Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ballet as a Supplement-Response
Name- Chris
Parent or Student? Parent
What is your activity? Gymnastics, basketball, softball
How long have you been dancing? 1 year
Do you do ballet or another form of dance (pls. specify) ballet and hip hop, but now she is doing the dance team;hip hop, jazz, tap, ballet
Do you do pointe? NO
How has ballet helped you? Ballet teaches her the balance and posture she needs to be a better gymnast
How has your activity helped you with ballet? I think, as do many parents I talk to, that ballet definitely makes a difference.
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker? She will compete 5 or 6 times throughout the season
How do you balance a busy schedule? There is no balance….but my kids enjoy being active!
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Name- Hilda
Parent or Student? Student
What is your activity? figure skating
How long have you been dancing? 1 year
Do you do ballet or another form of dance? ballet
Do you do pointe? no
How has ballet helped you? the flexibility and strength required in ballet has helped me progress faster in skating. As for grace, I don't lack it, so it doesn't quite help me. My posture is good in ballet, but not in skating.
How has your activity helped you with ballet? As skating requires strength and flexibility too, I can practice those two for both ballet and skating at the same time, which is really convenient.
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker? my studio doesn't have shows regularly, but when they have, I do participate
How do you balance a busy schedule? My schedule is not busy. I attend school only half a day, others is dedicated to dance or skating.
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Name- Dani (she is my dd)
Parent or Student? - I am the parent
What is your activity? Gymnastics (sometimes cheer, she is a flyer)
How long have you been dancing? This is her 2nd year
Do you do ballet or another form of dance (pls. specify) Ballet
Do you do pointe? No, but she is interested in pointe
How has ballet helped you? It has helped her grace, posture, leg strength and flexibility.
How has your activity helped you with ballet? The gymnastics has helped with the strength, flexibility and balance.
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker? Yes
How do you balance a busy schedule? Time management and planning things out really helps. Plus, I make sure she has "off days" where she can just chill and do nothing.
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Name-Lolly
Parent or Student? Student
What is your activity? Gymnastics
How long have you been dancing? 6 years (since I was 9 and my coach suggested it)
Do you do ballet or another form of dance (pls. specify) I do ballet and tap
Do you do pointe? Yes
How has ballet helped you? I gained grace, elegance,better leg and back strangth for things like arabesques, much better general movement e.g. in my floor routine
How has your activity helped you with ballet? Strength from gymnastics definitely helps and also the work ethic and discipline I gained from it
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker? No because the dancing is at my gymnastics centre so its mainly to supplement gym
How do you balance a busy schedule? My coaches value my ballet time as much as my training in the gym so they were happy to sit down and work out a schedule with me
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Parent or Student? student (used to be anyways)
What is your activity? gymnastics and cheerleading
How long have you been dancing? i took ballet for two years
Do you do ballet or another form of dance (pls. specify) ballet and jazz
Do you do pointe? for about 6 months, but quit because it hurt my feet too much. i had bloody toes and it was hard for me to preform in the gym.
How has ballet helped you? game me a lot more grace and agility...judges always commented on my fluid movements.
How has your activity helped you with ballet? i was already very deadicated and a perfectionist
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker? yepppp. i was the sugar plum fairy my final year
How do you balance a busy schedule? lotsss of hw and eating and changing in the car.
____________________________________________________________
Many Skating and Gymnastic teams offer dance as part of training. Some girls are full time dancers and competitive dancers. I recommend dancers to try gymnastics or go to an open gym. It's amazing what you learn and how much it helps. I go to free skate a lot to.
This is one of my favorite montages on youtube
It shows how much dance is in gymnastics.
This is a tribute to a great skater and ballerina
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Ballet as a Supplement?
Name*-
Parent or Student?
What is your activity?
How long have you been dancing?
Do you do ballet or another form of dance (pls. specify)
Do you do pointe?
How has ballet helped you?
How has your activity helped you with ballet?
Do you participate in end of the year shows or Nutcracker?
How do you balance a busy schedule?
*optional
Pictures and videos are always welcome.
If you are under 13 it is preferred that a parent fills this out
E-mail responses to dancingteenblog@gmail.com
Sunday, August 16, 2009
New Year, Nutcracker Auditions ***UPDATED***
A new Dance year can bring happiness or disappointment. In my case-disappointment. I have been taking classes with girls older than me for 2 years but now my AD wants me to be with girls my own age so I have to repeat a year :(
Also with the new dance year is Nutcracker Auditions!!!!!
This is my Guide to Nutcracker Auditions
- Most auditions for children's parts are based on size because they reuse costumes year after year and cannot custom make them every year. So don't be upset if you/your child doesn't get a part she is to tall/short for, it doesn't mean she is not a good dancer
- Many Nutcracker auditions consist of learning choreography from the dance they are trying out for. A good way to be prepared is to watch some of the company's past performances or videos on youtube.com to become familiar with the choreography.
- Auditions for older girls can sometimes take place in the form of a class, learning choreography at the end.
What to Wear?
- Hair in a bun with bangs back (http://justanotherdancingteen.blogspot.com/2009/05/ballet-buns.html)
- Leotard, tights, ballet slippers, pointe shoes (if needed)
I have created some audition outfits using DDS (http://www.discountdance.com/index.php) Under each picture is it's "ID" number, search it on DDS.
You may want to call the Studio/Company you are auditioning for and ask if there is a dress code.
For 6-8 year olds
[TB132]
[4317]
These girls are always cute in pink. Pair a ballet pink cap sleeve leo with a hair wreath with a big bow. The bag is small enough to carry with no trouble and has just enough room for her ballet slippers
[CL5462]
[PB27596]
[B17C]
9-11
These girls can be uncomfortable with their bodies. These are sturdy leotards that are fully front lined. They are also available in adult sizes. They come in a variety of colors because these girls like to make their own decisions. Available in Black, Burgundy, Garnet, Hunter, L. Blue, Navy, Pink, Royal and White. The second leo has easy sizing as it comes in traditional clothing sizes. It comes in Black, White, L. Pink, L. Blue, Lavender, Mulberry, Royal, Red, Yellow and Seafoam. Both bags are fashion forward. The 1st one has a graphic and the second one is more quiet and as a coin purse. Most of the Girls this age won't want a bun wreath. Many will want a single flower or scrunchie available at Claire's (http://www.claires.com/)
[CC202C]
[Y1555C]
[3610]
[1002DLX]
14+
For serious girls, camisoles are a must. The 1st style has many color choices; Black, White, Lemon, Eggplant, Mint, Dark Teal and Fuchsia. The pinch front and low back are very flattering, and the princess seams are slimming. The second leo is a classic black camisole. The straps are both adjustable and detachable allowing for a criss-cross back. The big tote bag can hold everything you need for a day of rehearsals-including a compartment for pointe shoes.
[N8041]
[N8129]
[4366] Monday, August 3, 2009
My story-Part 2
Ugh, you’d think after five years I’d be able to sleep on this stupid train. But no, every night I lie awake until midnight or later swaying back and forth, hitting bumps and going around corners. Sometimes I wish I could just go back home.
My name is Polina. My parents, they knew they were going to send me away when I turned two. You see, we lived in Russia, well they still do. They were relatively poor so there only option was to hope there first born was a girl and then send her to the Russian Academy of Dance and Acrobats. They sent me there because if I was good enough at eight and toured around the world with the company, the government would pay my parents. It turned out I was so that’s why I’m on this stupid train. I don’t talk to my parents much but I do know that just two years after I was sent away they had a little girl named Tania, meaning fairy princess. This annoys me because my name means little stone. Let me tell you what I look like. I'm from the part of Russia near Europe so I have blue eyes, straight blonde hair, and fair skin. I'm 5’2 and really, really thin.
In the beginning at RADA I studied dance, then at age four I started acrobats, and at age six I started rhythmic gymnastics. So I was training full time at seven and at eight six of us girls were chosen to go on tour. That was the last time I saw Russia. At first I was scared of the train. Me and the other five girls became friends. We met some of the other girls who had been on tour for many years. Our first performance was in London, England. We arrived a day early to practice. We practiced for five hours straight. As the youngest performers we had a small part. The big girls practiced for ten to twelve hours. Our costumes were beautiful compared to our drab, gray practice dresses. They were pink dresses with white lace bloomers. Our hair was curled into perfect ringlets topped with big pink bows. We only did one short dance because it was our first performance later on the schedule became way more intense.
After that we traveled all around Europe. We spent about four days per city. On the train we all had one bag for our things, a mat and quilt for a bed, and a bag for our performance apparatuses. In our bag of performance apparatuses we each have a purple and silver hoop, a metallic purple ball, a silver rope, a purple ribbon, and purple and silver clubs to match our purple and white skirted leotard. We no longer wore the cute pink dresses. For our acrobatic performances we wore a blue leotard. We no longer preformed our dance routines.
Part 2
“Polina, sang Diana, time to get up!”
“Not now, Dasha!”
“I’m Diana, Dasha’s still sleeping. She's just as bad as you!”
“I don’t want to get up!”
“But were going to be in Venice for the week!”
“Fine”
Polina sat up on her mat, the sun was shining through the train windows. The air was warm. This is definitely Italy, she thought. She giggled as she watched Diana trying to wake up her twin sister Dasha. They were so carefree. They never seemed to be sad. They liked traveling and probably never thought of…..running away. Polina shook the thought out of her head. If she ran away her parents would stop getting paid and they would never let her back in their home.
Fifteen minutes later then train stopped and the girls unloaded. They each carried both of their bags up to the hotel room. The best part about staying in Venice was that they got to stay in a hotel, and sleep on real beds. The hotel owner felt bad for them and allowed them to stay free as long as he got two tickets for his daughters to one of the shows. After they put away their things they each grabbed a piece of fruit and ran over to the theatre to start rehearsals. The rehearsals used to seem long but now they were just a normal part of her day. First they did an hour long dance class followed by 2 hours of tumbling, afterward they had an hour stretch class. Then they had lunch and rest for 45 minutes and then spent the rest of the day rotating between rhythmic gymnastics and rehearsing their routines. Their day ended around 7:30pm. They all grabbed something for dinner, went up to the showers, showered, and went to their rooms and fell asleep.
The next night was their first show.
“Polina, Dasha; WAKE UP!!!! It’s a show day!”
“Diana, not now! This bed is SO comfortable.”
“But it’s a show day; we have rehearsal in 20 minutes.”
The girls jumped out of bed and changed into their practice clothes. After a long day of rehearsal they went to the dressing rooms to get changed. Polina’s favorite thing about being on tour was the performances and getting ready for them. For her first few performances Ekaterina helped her get ready. She was 16 when Polina first joined the tour. She had since ran away and gotten married. Polina knew this because they kept in contact. Ekaterina would send letters to RADA and they would be sent to the train’s next major stop.
“Dasha”, asked Polina, “have you ever thought about….running away?”
“Of course not! My parents have 4 other children to take care of. Now come over here so I can do you hair. Madame Olena wants two Dutch braids into a bun. I know you have trouble with the Dutch braids.”
After Dasha did her hair they slipped into their blue leotards, and packed their rhythmic leotards and apparatus. Polina stood in front of the full length mirror. After admiring her braids she looked at the rest of her body. Her arms and legs were thin but, muscular and her ribs stuck out like a plateau. This can’t possibly be right, she thought.
After they ended the tumbling part of their show they quickly changed into their purple and white skirted leotards and started to warm up their routines, as the youngest girls performed their dances.
“Udachi, good luck!” called Dasha and Diana at the same time as Polina went on stage to perform her hoop routine. Polina stood on stage waiting for the music, someone caught her eye. He was tan, had dark brown hair and….the most amazing brown eyes. They sparkled like stars at night. Her music started. She arched her back and began her routine
Sunday, August 2, 2009
AUGUST!!!!!!!!!!
That's all for now.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Youtube.com
Saturday, July 11, 2009
My Story.....
ago and I have really bad writers block. Any Ideas?
Ugh, you’d think after five years I’d be able to sleep on this stupid train. But no every night I lie awake until midnight or later swaying back and forth, hitting bumps and going around corners. Sometimes I wish I could just go back home.
My name is Polina. My parents, they knew they were going to send me away when I turned two. You see, we lived in Russia, well they still do. They were relatively poor so there only option was to hope there first born was a girl and then send her to the Russian Academy of dance and acrobats. They sent me there because if I was good enough at eight and toured around the world with the company, the government would pay my parents. It turned out I was so that’s why I’m on this stupid train. I don’t talk to my parents much but I do know that just two years after I was sent away they had a little girl named Tania, meaning fairy princess. This annoys me because my name means little stone. Let me tell you what I look like. I'm from the part of Russia near Europe so I have blue eyes, straight blonde hair, and fair skin. I'm 5’2 and really, really thin.
In the beginning at RADA I studied dance, then at age four I started acrobats, and at age six I started rhythmic gymnastics. So I was training full time at seven and at eight six of us girls were chosen to go on tour. That was the last time I saw Russia. At first I was scared of the train. Me and the other five girls became friends. We met some of the other girls who had been on tour for many years. Our first performance was in London, England. We arrived a day early to practice. We practiced for five hours straight. As the youngest performers we had a small part. The big girls practiced for ten to twelve hours. Our costumes were beautiful compared to our drab, gray practice dresses. They were pink dresses with white lace bloomers. Our hair was curled into perfect ringlets topped with big pink bows. We only did one short dance because it was our first performance after that the schedule became way more intense.
After that we traveled all around Europe. We spent about four days per city. On the train we all had one bag for our things, a mat and quilt for a bed, and a bag for our performance apparatuses. In our bag of performance apparatuses we each have a purple and silver hoop, a metallic purple ball, a silver rope, a purple ribbon, and purple and silver clubs to match our purple and white skirted leotard. We no longer wore the cute pink dresses. For our acrobatic performances we wore a blue leotard. We no longer preformed our dance routines.
.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ballet School
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet, the official training academy of the New York City Ballet, was established in 1934 by legendary choreographer George Balanchine and philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein as the first and most essential step in their quest to create an American classical ballet company.SAB, located at New York City's Lincoln Center, is today the premier ballet academy in the United States, training more students who go on to become professional dancers than any other school. SAB's former students fill the ranks of the New York City Ballet and other leading U.S. and international ballet companies.
SAB's faculty is an international group of brilliant instructors whose backgrounds provide students with a variety of artistic influences.The faculty is led by Peter Martins, New York City Ballet's Ballet Master in Chief, and includes a number of current and past New York City Ballet principal dancers, many of whom worked directly with Balanchine.
Approximately 350 boys and girls, ranging in age from six to eighteen, attend classes during the School's ten-month Winter Term. A five-week Summer Course attracts an additional 200 of the nation's top ballet students. Admission is by audition only.SAB provides almost $1 million each year in scholarship support to Winter Term and Summer Course students. Scholarships, which are allocated on a case-by-case basis, may cover tuition, room and board, travel fees and academic school tuition.While most students enrolled in the School's Children's Division are residents of the New York metropolitan area, students in the Intermediate and Advanced Divisions hail from over 30 U.S. states and nine foreign countries. During Winter Term, 64 of these non-local students reside in the School's on site residence hall; most Summer Course students live in the residence hall for the five-week program.
Many SAB students have unique opportunities to gain performing experience through the School’s affiliation with New York City Ballet. Younger students are featured in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Coppélia, among other ballets.Advanced students may perform in the School’s Spring Workshop, NYCB Education Department’s Lecture-Demonstration program, SAB’s Student Choreography Workshop (shown bottom right), and NYCB’s New York Choreographic Institute.Approximately 20 advanced students receive contracts with major professional dance companies each year. In addition to NYCB, where alumni of the School comprise over ninety percent of the current company roster, SAB students go on to dance for American Ballet Theatre, Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, among others.In the past five years alone, students have joined 35 U.S. ballet companies and nearly a dozen international dance troupes. SAB’s influence extends beyond the footlights: alumni currently hold artistic posts at more than 20 American and at least 5 foreign companies, and many of the nation's leading ballet schools are run by SAB-trained dancers.
How do you get in?
Audition!
A
dmissionStudy in the School of American Ballet’s Winter Term is for beginning, intermediate and advanced students, 6* to 18 years old. Admission is by audition only.
ADMISSION CRITERIA
Applicants are evaluated as follows:First and foremost, the School of American Ballet looks at each applicant as an individual.The School is selective in admitting new students and renewing their enrollment from year to year. Applicants must be young enough to derive the maximum benefit from their training, enjoy excellent health and have an anatomical structure suited to the demands of classical dance: a well-proportioned, flexible, coordinated body, legs that easily adopt the turned-out condition, and a high instep. They must also possess musical aptitude and a natural gift for movement.
*Children must be 6-years-old by September 1 to audition and enroll for that year's Winter Term.
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The School of American Ballet admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin in administration of its education policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs or any other school-administered programs.
Auditions for 6 to 10 year olds
Auditions for boys and girls ages 6 to 10 are held each May. No previous experience is required. Auditions at SAB are in early May and require a $35 audition fee. Community auditions in Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn, Chinatown and the Bronx are held closer to mid-May and are free to all applicants. There are no more auditions for the 2009/2010 Winter Term.
Auditions for 11 to 18 year olds
All applicants 11-years-old and over are expected to have previous ballet training. They are auditioned at SAB on the Tuesday following Labor Day. Those accepted begin classes during the same week. There is a $35 application fee for auditions held at SAB. Fall auditions for the 2009/2010 Winter TermAuditions will take place on September 8, 2009. Auditions times are as follows:
Ages 11-12 4:00 PM
Ages 13-14 5:30 PM
Ages 15-18 6:30 PM
Applicants should call 212-769-6600 before September 2 to register for the audition OR click here to fill out our online registration form.
All those auditioning should wear ballet practice clothes and ballet slippers. Girls aged 13-18 should also bring pointe shoes. There is a $35 application fee for all auditions held at SAB. Classes begin on September 9, 2009
Weekly Auditions at SAB by AppointmentApplicants 14-18 years of age may audition throughout the year. Please call 212-769-6600 to schedule an appointment. There is a $35 application fee for auditions held at SAB.
For Information on the Summer Course please see (http://www.sab.org/summercourse/overview.php)
For some great videos see:
(http://sab.org/videos/?vid=4)
(http://sab.org/videos/?vid=3&PHPSESSID=e4456cc112be40f1616af4ed579904a6)
I am not claiming any of this information is mine. It is owned by the School of American Ballet. (http://www.sab.org/)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
4th of July, Streching
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Styles of Ballet Part 2
Cecchetti method(Italian Ballet):
The Cecchetti method of ballet instruction was created by Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928). The method traditionally has eight grades.Grades one through four were added after Cecchetti died. Grades five through eight correspond to his original levels. Grades one through four are commonly seen in local studios to ready their pupils for the more advanced professional levels. If you pass level five then you are considered a real dancer. There are five different marks for passing a level. From lowest to highest they are: passed, passed plus, passed with commended, passed with highly commended, and passed with honours.Grade five marks the beginning of the professional levels and is known as elementary level. Grade six is known as intermediate level and grade seven is known as advanced level. A student who has achieved grade seven is qualified to teach the Cecchetti Method. After finishing advanced level students can choose to go on to Diploma A and Diploma B in order to further their learning.
Vaganova method(Russian Ballet):
The Vaganova method is a method of teaching classical ballet that was founded by Agrippina Vaganova and developed into an exact science by her pedagogical pupil for over 30 years, Vera Kostrovitkaya and countless other teachers in the decades following Vaganova's death in 1951. Therefore, it is really a misnomer to call it that, as she meant for it to be called the teaching of classical dance. It is in the mistranslation of the title of her book, "Basic Principles of Russian Classical Dance" that it is implied that it is her method. She actually titled her book: "The Foundation for Dance." It is combination of the finest of the esthetics and physical results of strength, from French, Danish, and Italian schools, the method has produced many of the world's best dancers and continues to do so today. Vaganova is known for founding the Soviet System of Ballet Education, but her and Kostrovitskaya's teaching method has developed into the applied laws of physics and the core of the teaching does not need to be constantly revised and modified, as other ways of teaching that are not scientific. The method is still used worldwide.The method demands precision in instruction, including how to teach, when to teach, how much of each exercise to give and for how long and when to change forms. Its results in addition to sound technique are a strong lower back, plasticity of the arms and the exact amount of strength, flexibility and endurance in the muscle needed to execute one of the most difficult movements known to ballet - that of the classical pas de deux. Although it is widely in use, being the most common ballet teaching method in Russia and parts of Europe, and the most popular also in the North America and other parts in the world, in today's world, few really understand fully the material. Only a few people outside of Russian Ballet Schools understand how to teach classical ballet (people don't teach the method, they teach classical ballet).
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
July 1, Styles of Ballet
Anyway, I thought it would be cool to describe the different types of ballet. I do Cecchetti and Vaganova.
Royal Academy of Dance (English Ballet):
The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) was established in 1920 by a group of professional dance artists brought together by Philip Richardson, editor of the Dancing Times and including:
Adeline Genée -
Denmark Tamara Karsavina -
Russia Lucia Cormani -
Italy Edouard Espinosa -
France Phyllis Bedells -
EnglandRepresenting the principal dance training methods of the time the group formed the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing in Great Britain. Over the next fifteen years the Association grew in size and influence and which lead to the granting of a royal charter. At the last Privy Council Meeting of King George V in 1936 the Association became the Royal Academy of Dancing.In 1997 The Benesh Institute, international centre for Benesh Movement Notation, was amalgamated with the Royal Academy of Dancing.With over 15,500 members in 82 countries the Royal Academy of Dance is one of the largest and most influential dance education and training organisations in the world. Members receive a monthly magazine "Dance Gazette". It is the largest classical ballet examining body in the world. Over 200,000 candidates take RAD examinations each year.The annual Genée award has been made since 1980, for dancers aged 18 or 19, organised by the R.A.D. It is usually held in London. In 2004 gold medals were awarded to Alexander Jones and Ayako Ono. In addition gold medallists receive 7,500 Euros. Many gold and silver medallists go on to join the Royal Ballet, London.
French School(French Ballet):
The "École Française" (French school of ballet, French style), is characterized by an emphasis on precision, elegance, and sobriety.The French are known for their complex beats, and their rigorous technical cleanliness, called "placement", which is more important to them than virtuosity.Mega-star dancer & choreographer Rudolf Nureyev choreographed re-worked versions of the great academic classic ballets (such as "La Bayadère", "Swan Lake", "Romeo & Juliet", "Raymonda", "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", & directed Paris Opera ballet. His artistic direction was extremely strong, and he formed and named a whole generation of young principals ("Étoiles"), called the Nureyev Babies. (Manuel Legris, Laurent Hilaire, Kader Belarbi, Isabelle Guerin, Elisabeth Maurin, amongst others). Since that time the French school has turned into the Nureyev school, with his very idiosyncratic style, based on all the steps that Nureyev himself excelled at. Great speed and quantity of steps, necessitating the music to be played slower are characteristic of this style. This influence lasts from the 1980's to the 2000's, when it is just starting to wane, as the Nureyev Babies retire.
From (http://dancethoughts.blogspot.com/2005/10/great-ballet-styles-article-taken-from.html)
That's all for now....stay tuned for part two.