nutcracker – Page 3

The Cross Training Special: How To Survive Nut Without Cracking

November 7, 2012 by 4dancers

by Emily Kate Long

cross training for nutrcracker — Cross-training tools

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…Nutcracker season, of course! Nutcracker has never lost its magic for me. The fire was lit inside my nine-year-old soul as I hid under Mother Ginger’s skirt with eleven other curled, beribboned, lipsticked little girls, wanting more than anything to someday sit on the glittering throne upstage center. Fifteen years later, that throne is my domain for half an hour each Nutcracker night until a tiara and a tutu transform Clara into the Sugar Plum Fairy, bringing all her (and my) childhood dreams to life.

That’s the candy coating, anyway. Nutcracker is not a kind ballet, physically speaking. Classical pas de deux are lopsided as a rule, and it sure doesn’t feel great to sit still on foam-covered plywood for thirty minutes before dancing one. Many companies’ Nut runs are a dozen or fifty shows in duration, or involve extensive touring. Injuries are often rampant this time of year. In preparation for all things Nutty, this installment of Finding Balance is an early Christmas present to dancers in Nutcrackers everywhere: the Cross-Training Special (or, How to Survive Nut Without Cracking).

The first (and probably, the most important) step in developing an effective cross-training program is to identify what your general and specific weaknesses are, and to realize that they will (and should!) continually change as your technique and choreography do. For example, most ballet dancers are stronger/tighter on the left side and looser/weaker on the right, and overall our adductors and hamstrings tend to be weak. That’s a general and probably constant issue to address. Specifically, if choreography involves one-sided, one-directional, or very repetitive movement (many releves on the right foot, leg extensions mostly to the front, consecutive press lifts, etc.), building opposite or complementary actions into cross-training can prevent or alleviate symptoms of overuse.

Dancing alone can’t provide the strength to dance well, and it really pays off to be proactive. Time and money are two things most dancers need a little more of, and we can save both long-term (along with our sanity) if we take good care of ourselves to begin with. My routine is one I’ve developed and adapted to meet my particular needs, but it’s always evolving. I’m sharing it not because it’s a generic solution to everyone’s problems, but because of how much I’ve learned about my body and my dancing from developing tools to help myself. [Read more…]

Dance In The UK: NYCB’s Nutcracker Production

December 10, 2011 by 4dancers

by Jessica Wilson

There’s an extremely Christmassy privilege heading to the UK on 22^nd December, in the form of New York City Ballet’s brand new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, with tickets priced at just ten pounds. This multi-million dollar production includes a forty foot Christmas tree which weighs a staggering one tonne, seventy ballet dancers, fifty children from the School of American Ballet – the official school of NYCB – and a sixty-two piece orchestra. It is ultimately described by the New York Post as “the Christmas show of all Christmas shows”.

NYCB has an unparalleled active repertory of more than 150 works, many of which are considered modern masterpieces. The Company was established in 1948 by choreographer Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, joined by Jerome Robbins in 1949 as associate artistic director. Now under the artistic direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, the company performs an impressive annual 21-week season in New York, the longest home season of any dance company in the world.

The production’s defining feature is its vast scale, described as a ‘virtually live performance’ to be screened in cinemas all over the UK. This will ultimately provide mass audiences with the chance to view such an iconic and prestigious work by Balanchine, who is generally argued to be the father of modern ballet. This great accessibility is proved unhindered by the extremely limited run, due to the fact it is the ‘golden ticket’ of ballets for all dance lovers, available nationally. [Read more…]

Musings: Metamorphosis – Changing the Form

September 23, 2011 by Kimberly Peterson

by Kimberly Peterson

The act of change can be frightening at times. What will this change bring? Will it be accepted? Where will it lead? Is it the right decision?

But with art, change is a natural progression. Very few things remain unchanged and still retain cultural relevance. There is a struggle between holding to tradition and fighting for relevance that can be seen in such classical forms as Ballet – where the art strives to move beyond the classical structure, forms and story; but where companies still do a full production of Nutcracker every season…

However, this idea of metamorphosis – change, growth – is not solely a struggle between classical forms and modernity. Contemporary dance also struggles with the concept of what “dance” really is. Is it simply movement? All movement or just certain kinds? Pedestrian movement or stylized gestures?

For some, this line of question has begun to include the body and whether or not a body needs to be physically present to be considered dance. This concept is beautifully illustrated in the short film Thought of You utilizing The Weepies’ song “The World Spins Madly On”. Watch for yourself.

This award winning short film is the product of hours of animation, hand drawn by artist Ryan Woodward who spent countless hours during the creation process and rehearsals studying the movement, and the dancers themselves. Over 25,000 hand drawn images went into this stunning work which translates the qualities of movement as well as their physicality, into his creative vision which was influenced by the music.

For those, like me, who desperately needed to know how this came about, there is a making of video where Woodward delves into the process he took in creating this work as well as his artistic intentions.

The question of whether this is, in fact, dance is one I leave you with to discuss. I encourage you to leave comments with your answers, as well as your reasoning. It is/is not dance because _______ .

So what so you think – Dance or No?

Contributor Kimberly Peterson, a transplant to Minneapolis from the Dallas area, received her BA and MA from Texas Woman’s University’s prestigious dance program.

Drawing on her experience with producing dance works, Kimberly has served as lighting designer, stage manager, event coordinator, volunteer and an advisor in various roles. She has taught in various capacities and her choreography featured at ACDFA, TCC South Campus and Zenon Dance Studios. Her recent internships with Theater Space Project and the Minnesota Children’s Museum have served to expand her skills in arts administration and development.

Her graduate research explored the parallels between the independent music industry and current methods of dancer representation. Fascinated with how art is represented and presented in society, she continues to develop this research while delving further into this complicated subject through her dance writing.

10 Questions With…Rebecca King

October 5, 2010 by 4dancers

Today we have Rebecca King on “10 Questions With…”

Rebecca is a dancer and a dance blogger. See her writing at Tendus Under a Palm Tree.

1. How did you become involved with dance?

From the time I could walk, as my mother will tell the story, I was constantly dancing around the house. One day while enjoying some ice cream near the local community center, a group of little girls in tutus and tights came walking past me. I was mesmerized. My mother asked where they took ballet class and as soon as I turned three, I was enrolled. Around Christmas time, I would watch Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker on video and dance around the living room to the music. (I bet my parents were sick of Nutcracker music at that point, little did they know, there would be years and years of Nutcrackers to come.)

Warming up before a show at the Vail International Dance Festival 2009

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

Currently I am a Corps De Ballet dancer with Miami City Ballet. Two weeks ago, Miami City Ballet wrapped up filming for our first PBS special: “Great Performances: Dance in America.” We spent two weeks filming three ballets: Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Square Dance, and Twyla Tharp’s Golden Section. I will appear in Western Symphony’s Fourth Movement.

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

Last season I got the opportunity to dance “Rum and Coke” in Paul Taylor’s “Company B.” Company B is a World War II ballet set to the music of the Andrew Sisters. In Rum and Coke, there is one girl who dances a solo, with 7 boys rolling around on the floor admiring her. I had the best time: I had great boys to play off of, and I got lost in the fun music and cute choreography.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

I actually just got the best advice ever this past summer from my former teacher at Miami City Ballet School, Geta Constantinescu. She was telling me that it is so easy to focus on drama; to let our egos get the best of us and worry about who got what part, who got promoted, or who is doing well. But dancers need to remember what brings us to the studio every day. It is the love of dance. I think this is great advice for professional dancers and students alike. It goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you are in your career, there is always so much to learn.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

I think the most important advice I can give young dancers is that hard work pays off. I know that may sound cliche, and we have all heard that before, but really, work ethic is what sets dancers apart. A dancer may have a perfect ballet body and be a nice dancer, but without the drive and determination, will not make it in the professional ballet world. So work hard, improve as much as possible, and hold on to the joy that dance brings you.

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

While at the Rock School in Philadelphia for my senior year of high school, I was diagnosed with an os trigonum in my right foot. An os trigonum is an extra bone in the back of the foot that is very common in dancers. I was told that I would have to have surgery. I was going to be out for about four months and would not be able to attend Miami City Ballet School’s summer program nor would I be able to audition for companies as I had planned. Despite all the worries, in the end I really got lucky. I had a wonderful surgeon in San Francisco who is the orthopedic for SFB, had wonderful physical therapy, and was able to start back to ballet slowly at my home studio.

King 2 — Paul Taylor's "Company B" "Rum and Coke", Photo by fellow MCB dancer Leigh-Ann Esty

About two months after my surgery, I wrote to Linda Villella, the Director of Miami City Ballet School, asking her if I could attend the school for the year, based solely on my audition for the summer program months before. She accepted me into the Advanced level and allowed me to continue my rehab with the Physical Therapists hired by the company. Six months after my surgery, I was onstage with Miami City Ballet dancing in the Nutcracker.

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

I love performing. When I am on stage, I feel like nothing can touch me. All the worries of the day melt away for those moments, where the lights are shining brightly and I am performing into a dark space in front of me. I know that there are people out there in the audience, but I can’t see them, I can only feel their presence and their delight by the sound of applause. It is an intimate moment that dancers share with the audience; where the dancers are completely lost in the steps, the music, the joy, and the audience is completely lost in what they are watching.

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

Each one is different; as each ballet requires different preparation depending on the type of ballet and the choreography. For example, warming up for a contemporary ballet is much different than warming up for classical ballet. I usually begin getting ready about an hour and a half or two hours before a show starts. I always do my hair first; I like to have my hair slicked back and completely out of my face before starting my makeup. I then put on my costume, cluttered by warm ups, and head to the stage with my iPod and bag of shoes. If I am dancing in a ballet that is really difficult and will cause my calves to cramp, I will eat half a banana on the way, to get some extra potassium. After doing a barre in my socks, I will put on my shoes, to test them and warm up my ankles.

About 10 minutes before the show I have my costume done up in the back and start reviewing the choreography and rehearsing those pesky steps from the ballet that are a challenge for me. After wishing the cast good luck, or “Merde”, with a kiss on the cheek, warm-ups are stripped off as everyone takes their places. This is my favorite moment; the anticipation of the curtain rising.

9. You write a dance blog…can you tell readers a bit about how you got started and what it’s about?

I am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to do what I love everyday. My job is so exciting and unique, that I choose to find an outlet that would allow me to share my thoughts and experiences with the public. Not only do I want to reach out to people who already know and love ballet, but also to find and educate people who are unfamiliar with the ballet world.

For those who are ballet lovers, I want to bring them news about Miami City Ballet and share my experiences around this exciting city. For people who don’t know quite as much about ballet, I hope that I can show the glamorous and trendy side of this art form. I think that many people misperceive ballet as boring and outdated. I hope to prove them wrong.

10. What is next for you?

Currently we are kicking into full gear to prepare for the opening weekend of Miami City Ballet’s 25th anniversary season. Opening night is October 15 at Miami’s Arst Center for the Performing Arts. We will be performing Robbin’s “Fanfare”, Balanchine’s “Bugaku”, and Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations”. Also on tap this season is Balanchine’s “Scotch Symphony”, “La Sonnambula”, and “Western Symphony.” I am also looking forward to the company’s premier of Twyla Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen” and Paul Taylor’s “Promethean Fire”. Last but not least, our fourth program is John Cranko full length “Romeo and Juliet” which we have already staged. The company has a lot of exciting things happening this season, and I can’t wait to get into the theater!

BIO: I was born and raised in Northern California. I received my ballet training from former San Francisco Ballet School Director Richard Cammack and former ABT and SFB dancer Zola Dishong at Contra Costa Ballet Centre (http://www.contracostaballet.org/) in Walnut Creek, CA. My senior year in high school I moved to Philadelphia to train at the Rock School. After graduating in 2006, I moved to Miami to train at Miami City Ballet. After a few months in the school I was asked to learn Snow and Flowers with the company for their upcoming Nutcracker shows. After performing those parts as a student, I was also on stage dancing Willies in Giselle and in Balanchine’s Symphony in 3 later that season. I was then offered a Company Apprentice contract for the 2007-2008 season. In 2008 I was promoted to Corps De Ballet.

Dance In The US…Ballet Quad Cities School Of Dance

August 16, 2010 by 4dancers

Our series on Dance in the US continues today with a closer look at a school that is actually located in Illinois, but perfect for those living in any of the “Quad Cities”, including those near Davenport, Iowa…

Name: Ballet Quad Cities School Of Dance

Location: 617 17th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201

About: Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance (or BQC School of Dance) offers classes ranging from creative movement to ballet, rhythm tap and Pilates conditioning. Students are evaluated for placement in the appropriate level and class sizes are kept small so that individual attention can be given to every person in the classroom.

Besides being given the opportunity to perform in the annual Nutcracker production, students are often able to dance for an audience at other community functions throughout the year.

For those interested in learning more about the school, BQC School of Dance has their handbook posted on the website with all the details, including dress code, class costs and more about the faculty at the school.

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