For dancers, dance teachers, and those who love dance. – Page 40 – A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance

The Art Of Auditioning

March 10, 2015 by 4dancers

Ashley Werhun, Photo by Christopher Peddecord

by Ashley Werhun

Securing a job with a dance company is an intimidating task. I found the journey to be filled with uncertainty and more work than I ever imagined possible. Job openings are rare and available for very brief periods. Some opportunities you need to jump at the moment they open up and others you simply must create for yourself. Similar to the process of making art, there is no finite way to go about bridging the gap between student and professional.

Companies won’t pay for travel expenses to audition, and even once you’re there it’s hard to really be seen. Dancers must be bold and forge their own path. It’s a self motivated, often draining process, in which you must be self-assured.

Here are a few lessons that I’ve learned so far: [Read more…]

Teaching Students to Teach Dance

March 9, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

By Janet Rothwell

"IMG_8440" by Jo. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — “IMG_8440” by Jo. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

We all know the saying “if you can teach it then you know you know it.” I often have my students teach or help each other with movement they are learning in class to empower them and allow them time to know they know the material without constantly watching me demonstrate. One of my favorite assignments is when I have my students create and teach and full lesson plan to the whole class.

I put my students into pairs and they pick a theme for their lesson. Some theme examples are: movement initiated from certain body parts, extremes in timing or playing with rhythms, and moving into and out of the floor with smooth transitions. Once my students pick their theme they start to create a movement phrase that demonstrates their theme. They also have to create movement that travels across the floor and a warm up, all of which must be centered on their chosen theme. [Read more…]

The Bolshoi’s Anna Nikulina – On Dancing Juliet

March 5, 2015 by 4dancers

The Bolshoi's Romeo & Juliet, Photo by Damir Yusupov. — The Bolshoi’s Romeo & Juliet, Photo by Damir Yusupov.

Today we have something special for you – the Bolshoi Ballet’s Anna Nikulina talks about what it’s like to dance the role of Juliet…

What are the challenges in preparing for the role of Juliet?

For me most likely the biggest challenge in preparing for Juliet was that the actual ballet goes by too quickly. The performance is only two hours and it is hard to live through this role for such a short period of time, beginning with Juliet as a young girl, only 14 years old and to go through such a difficult journey in love, suffering, and death. And because there are so many different sides and emotions and to have to release all this in one performance was probably the most difficult thing.

What do you enjoy most about dancing this role, and how is it different than other lead roles?

I would say that Juliet is a true role, because in performances there are “parts” and there are “roles.” And I think I enjoy the difficulty in it both physically and emotionally. Juliet is a young girl and then falls in love with Romeo and there are difficult aspects of this role physically, but in reality it is not the most difficult in terms of technique; there are certainly harder roles. But to live through it is hard – you can keep rehearsing this again and again, and with each rehearsal, you discover new things and new sides of Juliet that you can reveal. This is what I enjoy most.

There needs to be a special bond with your partner (Romeo) for this ballet. Is it difficult to create this? Do you do anything specific to make it happen?

Regardless, I try to live through the performance with Romeo and soon you get this feeling, slowly, not right away that occurs between two people, and I remember that once Yuri Nikolaevich Grigorovich said to me during rehearsal that he saw a certain chemistry between us. And I truly started to fall in love during this time, in love with Sascha Volchkov as Romeo. And I felt really as though I loved him. But this was of course during rehearsals (laughs). And I think Sascha had a similar experience. We had a special and unique connection and I actually would not have preferred to dance this ballet with anyone else at the time.

Can you explain the role of the music in this ballet? Do you have any favorite sections?

The role of the music is truly enormous and it is genius. And you can live through all your emotions through this music. My favorite part is probably the balcony scene and the end of Act II, because it is so tragic and when you listen to the music without dancing it is amazing itself but when you are able to move and emote to it, it is truly amazing.

This is an extremely emotional ballet. What specific things do you use to communicate your emotions to the audience clearly?

Your coach is very helpful in this process because when you are rehearsing, you are expressing emotions and it is important for these emotions to be visible, so your coach can really help to determine whether you are delivering those emotions enough to reach the audience. There are times when you think you are expressing everything you can, even through movement, but you realize that what you are trying to express isn’t always clear. To express emotions, the coach’s eye is very important. Also, Zeffirelli’s film really helped me and inspired me in my interpretation of Juliet.

Viewers across the US have the opportunity to see Anna Nikulina perform Juliet at the cinema – the Bolshoi Ballet will be on the big screen for one performance only on March 8th! Search here for a theater near you.

BIO: Anna Nikulina was born in Moscow. In 2002, she completed her training at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (teacher Elena Vatulya) with distinction and joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company. She rehearsed under the late Yekaterina Maximova. In 2004, at the age of 19, she danced Odette-Odile for the first time. Today her teacher-repetiteur is Nina Semizorova.

She took part in the Bolshoi Theatre Studio of New Choreography project, dancing Aurora in Riccardo Drigo’s Rosary pas de quatre from the ballet The Awakening of Flora (choreography Marius Petipa, reconstruction Yuri Burlaka) and the Carpets pas de quatre from Cesar Pugni’s ballet The Humpbacked Horse (choreography Alexander Gorsky, reconstruction Yuri Burlaka; 2004), and likewise — with Denis Savin — she appeared in the number Acquisition to music by Sergei Rachmaninov, produced by Yuri Klevtsov (2006)

In 2007, she appeared in the ballet Old Ladies Falling Out to music by Leonid Desyatnikov (choreography by Alexei Ratmansky), which was shown first at the Territory Festival, and then under the auspices of the Studio of New Choreography project (workshop).

Disclosure: 4dancers accepts compensation for promoting this series

Dancer Profile: Misty Copeland

March 4, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Misty Copeland. Photograph by Rosalie O’Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O’Connor.

“I have never set limits for myself” – Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland actually laughed the first time her teacher told her she had the talent to become a professional dancer. At the time, the teenaged Copeland didn’t even know what it meant to be a “professional dancer”. Yet, from the start, she proved to be a prodigy. Beginning ballet at the late age of 13, she became strong enough to do pointe after only three months of training. Five months later, she was cast as Clara in The Nutcracker. At age 15, she received a full scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School’s summer intensive program. By age 19, she joined the corps of American Ballet Theatre.

But her career did not have smooth start. She soon fractured a vertebra in her lower back during rehearsal- an injury that took a year to fully recover from. Furthermore, doctors were concerned that her bones weren’t as strong as they should be because she hadn’t gone through puberty yet. They put her on medication to start the process. As a result, Copeland quickly developed a figure that was not considered ideal for ballet. When ABT management told her that she needed to “lengthen” (code for “lose weight”), she was devastated and fell into disordered eating. But, eventually, and with the encouragement and mentoring of a former ABT dancer, Copeland began to embrace her new body. She said, “My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one.”

In 2007 Copeland was promoted to soloist, the first African-American in two decades to achieve this rank at ABT. She hopes to go on to become the first female African-American principal in the history of ABT. Copeland has made it one of her goals to promote greater diversity within the ballet community. She says, “I’d like to continue to inspire dancers, especially dancers of color, in this art form. And I’d like to be remembered for changing the minds of people that may have been closed off to what they expect to see in the ballet world.” Copeland’s advice to everyone is to “accept everything about you that makes you different.”

Fun Facts:

She enjoys listening to music before a performance- just not classical music.

When she performed in Swan Lake as a corps member, she would quietly sing to herself to get through the second act. She said, “it’s agony, so you have to go someplace else in your mind.”

Her favorite step is grand jeté. Her least favorite is fouetté.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egkVCARjFGQ

Follow Misty On:

Her Website: http://www.mistycopeland.com/home.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mistyonpointe
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mistyonpointe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mistycopeland

Photos of Young Copeland Dancing:

In Class

Pas De Deux

Nutcracker

Copeland Dancing at Age 15:

Copeland Dancing at Age 18:

Copeland Dancing Today:

Articles:

The New Yorker Profile: An Unlikely Ballerina

Copeland’s Journey in Dance, Race in Ballet

Teen Vogue: Ballet Star Misty Copeland Talks Overcoming Racism and Body Shaming on Her Way to the Top

Excerpt from Copeland’s Memoir “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina”

Misty Copeland: On Clean Eating And The Eyebrow Pencil She Can’t Live Without

Copeland Talks About Her Diet and Favorite Cosmetics

You Asked–Misty Answered

Q&A with Copeland

Cupcakes & Conversation with Misty Copeland, Soloist, American Ballet Theatre

Ballet News Interviews Copeland

NYC Dance Project: Misty Copeland

Photographs and Interview with NYC Dance Project

Books:

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

Copeland’s Memoir

Firebird

Copeland’s Children’s Book

Language And Motion: An Elegant Relationship

February 26, 2015 by 4dancers

re|dance — RE|Dance Group, photo by Cole Witter

by Michael Estanich

As a dance artist I strive to build connections—between viewer and dancer, between music and action, between image and feeling. For me, moving is the purest way to do that, though its purity needn’t be exclusive. At RE|Dance Group, I develop work that explores the limitless range of human feeling. In order to accomplish this, I stack a variety of images atop each other in the hopes of crafting a multi-sensational experience for the audience. Because all of my senses so beautifully intertwine allowing me to feel deeply and experience life, I welcome all sensorial images into my work. I rely on the audience’s willingness to dispel tradition and embrace curiosity.

Text and visual design collide with movement in all of RE|Dance Group’s work. I create fully realized worlds where every action, sound, and visual carries important information in understanding the whole. I find that these multiple entry points invite the viewer to lean forward and feel.

I enjoy memories and remembering. There is visceral pleasure in retelling something from the past. To me, words and action are undeniably linked. I enjoy how memories translate in my body—through action and in words. I enjoy the process of connecting what I hear to what I see. It is remarkable how willingly the mind catches on and constructs truth and understanding when we engage with all of our senses.

There is comfort in language. We rely on it to let others know how we feel and what we need. To use language to share a part of myself seems so natural. To juxtapose language with motion excites me. Both together enrich the possibility to understand and to feel. This notion is important to me. I want the audience to know that we are complex, that we are moving, hearing, speaking, smelling, tasting, feeling beings and that they can recognize a part of themselves in a singular, special moment inside my work.

With that goal in my mind, I use whatever medium most potently communicates the idea—be it a sly, organic dancing trio, a cacophony of sound, a massive large-scale visual sculpture, or a simple connection through language. Each on their own is powerful art, but combined they produce a complex aural and visual landscape where, as an artist, I get lost in the beauty of my imagination.

See RE|Dance Group perform “It’s About Love Again This Year” at Links Hall, March 6-8 2015. Learn more about the company on the website.

Michael Estanich (Artistic Director, RE|Dance Group) is an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He teaches modern dance, composition, dance pedagogy, movement analysis and dance history. He earned his MFA from The Ohio State University and his BFA from Denison University. His creative research currently examines ideas of space, architecture, landscape and habitation often resulting in dances supported by sculptural environments. He and Lucy formed RE|Dance Group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaboration. Michael’s performance credits include Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Cerulean Dance Theatre, Rebecca Rosen, Melanie Bales, Bebe Miller and a reconstruction of Mark Morris’ acclaimed choreography All Fours. He teaches annually at the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Moorhead, MN and at the American College Dance Association (ACDA). He is the North Central Regional Director of ACDA.

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