Sunday, March 25, 2012
Reflection on having a substitute teacher
On Wednesday we had a substitute teacher in for ballet. Her name was Jillian and she was quite a bit different from Richard but I enjoyed her class. We started off with barre, as usual, but her combinations were much more similar to the ones I used to do at my old studio. She gave corrections much more individually and to everyone which I believe is good. Usually in class a couple of us get corrections and are used almost as examples of what a common problem is; in her class, she really worked on the basic flaws that some of the less experienced dancers have such as pointing toes and fully straightening their legs. Some of the combinations she gave us were easier and some were harder but one thing that was difficult was she went through them rather quickly and expected us to have picked it up. I know that is the normal way classes work and that at an "Intermediate/Advanced" ballet level we should be able to pick up combinations quickly, but some people struggled. I personally forgot until we walked in that we were having a substitute and was not mentally prepared to be doing something beside the norm in class. Other students said that they felt similarly. After barre, we did a decent amount of across the floor work. I liked getting to move and do ballet rather than stay stationary. We learned combinations and for the most part they were the right level of difficulty for our class, but we just weren't really used to learning in her style of teaching. I think she was a very good teacher and I would definitely like to take class from her again. I also think that learning from multiple teachers is crucial in the development of a well rounded dancer. Once you become too comfortable with one style of teaching, it is more difficult to jump into a different setting. She had a very feminine voice and you could tell she was very well trained. I think she would be an excellent teacher for studio that had weekly classes and could develop into her style of teaching.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Entrechat #
Entrechat is known as " a step of beating in which the dancer jumps into the air and rapidly crosses the legs before and behind each other" in the Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet. They can be be anywhere from 2 beats to 10. The even numbered entrechats land on two feet and the odd numbered entrechats land on one. Dancers are trying to get to ten and even more beats if possible. The following are some examples of dancers performing various entrechats.
Entrechat duex, entrechat quatre, entrechat six- These are entrechats performed with two, four, and six beats. The dancer beats on th way up especially when performing more than just two beats. He consistantly lands in 5th position in plie and uses this as his prep for the next jump.
Entrechat huit- This dancer performs an entrechat with eight beats. The dancer isn't as clean with his jumps as the one in the previous videos but it was a little hard to find footage of someone performing this move. The dancer could do better by making his beats more distinct and trying stay in the air even longer.
Entrechat Dix- I was unable to find footage of someone actually performing an entrechat dix, entrechat with ten beats. So instead I will talk about the person who first did one, Vaslav Nijinsky. Najinsky was a Russian dancer of Polish decent, born in 1889. He studied under Cechetti and Nicholas Legat at the Imperial Ballet School. He was a performer in multiple dances and even had his own company. In 1919 his career ended when he was diagnosed with schizofrenia. He later died in 1950. Here is a link for more information http://www.russianballethistory.com/nijinskythelegend.htm.
Entrechat Douze- This is a entrechat with 12 beats. Wayne Sleep is the only dancer that has been said to have done this move, however I cannot find a video of him actually doing it.
Entrechats require plie, control, precision, and alot of practice to be able to increase their number of beats. While I doubt I will ever be able to do an entrechat dix or more, by watching others technique, we are able to see how the little details make all the difference in being able to do more beats.
Entrechat duex, entrechat quatre, entrechat six- These are entrechats performed with two, four, and six beats. The dancer beats on th way up especially when performing more than just two beats. He consistantly lands in 5th position in plie and uses this as his prep for the next jump.
Entrechat huit- This dancer performs an entrechat with eight beats. The dancer isn't as clean with his jumps as the one in the previous videos but it was a little hard to find footage of someone performing this move. The dancer could do better by making his beats more distinct and trying stay in the air even longer.
Entrechat Dix- I was unable to find footage of someone actually performing an entrechat dix, entrechat with ten beats. So instead I will talk about the person who first did one, Vaslav Nijinsky. Najinsky was a Russian dancer of Polish decent, born in 1889. He studied under Cechetti and Nicholas Legat at the Imperial Ballet School. He was a performer in multiple dances and even had his own company. In 1919 his career ended when he was diagnosed with schizofrenia. He later died in 1950. Here is a link for more information http://www.russianballethistory.com/nijinskythelegend.htm.
Entrechat Douze- This is a entrechat with 12 beats. Wayne Sleep is the only dancer that has been said to have done this move, however I cannot find a video of him actually doing it.
Entrechats require plie, control, precision, and alot of practice to be able to increase their number of beats. While I doubt I will ever be able to do an entrechat dix or more, by watching others technique, we are able to see how the little details make all the difference in being able to do more beats.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
How did they just do that? Amazing accomplishments in ballet technique
The following is about current levels of ballet techniques and the extrodinary moves people can do. Ballet has always had amazing dancers who could turn, leap, and twirl with ease: however in order to stand out in the crowd, dancers have pushed their limits to hit more turns, jump higher, and overall be even more impressive.
The first video shows Maria Alexandrova performing a couple of amazing sequences. She is a fearless dancer who can leap multiple feet and trust that her partner will be there and also makes fouettes on point look like anyone could do them (which they can't).
Maria Kochetkova I believe has the best outlook on current dance and is shown in this video. She talks about the stigma of what a dancer should be and how youshould excel at what you can to become your best. Highlights of Maria as Principal of the San Fransisco Ballet.
The next video is actually a trailer of an upcoming movie but I believe it is a great example of the feelings of young dancers to pushing themselves to be even better First Position. The Youth American Grand Prix features top dancers from around the world who are aspiring to be professionals. They are absolutely amazing! Dancers here are able to do multiple turns in the air with one jump, and over 4 beats when doing a changement and extremly flexible. Top YAGP dancers are shown in this video but there are some other young dancers I find amazing and cannot stop watching.
Another One Bites the Dust is performed by Hannah Bettes, in this video she is a bit younger but still amazing! She has great control, flexiblilty, strength. She is older now and has been featured magazines and is hoping to get a scholarship from the Royal Ballet (article on Bettes). Daniil Simkin is an amazing young dancer who pushes ballet to his furthest abilities. Here he is performing Don Quixote and you can see just a few of his amazing "tricks".
What does all this mean? All these amazing young dancers are pushing the ballet comunity to new limits. Triple pirouettes are the norm, double beats are a thing of the past, and you better be flexible to even fit into a crowd. As these young dancers grow up, they will become even better and will set new standards for ballet. I believe that even though ballet is an older form of dance it is evolving and remaining to amaze audiences just as it has done for the past centuries. Always remember, you can't jump if you don't plie.
The first video shows Maria Alexandrova performing a couple of amazing sequences. She is a fearless dancer who can leap multiple feet and trust that her partner will be there and also makes fouettes on point look like anyone could do them (which they can't).
Maria Kochetkova I believe has the best outlook on current dance and is shown in this video. She talks about the stigma of what a dancer should be and how youshould excel at what you can to become your best. Highlights of Maria as Principal of the San Fransisco Ballet.
The next video is actually a trailer of an upcoming movie but I believe it is a great example of the feelings of young dancers to pushing themselves to be even better First Position. The Youth American Grand Prix features top dancers from around the world who are aspiring to be professionals. They are absolutely amazing! Dancers here are able to do multiple turns in the air with one jump, and over 4 beats when doing a changement and extremly flexible. Top YAGP dancers are shown in this video but there are some other young dancers I find amazing and cannot stop watching.
Another One Bites the Dust is performed by Hannah Bettes, in this video she is a bit younger but still amazing! She has great control, flexiblilty, strength. She is older now and has been featured magazines and is hoping to get a scholarship from the Royal Ballet (article on Bettes). Daniil Simkin is an amazing young dancer who pushes ballet to his furthest abilities. Here he is performing Don Quixote and you can see just a few of his amazing "tricks".
What does all this mean? All these amazing young dancers are pushing the ballet comunity to new limits. Triple pirouettes are the norm, double beats are a thing of the past, and you better be flexible to even fit into a crowd. As these young dancers grow up, they will become even better and will set new standards for ballet. I believe that even though ballet is an older form of dance it is evolving and remaining to amaze audiences just as it has done for the past centuries. Always remember, you can't jump if you don't plie.
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