A week ago I took Ballet class
for three days with a Company from Philadelphia call "Ballet
Fleming" The first day I was really excited to start, and even more
excited to see the professional dancers work in class so that I could learn from
their style. Mr. Fleming who is the teacher, choreographer and company director
had a teaching style similar to the style from when I used to dance years ago
in Cuba. His combinations are spoken but not done by him and I really liked
that about him because your mind gets used to the names and it wakes up faster
to retain lots of information. I can tell you I was swearing by the end of the
tandous combination, that’s how alive the combinations were. I also had this intensification
of my body by knowing he was also watching me. When we went to the center
combinations, on the other hand, it was a little messy; I think I would have
done it a little different, more organized so that we could do clean steps
without worrying about anyone around us but ourselves.
One thing that cut my
eye was that in class they seem to be amazingly great dancers, almost perfect, and even
though they had different technique backgrounds they all looked well together,
but when I saw the performance they did not look as well as in class. They are
well class takers but not performers. The pieces to me were not clear,
something was missing and it was the lack of organization. I caught myself
thinking about their technique; for example, looking at the line of the feet,
the strength of the steps, instead of understanding the piece and the story
behind it. The only piece that really got my attention was "Dali" because it was
a very interesting piece and I did understand the concept behind it; although, I
wish it have been longer. Overall I had a great week because even though the
show could have been a lot better I do appreciate for them to show what they
are about and what they can bring to the table. This company is only starting
and I believe they will have much success in the near future.
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