4dancers – Page 60

Dancers–Are You Overwhelmed?

March 21, 2012 by 4dancers

Today we have a guest post from Jodi Krizer Graber about managing stress in your life. Jodi has geared it specifically toward dancers (she has a dance background), offering some advice on how to feel less overwhelmed when the pressure is on…

by Jodi Krizer Graber

Overwhelmed – just writing the word makes me anxious. How does it make you feel? Do you live in a state of being overwhelmed? If so, you are not alone. 64% of Americans say they are taking steps to reduce stress in their lives and, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 121 million people world-wide currently suffer from depression.

Think about some of the technology we have now: ATM machines, television with hundreds of channels, DVR, cell phones, digital voicemail, and, of course, the internet/email. All of this is supposed to make our lives easier, and in many ways it does. But, in other ways, all of this technology adds to our to-do list, often leading to feelings of worry, stress, anxiety and depression.

A key to overcoming overload is to take 100% responsibility for your life. That is not to say that being overwhelmed is “your fault,” but it does mean that you are the only person who can get yourself out of it. “Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life” is the first chapter in Jack Canfield’s (co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series) national bestseller, The Success Principles. Why? Because it is the foundation upon which you can build the life you want.

Ted Shawn said, “Dance is the only art wherein we ourselves are the stuff in which it is made.” Combine this mantra with Jack Canfield’s declaration, and you’ve got a lot of pressure hanging over your head, and that can be quite overwhelming. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s up to YOU.

And you can manage it all. [Read more…]

Adult Ballet Student: Johanna Aurava

March 20, 2012 by 4dancers

Here’s our next Q&A with an adult ballet student…

1. How did you first get involved with ballet and what attracted you to it as an adult?

I saw Giselle when I was twelve years old and fell in love with ballet right there and then. But almost ten years passed before I took my first ballet class. A friend had wanted to try jazz dance, and asked me along for buddy support. A few months later my jazz teacher told me that there was a new adult beginner’s ballet class I could take. Up until then I did not even know adults could learn ballet! It was all very exciting, and still is. What I loved right away was the classical music, the structure of class, the concentration it required and the sheer beauty of ballet. There was so much to learn and to discover, about technique, steps and placement but also about the traditions of ballet, the culture and history.

2. How many classes are you currently taking per week?

Currently I take eight classes on five days of the week: five are ballet technique and three pointe classes. The amount varies from time to time, in my mid twenties I used to dance as much as 12 hours per week! These days I make sure quality comes before quantity, but three classes per week is my absolute minimum. I’m not getting any younger, and I just want to dance as much as I can!

3. What do you see as your biggest challenge as an adult ballet student?

Scheduling my classes around study and work used to be a big problem. I know this is a challenge for most adult students; how to fit work/study, family and ballet together. It’s not always possible to attend classes on a regular basis, and that can be very frustrating! But I’m very lucky, my current work schedule allows me to take as many classes as I want.

My biggest challenge right now is to be less demanding and critical of myself. I tend to focus too much on my flaws and faults, and forget how much I have already learned. The thing is, I chose ballet, but ballet did not choose me. I do not have an “ideal” dancer’s physique, and I’m not talking looks here, but anatomy. My turn-out is barely adequate and I have tight muscles and ligaments. You can’t change your skeletal structure, nor stretch your ligaments. In the beginning this did not bother me, but at my current intermediate-advanced level I’m much more aware of my limitations. I’m also not twenty-one anymore… [Read more…]

Cerrudo’s “Little mortal jump” – Cinematic and Intimate

March 19, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s spring program at the Harris Theater was a triumph in three parts—beginning with the compellingly graceful work “Following the Subtle Current Upstream” by Alonzo King. A perfect showcase to display the technical expertise of the company, the choreography here is filled with dynamic patterns that explore and transform, and it is set to a score of sounds that include bells, drum beats and vocals.

HSD110310_567 — Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Sharon Eyal’s Too Beaucoup. Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Offering a completely different landscape, Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal’s “Too Beaucoup” was the final program piece. The large ensemble of dancers coupled with the intense lighting and precise, symmetrical choreography gives the feeling of staring at a 3-D painting—where you wait for the hidden picture to pop out if you look at it just right. With its often heavy, hypnotic thumping beat and cast of identically-clad robotic characters it’s on the lengthy side, but the overall sensory experience is electrifying.

Sandwiched between these two audience favorites was “Little mortal jump”—a world premiere by resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo—and it did not disappoint. Relationships between the featured dancers started out playful; indeed almost comical, reminiscent of boys and girls trying to flirt for the first time, pulling pigtails and teasing one another at recess. But despite the lighthearted introduction to his work here, Cerrudo is not content to showcase the relationships veiled in a shallow, childish simplicity. Instead the partnering throughout is intricate and rich, displaying a maturity that is at the same time surprising and satisfying.

Cerrudo succeeds in establishing a rapport with the audience in a friendly, approachable way and only then begins to peel away the layers of relationships by emphasizing certain moments vividly. “Little mortal jump” continues to evolve until suddenly you are in the middle of something powerful—not playful. Laying this type of groundwork leaves the audience feeling emotionally invested rather than embarrassed at the glimpses of intimacy that are to come. One time it’s a momentary (but vivid) facial expression that connects. Another comes in the form of an intense, almost desperate slow-motion sequence during a duet.

A stark backdrop of enormous black cubes added a surprising energy to the work as they rolled around on silent casters, sectioning off different parts of the stage and adding emphasis throughout the piece. Sometimes the cubes became a part of the dance itself, while other times they functioned more like parenthesis around a phrase as bodies moved within their confines. The simple set pieces added a sophistication that was palpable, and they provided the perfect climax for the ending as they spun wildly with dancers disappearing behind them—a final surprise.

In this, his 10^th piece for the company, Cerrudo has succeeded in taking elements from his previous works and fusing them together into a fully-formed vision that connects strongly with the audience. “Little mortal jump” has a definite cinematic quality to it which serves the piece well, and it is abundantly clear that Cerrudo understands both his audience and how to draw the best work from the dancers in this talented company.

It will be interesting to see where his choreography goes from here.

One Dancer’s Journey: A Little Advice

March 19, 2012 by 4dancers

For those of you who are just tuning in, this series, “One Dancer’s Journey” follows Todd Fox through his in-depth answers to the questions we typically pose in our interviews with dancers and choreographers. We’re up to question #4….

by Todd Fox

4. What advice would you offer other dancers?

I could literally write a book as an answer to this question but that has already been done many times so I will only touch on a few points of interest.

Get over the insecurities and pound that pavement, today!

I frequently hear from young aspiring professional dancers who tell me how they didn’t go to an audition or send out their pictures and resumes for consideration on a gig because they thought for sure it just wouldn’t happen–so why waste time trying. This has never made any sense to me; students will spend years of hard work in the studio improving and expanding their technique/abilities but when it comes time to learn and expand into the actual profession, suddenly they become insecure.

Every aspiring professional dancer needs to realize that auditioning and seeking out employment opportunities in this industry is a learning process unto itself. Just like learning technique, there are dos and don’ts, tips and tricks, and all sorts of trials and errors you will have to go through to learn how to secure employment as a professional dancer. The ratio of being turned down will always outweigh the actual offers of employment–it has been that way since the dawn of the industry and it’s something you are just going to have to deal with.

Everyone has insecurities and nobody likes to be told they are not right for something they really want to do but you have to at least try, otherwise you will never succeed. This industry is filled with stories about professional dancers who ended up getting amazing jobs and opportunities they never thought would happen but because they took that first step and actually tried, it somehow managed to work out. It is imperative that you leave no stone unturned throughout your journey to become a professional dancer… [Read more…]

Adult Ballet Student: Acacia Warwick

March 16, 2012 by 4dancers

Welcome Acacia–our latest adult ballet student feature this month…and stay tuned as we feature more content on that theme throughout the month of March!

1. How did you first get involved with ballet and what attracted you to it as an adult?

When I was six years old I started taking ballet classes in a tiny studio over a pizza parlor on the corner of Sunset and Vine in Los Angeles. I loved dancing, but after a few years, it became clear that I would never have the body of a ballerina and ballet faded from my life. Fast forward thirty years later, I finished my treatments for breast cancer and started thinking about what I could do to get my strength back and ballet lept to mind. I always loved the grace and power of dancers and decided to try to bring some of that back into my life.

2. How many classes are you currently taking per week?

I usually take two classes a week. I’m limited since very few classes are offered here in Peoria, and since I’m back in cancer treatment I can’t always get to class.

3. What do you see as your biggest challenge as an adult ballet student?

The mirror. No, wait, the slim little ballerinas running around the studio. No, it’s the mental disconnect between what I think I can do and what my body can actually pull off. Or figuring out what a plus-sized ballet student can wear other than yoga pants and a t-shirt…

Actually, the biggest challenge was walking into the studio for my first class.

4. What brings you the greatest joy as an adult ballet student?

Getting to the point in class where nothing else matters, not the mirror or anything else. I leave every class feeling light, graceful and happy with what my body could do. I find myself getting up on my toes at home, waiting in line, even at work for days after a class.

5. Do you have any advice for other adult ballet students?

If you want to dance, dance. Adult classes are really adaptable for wherever you are when you start, and once you show up for the first one, it’s easy.

BIO: Acacia has been a beginning ballet student for one year and writes about her experiences at her blog The Melancholy Swan (melancholyswan.com.) She is also an art historian, seeker of tenure, lover of books, writer, melancholic, and is living with metastatic breast cancer.

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