL is Posterior Cruciate Ligament (back crossed ligament). They criss-cross under the Patella to keep it from moving forward and back.

Many athletes tend to injure their ACL. But dancers are at risk of injuring their PCL, mostly because we like to hyperextend our knees, which is very very bad.

See, Ligaments don't stretch back. Once they stretch, they're stuck that way unless you do intense physical therapy or have a surgery. Hyperextension of the knees means you have a loose PCL. If the PCL is very loose, it could tear, strain, or not do it's job (thereby endangering your Patella).

If you are hyperextended, remember not to lock your knees. Your legs should look straight, but that doesn't mean they should be as engaged as they can possibly be! You have to re-train your muscles to stop pushing back, and lift up in your thighs to keep your stability.

Turnout

I will certainly address this topic more fully in another post. But just because this is extremely important, let's mention turnout.

Turnout does not come from your knees.

Turnout comes from your hips.

If you turn out from your knees, you will tear ligaments, rub and tear your Menisci, and cause serious injury to your ankles. (Again, ankles will be another post all together.)

Please, for the love of Marie Taglioni, don't turn out from your knees.

Preparing for Pointe

2012-02-12T10:01:00.001-08:00

Right now I have the awesome opportunity to teach pre-pointe at a local dance studio in my area! This brings me great joy. I've got between 5 and 7 girls, all of them really excited, some of them more ready than others, but all pretty dedicated. I won't be talking about them on this blog, but I might mention "a student" and "a problem" and "tendencies." It's just for their privacy.

However, I'll be posting some tutorials about muscle strengthening, posture, alignment, Pilates, cross training, and other things that are designed to prepare girls for pointe work. You are more than welcome to check them out!

When am I ready for pointe?

This is a very complicated question to answer, because everyone's body is different, and there is not set time or age or position you have to be able to hit before you can go en pointe.

But here are the basics:

1. You should be strong enough to balance in a releve in first position for a good minute. Without the barre. Your releve should be high up on your arches, forward with your weight over your big toes (no sickling) and not wobbly.

2. Your turnout should be stable: you should be able to do a tendu or grand battement or rond de jambe combination without your standing leg slowly slipping into a parallel position.

3. You should have reasonable abdominal and back strength. If you can do 60 crunches, or an Abs Series in Pilates, you'll probably be okay.

How old is too old, or how young is too young?

You don't have to be really young. I got en pointe when I was fourteen. I knew some people who got on much older than that. I knew some who got on at six or seven. Age doesn't make much of a difference. So don't worry about how old you are. It's all about your body. Ballanchine was famous for saying (something along these lines:) that ballet training doesn't need to start seriously until the age of eight or ten, and pointe doesn't need to start until about twelve. Getting en pointe is great, but you should be able to do something once you get up there.

Will my feet keep me from dancing en pointe? My scoliosis? My bad turnout?

1. Flat feet make pointe hard. They don't keep you from being able to dance, they just make your life more difficult. I have flat feet. But I can do things other people have a lot of trouble with, like toe hops and promenades, very easily.

2. Scoliosis makes ballet in general difficult. There are some ways you just can't move. I've known some professional dancers who had to deal with their scoliosis, and they made it work. You have to learn what you can and can't do, and then learn to work with it. It may mean sacrificing certain roles because you can't do a certain step the way a choreographer wants you to do it. But it doesn't mean you can't dance at all.

3. No. Turning out is a movement, not a position. Although good turnout helps, it's not the position of being turned out that helps you dance, it's the action of turning out. It's the muscular flexion and engagement that helps you keep your balance and lift your legs higher etc. I have barely 100 degree turnout. But actually using the turnout muscles is what helps you.

As far as pointe, feet that aren't extremely turned out don't look as pretty in pointe shoes as feet that are very turned out, and you will be forever competing against girls with natural turnout, but it does not mean you can't fight for it—and win.

Feet and Ankles

2012-01-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

How many ways can your ankle move? What different kinds of actions can it do? The answer may surprise you: Your ankle joint only flexes and extends. This translates to flexing the foot and pointing it.

So what about ankle circles? Circumduction, or circular movement in the joint, is actually in the Tarsus which connects the ankle joint to the metatarsals.

So what does this have to do with ballet?

When you do a releve, your ankles should raise straight up without any wobbles back and forth, or any jerky movements when lowering back down. Good ways to strengthen the muscles around your Tarsus are slow relelves, flexing and pointing with a theraband, and slow controlled tendues.

Teaching again!

2012-01-23T17:39:00.001-08:00

I've started teaching again! It's so exciting. Today I helped teach a beginner ballet class at the university.

Last Thursday, I also taught. I went to my local dance studio, Encore Dance (A Christian dance ministry) and taught a technique class for them. I'm going to be their pre-pointe teacher (PP1).

Of course these were both inspiring and now I want to write about technique, so over the next few weeks that's probably what this blog will consist of: little bits and pieces of important technique.

So that's what's going on here, and that's why my posts are few and far between. I'm almost a senior, so the work load is a little crazy right now!

Fokine's Swan

2011-12-16T05:46:00.001-08:00

Anna Pavlova asked Michael Fokine to choreograph a solo for her to dance at a charity performance for poor mothers with newborn babies in 1907. Rumor has it he picked The Swan because that was what was on the piano at the time (Levine, 42).

Vladimir Dokoudovsky was friends with Fokine, and danced with him in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Dokoudovsky was known to be one of the best choreographers for re-staging Fokine’s work, because he worked so closely with him.

In 1981, Laura Karmi was coached by Ludmila Dokoudovsky, his daughter. Ludmila loaned Karmi her father’s copy of Fokine’s notes for the piece.

This is peculiar because I couldn’t honestly find any mention of there being notes in any of my research. Supposedly Fokine just choreographed it off the top of his head, and then Anna did it after him and he corrected a few things and sent her on her way. However, when I did get to study the notes, Karmi claimed they were pictures taken by Fokine of his wife, Madame Fokina, wearing the original costume.

There are several possible situations. One is that Fokine did in fact choreograph this version, and Anna Pavlova changed it. In one book I read, there was mention that Anna Pavlova performed her ‘interpretation’ of the choreography (Reinhardt, 18), but I couldn’t track that citation to figure out where the author gotten that information.

Another option was that Fokine choreographed a different version later, very possibly after Pavlova had already died (as she died backstage before one of her performances of the piece in question).

And of course it is possible that someone else choreographed this version, and it is not related to Fokine or Pavlova or Dokoudovsky at all.

Either way, my chance of getting another copy of the notes is slim, and actually figuring out the truth behind it is unlikely, as both of the Dokoudovskys are dead. The only real way to prove it would be to look at the handwriting on the sheet music and compare it to Fokine’s handwriting, and compare the photographs with those of Madame Fokina, or to find someone else who knew Fokine and saw it performed and ask them. Alas, my research is not quite that exhaustive.

(Here's my youtube video of me dancing it.)

Works Cited

Levine, Ellen. Anna Pavlova: Genius of the Dance. Scolastic Inc. 1995. Print.

Reinhardt, Angela. Pointe Shoes; Tips and Tricks. Dance Books Ltd. 2008. Print.

Interview: Laura Karmi. E-mail communication. 23 October 2011. Web.

My Recital

2011-12-09T09:44:00.001-08:00

December 7 was my first recital since… maybe three years! It's amazing how fast time has flown by.

Anyway, here it is if you feel incredibly bored and feel like watching Isadora Duncan and Fokine Choreography.

Also. The dance at the end is Fokine's original Dying Swan. More on that later.

Performance Carolina Ballet's Dracula

2011-10-31T06:04:00.001-07:00

On October 15, I saw Carolina Ballet’s performance of Dracula and The Masque of the Red Death. The Masque of the Red Death is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, and is a new original ballet by Robert Wiess. Both of the ballets were composed by J. Mark Scearce, and Dracula was adapted and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett.

The Masque of the Red Death was interpreted very interestingly. Assuming you know the story: in the beginning, the Red Death dances by himself, interweaving himself throughout the drapes that were hanging onto the stage. The dancers wore black cape-like costumes and leapt across the stage, running from the Red Death.

The different rooms from the story were represented by different couples; there was an Arabian dancer, punchinellos, a harlequin and columbine, a pierrot and pierette, jokers, a ballerina, and a monkey. The main role of the Prince Prospero and his Duchess were represented with dancers who were the Sun and the Moon. The costumes were very vivid and beautiful, and everyone wore masks, as well as the Red Death dancer, who wore a bright red top and pants with what looked like white bones sewn or embroidered onto it, and a peculiar scull mask.

The choreography was very distinct and matched the characters. It wasn’t just choreography to go with the music (which, by the way, was composed for this production) but it was very unique. You could have figured out the character roles without their costumes, because the choreography was in character. This played into the end, when the Red Death dances with each individual dancer in their specific style as he kills them off.

The end was very dramatic. As he kills them all off one by one, they collapse to the floor. The last person alive is the Prince, who grabs the mask off of Red Death’s face and collapses back. Red Death then turns and faces the audience with his mask off, and the spotlight hits him for a split second and the lights cut out right away and everything goes completely dark. It was a very good and very dramatic ending.

A very good aspect of the interpretation in the dancing itself was the pride Red Death had in his dancing. There were a lot of attitude pirouettes, strutting, big jumps, continuous pirouettes in second position, and large open movements of the arms. He communicated pride. The story itself is about the pride of the Prince who decides to host a party in the midst of this horrible illness where people everywhere are dying by seeing the Red Death. The prince is prideful enough to have a party in the middle of it, and Red Death is proud because he can still conquer even the most prideful person in the land. This was well portrayed through the choreography. The choreography itself was very fresh. There was a good mixture of classical movements with newer steps and lifts and movements that I hadn’t seen before, and though I didn’t like all of it, it was interesting and inspiring.

Act 2 was Dracula. For starters, there was a narrator. Normally I don’t like any kind of vocals with ballet (I saw a contemporary modern performance last spring at WCU, and there was a lot of screaming and squealing and screeching, and I hated it). Most of the narration was very good. It accompanied well, but if I were directing it there would have been some big changes. There were times when the narrator was talking while dancers were dancing. I felt this took away from the dancing itself. For instance: In one section, Renfield the mental patient was dancing, and Dr. Seward (the narrator) was speaking to him. Renfield was using pantomime to communicate, while the doctor was speaking. The inconsistency was awkward. This happened again while several of the characters were rushing around just as they were solving the mystery: people were pantomiming, but he was talking. It felt out of place and uncomfortable.

I really liked Renfield. I have a soft spot for insane people, possibly because I’m so much an artist that I often feel insane myself. His movements consisted of awkward poses and crawling on the floor and eating flies and doing silly things like twirling on the actor box he was sitting on. And he had a certain light of crazy in his eye. Strangely enough, I liked him best out of all the characters.

There were some awkward love scenes between vampires and humans. Though the choreographer got the point across, I could have done with less kink and erotic positions and movements. It could have been toned down and still gotten the same idea across less awkwardly. Or maybe I was uncomfortable because I went with a hot date.

One of my favorite parts was the very end, when the peasants and children were running around and hunting the vampire. The sun came up and you could see and feel the burning of Dracula, and Marcelo Martinez did a magnificent job of the dramatic death that was necessary for such a villain. Another aspect of that same death that I liked was as Dracula died, you could also see the bit of his spirit that had been inside Mina leave her. She took this little breath just as he died. However, he was center center stage, and she was right center stage, so a lot of people missed it. I know my date wasn’t the only one (he asked about it later and I filled him in) and it would have been more noticeable if she had been standing right beside him or behind him. It wouldn’t have upstaged him, and it would have been noticeable.

One thing I liked a lot was how they used their scenery. They had one simple scene and a few props, and they used a projector to put up different images: a candle lit room, a graveyard, a house, a castle, a village.

I loved all the costumes except one. I didn’t like Dracula’s costume… or rather I didn’t like the whole thing. The cape was fantastic, the rest of it really was perfect, but my only criticism was something small. It’s pathetic really, and I’m not sure if it was by accident, or if the costume director had a sick sense of humor, but Dracula’s shirt and boot cuffs sparkled. That kind of ruined the moment.

There were some similarities between the two ballets. I don’t know if Wiess tweaked or changed Corbett’s choreography at all, but both ballets included carousels, or pinwheels. This is when all the dancers stand in a formation and move in synch to create a rotating shape. These are very difficult and very impressive, and they were executed very well. There were also sections where a dancer performed a series of turns while others ran around them. This is also very difficult because when a dancer is turning and spotting something, and someone runs in front of them, their eyes naturally want to follow the movement, and their spot can be ruined. Sadly, in the show I saw, the audience wasn’t particularly responsive, and the dancers didn’t get as much applause during the show as they deserved. Luckily, this didn’t diminish their performance in the slightest.

I immensely enjoyed the production, and I would certainly see it again if given the opportunity. I look forward to more great productions from Carolina Ballet.

Cambre vs. Port De Bras

2011-10-30T14:24:00.001-07:00

Port de Bras is used for almost everything that involves moving the arms, even if it's not officially a port de bras. In the Vaganova method, there are specific port de bras that have names, just like first and second and fifth position have names, they have first, second, third (etc) port de bras.

Cambre means "Arched," and is when you move or arch your back. So if a teacher says "Port de bras forward," she really means "Cambre forward." Another word that can be used instead of Cambre is Port de Corps, but honestly I've never heard that used. It's one of those ballet words that exists but isn't commonly used.

Below is a technical report I did on Cambres for school this semester. If you have a Scribd Account (it's free!) you can download this PDF!

Breaking Down Cambre

The Iron Sponge

2011-10-29T17:07:00.001-07:00

They called me “The Iron Sponge” for a reason.

I had this insane ability to remember every combination we ever did in class perfectly, better than the teacher. Sometimes Miss Laura didn't write combos down, because she knew I'd remember them. I never understood why I could do that, but it wasn’t hard. I didn’t write them down, I didn’t visualize when I got home. But I’ve begun to see why I might be able to do that: I associated the combination with the music.

We used the same music for four years straight.

I kid you not. And it never got annoying, because I get sentimentally attached to music.

And to this day, I have that music on my mp3 player and I use it when I tutor/teach/give myself a class. And I can remember almost every combo we did, every variation of those combos we did, in perfect detail. I remembered the music so well that I could call up the combos.

We had three or four different tondu combos we did over the four years I danced with NBB, and I can still remember every single one, and if I knew how to play the piano better than I do now, I could very easily play the music in exact detail, the way Josu Gallastegui does.

And to this day whenever I hear “Turkey in the Straw,” I remember the glissade jete combo we did at The Rock School audition. Funny enough, the man who lead that audition did a combo very similar the next year. The only thing he changed was the ending.

And of course, I remember both of them, and only because I associated it with the music.

And here's something funny: I can remember I have a lunch date with my adopted grandma on November 7^th. I can remember my French presentation is November 22^nd. I can remember my last final for this year is December 16^that 2:30 PM. I remember my first performance ever was May 14^th. I can remember that the first day I texted my boyfriend was June 11^th.

But only because I’m dancing.

If I were to quit right now and not dance for several months, I would forget all those dates very quickly, and I would look at a calendar and say “Huh, May 14^th, it rings a bell but I can’t for the life of me figure out what’s important about that day.”

And I can do algebra. If I sat down and looked at a substitution equation or a quadratic equation, I could do it (right now, even though I haven't done one for about two years). but when I’d quit dancing two years ago, I couldn’t do math to save my life.

Maybe we can say “Haley is only smart when she’s doing ballet.”

Or maybe we can say something a little more educated and say that moving to music and thinking in numbers and focusing on muscle isolation connects the right brain with the left brain and allows for overall faster reaction time and problem solving.

Wow that sounds deep and profound.

So here is the pointe (<—haha did you see what I did there! wow I'm caffeinated.) of all this: Wednesday I forgot my combination sheet. I had a difficult time remembering the combinations… until the music started. But, I can guarantee two things: one, if my current teacher used the same CD in class for every barre she gave, I’d remember all the past barres she'd ever given to that music, and be able to do any of them several years later.

and two, as long as I continue to dance, I will forever be able to recall those combinations she's given us thus far, if I heard the music (or thought hard enough and long enough about it).

How do you remember combinations? Do you have difficulty remembering them, or is it easy?

To The Back!

2011-10-29T14:18:00.001-07:00

Everything done to the back is harder. Not only can you not see what's going on back there, but making the adjustment of bringing the leg to the back causes the thighs to relax a little, and the hamstring take over as the main muscle. Of course the hamstring is much smaller and weaker, and the feeling of an engaged hamstring is much different than the feeling of an engaged thigh, so legs will naturally bend. Also, the process of engaging the hamstring actually causes the legs to bend. In order to keep the legs straight, you really have to learn to isolate the muscles and re-learn how to use that muscle. You have to train yourself to use it differently than the way it's been programed. A lot of things in ballet are like that.

I think I'm figuring out my alignment in positions to the back. I was very open, and had a lot of leaning. I was always told to "find the pinch" in my arabesque, but I think I was finding the wrong pinch. I forgot my "cereal box."

Haley, what cereal box are you talking about?

Well I'll have to blog about that another day!

"Carbs make you fat!"

2011-07-04T09:13:00.001-07:00

I've heard this before. I've heard it online, in class, everywhere. But the truth is, 70% of your diet should be carbohydrates. And they don't make you fat: they keep you from getting fat.
Carbs are the basic food that the body digests. Eating carbs keeps the metabolism going. If the metabolism slows down, less calories are burned and more are stored… and they're stored as fat. No dancer wants that.
But: Boost your metabolism and the body burns all calories taken in, plus calories that have been stored. This is what I did last spring for a study in school, and I dropped my body fat percentage from 17 to 14.8 in three weeks (read the whole study here).
Carbs are important. Eat your carbs. Eat the right ones, the whole grain complex carbohydrates, but you must eat carbs.

Turnout

2011-06-20T19:49:00.001-07:00

I feel like this kid sometimes. My natural turnout is about 90 degrees. Back a few years ago I pulled a hip flexor and could barely hit that.

Turnout comes from the hip. Every ballet student should have been told to squeeze the Gluteus Maximus (aka your bottom) in order to turn out. But the use of this muscle is highly overstated in ballet. Yes you use it and yes you should be squeezing it constantly, but it isn't the main source of turnout. Turnout comes from flexibility in the hip rotator, and strength in the hip flexors and surrounding hip muscles.

Review: Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Great Ballets

2011-04-24T11:24:00.001-07:00

by George Balanchine and Fredric Mason
ISBN: 978-0385113816
Published: Doubleday; Rev Enl edition (November 1977)

Rating: 5

I love this book! It' about three inches thick and loaded with ballet stories, photographs, and really interesting details about the ballets.

Each ballet is in alphabetical order, and has a paragraph explaining how many acts/scenes, who wrote the music and did the original choreography, where it was performed, who danced it etc. and other interesting facts for all you history buffs out there. Then each act and scene is explained. If the ballet has different versions (like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker) each different version of the story is explained too! This is great for Artistic Directors who are trying to pick which version to go with, or dancers who want to know all the different variations of the same story.

This is a great book. I have the Revised and Enlarged edition. I found it years ago at my local library and I checked it out constantly. Only recently did I decide to buy it for myself.

Review: Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig

2011-03-23T14:43:00.001-07:00

(Original review published here.)

Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig
by David Ira Rottenberg, illustrated by Lesley Anderson
Genre: Children's Fiction
ISBN: 9780910291033
Published: October 24th 2008 by Cedar Crest Books

Rating: 5

From Goodreads:

Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig tells the tale of Gwendolyn and Omar-two best friends who have big dreams. Gwendolyn longs to dance ballet, and Omar wants to join the football team. There's just one problem—they're both pigs! How will Natasha Levertov, "the greatest teacher of dance in ze vorld," help them make their dreams come true?

Gwendolyn, The Graceful Pig was adorable. The story was sweet, the pigs made you want them to succeed in their goals, and the Russian ballet teacher was true to the core. The illustrations were priceless! And it had a great conclusion. There was a little bit of humor that made it an enjoyable read for young dancers and parents or ballet teachers. Perfect for ages 3-6 for any young dancer with stars in their eyes.

Review: Pointe Shoes: Tips and Tricks

2011-03-15T16:00:00.001-07:00

Pointe Shoes: Tips and Tricks for Choosing, Tuning, and Care
by Angela Reinhardt
Genre: instructional, dance
ISBN: 9781852731151
Published January 21st 2008 by Dance Books Ltd

Rating: 5

I was very satisfied with Pointe Shoes: Tips and Tricks. It was packed full of more information than I expected and thought possible in such a small book (it's a quarter inch thick, perfect size for a dance bag). There were sections on how to pick the right pare, info and history about pointe shoes, tips and tricks, and physical therapy exercises on how you can fix up and strengthen your feet.

The main section of the book, the tips and tricks, is on how you can cut, sew, trim edit, change, and fix shoes to make them fit the foot exactly. Some of these tips I encourage you to use for your flat shoes too!

Pointe Shoes Tips and Tricks is a fantastic resource that every intermediate/advanced pointe dancer and teacher should have!

(Originally posted here.)

"Do it right or don't do it at all!"

2011-02-16T16:24:00.001-08:00

Kinesiology is amazing.

You've probably heard of it called "muscle memory" or "motor memory" or something. Basically, the Cerebellum section of your brain controls balance, kinesiology, and coordination.

(original picture here)

My teacher used to tell me "Every time you do something wrong, you have to do it right four times to make up for it." This was because the brain stores the motion and you end up doing it that same way every time. This may or may not be a good thing.

Kinesiology is fun to study. It's also fun to watch in yourself. I recently got back into Pilates, and I found some music on my computer with some old variations. Already after just doing things a few times, my body is remembering things the rest of me doesn't.

So what's the point of this post?

Galina Panova yelled at me once while I was dancing The Dying Swan (Mikail Fokine). She said "Do it right or don't do it at all!"

And it makes sense, yes? Do it right so you can learn it right. If you do it wrong, you're better off not doing it.

Strive for perfection in every plie, degage, and arabesque. Strive and know you will never achieve it, but strive anyway.

The point? just encouragement.

At Your Request

2011-02-12T12:21:00.001-08:00

(see original review here)

At Your Request by Josu Gallastegui.
Genre: Ballet, Classical

5 stars

I danced to Gallastegui's piano music in ballet class for about three years. His music is delicate and accentuates the art and beauty of ballet. You can hear the lines and the accents, see the head movements and the sharp pointed feet in his recordings. Hearing his music is inspiring and makes me want to dance. He is my favorite musician for ballet class.

His music is ideal for all levels, but especially intermediate through advanced. Some of his recordings have two speeds (this specific recording only has one song in which there is double speed) and each song repeats with a decent pause in between.

Gallastegui's CDs are hard to come by, but you can order directly from him online at his website www.josuonline.com or from www.cdbaby.com.

Turns… our worst nightmare.

2011-02-12T12:04:00.001-08:00

Why are dancers so afraid of turning? Every little girl's favorite pastime is putting on a "twirly skirt" and spinning until she falls down (oh c'mon, don't tell me you didn't.) And what's more fun that grabbing your best friend and spinning them around to see which of you falls first? Turning is an amazing phenomenon. When done properly, a dancer should look like her body is turning and her head is not moving. A ballerina doing 32 fouettés makes everyone excited, even audience members who don't know the significance behind them. Why are they so hard and why do they scare us?

Well, almost everything done on two inches of satin is scary. But still, turns don't have to be hard. Some people are natural turners, some people have to learn to overcome fear when they turn. Turning is very psychological—I have bad turns on the right and good turns on the left. But when I don't think about it and I just turn, my turns on the right are fine. It's when I psych myself out that I can't turn. Doesn't everyone have a "bad side?"

Over the years I've learned a lot of tips about turns. Different people teach turns different ways: I have found that as long as you figure out what works best for you, it's correct.

I love auditioning for The Rock School, because every time I take the audition class I learn something new. The first time, I learned the key to turns: "The only difference between one pirouette and six pirouettes is how many times you spot your head." The "simple" idea of turns is this: push down from your hips, lift up in your ribs, turn out, and spot. That's it.

As far as the preparation, when turning from 4th position, there are three ways to start: straight legs, bent legs, and front leg bent with back leg straight. Both knees bent enables you to find your center and get your hips square. Both legs straight keeps your energy up, so you're not sitting in a plié and putting your energy into the floor, One leg bent and one leg straight gives you more turnout and a higher relevé. I turn best when I do the last one. But some people turn best with a different preparation. Experiment and find what works best for you.

Here's another simple tip: if you're turning and you fall a certain direction, it probably means your center of balance isn't right. If you're on your right leg and you fall to the left, your hip is probably raised higher than it should be. If you fall forward, you're probably dipping your head too much or have your arms too high. Remember: a pirouette is nothing more than a balance and a spot.

Here's a video by Anaheim Ballet on some tips to get you started turning. I've tried their advice and it's wonderful!

Ballet Methods

2011-02-11T20:26:00.001-08:00

This essay was written in 2006 for a school assignment.

When people here the phrase “I take ballet,” they may think leotards, toe shoes, tutus and make-up. But they don’t think things like court ballet, baroque period, romantic era, or the names of people who developed ballet, like Ceccetti, or Vaganova. If you mention those names, you’ll probably get an answer similar to “What’s the difference?” The truth is, there is a huge difference.

Agrippina Vaganova was born in Russia and became a ballerina at St. Petersburg Ballet co. She taught ballet for 10 years before she began to create her own method. Vaganova’s method demands precision in instruction, strength especially in the lower back, plasticity of the arms, flexibility, and endurance in the muscle. She worked on developing her own method for 30 years, and taught it to many dancers who are now famous at the St. Petersburg Ballet Co. Eventually, she opened her own school.

Enricho Ceccetti was born in Rome in a dressing room, and he made his debut as a baby in his father’s arms. He was taught at a very young age, and eventually developed his own methods. He, as well, taught at the St. Petersburg Ballet co., and was considered one of the absolute best teachers. People were not considered fully educated in the art of ballet unless they had received at least a small amount of instruction through him. He created many mimes and roles for ballets, like the bluebird in “The Sleeping Beauty.” In Ceccetti’s method, patterns were always repeated in the studio from class to class, because each pattern played a huge part in development for later work in the centre or in a dance. Ceccetti’s method emphasized lines that the dancer’s body makes, and uses whole body movement to show them.

The process in which steps were accomplished were very different. For instance, Ceccetti has 3 versions of the 5^th position port-de-bras, 8 positions all together. But Vaganova uses only 3, plus a preparatory position, makes 4. The petit battements are quite different as well. Ceccetti asked for the ball of the foot to remain on the ground, in order to create resistance. If you could accomplish them correctly, the original French method of battu would be easier--flexing or pointing the foot to beat the front of the ankle, and pointing it to beat back. Because of the increased strength, the French battu would increase in speed. But Vaganova waned pointed feet the whole time, and asked for the foot to travel and beat up and down the leg.

The execution of the attitude position is also very different. Ceccetti’s attitude resembles a square or a table, the thigh, knee, and foot lined up. But Vaganova attitudes require the knee down, and the toes must “reach for the moon”, making a triangle. In attitude devant, however, both attitudes (Ceccetti’s and Vaganova) require the knee up and the toes down.

Clearly, many people don’t know the difference between styles, methods, and steps, even though there is such a big difference.

The Little Humpbacked Horse

2011-02-11T20:13:00.001-08:00

I love this story because it's not very well known and it's interesting and unique. The Little Humpbacked Horse is an old Russian folk tale and the ballet is based off a poem. This version was re-written by Haley Mathiot, based off the version in Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Great Ballets. Click Here to read the original version of the poem.

Music by Cesare Pungi

Act 1, Scene 1- a hut

Once upon a time, there was a peasant who had three sons: Danila, a clever lad, Gravrila, not so bright, and Ivan, a fool. Ivan is lonely, as his brothers play with friends. Alone, he plays on his pipe. His brothers ridicule him. The father tells the older boys to keep watch for the thief who is stealing their corn.

Act 1, Scene.2- a field at night.

Watching for the thief, the brothers drink and pass out. In the lovely lonely night, Ivan enters and finds his brothers. He throws away the bottle and covers them up while they sleep. Then he looks up at the stars. As the night draws on, a whirlwind is heard over the field and with it the neighing of a horse. A white horse with a red mane leaps across the sky. Ivan grabs her waving tail and leaps onto her back. She implores him to let her go free. Ivan agrees and in gratitude she gives him two gold-manned horses and a little one, barely 6 inches high, with two humps on its back and ears down to the ground. She tells Ivan that he can sell the two large horses but must never part with the little humpbacked horse, who will be his friend forever. Suddenly, a firebird flies across the sky; one of them drops a feather which the little horse warns Ivan not to touch because of the trouble it will bring. But Ivan ignores the warning and chases it. The two older brothers then wake up and steel the two golden-manned horses and take them to market. Ivan returns, upset. The little humpbacked horse is sympathetic, and it gathers Ivan up and takes him off into the sky.

Act 1, Scene.3- market

Ivan’s brothers attempt to sell the horses to the Tsar, the king. But the horses only behave well when Ivan holds them. Ivan shows up and the brothers give up trying to control the horses. Ivan sells the horses to the Tsar, and the Tsar makes Ivan chief of the stables. The former chief of the stables vows to avenge himself on Ivan.

Act 2, Scene. 1- the Tsar’s bedchamber

The ex-chief of the stables wants to figure out why Ivan is the only one who can control the golden-manned horses. So he goes to the stables and looks through Ivan’s belongings. He finds the firebird feather, and goes to the Tsar and tells him that Ivan was hiding it from him. The Tsar takes the feather and touches a painting of sea gulls and they come alive and fly away. He then touches a painting of a beautiful maiden, and she came alive. But only long enough for the Tsar to fall in love with her. Then she disappears. The Tsar demands that Ivan bring her back. The little humpbacked horse tells Ivan he will help him find the beautiful girl.

Act two, Scene two- a silver mountain by the seashore

The little humpbacked horse takes Ivan to the silver mountain where, at night the maiden appears in a silver boat. She dances a long, quiet dance. At last the little horse helps Ivan capture her in the midst of her dance. Ivan is astonished at her beauty, and he plays his pipe for the girl. But his little humpbacked horse keeps Ivan from falling in love with the girl. Ivan lulls the girl to sleep, and sets off back to the palace.

Act 2,Scene 3- the palace

The Tsar sits on a high throne, and Ivan and the beautiful girl arrive. The Tsar begs the girl to marry him, but she says she won’t unless Ivan finds a ring in three days that she lost in the ocean when she was born. Ivan is ordered to find it.

Act 3, Scene 1- the underwater kingdom

The little humpbacked horse leads Ivan to the underwater kingdom. Ivan offers a special silver shell to the empress of the water sprites. She accepts and goes to look for the seahorse that has the ring. While Ivan waits for the empress to return, the water creatures dance for him. Finally, the seahorse arrives with the ring and Ivan and The little humpbacked horse go home.

Act 3 Scene 2- the proposal

the Tsar is preparing the wedding, and the maiden is anxiously waiting for Ivan and his little humpbacked horse. When they arrive, Ivan gives the ring to the girl. But then she tells the Tsar she will not marry him unless he becomes young and hansom. The Tsar is angry, and begins to threaten Ivan, but the maiden says that he can be young and hansom if he jumps in a pot of boiling milk. The Tsar demanded Ivan goes first. The little humpbacked horse tells Ivan he has nothing to fear, so Ivan jumps in. when he emerges, he is more hansom than ever. The Tsar jumps in, but does not come out. He has been boiled alive.

Act 3, Scene.3 – the wedding

Ivan and the beautiful maiden are wed, and the little humpbacked horse appears with flowers for the new happy couple. Ivan, the maiden, and the little humpbacked horse live happily ever after.

A Brief History of Ballet

2011-02-11T19:58:00.001-08:00

And when I say brief, I mean BRIEF. I wrote this as a school assignment in 2006.

Around 1400 A.D. court ballet was invented in Italy to be preformed in the royal courts for kings, queens, and nobles to enjoy. Court Ballet united the arts, representing painting, poetry, music, and sometimes food. For instance, the play and story, “The Golden Fleece”, was once done as a two act ballet, and the food given during the intermission was roast lamb. Ballet further developed in France around 1580, though it usually had a minimum plot and focused on music, costumes, scenery and entertainment more than a story. In 1643-1715, comdie Ballet was common and consisted of dance alternated with spoken scenes.

During Early Professional Ballet, all dancers were men. Because women did not start dancing until later, men in masks played women’s roles. Costumes consisted of masks, headdresses, wigs and heeled shoes, and a skirt called a tonnelet, a knee length hoopskirt. In 1681 when women started dancing, they wore hoopskirts with material draped as full as possible. However, there were some rebels who chose different costumes. Marie Camargo shortened her skirts and adopted slippers with shorter heels to show off her footwork. Marie Salle used Greek robes for her own ballet. Anne Heinel performed the first double pirouette.

Another big thing that was different was their toe dancing, or pointe work. Dancers would darn the toe of their satin slippers with strong tough thread, because block toed shoes had not been invented yet. However, dancers only stood on pointe for a moment or two.

Women dominated the Romantic Period. In fact, men were so scarce that male roles, like in Coppelia, were often done by women in masks. Costumes changed too. Tutus were made for La Sylphide, which was created for Marie Taglioni by her father. The same style tutus were eventually used in the ballet’s successor, Giselle.

During the 20th century ballet period, Anna Pavlova formed her own company and toured internationally. Also, modern dance began to develop in 1920. Modern styles consist of tap, jazz, hip-hop, disco, and other styles consisting of whole body movement.

Welcome!

2011-02-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Beyond the Barre. This is a re-creation of a website I made a long time ago that had no purpose, no content, and no authority. I hope to change that.

On this site, I hope to post a good number of informative essays and short blog posts, ballet stories, combinations, reviews about dance products, and other content that will help you become a better dancer. Because that's what I'm all about--teaching other people about the magnificent art of ballet. We are, after all, the athletes of God.

To learn a little more about me, check out my home page.