4teachers – Page 59

Teaching Tip: Have Enough Material

April 26, 2010 by 4dancers

One of the first things I learned as a dance teacher is that you have to do a lot of preparation for class. This is especially true in the beginning of your career as an instructor. After you have some practice you may be able to teach off the top of your head, but a class that is carefully planned is usually much better anyway…

One of the most important things you can do is make sure that you have enough material. Better to have too much than too little–it’s a horrible feeling to run out of options. When you are new to teaching you also tend to rush through things, meaning you can run out of stuff to do more quickly. It doesn’t hurt to have a bunch of combinations ready–just in case you find yourself needing to fill some time.

This is also true of the traditional classroom–not just the dance studio. If you are going to teach at a high school or university, the same guideline applies. After all–it’s hard to be too prepared!

10 Questions With…Danny Ryan

April 20, 2010 by 4dancers

Today for our 10 Questions With… feature we have Danny Ryan…

1. How did you get involved with ballet and what are you doing now?

From the time I started school I was exposed to the arts. The elementary, middle and high schools I attended were all public arts schools, which covered all arts areas as well as dance. However, I never liked dance, and I had a terrible fear of performing on stage. Once I arrived in middle school you were allowed (in your second year) to choose two arts areas to focus on. I started playing music in elementary school so band was a natural choice, but dance I only choose because my best friends father was the teacher. That class consisted more of your creative movement, and introduction to very basic dance composition rather then any “real” technical training. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school after almost dropping the dance program completely and having suffered a soccer injury, that a man named Rafael Delgado, a Master Ballet Teacher, took me under his wing and taught me as much as he could in four years.

Now, after performing for the Louisville Ballet, and the Kansas City Ballet I am dancing for Ben Stevenson O.B.E. at the Texas Ballet Theatre in Dallas Fort Worth.

Danny Ryan

2. Do you have any advice for men who want to do this professionally?

First and foremost work your butt off!!!! Closely followed by dance like a man, be strong on stage but also be beautiful. Performance quality, acting, line, and the ability to convey emotion on stage will always trump tricks. Work on those things, get a very strong and clean technique. You can always work on the tricks later.

3. What have you found to be the most amazing thing about ballet?

Here is a recent example of just one of the things that makes this art form so amazing. At TBT we are in between performances of The Sleeping Beauty. In a recent show I went from 18th century court man, to an evil monster, to a prince from the south, to a peasant, and then Puss n’ Boots. That’s five completely different worlds, people and emotions in three hours. Not many people will ever know what it might be like to portray a cat, or a prince etc. and that’s what is so amazing about ballet.

4. Can you share an experience in dance that was particularly amazing for you?

As an apprentice for the Louisville Ballet, during my very first season in a professional company I was given the oppourtunity to perform Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. It was the second rep show of the season, and my first major role. It was a Saturday night and the show was sold out, Wendy Whelan and Albert Evans were performing with the us as guests. My partner and I were the first pas in the ballet and I will never forget how I felt once we made it through and the crowd broke out clapping. I thought that feeling couldn’t be topped and walking off the stage I was so high on dance. The first person to grab my arm and say “great job!” was Wendy. I will never forget that.

5. Is there anything you don’t like about what you are doing?

I definitely don’t like when you go to the doctor to have them x-ray your foot to see if you’ve broken any bones, and as he’s looking says “well there is this” but continues on as if it doesn’t matter. So then after he’s done you ask him what was that he saw but passed over, and his response is “well since you’re a dancer its normal, its not a big deal just some wear and tear that is common among those that dance, but if you weren’t a dancer it would be a concern.” Yeah, its gonna hurt really bad later on!

6. Do you have any favorite dancers?

Nureyev is my number one, and when Yuri Possokhov was still dancing for San Francisco he was my hands down favorite of that time. Currently I really like John Michael Schert of Trey McIntyre Project. He has incredible lines, amazing articulation, control and musicality. I will forever love Wendy Whelan, the master of Mr. B’s leotard ballets. My two favorites however are Lucas Priolo and Carolyn Judson. Lucas is the most handsome prince and partner, the emotion and power behind every performance is amazing and his Romeo will make the hardest of people cry. Carolyn unleashes a magic on stage that Houdini himself would marvel at, pure classical lines and performance quality.

7. What do you think that the most important thing is in terms of practicing ballet?

The most important thing is finding a teacher that believes in you, pushes you and gives you sound guidance. Once you find that person the next thing is to work with them as often as you can. If they do a summer program be sure to go, no matter your age. Find a way to make it happen and submerge yourself, turn off the cell phone for four weeks and work!

8. Do you think you have developed skills in dance that have transfered to the rest of your life? If so, what are they?

Absolutely, in dance if you want to be good or become better you have to work hard, and that applies to anything else you pursue outside of dance. Also teamwork, problem solving, working under extreme pressure and with extremely sensitive and sometimes very difficult people. All these skills will also benefit you outside of dance.

9. What is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you about dance?

First and foremost dance is a business.

10. What is next for you in your career?

Next on my plate is being at TBT and learning as much as I can from Ben and the artistic staff here. I have found the place that works best for me. This summer I will be enjoying home in Milwaukee to see my mom get married and then spending four or five weeks with my teacher John Magnus. Also I’d like to continue developing my choreographic skills and start teaching more. I’m trying to gather as much knowledge and information as I can, so down the road after my performing career I can stay in this field as teacher, ballet master, or director. This is what I love and care about and I want to pass it on.

Danny Ryan began his professional training with Rafael Delgado in his hometown of Milwaukee. He then went on to further his studies with the Joffrey Ballet School before joining the Louisville Ballet in 2006. After spending two seasons with the Louisville Ballet, Mr. Ryan joined the Kansas City Ballet. Mr. Ryan’s repertoire includes works by Twyla Tharp, Trey McIntyre, Alun Jones, and Agnes De Mille as well as world premières by Graham Lustig, Adam Houghland, and Lauri Stallings. Mr. Ryan has appeared as a guest artist in England, Canada and throughout the United States and during the offseason trains extensively with teacher and mentor John Magnus. Currently Mr. Ryan is performing with the Texas Ballet Theater under the directorship of Ben Stevenson O.B.E.

Tips For A Healthy Learning Environment

April 17, 2010 by 4dancers

It’s time for another guest post from Piper–this one offers some tips for creating a healthy, supportive learning environment in the belly dance classroom–

The one thing I’ve noticed the most about teaching belly dance is that confidence is the best side effect to come out of it. I always get girls/women who start off in baggy clothes. They want to learn belly dance, yet they won’t show off the belly. And this is common throughout all body types and ages, (yes – even the skinny young girl is shy about what they have). The women start off by being a bit shy, uncomfortable; thus they hide.

Slowly and surely, the more they learn in the classroom, the more their confidence starts to peek out. As it begins to peek, the clothes start to get a little more fitted. And this is achieved in part by the encouragement of the instructor. In all dance forms the instructor’s feedback is key in motivating the students. Especially In today’s world, where we still see eating disorders, and overall lack of confidence in women because they don’t look like the hottest celebrity (who may even have “bought” their body).

Because belly dancing really does expose women’s bodies a bit more than other forms of dance, it’s very key for the instructor to make sure the students don’t feel vulnerable. My first goal in class with my students is to get them to relax. More than anything, I want them to enjoy themselves. Learning dance should be fun!

In my classes, what seems to work is that I try to make jokes of what not to look like first, and then what is acceptable before we begin moving, (usually by demonstrating both the bad and the good), so that the positive image is the freshest in their mind. When I’m teaching new moves, I always try to create a visual in their mind as to what I’m hoping for them to achieve. I encourage anything positive I see in them; from them keeping their chins up to a perfectly placed elbow. I believe firmly that they need to walk out of a class knowing they got ‘something’.

I also tell them that it’s perfectly acceptable to mess up; that the rest of the class is the ‘support group’ and if you’re going to mess up, then mess up big. It’s ok if we laugh at ourselves. I often share my stories of messing up on stage so they know that it happens to everyone at some point. If you can learn how to recover from a mistake, then you’ve just stepped up your game.

I also feel a good friend of the instructor these days is a small camera–to video the class from time to time and play back to the students so they can see their progress. It’s one thing for someone to ‘look ‘ in the mirror, but it’s completely different to actually see on ‘film’ what one looks like. When women look in the mirror, they don’t often see themselves – but the camera allows them almost an unbiased eye. This has been one of the keys in my students gaining more and more confidence within them. I hear things like ‘wow – I don’t look so bad’ or ‘ooh – my arm looked nice there’.

It’s wonderful to see a new door opening for my students.

Review: Behind Barres, Volume 1 (Revised)

April 14, 2010 by 4dancers

The CD: Behind Barres, Volume 1 (Revised)

The Details: Over an hour of ballet class music, 25 tracks. This revised CD has doubled the length of nine of the musical selections for the centre work.

The Review: The excellent pairing of Judy Rice and Paul Lewisteam up again for another wonderful ballet class CD featuring selections by Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Minkus and various others. The tracks are infused with emotion and Lewis once again delivers a top-notch performance; although one would expect nothing less from this accomplished ballet accompanist.

The 25-track listing includes a full barre that is suitable for any level class. Centre music is varied and offers petit, medium and grand allegro as well as an adage and pirourette selections. Sample tracks can be heard on the website, including tendu and a medium allegro. It’s a good sampling of what the album has, so if you are interested, be sure and have a listen.

This CD is a good investment since it can be used for all levels and the track lengths are long enough to used in advanced classes. If you are looking for dramatic arrangements, this is also a great pick–many of the selections are very moving. (For something lighter, take a look at Under The Palms.)

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Flamenco Training Basics

April 13, 2010 by 4dancers

by Karen Stelling

It isn’t spoken of very often in flamenco classes but this dance form requires every bit as much body training as any other dance form. Granted most flamenco dancers do not have to master a mean Cabriole Double as part of their regular technique, (landing with boots or shoes would DEFINITELY make it interesting however!) or other feats of derring-do, but flexibility, strength and correct posture are de rigueur.

Stretching, strength building and posture improvement (look in the mirror, please!) not only improve a flamenco dancer’s anatomy but improve technique, increase a dancer’s ability to sustain energy and breath for demanding sections of heel work or turns and facilitate ones ability to go from stillness to “striking”, not unlike a cobra, unleashing energy in a controlled deliberate fashion.

I have found that especially for the “brazeo” or arm movements, stretching of the entire arm, usually in a position over and behind the head, on a regular basis allows greater movement of the arms into and out of any position. Imagine that you are “strung up” by your wrists, casually blowing in the wind like laundry on a summer day…Well, okay that’s probably a little too comfy a description, because it isn’t exactly that pretty but that’s the basic idea! There was a time that I used soup cans (full, not empty!) one in each hand, to pass through all the basic arm positions. I built strength and control as well by doing this.

Many students and dancers I observe often forget that the strength needs to continue into the wrists, hands and fingers to complete the line. I firmly believe that ALL the upper body and arm energy emanates from the center of the back, like the trunk of a great tree, with the branches carrying that energy outward. It makes sense then to keep the center both strong and flexible. Doing upper and lower abdominal strengthening movements along with the side-waist muscles or obliques builds the “core.” Proper footwork takes a strong center to lift the weight out of the legs and allow them to move freely but with great control.

Of course, there remains and likely always will be, a huge emphasis on heel work and banging out great sounds, which often diminishes what the rest of the body is doing, especially the center of the body and the arms, neck and head. I’ve often commented in my classes that “any knucklehead with a decent sense of rhythm can do heel work.” In other words, it doesn’t take much to pound the floor; a few cool combination’s and you’re a super star! But that isn’t flamenco dancing. The dancing incorporates both the isolation and the joining of all your “parts!” While the arms are moving one way, the hands may move another, while the hips, legs and feet do a counter movement and the face sends out the feeling and expression! Then there is the connection to the singing and guitar…many pieces form the mosaic!

Ultimately, a flamenco dancer wants to create the most responsive body possible…so that her ideas can be fully realized in a strong and beautiful way with all the inner truth, intent and feeling apparent from the first step.

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