Lights, Camera, Action!

Pointe shoes, tutus, sugar plum fairies, and princesses -- is it any wonder that little girls dream of being ballerinas?  Catering to that desire, movies about ballet have been around almost as long as film itself.  Despite the travesties that are the Barbie ballet movies, many ballet films provide a deeper study of the difficulties and sacrifices of the performers, rather than just a fluffy overview of the beauty of dance.  These four films in combination provide a fascinating introduction to the on-screen depiction of ballet.

The Red Shoes: The Classic Film about Classical Ballet

Roughly based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Red Shoes tells the story of Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), a young ballerina on the brink of stardom.  Intricately weaving backstage life with the thrill of performance, this film centers on Victoria's dilemma as she is torn between the composer who loves her and the impresario determined to fashion her into a great dancer. 

 
Center Stage: Ballet School 101
This 2000 movie features Amanda Schull as an aspiring ballerina and student at the competitive American Ballet Academy in New York (apparently based on the School of American Ballet).  Even though she's at the best school in the country, her life doesn't get any easier -- she and her friends face challenges with their weight, their teachers, and their dreams.  The film is, however, light as air and easy to watch.  Keep an eye out for Ethan Steifel (a real-life ballet star) as one of the company's hot-shot dancers.

The Turning Point: Dreams of Becoming a Ballerina

This movie is the story of two women (Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft),  whose lives are dedicated to ballet.  Deedee left her promising dance career to become a wife and mother and now runs a ballet school in Oklahoma.  Emma stayed with the company and became a star, though her time is nearly past.  Both want what the other has and reflect back on missed chances as they are brought together again through Deedee's daughter, who joins the company. 

The Company: The Inner Workings of a Ballet Company

An inside look at the world of ballet.  With the complete cooperation of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Robert Altman follows the stories of the dancers, whose professional and personal lives grow impossibly close, as they cope with the demands of a life in the ballet.  Neve Campbell plays a gifted but conflicted company member on the verge of becoming a principal dancer at a fictional Chicago troupe, with Malcolm McDowell playing the company's co-founder and artistic director.  An interesting look at the contemporary challenges facing dancers.

Floor Warm-Up Part III

ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES

Back Extensions – On your hands and knees, bring your right knee to your nose, and then pass it by your left knee and up into a parallel attitude.  Repeat as desired.  On the last repetition, bring the knee to the nose, and then straighten the leg behind you with the toes on the floor.  Lift and lower a straight leg.  Repeat as desired.  Be certain that the hips are working parallel to each other and the floor and are not rolling, but are maintaining the correct position during extension of the working leg.

After the last repetition with a straight leg, slide back so you are in a half split, then lean forward over your bent knee and stretch your arms out over your head.  Relax your back leg, then lift your body and carry your arms to 2^nd.  Cambré back as your arms move to 5^th high, then come up.  Place your hands on the floor and extend your back leg as you lift your body weight off your knee.  Rotate your body toward your back leg so you are now facing sideways with your right leg stretched out to the side and your left leg bent under you.  Adjust your right leg as necessary until it is properly turned out. 

Place your right hand behind your knee and cambré over your extended right leg, then come up.  Use the hands to lift your body weight off your knee as you return to the front position with the right leg pulling backward and the right hip moving forward in opposition.  Turn and look over your left shoulder to see your right foot behind you.  Repeat entire exercise on the left.

IN 2^ND POSITION GRANDE ÈCARTÉ

2^nd Position Stretch – Sit in 2^nd with your legs as far to each side as possible.  Flex your feet and stretch your body forward down the center.  Reach forward with your arms to enhance the stretch.  Remember, if it hurts, it’s wrong.  When you cannot go down any further, point through your feet.

Side-to-Side Stretch -- Sit in 2^nd with your legs as far to each side as possible.  Cambré over the right leg, with your right hand wrapping around the foot, thumb around the arch and fingers across the top.  Place your left hand on your thigh and turn your body so it’s lying over your right leg, with your right hand still wrapped around your foot.  Return to the cambré position, then pull the body back up to the starting position.  Repeat on the left.  Repeat entire exercise as desired.

FOR THE WRISTS AND ANKLES

Sit in 2^nd (both arms and legs) with your legs as far to each side as possible.  Circle your wrists and ankles forward four times, then backward four times.  Flex your wrists and ankles straight up, then point through your feet and flex your wrists straight down.  Repeat an additional three times.

Ballet West

The 2010-2011 season of Ballet West began in late October with John Butler’s Carmina Burana paired with George Balanchine’s complex and inventive The Four Temperaments.  This was followed by the 2010 Ballet West Gala, an exclusive one-night only performance, especially crafted to highlight the strengths and talents of Utah’s flagship ballet company. 

Ballet West's next production is the classic holiday masterpiece, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Dec. 4-31).  On December 30th and 31st, back by popular demand, Ballet West will present the “Nutty” Nutcracker featuring the same choreography but with fun flourishes and whimsical surprises. 

Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty opens in time for Valentine's Day (Feb. 11-19), followed by Bolero (April 8-16), and Innovations (May 13-21).

Bolero features three major Utah premieres.  Opening with George Balanchine’s classic Chaconne, it moves to Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta, and finishes with Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero, set to the famous Ravel score. 

Innovations is described on Ballet West's website as "tomorrow's ballet [beginning] today" and as "a platform for some of America’s most up and coming choreographers". 

Tickets are on sale now for both individual shows and season passes.

Floor Warm-Up Part II

ON YOUR SIDE

Leg Lengthening With Rotation – Lay on your right side with feet in a pointed parallel position.  Lengthen the top leg and lift it a few inches.  In this exercise, lower is better.  Rotate both legs to a turned-out position, then back to a parallel position, and lower the leg.  Flex both feet and repeat the exercise, this time rotating only the top leg.  Continue to repeat as desired.  After the last repetition, move into a parallel passé position.  The top arm circles frontward and over the head, always keeping contact with the floor, until you must turn your torso and head to complete the arc.  On the return from this, both arms raise over the head and the body rotates to lie on your front in a turned-out passé position.  Press up to elbows or higher, even to suspension position if you wish.  At the top, look right, center, and left.

It is recommended that when in passé on stomach, you add a stretch of straightening the passé leg to à la seconde and push backward on the floor, easing into a 4^th position split.  Cambré forward, pulling the hip of the back leg forward, then cambré back into a full arch.  Lay back on your stomach and slowly lower leg, then bring your knees under you and stretch your arms out over your head as your hips reach back.  Gently uncurl, trying to sense each vertebra on the way up.  Repeat whole exercise on your left side.

Turned Out Leg Raises From Sus-Sous -- Lay on your right side with feet in a pointed sus-sous position.  Lengthen the top leg, then raise it in an à la seconde battement.  Bend to passé, then extend the leg back to its highest position.  Slowly lower the leg back to sus-sous.  The technical terminology for this sequence is battement à la seconde, passé, retiré, sus-sous.  Repeat as many times as desired.  On the last repetion, catch hold of the leg and encourage the height of the extension, making sure the lower leg is very straight and extended and that the hips are exactly in line.  Relax the ankle and knee of the working leg, placing the elbow at the front of the knee and pressing back while the energy in the hip presses forward, and then return to the stretch.  Repeat as desired. 

Lift the leg to a right angle and flex the foot as though you were going to stand on the ceiling, and lengthen out of the hip.  Point through the foot and come to passé.  Place the foot at the back of the knee and slide out to attitude derrière.  Drop the knee to a parallel position and slide through to a parallel passé, then rotate to a turned-out passé with the hips pressing forward and the working thigh back for best rotation.  Repeat as desired.  On the last repetition, slowly lower the leg back to sus-sous, keeping maximum rotation the whole way down.  Repeat whole exercise on your left side.

FOR YOUR KNEES

Turn to your stomach, curl your toes under, and very slowly bend and straighten your legs.  Repeat as desired.  When finished, bring your knees under you and stretch your arms out over your head as your hips reach back.  Gently uncurl, trying to sense each vertebra on the way up. 

Where Did That Come From?

Have you ever wondered where today's dancewear came from?  I know I have.  This little gem of a website explains it all.  The history of ballet slippers and pointe shoes, including some notable designers of said shoes.  The evolution of the ballerina's costume, from the incredibly heavy and complex gowns of the 15th century to the leotards and tights we all wear today.  It certainly makes me grateful that I'm a dancer today and not 50 or 100 years ago.

An Improv Performance

Last night, my singles' ward (a branch of our church for non-married members) had a cultural event/talent show.  We were split into groups and each group provided a dish from the country they were assigned, as well as preparing a presentation.  My group decided to put together a skit using four well-known Disney love songs as a parody of the dating situation at our university. 

The last song in our skit was "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty, which is based off the garland waltz from Act I of Tchaikovsky's score.  Certain members of the group remembered that I am a ballerina, and managed to talk me into performing a solo for that section of our skit.

Our group leader promised to cut the music and get me a copy in plenty of time for me to choreograph my piece.  I don't know what his definition of "plenty of time" is, but it certainly isn't mine.  He handed me the CD an hour before we were supposed to perform.

Luckily, I was already familiar with the song and had a rough idea of what I was going to do.  What they hadn't told me was that there would be two parts to our skit: the original songs and an Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks version.  So I had to throw together two pieces of varying tempos in less than an hour in the hall outside the gymnasium.  On-stage improvisation?  Definitely. 

I now have a whole new respect for those dancers who can go onstage, hear a piece of music for the first time, and dance.  Thank you to all my teachers over the years who taught me how to feel the music and go with it, however unwilling I was at the time. 

I encourage everyone to try this.  Pick a piece of music and just dance to it.  Do whatever you feel like and don't worry about technique or steps.  Just move.  Rather liberating, isn't it?

DanceHelp.com

The internet never ceases to amaze me.  I discovered this site completely by accident one day, and realized I had to share it with you. 

Dancehelp.com is a journal of dance information and inspiration to accompany students, performers, and choreographers in their dance endeavors. It is a compilation of dance articles, dance tips, dance news, dance forums, dance listings and educational information for the aspiring and professional dancer. It is also a free online dance guide to help today’s dancer in their quest for knowledge.

DanceHelp.com has one of the most comprehensive dictionaries of terminology I have ever seen.  They also have many articles on training and technique tips, performance tips, nutrition and general health tips, a Q&A section, the list goes on.  This site is a veritable goldmine of information that I highly recommend to all my dance friends.

Houston Ballet

The 2010-2011 Season of the Houston Ballet contains many exciting events.  It begins with the traditional holiday performance of The Nutcracker (Nov. 26 - Dec. 26), and continues on with the annual Jubilee of Dance (Dec. 3), Marie (Feb. 24 - March 6), The Sleeping Beauty (March 10-19), the Academy Spring Showcase (April 29-30), Raising the Barre (May 26 - June 5), and finishes with an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (June 9-19).
According to Houston Ballet's official website, the Jubilee of Dance "is an evening not to be missed."  It will be comprised of three pieces choreographed specifically for the Houson Ballet by artistic director Stanton Welch and dancer Garrett Smith.

Marie, a full-length ballet choreographed by artistic director Stanton Welch, offers a new perspective on the often-controversial and always-fascinating life of Marie Antoinette. 

The Academy Spring Showcase gives the students of Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy a chance to "cap their studies with two performances of a program featuring works tailor-made to show them at their best."

Raising the Barre is a collection of three 21st century pieces: Rush, Grinning in Your Face, and a world premiere by celebrated Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo.

Tickets are on sale now for both individual shows and season passes.