Summer Dance Intensives Help Students Improve Technique

Dance schools typically follow the school year and run from September through June, taking the summer off.   So what does a dancer do all summer?  Is it time to relax and have some fun or time to look into ways to get a head start on dance technique? 

Dancers who take the summer off lose some of their technique by not practicing all summer.  Additionally, for every day a dancer stops dancing, it will take at least that many days to get back to where they were when they stopped.  So, if a dancer stops in June and takes two months off, until classes start again in September,  they will not be back in shape again until November.   Added to this, many dance schools start rehearsing for their recital by February, and there is vacation in December... so this only gives dance students about two months to make additional technical gains.  For the dancer who is serious about dance and thinks they may want to go to college for dance, dance professionally, or who just wants to do better at competitions and be a better dancer, the summer intensive is an ideal time to make some progress.

Dance students don’t have school during the summer, so they are able to spend all day dancing- something they can’t do during the school year.  Most Dance Intensives usually run from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday and last from three to five weeks.   Picking up a copy of the December issue of Dance Magazine will give you a listing of all the major dance intensives across the country as well as audition information.  However, most of the major dance intensives are highly competitive and run auditions in January and February.   Major companies such as ABT, New York City Ballet, and Boston Ballet are extremely difficult to get into and are geared for intermediate through advanced dancers.   If you have the talent to get into these programs, they are a wonderful experience and they get students seen by important companies who will sometimes offer students invitations to their trainee programs.  This can be an important tool for getting into a company.  However, few students are at this level.  In addition, most of these highly competitive programs involve travel and room and board as they are “sleep-away” camps.  Some students aren’t ready to be away from home for such a long time.  The cost can also be prohibitive as tuition plus room and board is often in excess of $1000 per week.

For most dance students who are not sufficiently advanced for these competitive programs and who just want to improve technique over the summer, a local option may be better suited and will be half the price because there are no room and board fees to pay.   Be careful what type of dance program you choose.  If your child’s goal is to improve dance technique, then you don’t want a dance camp which includes lots of non-dance activities.  A camp which offers only a couple of dance classes each day is not going to give the intensive experience that gives a dancer’s technique the boost your dancer is looking for.  If your child really wants to be a dancer, then all the extra activities will only take away from time that could be spent dancing or learning something about dance.  In addition, you need to make sure that the place you are selecting offers technique that is as good as or better than where your child goes year round and that it has well qualified teachers.  A good Summer Intensive program will often invite special Guest Teachers to teach a few Master Classes during the program also.

After you research some Dance Intensives, find out what needs to be done to audition and apply.  Some places will allow you to send in a video audition and they will tell you what needs to be on the video.  Some places will also need a photo- often in first arabesque- they will tell you what kind of photo they need.  You may also need to preregister for auditions.  It is best not to put all your eggs in one basket.  Try to pick several places you might like to go to and audition for all of them.  In the event that you are turned down by some, you may be accepted by others.  It is also best to choose one place to do a practice audition at prior to all of your other auditions.  If you pick a school that you know is too advanced for you to get into and you simply go to take the class as a sort of “Master Class” to learn what an audition is like, then you can go without worrying about whether or not you will get in.   You may also get some ideas about where you might be weak, so that you can work on these areas before your real auditions.  Taking a practice audition costs you only your time and the $15-30 class fee and will help shake out the jitters so that when it’s time for actual auditions, your child will feel more confident and prepared and less nervous.

When you go to an audition, always arrive early and expect to get out late as delays are common.  It is best to find out what the dress requirements are and if none are stated then your child should go with a plain black leotard and pink tights.  Make sure hair is in a performance ready bun and that your child is not wearing jewelry or bright nail polish!  Remember to pack a water bottle and a few emergency essentials such as safety pins, a pen, headache remedies, bandaids, toe tape, hair elastic, hair net, a book, a snack, dance essentials (shoes, extra tights) etc.   Dancers should be prepared to do pointe work if they are en pointe.  They should act professionally and warm up prior to the audition.  Examiners begin to watch students before the audition actually starts and a dancer’s behavior says a lot about them.  Once the audition starts, it is important for dancers to try to relax and have fun!  If they mess up, they should never quit in the middle of a combination, but just smile and keep going.  Examiners want to see that dancers can handle mistakes professionally and that they enjoy dance.  Expect to be notified of results about one to three weeks after the audition.  

The Fisher Academy of Ballet & Dance, in Westwood MA offers a Summer Intensive from July 9 through July 27 for students aged 12-18.  It is geared towards helping dancers from local dance studios improve their technique so that they can return to their own studios in the Fall and do better in their classes, competitions, and performances.  The Intensive consists of Ballet, Pointe or Pre-pointe, Variations (learning ballet solos), Jazz, Musical Theater, Tap, Hip Hop, and Modern Dance.  In addition there are enrichment classes offered which can include Russian Character Dance, African Dance, Belly Dance, Flamenco, Chinese Dance, Dance History, Pilates and other dance forms.  Audition is April 1st.  Video auditions are accepted and should be received by March 31st.  Cost for the program is $500 per week and the three week program concludes with a performance.  Please call the studio at 339-364-8522 or visit the website www.fisherballet.com for more information!

The Importance of Ballet Technique for Dancers

Ballet Student at Barre (photo by Bruce Peter Photography)

I still have my mind a little on my previous post about "Dance Moms."  One of the things that bothers me is that the moms are convinced this woman will make their daughters "stars."  Yet all I see in the show is the girls practicing routines for competition after competition.  When are they learning technique?  To become a professional dancer (yet alone a star) takes a tremendous amount of training that is learned in the classroom not in rehearsal.  Performance is an important element and it teaches its own things, but technique is the foundation of everything.  And whether you want to be a jazz dancer or a tap dancer, on Broadway or the ballet stage, ballet training is what separates the wheat from the chaff.  Ballet training is the foundation for professional dancers.  In talking to Nan Giordano, the Artistic Director of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (one of the preeminent professional Jazz companies in the world), she told me that when she holds auditions for her company she will not even look at a dancer's jazz dance until they first audition in ballet and pointe.  She does most of her cuts in the ballet class and only those with the strongest ballet technique go onto the next round of auditions and get to show her what they can do in jazz dance.  Quite simply, if you don't have excellent ballet training, she doesn't want you in the company.

How does one get that kind of ballet training?  It isn't by taking one or two ballet classes per week.  Most dancers who aspire (and succeed!) to become professional begin taking ballet by the age of 7 or 8 (many start earlier, but it isn't necessary since real ballet training doesn't begin until about 7 anyway).  At the ages of 7 or 8 they take one class per week, then they progress to two.  By the age of 11 they are probably taking three classes, and it progresses from there as they get older, until they are dancing from 5 to 7 days per week, often taking more classes than just ballet (pas de deux, pointe, variations, modern, jazz, pilates, character dance etc).  In addition, ballet training doesn't just happen by repetition.  When I was younger, I used to think that somehow if you did enough developpes and grand battements that eventually you would turn into a great dancer!  How wrong I was!  Repeating something incorrectly only teaches you how to do it incorrectly and isn't going to produce a professional dancer.  It matters what quality of training you get.

Dancers who are serious about becoming professional find a school that is on par with the schools associated with professional ballet companies.   Something I often hear moms say is "well she's just taking it for fun so it doesn't matter."   Here is the thing, with dance you have to start young.  Do we ever know what a 5 year old is going to end up wanting to be?  If you wait until she's 16 and has decided she wants to be a professional dancer, it will be too late to go back and undo her lack of training up until that point.  If on the other hand, she decides she doesn't want to be a professional dancer, so she's had the best training available which has also, incidentally protected her from injury, which poor training can cause.    For the same reason, whenever a child enrolls in dance it is best to always include ballet classes and only include other types of dance as extras.

Ballet is the foundation of technique for everything else.  If a child chooses to major in dance at school or wants to audition for a part in a performance, do competitions, audition for companies they will have the edge if their ballet training is good.   That is what upsets me about places like that portrayed on "Dance Moms."  The kids have all the heart and dedication and quite a bit of talent that could take them far if they were in the right place with a good teacher.  But I feel they are being sold a bill of goods to think that  doing competition routine after competition routine with a teacher who doesn't put the health and safety of her students first will turn them into stars.  Technique, training, hard work and talent is what makes stars.

Real Elite Competitive Dance versus "Dance Moms" Reality Show

A dance teacher friend of mine said to me "Did you watch Dance Moms?"  Did I watch what?  She explained to me that there was a new reality show about to air about dance moms.  I hadn't heard of it, but I was curious, having to deal with dance moms myself from time to time ;)  So I watched it.  Once.  That was enough!  Reality?  I'm not sure whose version of reality this is, but I'm thankful to say that in the 36 years I've been dancing, I have never encountered anything remotely like it.  Is the dance world tough at times?  Yup.  But most often the dancers are harder on themselves than their teachers.  Elite athletes all over the world are the way they are because they push themselves to perfection.  When I have had teachers who were tough, it was a tough love kind of thing.  I knew they cared about my dancing and that if they didn't believe in me they wouldn't bother to correct me.  Most dancers actually want to be corrected and hate not to receive any correction- how else do we improve?  (I came across a nice blog about someone reminiscing about their ballet teacher.  This is more the relationship most dance teachers and students have.)

But what I saw on that reality show made me shake my head.  The odd thing too about it to me, is that the parents are taking the kids there because they believe the woman will make their children "a star."  Yet, the type of competitions the kids are competing in are recreational competitions- they aren't the elite pre-professional and professional international competitions of the dance world, such as Youth America Grand Prix, Prix de Lausanne, Varna, Jackson International Ballet Competition etc.   The winners of these competitions do become stars- they are offered contracts at major ballet companies and usually the medalists become soloists and principal dancers in the best ballet companies in the world- making them the top dancers in the world.   The difference in level and technique between competitions like these and that portrayed on the show is night and day.  It amazes me that the girls are being treated like that when it's not even a high caliber competition, and it's not going to make them "stars."  If you want to see what a real elite level competition is like watch one of the videos below.  No where will you see anything like what is on "Dance Moms."

Free Boston Ballet Performance!

OK so this isn't really a blog post per se, but I thought I would pass along the information!  If you've never had the chance to see ballet live, here is an opportunity to see Boston Ballet for FREE!  They will be performing excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Nutcracker at the Hatch Shell on August 31st.   It's a wonderful opportunity to expose your children to the art without the expense of tickets and a great chance to see some of the best dancers in the world!


https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229204380448295

The Pointe Shoe

Photo of my pointe shoes, taken  by Bruce Peter Photography

When people think of ballerinas they think of them dancing "on their toes" or what is called in the ballet world as "sur les pointes."  To be able to do this takes many years of training.   Young children are not allowed to wear pointe shoes because their bones are soft cartilage while they are young and can be damaged by pointe work.  Once they enter their pre-adolescent and teen years, the bones begin to ossify and if they also have developed sufficient technique and strength they may be allowed to start studying pointe.  Among the factors that will be looked at is whether they have sufficient technique to maintain their placement and correct body alignment while en pointe.  They need to have very strong back, abdominal and thigh muscles to correctly hold their body placement.  They also have to have strong foot, ankle, and leg muscles to help to keep the joints safely aligned and to pull the dancer's weight out of the shoe.  The shoe is designed to be quite hard and supportive however it is not supposed to do all of the work for the dancer.  Allowing all the weight to fall on the shoes places too much weight on the delicate foot bones and joints.  A dancer uses her muscles to help support herself in the shoe.

In the early days of  pointe work, there was no special shoe and dancers had only their physical strength to support themselves on their toes.  Geneviève Gosselin  is thought to have danced en pointe in 1815 and  Fanny Bias appears to be en pointe in prints dated 1821.  However, these early attempts to dance en pointe  involved little more than briefly posing on the tips of the toes.  Marie Taglioni in 1832 was the first dancer to really dance en pointe and to use it artistically as part of the choreography.  Marie's father trained her for hours every day and she debuted in Paris in 1832 in  La Sylphide  in which she astonished theatre goers with her ability to stay en pointe and to appear as though she floated above the stage like the fairy that she portrayed. The shoes worn by Taglioni were not like today's pointe shoe. There was no stiffened box to support her toes. Instead she darned her shoes along the sides and around the toe to keep the slipper in shape and to give her extra support.

Today, the pointe shoe is made with a process similar to papier-mâché.   However instead of paper and glue, the pointe shoe is made of fabric and glue.  It has a leather sole with some layers of cardboard and a shank to give support under the foot.  The fabric is formed around a "last" and pleated under the toe.  Great care is taken to make the "platform" of the shoe- the tip of the toe where the dancer stands- as flat as possible in order to assist with balance.  It is also important that the bottom of the shoe lays flat so that it doesn't rock when the ballerina balances on a flat foot.  The shoe is made in many sizes and widths and also has to include other variables such as the length of the "vamp"- the part of the shoe that covers the toes.  Some dancers have long toes and some have short toes.  Where the vamp falls depends on the dancers toes and how high her arch is among other things.  Dancers also have different preferences in how the heel fits.  It is important that as they dance, the heel doesn't slip off their foot, causing them to lose a shoe in the middle of performing, which can be dangerous.  Because of all these variables, many professional dancers will have their shoes custom made.

 It can take a long time to find the right shoe.  It isn't only about the fit of the shoe, but how it moves with your foot.  In addition, once a dancer finds a shoe she wants  she prepares it to her own specifications.  First the elastic and ribbons have to be sewn on, as pointe shoes do not come with this pre-done.  Then dancers have many different things they do, most of which looks like they are taking a new shoe and destroying it!   They bang it to soften it a bit and get the noise out, they may take out some of the nails from the shank so that it conforms better to their arch, they may cut out part of the shank, they sometimes snip the satin off the tip of the shoe to make it less slippery.  Sometimes they also darn around the tip to help give them more traction and balance.  Some dancers use a rasp on the bottom of the shoe to give more traction and  pare down the sides of the sole to make it flatter for balance.  When the shoes begin to soften too much, they may pour glue or floor wax into the shoe to reharden it.  On average a professional dancer goes through a pair of shoes per performance.  With shoes costing between $60 and $90 per pair, pointe shoes are quite an expensive proposition.  Luckily for dancers, they usually receive pointe shoes as part of their company contract.

To see more about pointe shoes check out the videos listed below on You Tube:

How Pointe Shoes are Made

Dancers about Pointe Shoes

Requirements for Starting Pointe

  

The Three T's of Dance

Ballet is a beautiful but demanding art form.  I have found that it takes three things to produce a professional dancer:  natural talent, years of dedicated study with a reputable professional ballet program, and a tremendous amount of dedication and perseverance.  Without any one of these pieces, often a dancer will not succeed.  Ballet is an extremely competitive field and it takes a lot to get the edge to make it.  Simply having talent is no good unless the technique is studied and mastered to allow the talent to shine through.  Learning technique will only go so far, without the talent to bring it to a higher level.  And having both talent and technique still requires the determination to make one’s own opportunities, to seek out the classes one needs, to be involved in performances, and to market oneself.   Sometimes I have had students who were extremely talented and they often didn't make it as far as the student who wasn't quite as gifted but worked extremely hard.  It's almost like they are too used to everything coming easily and don't go the extra mile to push themselves.  In some ways those who are given a little less natural ballet ability are given the blessing of learning to work hard, which can take one a lot further in the ballet world.   I noticed in the April/May issue of Pointe Magazine that Johan Kobburg of the Royal Ballet feels it was his hard work and determination that got him where he is rather than talent.   Talent only takes one so far, but one has to put oneself where one will be seen, create opportunities, find ways to learn more and challenge oneself, and do quite a bit of self promoting.

Self promotion is often neglected, but can make the difference in getting noticed and getting that next coveted role.  Nowadays, savvy dancers network and find ways to make their name stand out from the crowd.  Appearing in a publication such as Dance Magazine has often done much to boost a young ballerina’s status in a company.  Some dancers have become involved with photographic projects featuring dancers which has brought them into the spotlight.  Auditions for Summer Dance Intensives, Dance Companies, and Dance Schools often require a headshot and a photo in a dance pose, such as first arabesque.  Always check the requirements for each audition you are going to well in advance so that you have a chance to get your photos done.  Many dancers simply hand a point and shoot camera to a friend while they are in the studio and get them to snap a couple of photos.  These type of photographs can turn out grainy, badly lit, blurry and do not always catch you in your best pose. Naturally, you will be judged on your dancing, but in a close decision, it is often the little things that make a difference.   In a field as competitive as dance, any edge you can get is worth having.

So, in dance, remember it takes three T’s:  Talent, Technique, and Tenacity.  You can’t rely on just one of these elements but need them to work in concert with one another.  If you have talent, do everything you can to get the best training in technique, and do everything you can to give yourself the edge.

Professional audition photo of a student in 1st arabesque by BrucePeter Photography

Professional headshot taken for a student's audition by Bruce Peter Photography

Bharatanatyam at Wesleyan University

Every year Wesleyan University hosts a Navaratri Festival featuring music, dance, foods and traditions of India.  Back in 1992 I directed a multi-cultural dance concert.  One of the performers was a girl who did Bharatanatyam.  She was wonderful!  I still have the video of the concert and vow one day to convert it to DVD.  So, today I went to Wesleyan and saw two wonderful dancers perform.  One, Rachna Ramya Agrawal,  performed the Luchnow style of Kathak dance- something about which I know nothing!  It was quite different from Bharatanatyam and involved a lot of stamped foot work, sometimes similar to tap (now there's a root I neglected in my research for the tap exhibit for the National Dance Museum)!

Bharatanatyam, today performed by the lovely Swathi Kamakshi, in contrast is far more stylized in its poses and forms.  As a classical dancer, I think I relate more to the bharatanatyam.  Something I find frequently among eastern performers is their use of silence and stillness.  We, in the west, tend to assume a piece is over as soon as there is stillness.  I noticed this once at a performance of Kodo Drummers.  Silence is a part of the performance, offsetting the drum and providing dynamic.  Often however, the audience would start applauding assuming the piece was over.  A musician friend who is a professor at a university in New York told me that the difference between amateur musicians and professionals is the attention they give to the spaces between the notes.  I mused on this and told him it is the same with dancers.  The difference between a professional and an amateur is paying attention to the transitions between the steps.  In dance the use of a breath or a momentary rest no matter how fleeting between steps, the timing of the transition, paying attention to technique in that transition (like turn-out for example) make the difference between something flowing seemingly effortlessly and looking like it is behind the music or poorly executed.

I was also quite captivated by the use of mime and facial expression by both dancers and the use of gesture and hand movements.  I imagine it would be quite effective to take some elements of the mime and gestures as well as a little of the poses from the bharatanatyam and use them to inform the choreography in La Bayadere, a ballet about a temple dancer set in India.  Boston Ballet's La Bayadere opens next Thursday, November 4th.  It is one of my favorite ballets and the full length version is not performed too often in the United States, so I am looking forward to it.  Take a look at the videos here.  One is of Swathi Kamakshi performing bharatanatyam.  The second is the Paris Opera Ballet's La Bayadere with Isabelle Guerin.  The third is a clip of Boston Ballet.  Enjoy!