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Student Spotlight: Gabriella Meiterman-Rodriguez

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Today we have a student from the University of Maryland with us for the “student spotlight”…

Gabriella Meiterman-Rodriguez

My involvement in dance began when I was an infant. Most parents enroll their children in gymnastics, soccer, football, etc., but I was enrolled in dance! My mother enrolled me into my first ballet class and I have been dancing ever since. I was told that I picked up the movement and was always focused in class. I would come home and practice my tendus, plies, and arms, so from that point on, dance was my primary hobby. It was not until I was a freshman in high school when I realized dance would be my passion to pursue as a career.

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

My favorite part of dance class, surprisingly enough, is the warm-up. Although it is difficult to start moving around at 9:30 a.m. in a cold studio, I find this part to be where I am most connected and aware. I have always found it fascinating when the body can transform from a stiff, cold structure into a state where it is warm, limber and ready to move and take on the class. This part of class is where I have the most self-awareness for which body parts need more attention and time for stretching. This awareness practices my self-connectivity and really teaches me to listen to my body’s needs every morning. The warm-up is both my favorite part and the most crucial part of class.

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

The hardest part with dance for me is being able to keep my facial expressions active throughout the movement. Sometimes I find myself getting so caught up in the moment of a performance that I lose some of the character. My face during performances is my main focus this year every dance class and it is something I am hoping to make stronger so that I can be a well rounded dancer and performer.

4) What advice would you give to other dancers? [Read more…]

10 Questions With…Ikolo Griffin

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Ikolo Griffin, Photo by Weiford Watts

I met this lovely man at Dance USA when he came up to talk to me after the panel on Dance Writing–he had a pretty cool idea that he wanted to share–and now I’m pleased to be able to share it with you…

1. What is your dance background?

When I was in third grade, San Francisco Ballet’s Dance In Schools Program (led by Charles McNeal) came to my school, and following the residency I received an outreach scholarship. I started training at the San Francisco Ballet School from the age of eight until I graduated at eighteen. After ten years in the School, I became the first outreach student to get into the professional company as an apprentice in 1993. At that time SFB was becoming a world-class company, and I was very blessed to grow up watching and then performing with some of the best dancers from all over the world.

In 2001, after seven years performing professionally with the San Francisco Ballet, I moved to New York to join Dance Theatre of Harlem as a soloist. Under the guidance of Arthur Mitchell, I felt myself become more than just a dancer, but a true artist. I felt real satisfaction and fulfillment as I was promoted to a principal dancer and given the opportunity to dance leading roles in many iconic neoclassical ballets. For two weeks we performed at Lincoln Center, the heart of dance in America, and I felt I had reached a very high point in my career.

Unfortunately, after only four years dancing with DTH, the company closed its doors. I was blessed enough to join the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and landed nicely on my feet (as always!). After my experiences in San Francisco and New York, I felt confident in my abilities as a technician and as an artist. One of the highlights of my two years at the Joffrey was working with Sir Antony Dowell on the role of Oberon in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream.

My time in Chicago was short and sweet, and in 2006 San Francisco called me home again. This time, I had the fortune to dance with Smuin Ballet. Michael Smuin was one of the best artistic directors I have worked with. He had a way of bringing out the best dancing in me and giving the audience a really great show. Mr. Smuin had been the director of San Francisco Ballet when I was just a kid, and we had worked together at Dance Theatre of Harlem as well. It was great to work with him on a full time basis because I felt he appreciated me as a dancer and as person. Up until the day he died in the studio, my experience with Smuin was marked by some of the best dancing I’ve ever done.

Since I left Smuin in 2008, I’ve been freelancing around the Bay Area. I am currently working with the San Francisco Opera as a resident corps dancer. One of the best things about working with the Opera is being back on the War Memorial Opera House stage. This is the very same stage where I did my first Nutcracker as a Mother Ginger kid. It feels like home, and the opera singers are amazing too…

2. What is “Just Turns” and why did you decide to found it?

Just Turns is an interactive classical ballet workshop. The two-hour Just Turns workshop is designed to focus the student’s approach and maximize turning technique in order to increase confidence and ability in all kinds of turns. The class structure and progression are designed to break down every part of turning technique— training spot, balance, force control, and placement from the ground up. Students are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and take notes throughout the workshop in order to realize their ideal turning method.

My inspiration for Just Turns is in helping dancers with one of the hardest and best parts of ballet technique. While I was dancing in New York, I would take class at Steps on Broadway with Willy Burmann. In his class I really started to develop a great turning style. My turns were always good, but with the Mr. Burmann’s help they became great! When I returned to San Francisco, dancers would frequently ask me for help working on their turns after class. One day I was talking with my friend Vanessa Zahorian (principal dancer with SFB who is a great turner as well), and I thought, “How great would it be to bring back the ‘turning class’ that we would take during summer sessions?” That thought brewed in my head for a while, and when I started teaching ballet two years ago, it was time for Just Turns to be born. Now, as I am moving toward the next phase of my career as a teacher, I am finding my specific niche as a turning coach. Just Turns is my way of reaching the broader dance community and using my passion and specific expertise with turns to help dancers everywhere.

3. Who can benefit from the “Just Turns” approach? [Read more…]

Competition Dance: Maximizing Peak Performance Part I

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This month’s guest contributor to the Dance Wellness column is Robin Kish, MS, MFA, who is on the dance faculty at Chapman University in Orange County, CA. She is a leader in the field of dance medicine, and is especially focused on competition dance.  

Robin comes from that  background herself, and most of the students she trains come from competition studios as well.  Many of them graduate to teach in that same environment. Others  have become professional dancers in shows such as “Wicked”, competed at the highest levels of “So You Think You Can Dance”, and joined such top notch companies as Momix.

Robin’s passion is to help competition dancers look for ways to be able to dance / compete / teach without feeling broken.  We are so pleased she has joined us here on 4dancers.org, sharing information especially for this important segment of our dance community.                                   

– Jan Dunn, Editor, Dance Wellness

Photo by Catherine L. Tully

by Robin Kish, MS, MFA

Olympians, professional athletes, and even collegiate athletic programs have something in common….they all provide a team of medical health professionals to promote wellness and maximize peak performance.

Where is there anything similar for competition dance?

Choreography, music, costumes, hair, make up, technique class and 100’s of hours of rehearsing make up the day to day life of young competition dancers.  The bread and butter of private studios today are competition teams, with students ranging from ages 5-18.

Competition organizations have been around for a while, however; in the last decade the level and interest in competitions have reached an all-time high.  In addition to the increased opportunities to compete, there is also a continuous stream of conventions and workshops available for dancers to take technique class and learn choreography from the latest and greatest artists.  Reality TV shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Best Dance Crew” have helped promote dance in the public arena. That said, the missing factor supporting a dancer’s longevity and maximal performance is wellness…i.e, what this column is all about!

Beyond the rhinestones and sequins, the most important instrument the dancer has is their body.  The hours of hard work take a toll on the body and sensations of pain may increase; therefore, a decrease in performance may develop.  Since the focus of training frequently is toward the final product and the tricks necessary to score big at each competition, dancers forget to listen to their bodies along the way. [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: Thomas Wilkinson

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To start the week off we have a student spotlight to share with readers….

Thomas Wilkinson

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

I actually fell into dance whilst studying a Performing Arts btec at college in Cirencester. I’d always been involved in acting whilst I was younger but had never danced and so I found it extremely challenging to start with… but I guess that was part of the appeal. I worked really hard to try and gain a place at a dance institution and was lucky enough to receive a variety of offers, from which I chose to study at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts due to its varied programme. I gained a first class honours degree in Dance and Performing Arts and also won the LIPA dance prize at my graduating ceremony which for me was a huge achievement. Since then I have taken on a variety of different projects including choreographic work, workshop leading and dance performance across the UK, and I am one of the lucky few who is able to say they make a living doing what they love.
The main aspect which has kept me involved with dance and given me the determination to succeed is the handful of individuals who really believe in my abilities and want to see me do well, all of whom have helped me to get to where I am today.

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

My favourite aspect of dance class is the feeling of achievement (mainly evident from the amount of sweat I produce) which comes from pushing yourself to achieve new things. I am constantly trying to learn and progress, always working on my technique and focusing on my expression as an artist, and when this gets recognised in class by a teacher, there is nothing quite like it.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you? [Read more…]

Review: Muscle Angels Massagers

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by Catherine L. Tully

Dancers often have sore muscles–something I don’t need to tell you I’m sure–but each person has their own way of tending to them. There are many different types of massage options out there, ranging from an actual masseuse to hand-held massage devices made out of different types of material. Today we’re going to talk a bit about one in particular…

The Muscle Angels massager has three main parts–a handle, a rounded area with 290 “nubbin fingers” and a sculpted tip. There are multiple ways to use the massager, and the company’s website actually has videos that help walk you through some of the options, which is very helpful.

I used it to relax my feet, rolling the “nubbin fingers” under my arch, and I have to say it did feel terrific. The tip is great for working out knots, and I think overall the Muscle Angel would be a useful tool for dancers who enjoy self-massage.

It’s fairly compact (although it is not light), and would tuck inside a dance bag easily. The “nubbin fingers” reminded me of those slip-on shoes that have the massaging bumps on the bottom, which I think feel terrific.

I’m not a medical professional so I’ll stay away from endorsing any of the uses in terms of treating physical problems you may have, but I can tell you that as a relaxation tool it worked for me. (And I used it on my dog, who really liked it too!)

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