Coming Out of Ballet Hibernation

 After a long hiatus from sharing my dance thoughts in writing, I am energized and enthused to be making the commitment to more intentional content creation both in the studio and here, with all of you. My little dance world has undergone a few changes since I last was active on the blog and I'm excited for the potential for growth within the walls of Dixon Dance Studio, within myself, and to the greater world, should the ripple-effect do its thing (perhaps you can relate). 

A year or two of restricted access to the dancers and the studio certainly made me think a lot about what I ultimately wanted to see for my dancers. We have some very talented young dancers at our studio who are at the perfect stage to solidify their foundational training and I've had the proverbial "bee in my bonnet" to make some changes for the betterment of the program. I'm thrilled that my students want tangible feedback and to take an active part in their improvement; I might be one of the luckiest teachers in the world to have this "problem." My mind is now buzzing with creative ways to meet the needs of my individual students. They are so excited to show me how they've arranged paired their snacks to give them more energy or to delve into the mechanics of deconstructing a pirouette so we can get them turning gorgeously, consistently.  This type of learning hunger deserves to be met with the best tools I can offer them; I'm both ecstatic and terrified of the challenge.

I'm so glad that I recently decided to dive down the rabbit hole of ballet resources that have come out of Australia. Lisa Howell (The Ballet Blog), Georgia Canning (The Balanced Ballerinas Podcast), and the folks over at Queensland Ballet are relentless at taking the mystique and "gate-keeping" out of ballet for the very simple reason that in this realm, what people don't know CAN hurt them. Bravo to these stewards of the art form; and to the community of like-minded instructors and dancers connected through their work. If you haven't, I highly recommend you go check them all out!

As I sit here over my evening cup of chamomile tea, getting excited over lesson plans, exercise worksheets and goal-setting, I welcome you back to my little world of ballet, where I've committed to sharing my thoughts as a part of my commitment to doing my best to make the ballet studio a better place.

Cheers,

Jeanne

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ballet Épaulement.

Image
I've had many students ask me to clarify what I mean when I ask them to use their  épaulement  (ay-pohl-MAHN)  while dancing.  Correct  é paulement , or placement of the head and shoulders while dancing, can mean the difference between looking like a student and looking like a refined dancer. É paulement requires that the dancer angle his or her head .   I often say to "offer one cheek forward, as if presenting it to receive a kiss."   Exceptions, of course, are the  é cart é   positions, where the head is turned either toward the elbow ( devant ) or away from the arms completely ( derriere ).   Below is an illustration of the correct  é paulement , dependent on the position of the body.  The position that is labeled quatrieme (fourth)   is also referred to as en face (opposite [the audience]). The sooner you memorize the positions of the head and shoulders, the sooner you can start incorporating them into your dancing! Here are a few more links: The Importance of
Read more

Preserving The Life of Your Pointe Shoes

Image
Pointe shoes—those tiny, shiny, glorified piñatas, which today, make it possible for ballerinas to dance complete, three-act ballets on their pointes .   They can be expected to last anywhere from 3 months to 3 hours, depending on the demand placed on them.   For a dancer in a professional company, they are considered work supplies, and the cost is put on the company she/he dances for.   In the case of students, the cost of these educational tools, which can run between $40-$85 a pair, is often on the parents or the student themselves to cover.   The more the student is dancing, the quicker this pointe shoe budget adds up.   Why do the shoes break down so fast?   The answer is simple:   most pointe shoes are made from natural materials (leather, cardboard, burlap, layers of paper, glue, and satin).   These materials create a supportive structure that is also pliable enough to move with the dancers feet.   As the dancer’s feet bend and pound these little fortresses of strength
Read more

Pointe Shoe Prep

Image
I received some questions this week about sewing and prepping shoes, so I'll attempt to answer those and include some additional information.  During the week of September 1st-5th, I will be spending the first half of class making sure everyone knows how to sew their shoes, but here are some pointers for how it's done. Elastic and Ribbons Elastic should be 3/4" wide.  Dancewear stores will typically give you enough to sew one elastic per shoe, unless you specify that you wish to "criss-cross" your elastics, in which case, you'll need double the amount. Criss-crossing can help if you find that the heel of the shoe is slipping off with only one. Be advised that dance elastic is much stronger than what you will find at your local fabric store, and more readily comes in pointe shoe-appropriate colors.  Melting the edges of your cut elastics will prevent fabric fraying, but don't let the elastic actually touch the flame--burnt elastic smells pretty nasty. 
Read more