4dancers – Page 5

3 Tips for Dancers Working with Musicians: Thoughts from Conductor Ming Luke

October 25, 2018 by Rachel Hellwig

The Orchestra at the Opera by Edgas Degas. Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Image.

So, you find yourself dancing to live music instead of a recording? Congratulations! That’s special!

But this magical collaboration is not without its challenges.

Here are a few thoughts from conductor Ming Luke, Principal Guest Conductor of San Francisco Ballet that may be helpful…

Same Art Form, Different Languages

Luke relates that, in the world of music, there’s a saying that “conducting a ballet is like conducting a concerto” — except the conductor can’t see or hear the soloist.

But though an orchestra and dancers share in the art of music, Luke cautions that terms such as “counts” and “tempo” can have different connotations to dancers and musicians.

So, keeping communication clear and making sure that everyone is on the same page is essential.

The Why

Perhaps the most common issue Luke runs into is not knowing the details behind statements from dancers and artistic staff such as “this tempo is too fast” or “this tempo is too slow.”

He explains that the reason could range from an artistic choice — such as a director or choreographer wanting dancers to sustain a pose a little longer, to a practical one — such dancers not having enough time to get to where they need to be on stage.

Whatever the reason, it always helps the conductor to know more specifics about “the why.”

Luke also mentions to keep in mind that visual factors, such as theatrical special effects (Nutcracker snow scene!), costumes, etc. especially during the first theater rehearsals, can sometimes alter perceptions of music’s speed.

Conductor, Ming Luke. Photo by Dave Weiland.

Living Art

Luke says to remember that, just as dancers don’t give the exact same performance every time they are onstage, musicians too are performers and their performances won’t be exactly the same every time.

“Musicians are not robots, they are humans and their performances will vary slightly by show,” he says. “Music has flexibility, life, and breath.”

Swan Lake – Still Relevant Today

October 17, 2018 by 4dancers

Joffrey’s Victoria Jaiani and Dylan Gutierrez perform Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

by Luis Eduardo Gonzalez

Swan Lake is one of the most loved and mesmerizing classical ballets of all time. The ballet was composed in 1875 and was Tchaikovsky’s first. It debuted in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre and was revamped in 1895, by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in St Petersburg. Over 100 years later it remains a favorite with ballet companies regularly performing it throughout the world. So, what is it that makes a piece of art stand the test of time the way that this ballet has done? Why is it important for a company like Joffrey whose mission statement boasts “commitment to excellence and innovation” be presenting a ballet about rich guy falling in love with a girl trapped in a bird’s body? The truth is if you take the story literally it doesn’t make very much sense at all, but if one takes a moment to appreciate the underlying themes of this story, it’s easy to see just how relevant and maybe even necessary the message behind this story really is right now.

To start, the story has been considerably reimagined by Christopher Wheeldon. Set in the studios of the Paris Opera Ballet, a company dancer falls in love with his beautiful partner, a star ballerina who is being pursued by an arts patron with bad intentions. All of the swan acts may or may not happen in the lead dancer’s very capable imagination. I think what this approach does is highlight the fact that this story is not actually about a man falling for a bird, but actually about a woman trapped in unfavorable circumstances. Traditionally, Odette is trapped in a narrative where she either has to get this prince to to fall in love with her or be forced to live the rest of her life a slave to an evil sorcerer. She is in a situation that leaves her no agency over the trajectory of her life, because those choices are being made for her by men that don’t give a second thought to what she wants. At the end of the ballet Odette disappears between two diagonals of swans. What happens to her beyond that is left to the audience’s imagination, but what is certain is that she ended up away from the circumstances which once seemed to bind her fate.

The Joffrey Ballet performing Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

We are living in a time where people all over the world are demanding change. Like Odette, people are beginning to realize that being deprived of choice in one way or another or being treated with less respect than any individual deserves is no longer acceptable. We see examples in the news every day, and several specifically in the ballet/dance world. We see women being treated like objects, dancers struggling with mental health because of abuse by those that think being in leadership positions gives them the power to treat them like punching bags on which to thrust their own insecurities. The message that Swan Lake can provide to today’s social, professional, and even political climate is that no matter how rigid and unchangeable a situation may seem, or how powerless one may feel there is always room for choice, and there is always agency over the trajectory of our own lives, over our own dancing, over our own decisions.

This ballet has beautiful music, beautiful sets, costumes, choreography, and dancing. Dancing by artists who, even in the confines of the choreography, can still find room to make nuanced choices within the steps. This allows us to use our voices to layer the work that much further by using the experiences we accumulate through the lives we lead and gives us agency over what each performance is going to say. It’s up to us as performers to use every performance to really speak, regardless of what role we’re performing. The responsibility to breathe life into these venerable classics, just like the responsibility to use our voices to better the world, lies completely on the artists and people of our generation.

It is often said that classics are losing their relevance because the character narratives in those ballets are antiquated and no longer reflect anything that our current world can relate to, but this view lacks perspective. It doesn’t take much effort to see that all over the world there are people whose voices are silenced, people who struggle and suffer because of circumstances out of their control, or people who have at one point experienced a broken heart. The ballets may have been created hundreds of years ago, but we that still perform them they are very much living in the present, living in the world, and experiencing all its current complexities. As for Siegfried, at the end of the ballet he wakes from his “dream,” and sees that this beautiful creature that was suffering through injustice, is a real woman and is in a very real way still being taken advantage of. The ballet ends with him having this new-found perspective that he didn’t have prior to his imaginative moment, and in a way is a call to action for him as well as the audience to go out and do something about it.

See Christopher Wheeldon’s version of Swan Lake for yourself! Joffrey’s performance run opens tonight. Tickets are available here – and it runs through October 28th.

Contributor Luis Eduardo Gonzalez joined The Joffrey Ballet in July 2015.

Mr. Gonzalez, is originally from Bogota, Colombia, where he grew up before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. His training came primarily from the continued direction of Maniya Barredo, former prima ballerina of Atlanta Ballet, and current director of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. Mr. Gonzalez has received the Star Student award at Regional Dance America’s SERBA, been awarded 3^rd place at the Regional Youth American Grand Prix competition in 2008, given first place pas de deux at the American Ballet Competition in 2013, and selected to compete as the only representative of Colombia in the 2014 Jackson International Ballet Competition.

Mr. Gonzalez began his professional career with The Houston Ballet II, where he had the opportunity to dance works by Stanton Welch, among other renowned choreographers, as well as tour both nationally and internationally. At 18, he joined Orlando Ballet where he danced for three years and performed roles such as the Jester in Swan Lake, Peter in Peter and the Wolf, Ghoul’s trio in Vampire’s Ball, Franz’s friend in Coppelia, and Cavalier in the Sugar Plum Pas de deux in The Nutcracker.

Dance Imagery – A Special Collaboration

August 6, 2018 by 4dancers

Dance for Life 2018 Final Imagery, Dancer Rena Butler
Photographer: Todd Rosenberg, Painting: Alice Klock.
© Todd Rosenberg 2018

Each year in August the Chicago dance community comes together to provide a night of support for its own through the Dance for Life benefit performance, organized by Chicago Dancers United. Money raised from this event goes directly into the Dancer’s Fund, which supports local dance community professionals affected by critical health issues.

Each year new artwork is commissioned, and this year it features the work of two talented artists, not just one. 4dancers asked executive director Phil Reynolds about how the artists were selected for the imagery this year. Here was his response:

“Dance for Life conducts an annual photo shoot with Chicago dancers to develop imagery for our marketing and promotional material. Knowing of Todd Rosenberg’s extraordinary work with many Chicago-based dance companies, I reached out to him asking if he would consider working with us on Dance for Life Chicago 2017. He very generously agreed. The result, “The Red Shoot,” as we refer to it, was spectacular. A year later, I contacted Todd about working with Dance for Life in 2018. He said, “yes,” and suggested a collaborative concept he had in mind with painter Alice Klock. His photographs would be painted upon by Alice. Again, the resulting images are magical.”

We thought it would be interesting to explore the collaboration between these two artists a bit more, so we sent them each a few questions about the process of creating these images for the event. What follows is our Q&A with each, starting with Todd.

HS Pro Portraits, Todd Rosenberg. © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2017. Portrait shot by Sophie Paolino

What made you think of doing this collaboration with Alice, and how did you manage the actual workflow of collaborating with one another?

I have always loved and appreciated Alice’s work, so when it came time to do something for this year’s Dance for Life campaign, I approached Alice and she was completely on board. Initially we tested out some images for the DFL committee to see and once the concept was approved, we got the ball rolling. At the time of the actual shoot, Alice was not feeling well, so she couldn’t be at the actual DFL shoot. But we had already discussed specifics as far as what could or would work well movement-wise for her.

Can you describe how the photo shoot process worked for this—things such as where it took place, how many dancers there were, and how you directed the shoot?

Basically there 8 dancers from four companies in the city, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (my “home” company and where I had met Alice), Joffrey, Giordano and Visceral. With this process, I talked with the companies and worked with them finding dancers who would volunteer their time. In some cases, these were dancers I had worked with in studio or enjoy photographing during performance. It is always nice to have a familiar dancer. Joffrey was generous enough to donate space for us so we did the shoot at their studios. The work was done on a white seamless with the dancers wearing “nude” clothing to easily allow for Alice to create their costumes and the art around the bodies. We had both hair and makeup artists: Sara Jean Stevens for hair and Kasha Rodig for makeup.

Dance for Life 2018 Final Imagery. Dancer Andrew Murdock. Photographer: Todd Rosenberg, Painting: Alice Klock. © Todd Rosenberg 2018

As far as direction, a lot of it was free improv where the dancers provided the input. As we shot, the images were coming up on a screen and we could see what could or would work. Having different dancers with different dance disciplines, it provided us a wide variety of options. I was able to text images to Alice along the way and she was providing input.

Once the images were taken, they were provided to Dance for Life for selections, preferences to be made. Those images were then worked on by my former assistant Sophie Paolino, who blended the clothing into the dancers for Alice to paint. I printed the images onto the same water color paper Alice normally paints on, which gave her the texture she needed for her portion. I was able to print a few copies of each selected image to allow for creativity without fear of having only one copy.

What was the best part about working with Alice on this, and was it easier or more difficult than doing a shoot for Dance for Life on your own?

The best part is that I got to enjoy her mind as she created around my photos. My main goal was to make sure that she had a good canvas to work so we could create awesome works of art. There is nothing difficult about working with Alice, she is the furthest thing from high maintenance. I loved the process to create these, and I really love the final products. And she and I already talked collaborating again.

Next we asked for some perspective from Alice’s point of view:

How was this type of artwork similar or different from what you have been doing with your painting?

Movement has always been a very important element in my visual art. To create this work with Todd has been a pleasure for this reason and was very much in keeping with the energy of my usual work. It differed in that here I have been working with subjects that are outside of my own design. Complimenting the dancers has been the goal throughout and within that has been a fun challenge of creating movement with the paint that does not take away or distract from the beauty of the photographs.

Where did you draw your inspiration from for the theme of your painting throughout this process?

I drew inspiration from the dancers themselves, and the design already apparent in their movement. With each photo I took time to examine the directions of energy within their bodies and from that attempted to describe these trajectories. When painting on photos it can be easy for the final image to come off as a bit cartoony. I worked to avoid this by illustrating the energy I perceived, to extrapolate out what was already in the photo vs. projecting something external onto the image.

Dance for Life 2018 Final Imagery. Dancers: Hanna Brictson, Prince Lyons. Photographer: Todd Rosenberg, Painting: Alice Klock. © Todd Rosenberg 2018

What was the best part about working with Todd on this, and was it harder or easier than working on your own?

The best part of working with Todd on this was our mutual commitment to this very important cause. Todd is an amazing artist, it’s always a pleasure to work with him, and his generosity and collaborative energy is perfect for this kind of project. Artistically it was harder than working on my own, not because of Todd, but because of the technical and logistical difficulty of working with watercolor on photographs! I’m used to working on my own blank canvases so to work on a surface that is itself part of the image was interesting. I went through quite a few drafts, and destroyed more than a few of the photos with water leakage or rogue paint drops before we completed the final pieces. It was a wonderful process though, I loved the challenge, and am very happy with what we created together.

A selection of prints that Todd and Alice collaborated on will be available for purchase at Dance for Life Chicago on Saturday, August 18th at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

The mission of Dance for Life is to support organizations and dance professionals facing critical health issues. The money raised through the annual benefit performance goes directly to the Dancer’s Fund. Learn more about the fund here, and get tickets for the 2018 show here.

Todd Rosenberg has been recognized among the top tier entertainment and sports photographers in the city of Chicago. A native of Chicago, his impressive client list contains some of the the most distinguished entertainment venues in the city including a 20 year relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, Hubbard Street Dance, and Second City. In addition, his work is seen nationally through advertising as well as with the NFL and on the pages of Sports Illustrated; the publisher of 24 years of Rosenberg’s sports images, including more than 15 cover photos. www.toddrphoto.com

Alice Klock attributes her painting and drawing skills to self study and to tutelage from her visual artist Grandfather and Father. She has shown paintings at multiple Chicago art galleries, designs personalized tattoos, and enjoys sharing her work and process worldwide with the 15,000+ followers of her online blogs under the name “Klockonian”. Alice is also a dancer and choreographer in her ninth season with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. For more information visit www.klockonian.com

“Mr. Fix It” – Meet PNB’s Director of Physical Therapy, Boyd Bender

April 30, 2018 by 4dancers

PNB Forsythe — Pacific Northwest Ballet dances Forsythe’s “One Flat Thing, reproduced”. Photo by Angela Sterling.

by Emma Love Suddarth

“My ankle is jammed.”

If you ask Boyd Bender, the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Director of Physical Therapy Services (and physical therapist), how many times over his years with the company he has heard that sentence, his answer would be in the thousands. He’s a wizard when it comes to mending those ankles that suddenly feel stuck, restricted, or “out of place” from a hard landing or a sudden torque. However, Bender didn’t acquire 30 years of thankful dancers based solely on ankle pulls.

If you walked into the PNB studios on an average Tuesday and felt the need to address that acute back pain that came on yesterday, or that chronic tendonitis that has intensified over a long rehearsal period, you would head straight for the sign-up sheet on the PT board. Bender and his fellow PTs’ hours vary depending on the day of the week, and any dancer can sign up for a 15-minute slot within that period.

The system at the theater during performance time is different; it consists of a dry erase board and markers (which festively turn red and green over Nutcracker season) and a first-come-first-serve type of sign up. The schedule fills up fast in both settings—and the battles over the pen or marker to get your name down first are frequent. While the session time allotment may seem brief, it is only a part of ongoing, continual care. While Bender’s treatment begins at the onset, sudden or not, of the problem, it is rarely a “one-visit” fix and requires regular visits to his table for repeated care. He even acts as frequent liaison between dancers and the sports medicine doctor, massage therapists, or outside PTs (to name a few). The time spent with the company PT is both extremely necessary and immeasurably valuable—one of the most essential elements in a dancer’s career.

Boyd Bender Director of Physical Therapy Services & Physical Therapist at Pacific Northwest Ballet — Director of Physical Therapy Services and Physical Therapist Boyd Bender at work at PNB. Photo by Emma Love Suddarth

In PNB’s case, there are numerous generations of dancers who swear by Boyd Bender’s care. His breadth of knowledge is not just incredibly vast, but also constantly expanding. Not only must his know-how encompass the entirety of the human body, but it also must address the variety of situations that a dance career might require that body to end up in. The physical issues that arise from Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake are very different than those from William Forsythe’s One Flat Thing, reproduced; and, when the transition time between the reps spans only two days, Bender must be immediately ready to address the new problems that the dancers bring in to him.

Bender, his fellow PTs, the company sports medicine doctor, the massage therapists, the company manager, and the artistic director—Peter Boal, who also offers a dancer’s perspective on each work— routinely meet in order to discuss the physical requirements of the specific reps, as well as to keep track of the overall health of the company. On top of that, Bender sometimes watches videos of the pieces prior to the rep as to get a feel for issues that might arise. He compares this practice to a similar one in football—where PTs will also study videos of upcoming competitors to see how and where they hit, in order to prepare as best they can to address the players’ physical needs. However, most of all he prefers to rely heavily on the information the dancers bring to him in the beginning of the process in order to gauge what to expect. While each dancer’s body is different, and predisposed to varying pains and problems, specific trends oftentimes surface over the course of a single rep.

PNB Swan Lake — Pacific Northwest Ballet dancing Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake. Photo by Angela Sterling

During Swan Lake, his table was occupied by a never-ending stream of swans with any number of lower leg problems—a common one being a bad calf. The audience might likely never think of it, but those swans encircling the stage, standing motionless on one leg for the entirety of the 2^nd and 4^th act pas de deux, are aching and sweating more than if they were dancing. By the end of the run almost every swan had a bad right or left calf, depending on which side of the stage she stood. However, three days later, one of those same swans is back on Bender’s table at the studios, attempting to put words to the intense neck pain she is experiencing due to a certain motion of One Flat Thing, which she then gingerly, very cautiously demonstrates. Boyd is ready for all of it.

Thirty seconds after a horrific ankle sprain, Bender is in the room ready to help. Ten years of on-and-off Achilles tendonitis, Bender is still finding new ways of caring for it. His arsenal of tools and skills is immeasurable; whether he is adjusting, lasering, ultra-sounding, taping, massaging, scraping, or even exercising (that’s right, it’s not all passive!) the problematic area, he’s thoroughly monitoring, addressing, and protecting the entirety of the dancer’s physical well-being. I, and numerous others, can easily name more than one instance that I likely wouldn’t have been back on stage that evening if it wasn’t for Bender’s care. You might never realize that one vertebra on your back being out of place is the reason for the shooting nerve pain in the back of your knee—but Bender knows.

And he’ll fix it too.

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s season resumes in June with their “Love & Ballet” program. Get more details by visiting the PNB website.

Contributor Emma Love Suddarth is from Wichita, Kansas. She studied with Sharon Rogers and on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and attended summer courses at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She was first recipient of the Flemming Halby Exchange with the Royal Danish Ballet School and was also a 2004 and 2005 recipient of a Kansas Cultural Trust Grant. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2008 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2009.

While at PNB, she has performed featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Peter Boal, David Dawson, Ulysses Dove, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Mark Morris, Margaret Mullin, Crystal Pite, Alexei Ratmansky, Kent Stowell, Susan Stroman, and Price Suddarth. Some of her favorites include the Siren in Balanchine’s The Prodigal Son, Jiri Kylian’s Petit Mort, David Dawson’s A Million Kisses to My Skin, William Forsythe’s New Suite, and Price Suddarth’s Signature.

She is a contributor to Pacific Northwest Ballet’s blog. She is married to fellow PNB dancer Price Suddarth.

The Commitment to Pursue

April 22, 2018 by Rachel Hellwig

Rehearsal at Miami City Ballet. Photo by Daniel Azoulay.

The regular physical pain of a professional ballet dancer’s life can be overwhelming. Every dancer experiences a different pain level during their careers. At a young age, the dancer is taught how to overcome and tolerate these types of pain whether it is physical or mental.

With time and patience, the disciplines required to pursue this life become normality. Early on, while in ballet school, I learned that it was inevitable to work with a commitment level of an adult. We are forced to heighten our judgement to guide us through the challenges.

As I sit and think about how to write this article, I am struggling to put it in to words. First off, I must say how truly lucky I am to do what I love every single day. I am one of those people who jumps from bed ready to tackle another day of dance. As I take you through a typical daily routine, I want you to keep this in mind.

Tolerance

As you can imagine, dancers typically have a high pain tolerance because of the demands put on their bodies. When I was first starting out as a professional ballet dancer ten years ago, my days began at 9:45 a.m. and finished after 6 p.m. Then when I joined my second company, the schedule changed to 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. with no lunch break. Now, at Miami City Ballet, I attend class each morning beginning at 10 a.m. and finish rehearsals at 6:30 p.m. with an hour lunch break.

Experiencing scheduling at a variety of companies has taught me that there is always intention behind the day. Typically, a rehearsal day is a combination of multiple ballets over the course of seven hours in preparation for our performances. Throughout the season, depending on our performance schedule, the weeks shift from Monday through Friday to Tuesday through Saturday. Our performance weeks leave us with just Mondays off.

I find the most difficult time during the year to be when we rehearse various genres of dance all at once. Although extremely rewarding, your body certainly feels the changes your muscles endure.

Working alone during downtime at Miami City Ballet

For example, shifting from a modern work where you might be in flat shoes rather than pointe shoes puts a different pressure on your quads and calves. You may develop blisters on different parts of your feet where the skin has not callused over.

Typically, our modern works require a grounded intention and these requirements can make the day more challenging. Each hour leading up to 6:30 p.m. may be scheduled for a different ballet. Preparing your body, the right point shoes, and making sure to review the choreography before presenting it to the room are all components of the day. I find it helpful to plan out an hour at a time. This makes it easier to approach physically and mentally and eventually a dancer develops the habits in which are needed to tolerate this level of work.

Our season can include 10-15 works of which we learned the bulk of between the months of August and October. During the month of January, we shifted from Nutcracker season into rehearsals to finalize the rest of our repertoire. We recently performed our Jerome Robbins Centennial Celebration (Program Two) featuring five of his works. During this time, we rehearsed Tuesday through Friday, performed Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and rested on Monday. During the week leading to our performances, the company rehearsed works from Program Three and Four while still keeping Program Two fresh. These works included choreography by George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, Brian Brooks, and Jerome Robbins. Once we approach the end of our season, we may begin work on our repertoire for the next season before April and May pass. When I explain what I do to people outside the ballet, they always wonder how I keep all the ballets I learn straight. Honestly, it takes time to learn and absorb all the material. I typically write down my material once I have learned it and then spend time on my own in the studio or at home to watch videos or review. It is one thing to remember a work in the studio, but it is another to know it well enough to perform it on stage without the mirror.

Patience

“Patience” is probably the most important word in the world of dance to me—patience that is both physical and mental. The minute a dancer is unable to endure the wait without negativity is the minute all improvement ceases. Unfortunately, the life of a dancer is full of heartbreak and frustration. This is the part of the job that the audience does not witness.

People will ask me what I do during the day and sometimes I hesitate because it is so challenging for me to explain what goes on in a mind of a dancer during a 12-hour period. There can be so many ups and downs and moments where you feel completely alone, but as a person living in this unbelievably rewarding and sometimes confusing career, ballet dancers are some of the strongest, toughest-skin human beings I know.

Mental Stability

It goes unnoticed because of our gracefulness and ability to maintain calmness, but the day can turn negative quickly. After several years of practice and training, I have found ways to compartmentalize the positive and the negative aspects of the day. For example, the casting board is a major component of a dancer’s day and overall season. Learning to tame your emotions when you do or do not see your name on the cast list is vital to the focus of the day. If you learn to understand the casting and not internalize it will help you move forward. There is usually a reason for why or why not you have been cast in a specific role. These moments can fuel motivation to make a change or improve. Another aspect of the day that impacts a dancer is morning class. Class is a time to work on yourself and find an overall balance for the day. Most non-dancers do not realize that professionals attend ballet class every morning to warm their bodies up. We face a lot of challenges in the first hour and a half of the day. As my own critic, internal questions surface about overall appearance, placement, or why or why not I receive corrections during class.

There is tremendous pressure to reach the look you desire without psyching yourself out. I have grown to understand myself and feel confidence in myself by reaching smaller goals that I set up. This helps me continue on a steady path upwards rather than being beaten down or defeated.

The audience does not see that side of us, but a dancer goes through quite a wild mind ride when it comes to rehearsing and performing for nearly 40 weeks a year up to 40 hours a week.

Working on Juliet with Roger Van Fleteren (Alabama Ballet)

Developing this maturity starts through the structure of a typical ballet class which we take every day. Classes require the dancer to stand in formation and judge themselves. Critiquing your arm, head, and leg positions in class forces us to be our own teacher too.

Oftentimes, it can be extremely difficult to stare at yourself in the mirror. I remember one year, which I will not discuss, where I went home and literally cried every night because I was not happy with how I looked or felt. Winning the competition with yourself can be the most difficult competition of all.

Consistent coaching and reviewing before approaching the stage is all worth it, but there needs to be a balance. Perfection does not exist and ballet is not simple. My ballet teacher of 21 years always says, “If ballet were easy everyone would do it.”

Samantha in George Balanchine’s Emeralds from
Jewels (October 2017) Photo by dancer.

Samantha Hope Galler. Photo by Daniel Azoulay.

Contributor Samantha Hope Galler, a Bedford, Mass. native, spent 13 years training with The Ballet Academy, Inc., under the direction of Frances Kotelly in the Cecchetti Method. She performed six seasons with The Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued training, on scholarship, with Boston Ballet School and received the PAO Merit Trainee Scholarship. She received the NFAA Honorable Mention Award in Ballet. Galler spent summers training at Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Conservatory. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet in their 2008-2009 season under the direction of Victoria Morgan.

Samantha spent five seasons with Alabama Ballet under the direction of Tracey Alvey and Roger Van Fleteren. During her tenure there, she was promoted to principal dancer. She had the honor of performing some of her dream roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, The Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, The Sylph and Effie in La Sylphide, Myrtha and Moyna in Giselle, Dryad Queen and Mercedes in Don Quixote, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo. Her Balanchine roles included Dark Angel in Serenade; The Sugarplum Fairy, Arabian and Lead Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™; and the principal roles in Allegro Brillante and Tarantella. She has also performed in Jiří Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, and Van Fleteren’s Shostakovich and Romancing Rachmaninov, both world premieres.

Samantha joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014. Since joining Miami City Ballet, Samantha has performed in various roles including as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and as the Harp Soloist in Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations.

Follow Samantha on her website and blog.

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