JEANNE TEACHES DANCE

Today was a little more hectic than usual. In addition to our evening performance in Modesto, my students had their winter recital earlier in the day back in Sacramento, so I stayed until my last class had performed and then made the hour drive solo to join the rest of the company. I arrived with about an hour and a half to do my makeup, warm up, and shove some food in my face.  The shows at the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts always seem a little more special to me because the Gallo is the first place I performed Posada Navideña with IMBA.  The stage is spacious compared with the Wells Fargo in Santa Rosa, and of course, having actual dressing rooms is always nice.  I only wish there was some place backstage where the flooring was carpeted rather than cold tile - trying to warm up and stretch on a cold floor always feels a little counter-productive. The show tonight went beautifully.  The IMBA dancers are always such an inspiration to me.  They...

I will now take a moment to pause from the Posada Navideña tour and share with you this wonderful video about the Youth America Grand Prix:

Doing homework backstage.  Photos by Abelardo Cisneros. Yesterday morning we woke up  at 6:30 to get ready for blocking at the theater at 8:00am.  My phone bit the dust Thursday night, so I'm relying on the photos of others until I can get a replacement.   It's been both unnerving and a refreshing change not to have my phone - I'm relieved to know that I can still find my way around a strange city without the step-by-step help of Google navigation (as wonderful as she is at coming up with varied pronunciations for cities such as "Los Angle-lees.")--maybe I won't be kicked off "the island" after all. Dominique applies the colorful folklorico makeup.    Following the 9:30am school show, I took Abelardo to Vertex Climbing Center for his first bouldering experience.   The gym was small, but had a decent number of problems for us to work on, and it's pretty hard to beat "$8 Fridays!"  Whoever's setting must have a grudge agains...

David revamping my Angel costume.  Photo by Theresa Wargo. Over the next month, I will be documenting my holiday performances with Compañia Mazatlán Bellas Artes . I play "The Archangel" in Abelardo Cisneros' Pastorella ballet for their annual Posada Navideña show. Last night was about preparations. Before going to bed, I finished preparing my new pointe shoes for wear; ripped out the suede lining, tore a 1/4 of the shank off, pulled out the nail at the heel, roughed up the leather soles to prevent slipping (also managed to rough up my thumb by accident), sprayed the insides with clear lacquer, applied Jet Glue to the inside of the tips and left them in the preheated oven (turned off) to dry overnight.  I took inventory of everything I usually use during the performance.  Since this is my third year dancing the same role, I have made adjustments here and there to simplify what I take with me on the road.  I packed all of my stage makeup, hair supplies, tig...

A mini documentary on the preparation of pointe shoes and the care of ballerina's feet.  Enjoy!

When I was growing up, my parents provided me with opportunities to try many different after-school activities. I was an active kid, eating up everything: bike riding, jump-roping, roller skating, soccer, ballet - anything, so long as it tuckered me out.  As my love for ballet grew more focused, time for my adolescent cross-training seemed to dwindle.  I was assured by my instructors that all I needed was ballet and was even encouraged to pursue being excused from Physical Education at my academic school on the belief that running was an undesirable activity for ballet training.  This was the old way of thinking. Nearly two decades and a professional dance career later, I'm back to my original habits.  I still love taking ballet, Pilates and yoga classes, but I've gotten heavily involved in social dances such as Argentine Tango and Lindy Hop.  I'm an avid cyclist and have recently taken up indoor rock climbing and slacklining--I tried the roller skates a few y...

Due to issue beyond our control, MIDTOWN STOMP will be moving THIS FRIDAY, October 14th, to our new temporary locaiton at the  Sacramento Turn Verien located at 3349 J Street (map) . The new venue is going to be great with no stair (except 4 in the front) and better sound! Everything will also start and end a half an hour earlier (see schedule below).  We've held many event at the Turn Verien and it's a great place for dancing so you won't miss a beat. We're currently looking for a new permanent location for Midtown Stomp and we hope to have something BIG (think later dancing & A/C) to announce in the next few weeks. We hope you'll come out and support us through this transition! Schedule: 6:30 - 7:30 - Lindy Hop 2 7:30 - 8:30 - Lindy Hop 1 7:30 - 8:30 - Drop-in Swing (beginner) 8:30 - 11:30 - DJ'd Dancing with Scottie & Ron! www.midtownstomp.com

Be a part of McLaughlin Studio's Fall Mini-Musical: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ! Director/Choreographer: Jeanne Jacobson Music Director: Glynnis Davies Technical Director: Owen Smith No audition necessary. Click here to register online   or call McLaughlin Studios at  916-652-6377 McLaughlin Studios 3415 Swetzer Road Loomis, CA 95650 www.mtctheatre.org/ Rehearsals :  Friday, October 7, 4pm-6pm Friday, October 14, 4pm-6pm Friday, October 21, 4pm-6pm Friday, October 28, 4pm-6pm (Dress Rehearsal) Performance: Friday, October 28, 6pm-7pm Click here to purchase tickets

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 danc...

Starting tomorrow, Jeanne will be adding four classes to her teaching schedule for the children's dance program at Step One Dance & Fitness ! Jazz I - Mondays, 6:00pm-7:00pm Ballet I - Mondays, 7:00pm-8:00pm Ballet IV - Wednesdays, 7:30pm-8:30pm Ballet IV - Thursdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm To see all of the classes on Jeanne's teaching schedule, check out the calendar .

I have to admit that I've been bitten by the Argentine tango bug.  Since retiring from professional ballet, it's the first social dance which has challenged my brain the way ballet did.  If you're looking for a fun and elegant social dance, I highly recommend checking out AntiPanico, which is put on by Tango Renaissance.  Last year I attended this festival very briefly, and it inspired me to put more time and effort into my tango.  Fantastic teachers, wonderful venues, great DJ's, and brilliant performances that make you want to get up and dance!  This year I am returning as a volunteer and will be much more involved...very excited! For more information and to register, visit:  www.antipanicosf.com

Erik Tomasson / San Francisco Ballet It's not every day that you get to see a world-class company like the San Francisco Ballet perform for free - that's right, I said free.  On Sunday, July 31st, SFB will present four works from their current season's repertoire: Andante Sostenuto Composer: Franz Schubert,  Piano Sonata  No. 21in b-flat D.960 Choreographer: J. Francisco Martinez Timepiece Composer: Broken Social Scene, Steve Reich, Marc Bianchi (recorded music) Choreographer: Myles Thatcher 7 for Eight Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Symphony in C Composer: Georges Bizet Choreographer: George Balanchine Stern Grove is a wonderfully casual park setting - bring your picnic, a blanket, your friends and get there a few hours early to score a good seat! When : Sunday, July 31st at 2:00pm Where : Stern Grove, 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, San Francisco (map) Stern Grove Website SF Gate Article: S.F. Ballet Looks To Future At Ster...

This Thursday, some of my favorite classic swing DJ's are doing something revolutionary: hosting a live online music party/broadcast from 7pm-10pm at Turntable.fm !  If you'd like to be exposed to more classic swing or learn more about it, this is the perfect forum in which you can ask questions via chat and watch as these music lovers weigh in on the music they're playing! Follow this link to join the Facebook Event : Thursday, July 14th, it’s the premier of The Viper Mad Show. From 7pm - 10pm (California Time) Kyle Smith (SoCal) & Scott Kaufman (NorCal) will take you on a musical trip that will have your toes tappin’ and your fingers snappin’ with a three hour set of swingin’ music.   You don’t have to leave your computer to join in and it’s completely free. Just head to   http://www.turntable.fm/   to join all the fun! We’ll update the link to the exact room on Thursday afternoon. There's a great chat room so you'll be able to party with all of your frie...

For those who have not had the opportunity to train at such a school, this short documentary on the School of American Ballet is a pretty nice glimpse into the world of pre-professional training... Watch the full episode . See more SundayArts.

Jeanne's Monday Night Adult Ballet classes at Sacramento Academy of Dance will continue through Aug 1st before going on break until after Labor Day (Sept. 5th) July 4th - NO CLASSES July 11th - Int 6:30p/Beg 7:30p July 18th - Int 6:30p/Beg 7:30p July 25th - Int 6:30p/Beg 7:30p Aug 1st - Int 6:30p/Beg 7:30p $56 for the month/$16 Drop-in http://www.sacdance.org/ Enrollment form (disregard information for minors):  www.sacdance.org/enroll.pd f Sacramento Academy of Dance is located at: 2818 Marconi Avenue, Sacramento, CA (map)

Swing Dance Workshop Series We're excited to announce our upcoming  Swing Dance Workshop Series  next month at McLaughlin Studios in Loomis, CA! If you've never tried swing dance before, or want to add some flashy new moves to your repertoire, then this class is for you!  We'll take you through the basics of swing dance and give you some great turns, dips, and other moves to make you look awesome on the dance floor!  This class will be progressive and will be tailored to the composition of the class, so you won't want to miss out on the fun material we have to dish out! WHAT : Beginning/Intermediate Swing Dance Lessons which will cover basic and intermediate moves, dips and tricks! WHEN: Thursdays in July 7pm-8pm (7th, 14th, 21st & 28th) WHERE: McLaughlin Studios, 3415 Swetzer Road, Loomis, CA 95650 (map) 916-652-6377 COST: $60 for the month (4 classes). To sign up for classes, Email McLaughlin Studios For more information on the classes, Email...

This year's Jubilee was a ton of fun, as always.  It was a bit strange, I'll admit, being worried about getting rained on rather than getting a sunburn, but the weather certainly did not succeed in putting a damper on anyone's spirits.  Both Nick and I competed and made it to finals in the Annual Swing Dance Competition held at the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Sacramento. It had been a while since I had competed at the Jazz Jubilee - usually I'm out enjoying soaking up as much music as I can from the live bands that are visiting.  Competing definitely changed my priorities for the weekend and limited my exposure to the bands, but I'm glad I did it.  It was definitely a great experience.  To find out more about the Sacramento Jazz Festival & Jubilee, visit www.sacjazz.com Nick and his partner, Amber Hoffman Nick and Amber Me and my partner, Hunter Demaray Me and Hunter Photos by Andrei Chakhovskoi