4dancers – Page 12

On The Other Side – Thoughts From A Recently Retired Ballerina

November 27, 2016 by 4dancers

Jessica Anspach — **Me, taking off in Europe after my retirement for the solo part of my trip!**

by Jessika Anspach McEliece

The early autumn light flooded through my window as if to smile “Hello”, warming my toes as I sat on the couch scrolling through my Facebook feed. And the babble of the river rushing underneath our flat (because that’s what they call them over here in England), at first sounding almost fake like one of those sleep machines, had a soothing, hypnotic effect.

How in the world did I get here?

Life couldn’t have looked more different than it did four months ago… [Read more…]

Dancing Spirits

November 11, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

By Samantha Hope Galler

Samantha as a Wili in Miami City Ballet's Giselle. — Samantha as a Wili in Miami City Ballet’s Giselle.

To this day, Giselle is one of the most beloved classical ballets.The work premiered in Paris, France in 1841. Act I of Giselle presents the audience with drama, dancing, and heartbreak. It also sets the tone for Act II where the Wilis claim the stage and bring forth Giselle’s spirit…

The Act II Wilis continue to be some of the most famous phantoms in any full-length ballet. Act II of Giselle is one of the most celebrated and recognizable sections of any ballet. This scene is performed by 18 corps de ballet women and two demi-soloist women.

When dancers who portray the Wilis shift gears from their roles in Act I to Act II, they make a prominent change in their makeup. The Wilis appear slightly pale onstage because they lightly paint themselves during intermission to appear ghostly. This is the first step in representing a Wili. Along with the makeup change, the characters of Wilis are shaped through specific placement of the head, arms, and legs. For example, when Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, calls the spirits out of their graves, they step on to stage slightly tilted forward with their arms crossed below the chest. Throughout this scene, the Wilis stand in line while their heads are turned slightly over their shoulder. The eyelids are shifted downward and out.

Through the rehearsal process, we polish these nuances that define the Wilis. For the iconic chug section (seen at the beginning of the video below in the Petipa version), we work on leveling out our arms and legs. Staying in line all the way across the stage can be tricky but, over time, we learn to anticipate and watch each other. Just like any major corps de ballet section, it is rewarding to move in unison.

Rehearsal for Peasant Pas de Deux with MCB Soloist Jovani Furlan. — Rehearsal for Peasant Pas de Deux with Miami City Ballet Soloist Jovani Furlan.

Miami City Ballet began working on Giselle in June. In the past, I have performed in the Petipa version as Myrtha, Moyna, Giselle’s Friends, and as a Wili. This time around I will be performing in Coralli and Perrot’s version. During our run of Giselle, I will be performing the Peasant Pas de Deux, Friends, Wilis, and in the Court.

I most look forward to traveling with the production as it opens our eyes to new audiences.

Miami City Ballet‘s Giselle concludes this weekend with 4 performances at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

Samantha Dancing as Myrtha with Alabama Ballet in 2011:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukvRiTh4F4

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Kylián Keyword: Connection

November 3, 2016 by 4dancers

Pacific Northwest Ballet Dancers — ***Emma Love Suddarth and her husband, Price Suddarth from Pacific Northwest Ballet***

by Emma Love Suddarth

Connection. Between fingertips. Between one note and one arm. Between minds. Between spines. Between you and five other dancers spread across the stage. Between steps. Between dancer and audience. Between details. Between partners. Between souls.

The works of Jiří Kylián are set apart—and rightfully so. The atmosphere of complete intimacy they innately craft, both onstage amongst dancers and across the proscenium with the audience, is unique, and invaluable. At Pacific Northwest Ballet I’ve been lucky enough to perform two already—Sechs Tanze and Petite Mort—and, for the upcoming program Brief Fling, am working to add a third—Forgotten Land. These works hold special places in my heart, not only due to special opportunities, or incomparable partners, but largely due to the joy, trust, intimacy, and fearlessness they inherently create.

My first experience with the work of Kylián came and went in a blur. As a fairly new dancer in the company, simply learning one of the four women of Sechs Tanze was an unbelievable thrill. As a PNB “newbie,” I had no expectation of performing; nevertheless, I was drenched in sweat at the end of every rehearsal because, after all, who wouldn’t want to try being dragged across half the stage in a split, simultaneously going up and down like a carousel, or doing bicycle legs as fast as humanly possible in the air while laying on your partner’s back? It was hard to resist. Then, due to last minute injuries, I got a shot. However, this simultaneously exciting and potentially nerve-wracking experience was different than almost any previous or many since. [Read more…]

Dancers: Cross-Training With Yoga

October 11, 2016 by 4dancers

*Cara Marie Gary performs with the Joffrey in Romeo & Juliet. Photo by Cheryl Mann.*

by Cara Marie Gary

As a dancer with The Joffrey Ballet I spend countless hours in the studio rehearsing and preparing for upcoming productions. Often times I will be required to rehearse multiple ballets at the same time. Our company returned from summer break in late July and in the past three months we’ve already worked on seven different ballets! We’ve performed at the Chicago Dancing Festival and Dance for Life performances with Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31, Lar Lubovitch’s Othello pas de deux, Christopher Wheeldon’s After The Rain pas de deux, and Gerald Arpino’s Round of Angels. We’ve learned Myles Thatcher’s Body of Your Dreams, which is a ballet that we won’t perform until the spring. We began “cracking nuts” early in August as Christopher Wheeldon started choreographing his world premiere of The Nutcracker. However, in the past two weeks we’ve taken a pause from rehearsing multiple ballets to focus on our fall production of Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo & Juliet. [Read more…]

Should Dancers Run?

October 6, 2016 by 4dancers

Dancer Running

Aloha! Today we have another excellent post from Matt Wyon, PhD, President of IADMS / Professor of Dance Science at Wolverhampton University (UK) — this one is on running!

I was always told never to run, as a dancer –
Unless you can run in good leg alignment! So many dancers end up running in turn-out (because of the muscle imbalance in the leg and hip), and that isn’t so good for you. But Matt has some excellent current thoughts on the subject…

Enjoy, and Pass It On !!
Jan Dunn, MS, Dance Wellness Editor
[Read more…]

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