For dancers, dance teachers, and those who love dance. – Page 38 – A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance

Dancer Profile: Isabella Boylston

April 13, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Isabella Boylston. Photograph by Rosalie O'Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O'Connor. — Isabella Boylston. Photograph by Rosalie O’Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O’Connor.

“That’s the goal: To really have your expression manifest itself in your movement” –Isabella Boylston

Isabella Boylston began dancing at three and fell in love with ballet at eleven. At that age, her lessons featured live piano music and the opportunity to improvise with silk scarves at the end of class– both out-of-the-ordinary experiences for most ballet classes. Boylston went on to train at Colorado Ballet and the Harid Conservatory in Florida. In 2001, she won the gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix.

At age 17, she attended the American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive and was asked to join ABT’s studio company. However, her parents wanted her to complete her education first. Boylston said, “We got into a big fight because I wanted to come to New York and they wanted me to finish high school. Eventually we compromised and I got to come halfway through my senior year and I finished high school through correspondence.”

She found the transition from school to company a little jarring a first. In the studio company, she had to learn choreography much faster than she did in school. When she moved up to ABT’s main company, her struggle was to fit into the corps rather than stand out as an individual dancer. But, she rose to the occasion and was promoted to soloist in 2011 and principal dancer in 2014.

Boylston has danced many famous roles from the classical repertoire including Odette/Odile, but her favorite character is Giselle. She explains, “I really relate to Giselle. She’s impulsive and I feel like she’s more like my younger self than me now. I’ve experienced betrayal and it can be quite devastating, but it didn’t kill me. I think in the first act she’s really really lively and vital, experiencing life to the maximum. She opens herself up completely and that makes it all the more tragic when everything comes crashing down.” Boylston believes in ballet’s power to convey complex emotions and its relevancy. She says, “Ballet is such a unique art form. You can say things through dance that you could never express in words, and ballet has the ability to touch people on a deep, abstract level. In some ways, ballet is more valuable now than ever.”

Fun Facts: [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: Jasmine Wallis

April 10, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Jasmine Wallis is 18 years old and from Essex, UK. She is currently in her second year of training at Central School of Ballet in London. Before joining Central, Jasmine trained in the Cecchetti method as a Cecchetti scholar. She is also a member of the Chelmsford Ballet Company.

1. Can you tell readers how you became involved with dance?

When I was five my Mum started taking me to weekly ballet classes as a fun thing to do. At the time she thought it was something I would only want to do for a little while, not that 14 years later it would be such a huge part of my life! But I loved it from a young age and gradually got involved in more classes.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class?

I like the challenges that dance classes bring. I think the best feeling is the feeling of improvement. This process takes time and can be frustrating when you don’t understand things a first, but when you start to understand it is a great feeling. I like that you can always push yourself because there is always more to learn and something else you can work on. Another of the best parts is being on stage and performing to an audience after all the hard work that goes into rehearsals.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you?

For me the hardest part of dance is dealing with confidence. It is so easy to listen to the negative thoughts in your head, but doing this will only prevent you from achieving your best. I think it’s important to always try to look at the positives and to believe in yourself, otherwise know one else will !

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

The advice I would give is to always stay motivated. It can be easy to get upset when things don’t go right or to compare yourself to other people. So it is important to remember why you dance and to set your own goals so you can achieve the best that you possibly can.

5. How has dance changed your life?

From being involved in dance I have met such inspiring people, like teachers and choreographers who I have learnt so much from. Also, being involved in dance gives you the opportunity to met lots of new people and create so many friendships.

I think that even if you don’t want to pursue dance as a professional career your dance training will always benefit you, because it teaches you about discipline and dedication.

From The Barre To The Barn: A Ballet Dancer’s Career Transition To Farming

April 6, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Catherine L. Tully

Dancers retire and do all sorts of interesting things. Sometimes the new job isn’t far from the studio–such as a teacher or a choreographer. Sometimes they go back to school and study something totally different.

Today we share one of those stories with you. Meet Paris Wilcox, formerly of Kansas City Ballet. Paris decided to return to his family roots and become a farmer when he stopped dancing full time. We hope you enjoy the story of how he decided on this direction, and what it has been like to switch careers…

1. When did you start thinking about a post-dance career?

I was born and raised on a Dairy in upstate NY, and learned all about responsibility, initiative, risk, and reward at a very early age. My father is a 4th-generation farmer, so I always knew that the “Farm life” was a chromosomal part of who I was, but didn’t think much about it…everything about my upbringing was normal to me, from drinking raw milk for twenty years to taking ballet class. I spent every summer at home, from kindergarten through my retirement from Kansas City Ballet, so I always knew that I wanted to return.

Even though my father sold the dairy herd and young stock in 1992…farmers call it “selling out”…my summers after 1998 were spent rebuilding the by-then-dissolved physical farm infrastructure, many miles of perimeter fence for cattle and sheep…by hand, managing the flock, making hay, and doing field work.

2. What drew you to organic farming?

Technically, we are “non-certified Organic,” which means that we are Organic, but don’t want to spend the money for constant Organic certifications. The farm had always been organic; my father never used chemical fertilizers or insect sprays. If he had a cow sick with mastitis or pneumonia, he gave her antibiotics, but those cases were few.

My father always managed the land in a way to maximize the growing seasons, and used natural fertilizers to great advantage. I remember a neighbor scoffing at my father’s talking about considering Organic milk production back in the late 80’s, the neighbor assured him that the Organic movement wouldn’t amount to anything, but it turns out Dad was right.

The way we are set up now, with beef cattle and sheep, makes chemicals irrelevant. The sheep especially like weeds and shrubs, and get fat on good grass. Ironically, they are the best weed killer out there; they eat so close to the ground that they kill broadleaf weeds. I have seen them literally turn a rough pasture of weeds and native grass into a pure stand of clover the following year. Our organic approach simply works well for us, and we don’t need to alter it. Besides, I don’t like chemicals around my food.

3. What do you enjoy most about farming? [Read more…]

Trey McIntyre On The #DancerResource Project

March 31, 2015 by 4dancers

Preparing yourself for life as a professional dancer can be a daunting task. Worse yet, it is often difficult to find solid advice about how to navigate through the transition from student to professional–and what is expected of you can vary a great deal from company to company.

Enter Trey McIntyre and the #DancerResource project.

Trey McIntyre is a well-known figure in the dance world, and he is also the creator and curator of an amazing resource for dancers that taps professionals in the field to share their expertise and knowledge. We reached out to Trey to learn more about how this all got started and who is involved, and he shared some information about this exciting new resource with us in the interview below…

Enjoy! And please do share this series with any young dancers you know.

What exactly is the #DancerResource project?

The #DancerResource project is a collection of essays, letters, and videos from Artistic Directors, Choreographers, and dancers responding to the questions from young dancers about how to best be preparing themselves to both get into the company that they want to be in and how to navigate the transition in becoming a professional dancer.

Can you talk a bit about where the idea for this series came from?

I taught a class at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in December during their Intensive Arts session about the transition of becoming a professional. I was struck by how much fear and lack of knowledge surrounded the process of approaching a company. Every Artistic Director is different and the students felt like they had one shot at getting it right, but felt at a disadvantage with a lack of specific information. One of the students had a question about how to go to New York and freelance, so I reached out to one of my former dancers, Chanel DaSilva, who is doing that very thing. She responded with a thorough, insightful, and loving letter to the dancers that they were thrilled to get. This gave me the idea that I should just reach out to directors and ask the questions that these students wanted to know the answers to.

Who are some of the people that have participated in this project thus far?

We began with David Hallberg. I have known David since creating a work on him at American Ballet Theatre and have always found him to be a person of great character–and even though he maintains a position of great prestige, he operates with such dignity and humility. I thought that would be a great perspective to include and I was right. His entry is beautiful. I’ve tried to make the responses as varied as possible. Large and small companies. Contemporary to classical companies. People at different stages in their career. Sidra Bell just contributed a great video. Lar Lubovitch, San Francisco Ballet, The Bad Boys of Dance.

How did you decide who you were going to reach out to, and how has the response been?

I’ve mostly reached out to people that I know personally, but made some cold calls too, especially to people that students from my UNCSA class wanted to hear from. Almost everyone has been thrilled to be a part of it and agrees that there is a need for this information.

Why do you think this type of information is valuable, and who is the series geared toward?

The series is geared toward students who are looking toward a professional career. I’ve often been struck by how few schools, dance or otherwise, provide real-world training in the nitty-gritty. They may give excellent technical training, but how do you actually adapt your thinking to the professional world to have a successful career? My hope is that these candid perspectives add some information to make that more possible.

How long do you envision continuing this project?

For as long as there are people who have things to say.

Where can people find the previous installments, and how often do you post them?

All of the installments are on the TMP Facebook page and we release a new one every Wednesday. Sometimes we do more and especially now that we are in audition season. (Editor’s note: You can also find the series archived on the Trey McIntyre Project’s website.)

Who do you have in the upcoming lineup?

Entries coming up include River North Dance Chicago, Jonathan Jordan from The Washington Ballet, and a primer on freelance work in NY from dancer Tobin Del Coure.

Trey McIntyre was born in Wichita, Kansas, and trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and Houston Ballet Academy. At Houston Ballet, he was appointed Choreographic Apprentice in 1989 and then, in 1995, he became the company’s Choreographic Associate. He has created more than 100 works for companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Pennsylvania Ballet and founded his own company, Trey McIntyre Project, in 2005. McIntyre’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, PBS NewsHour, People Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, and many others. He is also a filmmaker and photographer, currently working on a documentary and collection of photos, while continuing to work with companies all over the world.

The Art Of Tragedy: Giselle

March 25, 2015 by 4dancers

Rachel Malehorn, Davit Hovhannisyan, Luz San Miguel — Davit Hovhannisyan and Luz San Miguel in the studio working on Michael Pink’s Giselle. Photo by Rachel Malehorn

by Rachel Malehorn

Dancers who join classical ballet companies will be a part of the centuries-old tradition of the full-length ballet. These evening-long works not only showcase the brilliance of classical ballet technique, but also set this dancing in a dramatic context with the goal of telling a story. Even an audience member who has no background or understanding of dance can get lost in these stories, and can leave the theater transformed. Dancers spend years of their lives endeavoring to perfect their technique, but sometimes their power as actors and actresses can be overlooked or de-emphasized. The stories our ballets tell are magical, fantastic, romantic, tragic, and sometimes difficult. Throughout my career as a dancer, I have come to love and look forward to the dual opportunity to dance with accuracy—and also to convey the drama of these stories.

As Milwaukee Ballet prepares for its upcoming performances, I have been meditating on two important themes: the process wherein dancers and choreographers communicate the story of a full-length ballet, and the importance of telling these stories—even if they don’t always have happy endings. Romeo & Juliet, Manon, Onegin, Madame Butterfly, and even La Bayadere are classic tales of thwarted love, in which the tragic heroines suffer death or disaster as the price of their love.

But perhaps the epitome of the tragic ballet is Giselle, created in Paris at the peak of Romanticism. In this story, Giselle, a peasant girl, is wooed by Albrecht, an aristocrat in peasant disguise, but is driven to madness and death by the discovery that Albrecht is already engaged to be married to Bathilde, also an aristocrat. When Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave to beg for forgiveness, the Wilis – ghosts of other girls who have died of broken hearts – compel Albrecht to dance himself to death, but Giselle (seemingly inexplicably, and most definitely tragically) saves Albrecht from death and forgives him for his betrayal. At its core, Giselle is chilling, heartbreaking, and achingly beautiful.

Michael Pink’s Giselle [Read more…]

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