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Detect The Details – Reworking Technique In Class

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"Jump" by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped]
“Jump” by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped]

Editor’s note: this series by Karen is targeted specifically to competition dancers and those that work with them, although certainly many others may benefit from the information within!

by Karen Musey

It is a great joy and privilege to be able to encourage and give feedback to each new generation of dancers. It is exciting to see the  fantastic talent and passion on stage, and every dancer’s growth over this season definitely needs to be celebrated!

In this digital age, it is becoming the norm to see younger and younger children seeming to grasp difficult tricks/concepts/technique quickly. I think we sometimes forget that learning to be a dancer is, and always will be, a process that takes time and effort. It’s not a one size fits all experience or path.

During a judging season, a dancer who has heard the same corrections repeated multiple times can feel frustrated and defeated. This is a great time to check in with them. If they feel that they are accomplishing what is being asked but they are not achieving the desired result, what can you do to shift their understanding of how they are working through the movement?

It can be helpful for students to put on a “teacher” or “detective” lens and start looking for clues for what looks and feels right (or not). This will help them train their eye and their corrections will improve faster  – and better yet – they will start to self correct.

Let’s go over a “classic correction” and discuss some ways you can encourage your students to interpret it in a new way: [Read more…]

CD Review: Music for Ballet Class Volume Four

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Charles Mathews CD

Music for Ballet Class Volume Four
Charles Mathews

by Rachel Hellwig

I’ve always found it helpful for artistry and musicality to dance to melodies from ballet classics in class. Also, it’s just plain fun. I was delighted to discover that Charles Mathews’s Music for Ballet Class Volume Four is mainly made up of such selections, including pieces from Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Giselle, Napoli, and others.

You can channel your inner Osipova, or its as-humanly-close-as-possible approximation, when you fouetté to Kitri’s Act I variation. You’ll be tempted to add Odile-ish accents to your barre work as you frappé to the less frequently performed, though more evocatively sinister, version of the Black Swan variation (which is not to imply that there’s anything inherently evil about frappé at barre; in center, that’s another story, but I digress…) And Raymonda’s  dream/vision variation may inspire a royal grace in your pirouettes en pointe; or perhaps draw you into uplifting daydreams of dancing in the Prix de Lausanne where this piece is often performed–as you likely know from regular intervals of artistically edifying YouTube ballet binges.

You may not (or you may) be a prima someday, but it’s a joy to point your toes to memorable tutu-and-tiara tunes on stage or off.

Save

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Atlanta Ballet to Finish Season with “MAYhem: Kissed”

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Atlanta Ballet in "Classical Symphony." Photo by Kim Kenney.
Atlanta Ballet in “Classical Symphony.” Photo by Kim Kenney.

By Rachel Hellwig

Atlanta Ballet wraps up its 2015-2016 season this weekend with MAYhem: Kissed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre from May 20-22. The mixed-repertory program will feature the world premiere of Andrea Miller‘s Push, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s El Beso, and Yuri Possokhov‘s Classical Symphony.

MAYhem: Kissed is Atlanta Ballet’s final performance under John McFall, who has led the company as artistic director since 1994. “As far as my heart, my soul, my mind, I’m always going to have a connection to Atlanta Ballet,” he told The Atlanta Journal Constitution last September.

Push by Andrea Miller “takes the different facets of human relationships and fits them in to a tapestry of movement,” says Atlanta Ballet dancer Devon Joslin.

“Andrea had us all go through these different improv exercises in order to develop each specific emotion in our dancing,” she explains. “It was a simple task, but she has this way of digging things out of you that you didn’t think you had to offer. I have a solo that’s about the shame you feel when you open yourself up to someone wholeheartedly and they don’t reciprocate. I’m not the most confident person in the world so those feelings of shame and embarrassment came more naturally. Push is emotional. It’s human. It conveys things that every person in the audience has felt or will feel at some point in his or her life.”

Atlanta Ballet in "Classical Symphony." Photo by Kim Kenney.
Atlanta Ballet in “Classical Symphony.” Photo by Kim Kenney.

Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s El Beso, set to Spanish Zarzuela music, was created in 2014 for New York City’s Ballet Hispanico.“This work explores the various kinds of kisses you can have in your life: friendship, family, passion, and social kisses,” says Atlanta Ballet’s Rachel Van Buskirk. “It’s extremely fast and detailed. The movement is so musical that it makes dancing it instinctual. My favorite part is the friendship trio I dance with fellow company members Jackie Nash and Heath Gill. It’s a blast to share this with your close friends. No acting required!”

“El Beso is, in large part, an autobiographical account of the choreographer’s early life and family–and I love that aspect of it,” adds John Welker, who’s danced with Atlanta Ballet for the past 21 seasons. “There’s also a playfulness in the music and movement that’s easy to feel. I enjoy the challenge of making this quick and dense choreography appear easy and articulate. Not an easy task.”

Atlanta Ballet in "Classical Symphony." Photo by Kim Kenney.
Atlanta Ballet in “Classical Symphony.” Photo by Kim Kenney.

Classical Symphony, an encore performance from last year, was created for San Francisco Ballet in 2010 by the company’s choreographer in residence, Yuri Possokhov. The work received praise from Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times for the “sheer exuberance of its often unorthodox ballet virtuosity.”

Accompanied live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Classical Symphony is performed to Sergei Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony No. 1, which debuted in 1918. “It seemed to me that if Haydn had lived into this era, he would have kept his own style while absorbing things from what was new in music,” the composer wrote.”That’s the kind of symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the Classical style.” (He also later reused the symphony’s third movement in his iconic ballet score for Romeo and Juliet.)

“Classical Symphony is the challenge of the technique, classicism, and stamina of a traditional full-length ballet condensed into roughly a 16-minute piece,” says Jackie Nash. “It also incorporates fun modern flourishes and playful dynamics.”

In Classical Symphony, Nash will revisit a role she danced last May. “In 2015, this was the first principal part I performed, so there were some nerves that came along with the process,” she explains. “But this time around I have really liked getting to relax into the role a bit more. I also love getting to dance with Christian Clark. His skills as a partner are so refined and effortless and it allows me to really indulge in the steps. I feel I am in such good hands–literally.”

Classical Symphony is also notable in that it first brought Gennadi Nedvigin, Atlanta Ballet’s incoming artistic director, to the company when he staged the work on them in 2014. “I was drawn to the sense of community among Atlanta Ballet’s dancers,” he said in April. “And I was proud of their performance.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJcfDaSgLC8

Tickets start at $25. Purchase here or call call 404-892-3303.

“Runtime is approximately 2 hours, including 2 intermissions.

*Please note that one of the pieces on this program uses strobe lighting.”  (from Atlanta Ballet’s website)

 

Atlanta Ballet Welcomes Gennadi Nedvigin, Announces 2016-2017 Season

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Yuan Yuan Tan in Yuri Possokhov’s "Firebird". Photo by Erik Tomasson, courtesy of San Francisco Ballet.
Yuan Yuan Tan in Yuri Possokhov’s “Firebird”. Photo by Erik Tomasson, courtesy of San Francisco Ballet.

By Rachel Hellwig

“I’ve wondered…what I will do after I stop dancing? Be a florist?” joked San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Gennadi Nedvigin in a media Q&A on Wednesday. “I could have performed for two or three more years,” said the soon-to-retire 39-year-old who will become Atlanta Ballet’s next artistic director in August. “But being offered this position took priority. I wanted to focus on one thing.”

“My aesthetic has been formed by the diverse range of choreographers and dancers I’ve worked with and by the diverse range of pieces I’ve performed in my career. Different styles of dance and choreography are like different languages,” he said. “The more languages you know, the better.” Drawing further upon the language parallel, the Bolshoi-trained Nedvigin related that he’s experienced the challenge of being immersed in new language environments before—first when he moved from his native Russia to dance with Le Jeune Ballet de France in France, and then again when he came to the United States to join San Francisco Ballet in 1997. “It’s like being dipped in water and forced to swim—twice,” he said.

Nedvigin will be “dipped in water” again as he transitions from dancer to director. Though this will be his debut in such a role, he has worked with Atlanta Ballet before when he staged Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony on the company in 2014. “I was drawn to the sense of community among Atlanta Ballet’s dancers,” he said. “And I was proud of their performance.”

Gennadi Nedvigin (center). "Classical Symphony" rehearsal with Atlanta Ballet. Photo courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.
Gennadi Nedvigin (center). “Classical Symphony” rehearsal with Atlanta Ballet. Photo courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

Nedvigin announced that Atlanta Ballet’s 2016-2017 season will include works the company has performed before, such as John McFall’s Nutcracker, David Bintley’s Carmina Burana, and Helen Pickett’s Camino Real, as well as mixed repertory performances he personally selected. “I’ve carefully chosen these programs. They will hint at the direction I will take the company,” he said. He also emphasized that the company will perform “classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works”– bringing to mind the “many languages” analogy again.

Among the mixed repertory programs, Gennadi’s Choice will feature his staging of selections from Paquita, the Atlanta premiere of Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine, and a world premiere by Gemma Bond. Firebird will include Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort.

What other changes might Nedvigin bring to Atlanta Ballet? He indicated that he’s open to the idea of a ranking system for the currently unranked company. “Ranking exists whether it’s announced or not,” he said. “Ranking helps give dancers recognition and it doesn’t prevent lower-ranked dancers from performing lead roles.” Another possibility he’s looking into is touring. However, he acknowledges that changes will take time and that it will be at least a few years before he begins to attain his vision for the company. One thing that won’t significantly change for the present is the roster of Atlanta Ballet’s dancers. All had their contracts renewed, though some have opted not to return in the fall.

Nedvigin will conclude his 19-year performing career with San Francisco Ballet in May as Lensky in John Cranko’s Onegin. He will succeed John McFall who retires in June after 23 years as artistic director of Atlanta Ballet. Nedvigin will be just the fourth artistic director in the history of the 87-year-old company. “It’s an honor to be joining Atlanta Ballet,” he said. “These are exciting times.”

Atlanta Ballet in Helen Pickett's "Camino Real". Photo by Charlie McCullers.
Atlanta Ballet in Helen Pickett’s “Camino Real”. Photo by Charlie McCullers.

Atlanta Ballet’s 2016-2017 Season

 

ATLANTA BALLET’S NUTCRACKER

December 9 – 24, 2016 | The Fox Theatre

Live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra

 

Encore Presentation of David Bintley’s CARMINA BURANA

February 3 – 11, 2017 | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra

 

One Hour Family Ballet – TITLE TO BE ANNOUNCED

February 11 & 12, 2017 | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Recommended for families and younger audiences.

 

GENNADI’s CHOICE (Mixed Repertory)

March 17 – 19, 2017 | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Selections from Paquita choreographed by Marius Petipa and staged by Gennadi Nedvigin, the Atlanta premiere of Vespertine by Liam Scarlett, and a world premiere by Gemma Bond.

 

FIREBIRD (Mixed Repertory)

April 14 – 16, 2017 | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Firebird by Yuri Possokhov, Allegro Brillante by George Balanchine, and Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián.

 

Encore Presentation of Helen Pickett’s Tennessee Williams-Inspired CAMINO REAL

May 12 – 14, 2017 | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Choreography by Helen Pickett

Music & Sound Design by Peter Salem

Live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra

Inside My Dance Bag: Sally Turkel of Ballet San Antonio

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Sally Turkel. Photograph by Alexander Devora.
Sally Turkel. Photograph by Alexander Devora.

How many years have you been doing ballet?

I’ve been dancing for about 16 years.

What are some roles you’ve danced with Ballet San Antonio?

With Ballet San Antonio I have been very lucky to perform a wide variety of different roles and characters. Some of my favorites have been the title roles in Ben Stevenson’s Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella, as well as the role of Odette/Odile in his Swan Lake. I’ve also danced the lead in Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations. In February, I performed the role of Wendy in Peter Anastos’ Peter Pan. It was a very fun ballet with lots of silly moments…and, as Wendy, I got to fly!

What’s your favorite thing about ballet?

One of my favorite things about ballet is that it is always changing, and, as a result, ballet is always changing me as a person. Everyday I come into the studio and discover something new about my technique or learn a new approach on tackling a particularly demanding step. As a performer, I’m constantly learning new ballets and choreography. With each new piece, I learn new ways to understand musicality and search for the intention behind the movement. Throughout the rehearsal process I find myself growing as an artist, an actress, a dancer, and as a human being. And then I get to share everything I’ve learned and experienced on stage with the world! I feel incredibly lucky to call myself a ballet dancer and feel very fortunate to always be growing as a person through this beautiful art form.

What’s in your dance bag?

Freed Maple Leaf Variation pointe shoes – I have about 6 pairs rotating at a time which I keep organized in a reusable wine bag (this way they are organized by pair and not mixing with my other dance wear), toe spacers and gauze which I use instead of toe tape (it doesn’t slip off when my feet get sweaty!), foot roller, dense rolling ball, thera band, back warming brace, Rubiawear leg warmers and socks that I’ve cut into ankle warmers, shorts, Eleve and Tulips by Tracy skirts, aqua socks (they keep my feet so warm!), multiple shades of chapstick/lipstick, water bottle, and, for snacks, I usually like to have bananas or apples, nuts, and protein powder (mix with water for a quick and easy snack when you don’t have a long break!).

Sally Turkel Dance Bag 1

Sally Turkel. Photograph by Alexander Devora.
Sally Turkel. Photograph by Alexander Devora.

Sally Turkel  began her ballet training at the Cary Ballet Conservatory, in her hometown of Cary, North Carolina.  At age 14, she was accepted into the residential high school’s ballet studies program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Upon graduation, Ms. Turkel performed with Houston Ballet, HBII, Carolina Ballet and Steifel and Stars.  In subsequent years she joined Colorado ballet, where she danced for five seasons, performing a wide range of both classical and contemporary roles.  A few of her favorites include the Serenity Fairy and Puss and Boots in Sleeping Beauty, Little Swans in Swan Lake, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, Michael Pink’s Peter Pan and Dracula, Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo, Lynn Taylor Corbett’s Great Galloping Gottschalk, and Christopher Wheeldon’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2013 Ms. Turkel joined Ballet San Antonio and was promoted to Principal Dancer the following year. While with Ballet San Antonio, Ms. Turkel has danced the roles of Odette/Odile in Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake, Mina in Gabriel Zertuche’s Dracula, Cinderella and Fairy God Mother in Stevenson’s Cinderella, the Sugarplum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and the female lead in Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations. In addition, she has worked with choreographers such as Stephen Mills, Twyla Tharp, Michael Pink, Emery LeCrone, and Stanton Welch.

In February 2015, Ms. Turkel danced the role of Juliet in Ben Stevenson’s Romeo & Juliet.

“Turkel maintains the character arc from impudent and reluctant girl to the grieving and horror stricken widow-too-young, with a richness of feeling that goes beyond her obvious prowess as a dancer.” [Tami Kegley, The Rivard Report].

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