4dancers – Page 55

If The Shoe Fits…Pointe Shoe Preparation

May 7, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Pointe shoes have become an integral part of ballet as an art form and, just as each dancer has a unique pair of feet, every ballerina has their own way of preparing these shoes for class or performance. Some slam them in doors to soften them up, while others work on them with little hammers to get the feel “just right”. The break-in method can vary depending on factors such as the brand of shoe and the type of role that is being performed.

We talked a bit at the beginning of the year about these special slippers, and today we’re going in for a closer look…

Rebecca King, corps de ballet dancer with Mimi City Ballet and author of the dance blog Tendus Under A Palm Tree wears Freed pointe shoes. We asked her to share her “secret formula” for getting them ready to wear, and this is what she had to say…

“Preparing a pair of pointe shoes is as much a ritual to a ballerina as it is a necessity. Even though, as professionals, our shoes are shipped to us straight from London, made by hand with love by our chosen “makers” to our exact specifications, many dancers find it necessary to make some extra alterations. It can take dancers years to get their shoes exactly as they want them and some dancers go their entire career in search of the elusive perfect shoe.

A maker hand-builds about 30-40 pairs of shoes at Freed of London every day, each shoe costing around $100. About two-thirds of the shoes produced are created for individual dancer’s specifications. (Find out more about these fascinating pieces of art on Freed’s website.)

I wear a size four, with a double X width, made by my beloved “U” maker. On the bottom of my shoe underneath the width, he stamps his symbol, “U”, as a kind of signature; laying claim to his craftsmanship. The thing I love most about Mr. U is how aesthetically beautiful his shoes are. Something about the way the toe of the shoe is built compliments every wearer’s foot. He is a very important person in my life.

The first thing I do is remove the pesky nail from the heel of the shoe. This nail is meant to secure the paper “shank”, or the inner sole of the shoe, to the outer sole of the shoe. Once it is removed, I cut the paper shank to the shoe’s middle seam, essentially cutting it in half. Because my feet are not very good, this allows the sole of my shoe to bend and lets me point my feet to their full potential. I then glue the end of the shank to the outer sole so it does not move around as I dance.

Next, I put super glue in the tips of the shoes. When the tip of the shoe gets soft, it no longer functions like I need it to; this is my ultimate pointe shoe pet peeve. Mr. U even puts an extra piece of burlap in the tip with extra glue upon my request, but I always apply more glue for good measure.

Then I cut the satin off the top of the shoe and quickly darn around the edges. This gives me a little extra support when my shoes start to die, and also ensures that the freshly cut satin stays in place.

Finally, the ribbon process begins. I use pink ribbons secured over crisscrossed thin pink elastic. I prefer the thin elastic, as I don’t feel a lot of pressure on my ankles, while the crisscross restricts my movement laterally, helping to prevent ankle sprains.

Though this is my current process, if you check back with me in two years, I am fairly certain I will have a new procedure, as my system is constantly evolving. But as for now, I feel I can dance my best with a half shank, extra super glue, and Mr. U on my side.”

As Ms. King clearly illustrates, ballerinas have a special relationship with their pointe shoes. However, for ballet companies, the costs associated with keeping the ladies on their toes can be astronomical. According to Miami City Ballet’s website, the average pair of pointe shoes typically only last for one performance.

Here is a closer look at what ballet companies across the nation pay to keep the ladies on their toes:

Last year the dancers at Oregon Ballet Theatre used about 1,500 pairs of pointe shoes which added up to $120,000.

Texas Ballet Theatre will spend $80,000 on pointe shoes this year.

Miami City Ballet dancers wear 3,000 pairs of pointe shoes each season for a total cost of $200,000.

Last season Cincinnati Ballet spent $82,000 on pointe shoes for the company.

And New York City Ballet? Their dancers can go through 40 to 50 pairs each performance. This means a staggering total of 8,500+ pairs of pointe shoes each year. I don’t even want to do the math on that one. (But according to this article on The Huffington Post, it adds up to $500,000!)

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning — Pilates

May 4, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

Last month we talked about what ”conditioning” means for a dancer, and why working on this important aspect of your dance life outside of class is so important. This month and next, I’ll give you some specific information on what forms of conditioning you might consider incorporating — if you aren’t already doing so!

Let’s start today with Pilates, something with which many dancers are already familiar.

Pilates has been in the dance world a long time, so most dancers have at least heard of it, even if they’ve not had personal experience. It is of course now very much part of today’s fitness world (and rehab) as well, but that’s only happened in the last 20 years.

History:

Joe Pilates was German-born, always interested in the body / exercise / helping people, and began developing his system during WWI, while living in Britain. He began working with injured soldiers, initially with floor exercises (“mat work”), and later using the springs on the beds as resistance (which evolved into the Reformer).

Joe immigrated to the USA in the 1920’s, settled in NYC, and with his wife Clara, set up a gym to begin teaching his developing work. During the 1930’s, his gym and the fledgling New York City Ballet were located in the same building, and dancers from the company began working with him. Joe himself was never a dancer, but that’s how the work came to be integrated into the dance community. Many dancers in the NYC area worked with Joe over the years, as they could see how much it benefited and helped their bodies and dance life.

Pilates 1 Duggan — Photo courtesy of Christopher Duggan

Pilates exercise (originally called “Contrology”) remained primarily in the NYC area for many years, until several of Joe’s dancer students who had trained with him moved to other parts of the country, and began teaching on their own. This first generation of teachers, now called “The Elders”, include people like Ron Fletcher, who recently passed away at the age of 90, and studied in NYC with Martha Graham. He moved to CA, opening a studio in Beverly Hills which catered to movie stars, and helped to popularize and spread Pilates on the West Coast.

There was also Eve Gentry, who studied and danced in NYC for many years, and was in Hanya Holm’s company. She settled in Sante Fe, NM, in the 1960’s, and began teaching both Pilates and dance. Over the years she produced many teachers of the next generation, who, like Fletcher’s students, helped the spread of Pilates all across the country.

There were other dancers among that first generation who became teachers, and slowly Pilates became known in other parts of the country. Today, almost 100 years since Joe first started developing his system during WWI, the work is taught and used world-wide, not only in dance, but in medicine / sports / fitness / geriatrics, etc. [Read more…]

Review: Joffrey’s “Spring Desire” Program

April 26, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Joffrey Ballet Photo Tech Rehearsal of In the Night — Victoria Jaiani and Fabrice Calmels in Age of Innocence, choreographed by Edwaard Liang, Photo by Herbert Migdoll

Love, longing and sensuality are at the core of the Joffrey Ballet’s “Spring Desire” program which opened Wednesday night at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. The three neo-classical works on the program include the critically acclaimed “Age of Innocence” by Edwaard Liang, In the Night by the celebrated choreographer Jerome Robbins and the world premiere of Incantations by Val Caniparoli.

Set to the music of Philip Glass and Thomas Newman, Age of Innocence opens the evening with its tense, formal underpinnings—expertly juxtaposed with moments of passion and the yearning to express that which is in the heart. Maria Pinto’s thoughtful costume design cements the 18^th/19^th century vibe without being too literal, and enormous red velvet curtains are the only backdrop needed to evoke a formal ballroom atmosphere that is filled with both grandeur and repressed emotion.

To begin, the dancers dutifully line up, men on one side, women on the other. Hands extend and are accepted gracefully, but the hidden dialogue of which dancers long for one another remains frozen beneath the surface—cloaked in ritual. The First Dialogue sequence gives a first glimpse of that ache, when Jeraldine Mendoza and Mauro Villanueva suddenly find themselves involved a spinning, romantic match that transcends the rules of courting.

The next sequence, titled simply, The Men, is indeed a powerful display of manliness, executed with verve and confidence by Raul Casasola, Aaron Rogers, Ricardo Santos and Temur Suluashvili. The highlight of the piece, however, was most certainly Victoria Jaiani and Fabrice Calmels, who treated the audience to a riveting performance in the Obey Thee sequence.

Joffrey Ballet 2012 — April Daly and Miguel Angel Blanco in In the Night, choreographd by Jerome Robbins, Photo by Herbert Migdoll

Next up was In the Night, an enchanting look at love, choreographed by Jerome Robbins in 1970. This timeless piece consists of three pas de deux that explore relationships which are all in very different places. The backdrop provides a guide to the pulse of each pairing, with sparkling stars for young romance, formal chandeliers denoting a more guarded partnership and shooting stars to illuminate the tumultuous union that runs both hot and cold. More traditional in style than either of the other two pieces, this is Robbins at his finest, and the dancers rise to the occasion here. Set to the music of Chopin, pianist Paul James Lewis provided flawless live accompaniment for the piece.

As the curtain rose to reveal the world premiere of Incantations, a visual clue provided a hint as to what the audience was about to see. Hanging high on the right-hand side of the stage loomed a group of large spring-like fixtures that are reminiscent of beehives—a harbinger of what was to come in the choreography. Almost immediately, dancers began to flash across the stage with lightning speed, performing unusual sequences of movement—some of which are staggeringly difficult and wonderfully complex. Indeed, nearly the entire piece was infused with a buzzing, almost erratic energy that keeps building, lending a rather “showy” feel to much of the performance.

Occasionally there was a lapse in timing, yet all was immediately forgiven when the next cycle of intricate movements began. Some of the swirling motions seemed almost like a nervous habit after a while, but overall it was the continuous motion and energy that really took center stage. The music of Russian minimalist composer Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky and spectacular lighting design by Lucy Carter added both frenzy and focus to the work.

Although splendidly athletic, Incantations rides along the edge of being tiring for the viewer; but just when the piece threatens to overwhelm, release was finally granted through the absolutely glorious pairing of Joanna Wozniak and Matthew Adamczyk, which transformed the piece both in mood and motion. Here Caniparoli takes the dancers down from a mindless, wild energy to a softer exploration that still offers complexity paired with exquisite skill. The duet finishes in a seamless whirling motion that echoes the earlier chaos—but in a much more forgiving fashion.

Performances through May 6th at the Auditorium Theatre

Choreography: Knowing Where You Belong

April 26, 2012 by Ashley David

Another installment in our series on choreography…we are talking with choreographers from The Dance COLEctive about their process and today we have Shannon McGuire. Her piece focuses on the subjective and intuitive sense of knowing where one belongs. “Is there a sensation or a recognition in a circumstance that one finds the need to exist in a certain place? Is this place geographical, ideological or social?”

1. How did the idea for this piece come about?

The concept of the piece really came from a personal questioning. I spent my childhood in the country of a small town, At the age of twelve I moved with my mom to Chicago. I finished growing up in and out of the city, spending every other weekend with my dad in the country, and school in the city. The lack of being fully grounded in either of the extreme environments caused a confusion that plagued me for years. Each year that passes by I ask myself the challenging question of where I belong or where I need to be.

2. What did you do with the dancers to explore this concept?

I was initially interested in what “belonging” meant to the dancers. There were various responses and we explored the possibilities through conversations and writings. We discussed how we know we are at a place where we belong. The movement came from personal experiences and emotions relating to the topic.

Later I became very interested in the other end of things. When don’t we belong? There was a much more intense response from this. So I began to play with both ideas. I sort of took both sides and figured out how to make that journey from not belonging to finding a place belonging.

3. How did that translate into the choreography?

The dancers generated most of their material from personal experiences and points of views. I asked them to be as intuitive as possible at times when choosing a direction or place in space. There is an obvious change of quality in the dance at different times. I play a lot with the feeling of belonging and not belonging. The structure of the piece directly relates to my personal experience, while the content is very personal to the dancers.

4. What was the biggest challenge for you in doing this piece?

The biggest challenge was finding a medium. I played with both ideas of belonging and not belonging. However, I really wanted to find what happened when both concepts are introduced. How does one find their way to a content place of belonging when feeling out of place for so long? How do they know that they found that place? The answer really came the more we played with the material. I really needed to find the answers through the dance making process.

5. What did you enjoy most about this process?

I most enjoyed the freedom to discover. I really went into the process not knowing the answer to my question. It was a chance for me to really dig in deep to find some resolution. This is my first time exploring a concept that directly relates to me and my experiences. I had help from four beautiful dancers and friends to help me find answers as well as ask more questions. Entering the process without the answers and later seeing the result unfold gave me perspective on my inner conflict.

BIO: Shannon McGuire graduated with a BA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. While at Columbia, she performed choreography by Twyla Tharp, Paige Cunningham, and Matthew Hollis. Shannon enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for dance with children at local studios. She was recently a member of MaryAnn McGovern and Dancers and has performed in numerous independent projects and dance showcases throughout Chicago. Shannon is thrilled to be dancing her third season with The Dance COLEctive.

One Dancer’s Journey: Performing Arts As A Profession

April 23, 2012 by 4dancers

Todd Fox returns with the next installment of “One Dancer’s Journey” — if you haven’t had the chance to read the other posts by Mr. Fox, you can find them here.

by Todd Fox

5. What have you had to struggle against in dance?

I didn’t experience an overwhelming amount of ridicule in public school as a boy studying ballet but I did hear my share of jokes and was teased often. At first the teasing didn’t really bother me because I was obsessed with learning ballet and I didn’t really care what people thought—but you can only ignore things for so long.

It all came to a head pretty quick one day in 9th grade when a student was teasing me and called me a name so I punched him square in the face causing a bad nose bleed. I was promptly suspended from school and my parents completely freaked, it was definitely NOT the proper or mature way to handle the situation but I was 15 at the time, it happened, and I was never teased again.

Teasing and name calling aside, I think the number one thing I have had to struggle against as a professional ballet dancer here in the United States is the perception of my life’s work as some sort of contribution to a non-essential charity, as if it has no value in the “real world”. [Read more…]

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