Rachel Hellwig – Page 13

Dancer Profile: Daniil Simkin

June 23, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Daniil Simkin. Photograph by Rosalie O’Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O’Connor.

“What scares me, actually, is being too calm and not having enough nervousness to be on stage” – Daniil Simkin

Born in Russia, raised in Germany, Daniil Simkin comes from a ballet family. His mother and father were professional dancers and his older brother, Anton Alexandrov, is a member of The Hamburg Ballet.

Simkin fell in love with performing at a young age when he joined his father onstage in small parts. His dance serious training, however, did not begin until age 10 when mother started teaching him ballet in private lessons. Her regime featured two hour classes per day, six days a week. Her syllabus drew upon Russian, French, and Cuban training techniques.

Simkin continued his academic studies at a regular school and never attended a formal ballet school. He told The New York Times, “I didn’t grow up with the clichés about ballet school, the competitiveness or aggressiveness, because I was the only one. I never saw it as a mission to be a ballet dancer or make it my life.”

Simkin started competing at age 12 and went on to win prizes at on the international circuit. A tech enthusiast ahead of his time, he began sharing videos of his competition solos online before it was common for dancers to do so. As a result, he became an internet sensation in the dance world. Despite his success, he wasn’t certain he wanted to become a dancer until he won grand prix at the International Ballet Competition in 2005 at age 16.

In 2006, he joined the Vienna State Opera Ballet as a demi-soloist. In 2008, he left to become a soloist at American Ballet Theatre, one of his dream companies. Company life presented certain challenges for Simkin. Since he was privately-trained, he initially lacked partnering experience. In addition, learning many different roles at once was a stark change from his mother’s more singularly-focused lessons. Yet, Simkin adapted to the new work environment and has no regrets about his upbringing. In 2012, he was promoted to principal dancer at ABT.

One of Simkin’s goals is to use the internet and social media to try to remove the mystique surrounding ballet dancers. He says, “I am not a “special breed” of a human or some super-natural, royal person. I am a simple person, who is a dancer.”

Fun Facts:

He keeps cookies in the dance bag for a sugar-high.

His favorite choreographers are Jiri Kylian, Alexei Ratmansky. and Mats Ek.

If he could be a superhero, he said he would be “HappyMan”, a character possessing the ability to make people instantly happy.

Follow Simkin On:

His Website: http://www.daniilsimkin.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/daniils
Twitter: https://twitter.com/daniil
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniilsimkin

Simkin Dancing in 2001 at Age 13 Alongside his Father:

Simkin dancing at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition in 2005:

Montage of Simkin Dancing as a Child and Today:

Simkin in the City (Humor, 2013):

Articles:

Daniil Simkin, Standing Out, Reaching Out

New York Times Article on Simkin

Guest Artist Spotlight: Daniil Simkin

Simkin’s Interview With Rogue Ballerina
MEN IN TIGHTS: Daniil Simkin!

Simkin’s Interview with Madame B NYC Blog

An Interview with Daniil Simkin

Simkin’s Interview with The Ballet Bag, Plus a List of What’s in His Ballet Bag

An interview with Daniil Simkin

Simkin’s Interview with Gramilano

Fresh Choreography Every Time

June 15, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Untitled photo by "snickclunk". Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — Untitled photo by “snickclunk“. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

by Janet Rothwell

As a high school dance educator I am responsible for choreographing four or five dances each year for various performances. Although choreography is my favorite aspect of dance, it can be challenging to come up with new ideas, movement, spatial designs, beginnings, endings, and themes each year. As someone who values originality and the creative process, I have realized there are certain things I do to help me stay organized and creative in my work.

Over the years I have adjusted my process to include some staple methods so as to not get burnt out with repeating the same movement or spatial pattern every time I choreograph a piece. I thought I would share these specific parts of my choreographic process that seem to aid me each year as I strive to maintain newness in my artistry.

1. Maintain a choreography journal

My choreography journal is my best friend in my creative process. Not only do I use it daily while choreographing works, but I use it year round to write down ideas that pop up at random times for future works too. I write down music I like or ideas I have for themes so that when I have to create a new dance and I feel uninspired or stuck trying to think of something, I can go to my journal and look at the running list of things I have written.

I find that my choreography journal is extremely helpful for me to remember what is happening in the dances I create with my students. When I’m juggling three or more pieces at once it’s difficult to remember what choreographic elements I have already used with other dances, and since I value being original and unique with my choreography I write everything down in my journal. I make drawings of spatial designs, describe movement ideas, brainstorm titles, take notes on my music, and write down costume ideas. I also make notes on what I want to do for the next day so that when I return to my students I can take a look at my journal and know where we are in the work and in the music.

A choreography journal does not have to be pen and paper either, although I find that’s what works for me. You could use a tablet, your phone, or whatever tool you like to work best in your process. However, I would say that staying consistent is best to keep organized. There is nothing worse than having written down great notes only to have misplaced loose papers or random receipts you wrote them on. I keep an actual journal so that all of my ideas are in one place and easy to find.

2. Pick clear themes and diverse music for each dance [Read more…]

Curtain Call With Pacific Northwest Ballet: Carla Körbes

June 8, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

Carla Körbes shocked and saddened the ballet world last fall when she announced her early retirement at age 33. On Sunday night, she gave her final performance with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the company live streamed the program, giving fans an opportunity to be in the audience, regardless of their geographic location. I was able to watch from Birmingham, Alabama.

Körbes appeared in three of the works on the mixed bill, beginning with Jessica Lang’s The Calling, set to choral music from the 12th-13th century. Wearing a long white dress whose material engulfs the floor around her, Körbes articulated though the tense and yearning energy of the upper body-focused choreography, skillfully channeling her dramatic qualities.

In Balanchine’s Diamonds pas de deux, she brought an Odette-like sensibility to her role, imbuing it with vulnerability and hesitant-but-increasingly-trusting affection for her partner–the strong, stately Karel Cruz. In the touching final moment, when he kneels and suddenly kisses her hand, her reaction mingles surprise and anticipation, as if she were hoping for it, but not entirely certain it would happen.

[Read more…]

Dancer Profile: Yuan Yuan Tan

June 1, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Yuan Yuan Tan. Photograph by Erik Tomasson.

“To be perfect is impossible, but to be better is possible.” – Yuan Yuan Tan

The first chapter of Yuan Yuan Tan’s dance career literally hinged on a coin toss. The 11-year-old was among a small group of students selected for the prestigious Shanghai Dancing School–despite the fact that she had no dance experience at the time. Tan’s mother approved of the plan, but her father did not. He wanted her to be a doctor or engineer. Believers in fate, her parents decided to flip a coin. Dance won.

Tan was behind at the school and struggled at first, often just watching other students from the corner. But then a teacher recognized her natural talent and gave her private lessons. Soon enough, Tan excelled. She started entering and winning awards at ballet competitions, though she found the stress to be challenging. Yet, it was at competitions that San Francisco Ballet director Helgi Tomasson first spotted her. He invited her to join the company as a soloist. Two years later, she was promoted to principal- the youngest dancer to achieve this status in the history of the company.

[Read more…]

PS DANCE! Documentary

May 13, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

“Dance is only taught in a fraction of schools nationally. But here in New York City, a growing number of schools are offering dance as a distinct course of study,” says Paula Zahn, host of PS DANCE!, a new film that explores and celebrates dance education in New York City public schools.

At P.S. 89 Liberty School in Manhattan, dance teacher Catherine Gallant guides her elementary students through an exercise set to Saint-Saens’ music “Aquarium”. They improvise aquatic life forms in swimming, swishing, watery gestures as she calls out ideas to inspire them. Gallant says that “all children have a large appetite for movement”. She also employs dance to help students remember history. When her class studies Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, they use motion to imitate the experiences of escaping slaves–running through fields, crossing bridges, and hiding behind trees.

[Read more…]

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