4teachers – Page 13

Teaching the Whole Dancer…..

July 23, 2012 by 4dancers

by Lucy Vurusic Riner

I have had the pleasure of being the dance program director at one high school for 15 years. I am an extreme creature of habit and had I not recently decided that I needed more room for my own professional growth, I would have stayed where I was at for another 15 years. But as I leave for “greener pastures,” I keep asking myself the same questions about my life’s work: Have I made any sort of difference? Did anyone learn from what I had to say? Have I developed strong dancers? Do they love themselves and appreciate the arts? Have I touched anyone’s life?

If there is one thing I have learned over the past 15 years it’s that I’m surely not responsible for any one students’ successes in dance. I have met many teachers that like to pride themselves are “making” pre-professional dancers and sending them out into the dance world; taking much of the credit for themselves. I have always felt that my role in my students’ development was a small fraction of what made them successful dancers. They had supportive parents who believed in them (and gave them the money necessary to move forward with their training!), they had other dance teachers and choreographers that contributed to their successes by giving them a multitude of experiences and most importantly, they had their own drive and ambition to see what it is they wanted out of their lives and to go beyond just dreaming about it. [Read more…]

The Impact Of A Dance Teacher

July 16, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

As I reflect back on my time in the dance classroom, my thoughts often turn to those who taught me. I was lucky to have had some pretty incredible instructors–there actually weren’t any that I think of in a negative light. Each and every one of them shaped me as a dancer; gave me a piece of themselves really, when it comes right down to it.

Every teacher emphasizes different things. Some work you when it comes to technique while others hone your lyric ability. If you’re fortunate, you get a range of these teachers and become a well-rounded dancer with mad skills. Today, I just wanted to take a minute to write a little bit about what each of my instructors did to shape me as a dancer…

Mrs. Engstrom – Typically, your first teacher is pretty much the luck of the draw. Most people don’t know much about choosing a ballet teacher when they enroll their child in class, and I got so lucky with Mrs. E. She gave me a great foundation of technique, concentrated on proper placement and age-appropriate movements, and from that, I had a terrific base from which to grow as a dancer. She made sure our feet were ready before putting us in pointe shoes, let our turnout develop slowly, and really enforced basics. Hats off to her for a great start!

Iosif Isrealiov – (think I’ve got the spelling right there) Iosif was my character dance instructor when I studied at Chicago City Ballet in the 80’s. From him I learned stamina. He used to have us do this mazurka step in a circle until we would literally drop from exhaustion, one-by-one. I always strove to be the last one standing; and I often was. He pushed us very hard physically, and I found out I could reach deeper than I believed possible in terms of what my body could do.

Homer Hans Bryant – Homer wasn’t actually my own teacher–he taught another level (and I think it was a boys class?). Even so, his class was often right before mine, and when I’d watch I saw things I’d never seen before in a ballet classroom…he had them doing pushups and other exercises that were not exactly traditional. I found it exciting! From him I learned that sometimes you can step outside of the typical class structure and infuse the training with something practical and interesting. I also discovered that you can learn from observing a class–you don’t always have to take it.

Marjorie Tallchief – Soon I’m going to post something about Marjorie, so I won’t say too much here now and spoil it. But as for what she gave me, it was a more advanced understanding of ballet technique, coupled with the ability to execute combinations at a level that I never dreamed.

Inesse Alexandrovich – Ahhh. Inessa. This woman really developed my upper body–specifically the movement of my arms and my épaulement. Bolshoi trained, she knew how to tweak my movements perfectly to draw out the beauty in my port de bras, and she would help me understand what it meant to lose myself in the music. We had a special relationship. Even though she spoke little English, she knew just how to show me what I needed to do.

Rick Hilsabeck – Rick has always been a favorite teacher of mine. When I was just starting jazz at Lou Conte Dance Studio after many, many years of ballet training, it was Rick who worked with me patiently – trying to get me to let go a bit. It took a long time. He was great every step of the way.

Claire Bataille – Claire was a technique machine, but in a different way than I’d experienced before. She was confident and strong both inside and out, and although I found it intimidating to be in her classroom, it was also an adventure.

Maria Tallchief – What do you say about taking class from this woman? If I was intimidated by Claire, it was tenfold for Ms. Tallchief. She had a presence that can not be described unless you’ve been in a room with her, and learning directly from someone of her stature was extraordinary. You felt as if everything she said was something that could change you forever as a dancer.

Now that I’ve had the chance to talk about a few of my teachers…would you share something about one who shaped you as a dancer?

Guest Review: Dancing Keys 2

July 4, 2012 by Ashley David

by Laura Donnelly

I recently received a copy of Gill Civil’s Dancing Keys 2 CD and highly recommend it to dance teachers looking for good recorded music for dance class. While the music is written primarily for the ballet class, I feel a number of the selections would also work well for modern dance classes.

The CD contains 37 tracks of original music composed for ballet class. The melodies are beautiful. I found them inspiring and could easily think up several good combinations for each track. The music is clear so that subdivisions in the beat are easy to hear. This gives me more flexibility in how to use the music for different combinations and class levels.

There is good variation from track to track. The pieces sound different from each other in both melody and texture. Civil uses a variety of different tempi which I find very helpful when planning classes.

In the album notes Civil lists a suggested dance exercise, the title of the piece, number of bars, tempo, and length of the track. For me, when working with CDs tempo, number of bars, and length of piece are crucial. I like to select longer tracks for continuous across the floor combinations or adagios and I like to choreograph my exercises so that they fit the musical phrasing of the selected track. This information provided allows me to do this easily.

I am delighted with Civil’s Dancing Keys 2 and will use it often in my classes. She has a good feel for the type and variety of music that makes an interesting and inspiring dance class. I’ll purchase her original Dancing Keys CD and eagerly await the release of Dancing Keys 3. For more information about Gill Civil and to purchase her CDs visit http://www.pianomusicforballet.com

Laura Donnelly, MFA, BA is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer who also writes and creates community based public art projects involving visual and word art. Beginning August 2012, Laura will be Assistant Professor of Dance at Kansas State University. Her research interests include pedagogy, oral tradition in dance, collaborative process, music for dance, and the Alexander Technique. Her research has been presented at the Congress on Research in Dance, the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine, the National Dance Education Association, the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, the 5th Annual International Conference on Civic Education, and the 2011 University of New Mexico Mentoring Conference. Laura’s essay Meditation in the Dance Studio is published in Teaching with Joy: Educational Practices for the Twenty-First Century, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Review: Original Compositions For Ballet Class

June 27, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Original Compositions for Ballet Class, Volume 10 was composed and played by Anthony J. Patterson (pianist/conductor/composer) and directed by Cherie Noble (choreographer/ballet master/teacher).

The barre music on this CD offers 12 repeated tracks, and this includes plies, tendus (3), degages (2) rond de jambe, frappes, fondu, rond de jambe (en l’air), and adagio and grands battements. Tracks are long enough for exercises to be repeated and the music is pretty and clear.

The centre music has 21 tracks that range from 32 bars for grand adagio and tours en l’air to 64 bars for exercises such as tendus, petit allegro and pirouettes, to 128 bars for grand allegro and pique turns. The style here varies and you will hear everything from a tango with accordion to a jig with dulcimer. Nothing is too “out there” though, and the variety keeps things interesting and adds a little extra energy.

This CD is ideal for teachers who are really looking to freshen up their classroom music with something different. Overall there are 70+ minutes here to use, and all of it is well-played.

Learn more about this CD, listen, or purchase

Review: Music For Ballet Classes, Volume I

June 13, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Music for Ballet Classes Volume 1 is a lovely CD that will work for most classes. Filled with well-played and often familiar tunes, Charles Matthews plays expertly and there is plenty of music to choose from.

The barre portion of the CD has repeated tracks, convenient for the instructor. There is also music for a warmup and stretching included here. Music for the center exercises includes an adagio, tendus, pirouttes,and a reverance as well as selections for small jumps (assemble, petite changement, sissones), grand allegro, tour en l’air and sur les pointes.

Some of the choices here are simply marvelous for motivating dancers. “Nocturne in G” by Chopin was practically made for rond de jambe and Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” works wonderfully for battement frappe. Other great selections include “Dance of the Knights” from Romeo and Juliet, “Coda from Don Quixote” and Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen.

The pacing of the music here is good, making it the perfect choice for beginner and intermediate ballet classes. Matthews does a nice job of choosing tunes that are well-suited to dance, and they are fun without being silly or overworked–and this is easier said than done, as any ballet teacher who has looked for classroom music can certainly tell you.

The albums are also available to download in MP3 format.

Learn more or listen to samples

Purchase Music for Ballet Classes Volume 1

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