Ballet Mid-Term Video 2013

Today, in Ballet class, we discussed about the video we watched from our Ballet Mid-term. This is a great way to see improvement, the habits that are still there, and the habits that have been improved throughout the semesters.

In general, as a group, we sometimes lack feeling each other as an ensemble and maybe is because we are very aware of our combination, or the things we have to work on. I think being an ensemble and also working on our own specific things are equally important to a dancer. Moreover, we were asked to watch the class as a group as well as to look at us individually and take notes based on what we saw from the video.  I knowers that some dancers keep their weight shift backwards and they also seat on the lower spin and that is why is very hard to balance. This placement can cause back pain as well but it can be improved by lifting from the top of the head. There were a lot of problems with sickling feet in tondus, passes, cut de pie, etc.

In addition, when executing grand plié, we have to make sure to push our knees back so that they do not get injured. We have to remember that rotation starts from the inner thighs. When we execute passé, I see a lot of us not finishing it by going through the leg, fifth, and plié. That would help us for pirouettes. Also, feet are not pointed to the maximum and this can be improved by lengthening the whole leg.

When performing any combination we have to make sure to stay alive at all times; keep that stage of presence in the body and mind. I think that it also helps improve the energy level of the class.

Furthermore, I saw things that I need to work on as well; for example, my elbows tend to rise sometimes and that keeps tension in my back. When I do plié from fourth position I have to keep an eye on the leg behind to make sure the knee does not stay slightly forward. I knowers that my arm in fifth had a different line shape on this video and I think is because I was not putting life through the arms.

I enjoy seeing my fellow dancers and I take the class from a different view to learn from everyone strengths and weaknesses. This is a great experience that I will hold for the rest of my career and even apply to my own teaching method.

A Teacher Who Keeps Them on Their Toes (Article)

On one of my Ballet classes, our instructor assigned us to read an article. The article talks about a 73 year old professor, by the name of Wilhelm Burmann who danced with New York City Ballet and Joffrey Ballet but now focuses his career on teaching. I thought this article resembles my idea of the arts and how I see myself teacher in the near future. This instructor focuses on stage presentation and personality in movement. The class price is $17 which is affordable for the dancers and it is a great opportunity to train with such a talented and aficionado instructor. He says that he is not tough, the profession is. I completely agree with him. If an instructor does not set rules and it is not serious about his career, now one will take this person seriously. One needs to set discipline, consistency and work ethic in order to have integrity throughout the process of learning.

On another note, I want to point out some relative phrases he says: "It's not about the steps. It's how you put it to music.” “I love good, honest dancing people who have something that you cannot explain." It’s not one, two, three, four. It’s one, two, three, fooooour. Musicality should come from within us. If we are true passionate dancers, musicality should come really easily. I started learning how to count steps just about months ago after I took my Music for Dance class. Before that, I only when where I saw the music moved me to go to the next step and for me that is the best way to move through a dance, only thinking about your movements, knowing the music well, and feeling the steps. He is a sharp professor, meaning he would say the ballet combination once, cued the pianist and the dancers are supposed to do as told because then the instructor just focuses on going around correcting the dancers.

I like a phrase he says at the end of the article: It’s not that I was the greatest teacher, we were the greatest together” This to me means that this career is not about ourselves individually only but our cast as well. It is about being an ensemble and sharing the knowledge and support to one another. Working together and feeling every single dancer in a single space is much more powerful than having individualism.

This article was such a great thing to keep for the rest of my life. When my teaching career begins, I am sure I will go back once in a while and read through this remarkable article to keep reminding myself of what a wonderful career I will have in the near future.