Reflections in Sequins and Satin

Using Dance to Heal Emotionally Isolated Students

2015-02-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

It is more classroom than dance studio, but tables and desks are pushed aside. Adolescent students enter and their teacher, Lydia Hance, instructs them to form a circle of chairs. As they do so, they chat and catch up. Hance sees them only once a week, but she knows something of their lives. She asks about a recent school dance: “Did you go to the dance? Did you get your groove on?” Some admit they didn’t go, with one saying she stayed home “chillaxing.”

Once they’re seated in a circle, Hance leads the students in a series of stretches and articulations. Contract abs and make a C. Raise hands in the air and make a fist, then spread out the fingers. Hug yourself. Twist in your chair. The students follow Hance into more complex undulations and contractions. Finally, she gets them on their feet and they stack the chairs. They’re ready to move across the small room.

This is a class at The Monarch School in Houston, where all the students have a neurological difference. These differences are primarily from the autism spectrum but may also include attention deficit disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, and bipolar or anxiety disorders, to name a few of the more commonly known issues these young people contend with. Hance is there as a teacher with Dynamic X-Change, a program of CORE Performance Company, a professional contemporary dance company with homes in both Atlanta and Houston.

Origins

CORE was founded in 1980 as Several Dancers Core by Sue Schroeder. Always interested in community involvement and collaboration, in 1993 she started a program called Rising Stars, designed to take dance as a healing art into isolated communities. “It could be cultural isolation; it could be isolation from abuse or illness,” Schroeder says. “We believe, particularly in the case of situations with emotional struggles, violence, or physical abuse, this is embedded in the physical body. So if [these people] can start to move and express, they can move [the trauma] out more readily.”

After a few years of running the program as Rising Stars, the company evaluated what it was doing and decided to change the name to Dynamic X-Change. “It’s really a dialogue,” Schroeder says. “[For example,] Lydia is learning from [her students], and when she comes out [of class] she calls me and says, ‘It’s unbelievable how much I’m changing.’ We don’t always know what the change is going to be, and that’s why we say X-Change. What is the x factor in this, that we’re going to come away with or they’re going to come away with?”

A Collaborative Process

After more than 15 years, the program continues to grow and change because of the various sites and populations (adults and youth) it’s involved in, including groups as diverse as the incarcerated, children in families overcoming abuse, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, immigrants, and cancer patients. The organization’s intention is to operate the program in no fewer than three sites in each city, Houston and Atlanta.

Each program is tailored to the site and the participants’ needs. “Everything CORE does is a collaboration,” Schroeder explains. “We never do anything in a vacuum by ourselves. So it really is meeting with these partners and finding out what their community needs or can gain from this and then trying to make that happen. None of these sites operates in the same way.”

Even this far into the program, Dynamic X-Change, as an organization, is learning and adjusting. While building relationships with community organizations has always been at the center of the work, it’s still fine-tuning how and with whom it builds relationships. “People at some of these sites work really hard and get very taxed. When a lead contact at a site gets burned out and leaves, we have to start at zero with the site, or sometimes the program will fall apart,” says Schroeder. “So we’re working now to establish relationships with the organization on the board level, so that they’re aware that we’re there and of the work we’re doing, that there’s enough commitment from the organization, not just from the contact, to keep the project going.”

Teacher Training

Even though each Dynamic X-Change site is different, there are some core principles (pun intended) at work that have led CORE to develop a Teacher Training Institute. Through TTI, CORE trains not only its own teachers for this work but other organizations’ teachers as well. Schroeder says, “We can do this training or we can help someone to set up a training, match them up with other people who do this work.”

“It’s a creative way to express themselves and connect with the other children. We couldn’t run our enrichment program without the creative movement piece.” —Lisa Martinez, Houston Area Women’s Shelter. TTI includes eight training sessions, each dealing with aspects of kinesthetic learning. Teachers may take only the sessions that interest them or take all eight and receive TTI certification. Anyone who is interested in this work may attend the training.

Healing Through Dance

Schroeder makes a distinction between Dynamic X-Change’s approach and groups that teach dance to disadvantaged youth or to populations that don’t have opportunities to dance. “That’s not our program,” she says. “What distinguishes our program is that we’re using dance as a healing art.”

The training, therefore, reflects this purpose. Dance as performance is not part of the curriculum. It’s not about having a recital at the end of a semester. Schroeder notes, “We have come to know and understand that much of the impact and residue of trauma and emotional stress rests and is held in memory in the body. By using movement/dance as a tool, the potential for activating healing is great.”

Juana Farfán, CORE’s outreach coordinator and a teacher at Atlanta’s Latin American Association, says, “You can’t approach the outreach with a dance studio mentality because you’ll never meet your goals. I highly recommend it because it feeds you a lot. But you have to have the heart for it.”

Having the heart for the work is a recurring theme among the teachers. Of working with the Monarch students, Hance says, “I would stress the importance of understanding the population. The students are looking for someone who is genuinely interested in them and in the work. I think they can sniff out someone who’d rather be teaching ballet in the other room.”

Money Matters

The program has an annual budget of around $45,000, not including TTI, and funding has come from city, county, and state funding sources, charitable foundations, corporate sponsorship, and donations from individuals. Susan Sanders, a longtime teacher with Dynamic X-Change, speaks of the difficulty in maintaining funding for programs like it and how the teachers’ and administrators’ dedication keeps them going. “It’s a huge thing,” she says. “Sue needs to be commended because she’s held onto this and she doesn’t have to. She’s a true believer and she knows I am, and she’s surrounded herself with people who are believers also.”

Accountability

One of the things Schroeder is also clear on is having a way to track progress with the students. To this end, each teacher at every site keeps a journal, which is turned in after every session to Farfán for review so that CORE can keep track of not only progress but of the challenges teachers face.

“The journal is an amazing tool,” Farfán says. “The teachers journal after every class so that when they’re making their lesson plan, they know what they did. And for me as coordinator, I can see any red flag and be aware of it right away.” Red flags might be issues of space or site support, which would be addressed with the site’s contact person, or curriculum content that isn’t working, which would then be addressed with the teacher.

Results

Administrators at the sites are enthusiastic about the program and what they see happen with their communities. Lisa Martinez of the Houston Area Women’s Shelter, where CORE has had a presence for 17 years, notes Sanders’ ability to teach children about cooperation. “One of the things I love is that she encourages them to teach their own movement,” Martinez says, explaining that the children at the center, where classes average 16 students, have been victims of violence or seen it in their families, so they often have trouble trusting each other and working together. “It’s a creative way to express themselves and connect with the other children.”

Sanders also works with the children on setting boundaries and respecting their own bodies and space. “We couldn’t run our enrichment program without the creative movement piece,” Martinez adds.

Colleen Russo of The Monarch School was cautious when Dynamic X-Change came to the campus in 2009. “Our kids are very set in their ways. They don’t like change,” she says. “I said to the kids, ‘OK, everyone just try it once and let me know how it goes.’ ” Almost immediately the students were trying things that Russo hadn’t imagined they would feel safe enough to do. “If they feel safe, they’re going to be more willing to take chances and experience new things. I love it; I want more of it,” she says.

According to Schroeder, adaptability is key. “I remember when I got my MFA and had to be observed by my professors and get feedback on my teaching, and they would say the greatest thing you can do as a teacher is be adaptable,” she says. “That’s really true with this kind of work. You come in with a plan of what your goals are for that day and it can be derailed when you take roll. And for me, that’s part of the thrill. OK, let’s go there, and what are we going to find there? It’s satisfying to go with them on a journey.”

The class at The Monarch School exemplifies this. Hance clearly has a plan—the students are instructed to cross the room with patterns such as down-down-up or forward-forward-back, and then she coaxes them to move out of that pattern and show her something surprising. One boy becomes argumentative. A girl is having trouble processing the information fast enough to keep up with the music. Hance remains calm, is firm when she needs to be, praises sincere attempts and successes, and gently challenges the students to move into new areas—of the room and of experience.

Through dance, she leads the students by following where they go.

Celiac Disease: Living and Eating as a Gluten Free Dancer

2015-02-18T18:25:00.001-08:00

by Colleen McCarthy, RD, LD, CMT, LMT

Dancing at a professional level requires being present in class and rehearsals, constantly striving to be at a very competitive level. My first professional job dancing with a company was a dream for me and I was going to do whatever it took to be successful. Turns out, this was a health nightmare that just kept getting worse. No matter how well I thought I was fueling my body by eating whole grain foods, protein, fruits and vegetables, I was experiencing severe stomach pain, bloating, and headaches.

I found myself not wanting to be in class, trying to dance through the stomach pain, bloating, and confusion, which was completely impossible. My weight was dropping without explanation, my dancing was getting sloppy, I could not remember choreography and I was always fatigued no matter what I tried. I was at the end of my rope as I had no idea why this was happening all of a sudden. My resolution to the pain of not eating resulted in a hip injury that kept me out of dance for a year. After seeing many doctors about what I was experiencing, I was not getting answers. I was devastated. After months of suffering, I finally decided to go see a dietitian. After just one time seeing her, I found I was gluten intolerant. I had Celiac Disease, a severe reaction to gluten that stems from an inability to digest it.

celiac disease, a severe reaction to gluten that stems from an inability to digest it. - See more at: http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/march-2012/Go-GlutenFree#sthash.uGeVPya1.dpuf

At first, I was skeptical because how could this one ingredient present in so many foods cause this much pain to the point where dancing suffered so greatly?

Removing gluten completely from my diet made me feel “normal” again. The stomach pain, bloating, constipation, confusion, headaches that I had been experiencing were suddenly gone. I was back in ballet class everyday and I got a job dancing again. Everything seemed to fit back into place. After I figured out how to fuel my body correctly with the nutrients my body needed to dance at the professional, level my energy was through the roof. I was amazed. My body completely changed. Seeing results from just changing the way I ate, and finding out about my gluten intolerance, had a huge impact on my dancing. I felt stronger, my muscles were more defined, I was not bloated, I had more energy than I ever had before, and I was quickly picking up choreography again. It was a complete life change. After what I experienced I decided to go back to school to become a dietitian. I wanted to help people become aware of how food can affect your whole body system.

After personal experience living gluten free, I was hearing talk about a remaining feeling of fatigue and was also experiencing this myself, I did some research. Fatigue is very common among dancers if they do not fuel their body right and it’s even harder when you are gluten intolerant! A very common nutrient deficiency among gluten intolerant individuals is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms include: lack of coordination, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, muscle weakness and balance problems, lacking in coordination and balance. These side effects can be a little bit of a problem for dancers because strong muscles, coordination, balance and not to mention feeling in our feet are very important for a dancer to posses.

Here are some foods that contain B12 that you may want to increase if you are having these issues.

Chicken
Fish
Yogurt
Cheese
Eggs

One simple solution to help your body from losing those important B vitamins is limiting sugar and caffeine in your diet as much as you can. Sugar and caffeine will both give you a quick burst of energy, but will likely end in a blood sugar crash and may lead to chronic fatigue if you are relying on these two nutritionally devoid sources to fuel your body throughout the day. Here are a few things that I like to keep in my bag and a few of my fellow dancers love as well:

Kale Chips
Kind Bars
Raw veggies and hummus
Oranges, apples, grapes, kiwi, bananas
Mixed nuts
Yogurt
Gluten free crackers and hummus
Applesauce
Dried fruit (check the ingredients list for oat bran)
Tuna fish and gluten free crackers
Hard boiled eggs
Banana with almond butter
Popcorn

Healthy fats are also very important to have in our diet because our body uses fats as fuel to sustain energy, and also to deliver fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. As dancers, we often avoid fats due to the fact we believe they are going to make us gain weight. But with all the hours of rehearsals we put our body through, having healthy fats in our diet is something we have to get used to, especially having a gluten sensitivity which may be inhibiting proper nutrient absorption. Sustaining energy levels can be tricky when first starting out on a gluten free diet, so here are some examples of healthy fats to include in your diet:

Flaxseeds
Tuna
Salmon
Avocados
Nuts
Seeds
Olive oil

Eating right and balancing the right fuel for your body makes a huge difference. Keeping your body fueled for those endless hours of rehearsal and show weeks can be tricky and take a good amount of daily planning, but feeling great and having the energy you need to for those dance classes and/or rehearsals is the best reward to yourself!

Here are just a few recipes that I love to make on the weekends and have them for the entire week to eat

Quinoa Salad
Quinoa and Broccoli Bake
Some sustaining recipes

Staying healthy at “home base,” as I like to call it is one thing, but if you are a dancer that tours all over the country, it can be a bit tricky to ensure that you do not accidently ingest gluten. Be sure to review CeliacCorner’s safe and unsafe lists of gluten-free food, especially “other sources of gluten” which you can take on the road with you – start here

So sew up those pointe shoes, grab your snacks and get on with your dancing!

Colleen McCarthy is a registered dietitian, massage therapist and owner of On Pointe Nutrition. She holds a bachelor of arts in dance and a bachelor of science in dietetics, and she is nationally certified in massage therapy and has experience working for sports teams and chiropractors around the Atlanta Area.She completed her clinical nutrition supervised practice at Grady Memorial Hospital, Northside Hospital Atlanta and Forsyth locations, as well as many others in the Atlanta area, and now has her own practice, On Pointe Nutrition. Colleen specializes in food allergies/ intolerances and sports/wellness nutrition. She is also a freelance professional dancer and knows the value of proper nutrition to increase endurance and performance.Having celiac disease, gives her firsthand experience and knowledge dealing with food allergies, intolerances and how detection of these is so important to your overall and future health.

The Many Benefits of Yoga for Dancers

2015-02-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

No matter what kind of dancer you are--modern to hip hop, ballet to tango-- you can derive huge benefits in your dancing from taking regular yoga classes. An estimated one in eight Americans currently practice yoga.

Check out these ways that yoga practice can give your dancing a leg up, both in class and on the stage.

Maximized Flexibility

There’s no such thing as a dancer that’s too flexible. The methods used in yoga can open your tight areas while maximizing the length in muscles that are already flexible. Pretty much every style of yoga has a stretching pose for every part of the body, so whether you have tight hips, an inflexible back, or hamstrings that refuse to give you higher extension, yoga will give you an outlet to safely and effectively increase your flexibility.

Every pose is designed deliberately to focus on a few areas at a time and allow them to open as much as possible. The muscles are pushed to stretch and lengthen slowly without sudden movements that can cause tears and pulled muscles.

Increased Strength & Stability

Most dancers envision yoga as useful only for increasing flexibility. But in reality, it is a unique balance of both stretching and strengthening poses.

Dancers lacking upper body power can turn to yoga for a safe, lean way to gradually build strength in both the larger and smaller muscles. Also, poses like Balancing Stick and other balance centric asanas are wonderful for increasing the stability of the standing leg. This in turn leads to stronger, more sustained, and better controlled adagio work. You may even recognize some of yoga’s poses from your most recent ballet class!

Healthy Joints and Alignment

Finding ways to cross-train safely can be difficult for the dancer, who must also place the health of their joints as the number one priority. Yoga is a wonderful way to cross-train as its moderated pace and sustained positions minimize joint damage, especially in comparison to other cross-training activities such as running and aerobics.

Yoga also promotes consistent, proper alignment through the spine and the entire body, which can be of critical importance to dancers. Those who find themselves uneven or “one sided” can safely and slowly correct their alignment in their practice, working towards a posture that that is both correct and natural.

Breathing Technique

Breath is something referenced frequently in dance (mostly in the context of either doing it or not doing it), but seldom is the proper way to breathe actually taught to dancers. Yoga teaches the student to breathe correctly, by utilizing the diaphragm to breathe in and out without disturbing the alignment of the spine and ribs. This technique, performed properly, increases core stability and strengthens the abdominal muscles—which may be all you need to fix those splayed ribs and crooked pirouettes.

Injury Rehabilitation

While every dancer does what they can to avoid injuries, when they do happen, it’s best to rehabilitate the vulnerable area slowly and safely before jumping back into the fray.
Yoga is a wonderful way to transition from injury. The poses can be easily modified to protect and strengthen weakened areas, as well as stabilize the muscles so as to protect them from future injury and vulnerability. Also, strengthening the smaller “stabilizing” muscles such as the abdominals and hip flexors can prevent dancers from long term joint damage that often doesn’t show itself until later years.

Relieving Stress

Between classes, rehearsals, and performances, it’s all too easy to become overworked and overwhelmed. Yoga is beneficial in its promotion not of building perfect technique, as is standard in the dance world, but on creating peace of mind and a stress free environment for the student. Working through the poses at your own pace gives you the time you need to unwind from the stress of the stage, while still providing immense physical benefits.

Despite being a challenging physical activity, yoga can act as a rejuvenator between long rehearsals or provide mental calm before a big performance. It also teaches the student to find their own place of tranquility and inner peace—a place that can be accessed during even the most challenging physical poses. This practice can come in real handy when turning those 32 fouettés or going into a monstrous lift.

Keeping Warm

All the knit cover ups in the world may help your muscles stay warm in between classes or rehearsals. However, the only real way to stay warm and maintain blood flow is to keep moving and working your muscles. Having a portable mental index of exercises from your latest Vinyasa class can be incredibly useful when you need to stay warm without exhausting yourself.

Once you get into the swing of yoga, you’ll have the poses that release certain areas ingrained in your mind and body. And since it requires no special equipment or facility to practice, you can keep those poses in a mental index and use them whenever you need to keep certain muscles warm or loose.

Doubtful as the hard working dancer may be of its calm and happy practice, yoga and its methods can give any dancer essential tools to help his/her performance. Give it a shot!

Using Inspirational Phrases to Urge Dance Students to Aim Higher

2015-02-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

I had a dance teacher who loved to use inspirational quotes as a way of helping students to aim high and work harder. Some have stuck with me, while I've learned others through my own experience. Here are some that I'd like to share.

Make Excellence Your Habit.

If I could live by only one saying, this would be it.

It is a rare thing for young people to work toward personal excellence. Sometimes their time is spread so thin that they become mediocre at several activities and fail to feel the satisfaction of doing their best at anything. The unique setting of the dance classroom calls for discipline and personal growth, which can inspire young people to show their best.

Excellence isn't the same as perfection. No one is ever truly perfect. But everyone brings a different natural ability and aptitude to the dance classroom. Those who work to their maximum potential are demonstrating their own excellence.

Let No One Outwork You Today.

If dancers work as hard as possible in every class, they will become the best dancers they can personally be. Although teachers should never compare one student’s physical aptitudes to another’s, holding each to a personal level of excellence promotes a good work ethic. The desire to work hard is a gift they give to their dance friends. When teachers and students put out their maximum effort, they become the strongest of dance families and achieve their goals together.

Teachers should try to give students realistic goals that will help them develop their work ethic, since some feel overwhelmed with certain tasks. For example, with dancers who are working to improve the height of their extensions, tell them that if every day you placed one square of bathroom tissue onto a pile, it would take quite a while for anyone to notice a change in the pile’s height. But eventually the stack would become a tower, at which point it would be difficult not to notice it and ask its purpose. It would become quite impressive, just like the result achieved by a dancer who lifts her leg higher in each class, even if the difference is as incremental as the thickness of one slice of bathroom tissue. Eventually that tiny change will add up to an amazing accomplishment that might take years for others to notice but will be sure to impress eventually.

The fable of the tortoise and the hare also illustrates this concept wonderfully. I have known and had many hares in my classes, but it is the tortoises that have changed the quality of the studio.

You Are the Boss Of You.

Most people, especially teenagers, prefer to listen to no one but themselves. Teachers offer suggestions, but their words merely fly around the room unless the students pull the information inside their heads and decide to initiate a change. An advanced student’s best teacher is often the voice inside his head. No dancer becomes outstanding until he accepts responsibility for his own training. Students must move their own bones and muscles, hear and feel the music their own way, and store what they think is important until the next class. They must recognize that the image in the mirror is of their own making. Once they feel that they are in charge, amazing things can happen.

At the beginning of class, ask students to take a moment to consider why they came and what they hope to accomplish and to set a personal goal for that class.

Lead By Example.

This goes back to my grandmother, who often said, “Don't tell people what to do; show them.” If you want your students to be on time for class, do not start class late. If you want your students to be focused in class, stay on track yourself. If you want students to show progress from class to class, make sure the class is structured in a way that allows them to feel the connection. If you want them to be nice to each other, be kind to them.

This slogan should also apply to your students. Every year at recital time, as students are learning their entrances and exits, there are always one or two students who cannot resist the urge to shout, “Go!” or push the student in front of them to get them started. Remind them that the polite thing is to lead by example. For example, if they begin to run in place at the right time, their dance friends will notice the reminder that it is time to get started.

Dance Dangerously.

Encourage your students to dance full-out at all times. It may not always be pretty, but dance is physical, and unless dancers push the boundaries they will have no concept of how far they can go. Watching a dancer take risks and stretch each movement to its fullest is an exciting experience for the audience. This bravery extends to the direct emotional contact a dancer must establish with the audience.

Watching a safe dancer can be like watching a beautiful figurine inside a snow globe: It is lovely but completely untouchable. A dancer’s job is to affect the audience in some way. Whether it is to make them smile, laugh, think, or cry, dancers must learn to connect with audiences and let them feel as if they too are dancing.

In the same vein, also use the phrase “Surprise yourself!” Do what you think you cannot. Do not question or correct yourself. Go for it!

You Can't Be Too Flexible

Some people may argue this point, but if students are to excel, they must be as flexible as possible. Teachers rarely have time in class to develop maximum flexibility in students, so they must find ways to encourage them to work on their own.

Find Your Passion And Attack it.

When people find what they love, they should move heaven and Earth to make it happen. Teachers can help students identify their passions and direct their studies in ways that will satisfy their interests. If dance is their passion, there are countless ways to develop that interest into a career. A student who loves dance and photography could combine those interests and specialize in dance photography. A math whiz with good organizational skills could manage a dance company. Painters could consider getting into set design. Those who love to sew can investigate costume design and construction. In this day of immediate Web access, teachers have the resources at their fingertips to guide students in researching all kinds of careers.

All people should be inspired to do what they love and love what they do, and teachers can play a part in helping their students make that discovery.

Importance of Emotional Intelligence and How Music/Dance Boosts It

2015-02-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Conventional wisdom says that there is a direct connection between our IQ and our ability to succeed in life. In school, we are ranked by our GPA. At certain points in grade school, students are given standardized test that ranks them with other students around the country. Schools are obsessed with how their students rank compared with others. A requirement for most colleges is a satisfactory score on the SAT or ACT exam. These tests are basic IQ tests, designed to test our math and reading comprehension.

But there have been many studies that show IQ only accounts for about 20% of our success in any field. The major attributes of success are our social and emotional intelligence. Yet there is very little emphasis put on emotional intelligence. Only a handful of schools have any formal programs that address emotional intelligence.

In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman says, "People with well-developed emotional skills are also more likely to be content and effective in their lives, mastering the habits of the mind that foster their own productivity; people who cannot marshal some control over their emotional life fight battles that sabotage their ability for focused work and clear thought."

We have an emotional mind and a rational mind. In large part, our emotional mind developed to help us survive. When man first wandered the earth anytime he encountered some new experience, he needed to make instant decisions about whether the encounter involved something that he could eat or something that might try and eat him. To rely on the rational mind, which works much slower than the emotional mind, might have meant the end of mankind. The emotional mind springs into action much quicker than the rational mind. But unless we learn to control the emotional mind, we will make lots of bad decisions and poor choices.

It is more focused on how a person understands, recognizes, and chooses his values. It shows how good a person is in understanding others, and how good he is in making decisions. It is how good a person can apply what he learned to be happy, how a person can love and interact with others.

Studies show that it is not the IQ or Intelligence Quotient of a person which is responsible in attaining success in life. EQ or Emotional Quotient is the main factor responsible for a person's success in all aspects of life.

Unlike Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient is present to everyone. It only needs to be developed. Developing Emotional Quotient can help in decision-making, and in building good relationships with other people. It focuses more in attaining intangible success in life. Success is attaining by knowing how to deal with emotions, feelings, and interactions with others.

It has been proven that attaining material success does not promise personal contentment. Success is defined as being contented, happy and satisfied in life. In 1990, Emotional Quotient was introduced in the world market, affirming that a person's ability to handle relationships and his ability to use the appropriate emotions in every interaction are much more important than a person's intelligence quotient.

A person who has a high emotional quotient score is expected to be more positive in life. Emotional Quotient gives a person courage to stand again after a fall. Emotional Quotient gives person strength to face fear. Being worried, always in doubt, accepting mistakes, and admitting mistakes are just some of the challenges people in any field of work or life face.

And what about our bodies? They are as intelligent as our minds. I think the question worth asking is, "Do people give their bodies the same opportunities to smarten up?" We know bodies can think and feel. In fact, our bodies go beyond both cognition and emotion. They are highly expressive, they remember often what our brains don't, and they know things out of sheer instinct before we do.

Even body language is well researched and understood. But again, it comes from a cognitive point of view as it explains nonverbal communication with others. What about when your body is trying to speak to you? Do you listen? I mean, really listen. Without thinking, without emotion, do you know what your body wants, needs, or has to say? Or, put differently, what kind of relationship do you have with your body? When considering that it has the power to provide the greatest pleasures and impose unbearable pain, one would think that answering this question would be a top priority. But sadly, it is not.

The body requires as much respect in order to be "smart" as the brain needs "exercise" to be strong. You just have to keep moving.... and listen. In this respect, dancing is a way of allowing our bodies express our feelings and talking to us in the process.

At its simplest, emotional intelligence encompasses five competencies:

1. Self-awareness: Recognizing your emotions and their effects; knowing your strengths and limitations; and having a strong sense of your capabilities and self-worth.

2. Self-regulation: Managing your moods by keeping disruptive emotions and impulses in check; and channeling your feelings and resources to enhance your performance and productivity.

3. Self-motivation: Knowing how to use your emotions to propel yourself into action toward a desired goal and to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks.

4. Empathy: Your ability to sense others' feelings and perspectives; read and understand the dynamics of relationships; and anticipate, recognize and meet key constituents' needs.

5. Social skills: Your adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others through communication, collaboration, influence and relationship-building.

Unlike IQ, which is pretty much established at birth, EQ can be learned, implemented and improved upon at any age.

Dance and Music bring kids together and helps develop their social and emotional skills:

Social Skills

Dance and Music connect children who may not otherwise discover they have anything in common. Sharing a love for certain types of dance/music creates an almost automatic bond. It helps provide children with a framework on which they can socialize.
Children respond to music. Try playing some in your home and see what happens! Kids may move closer to talk , creating a more “social” space. They may also express a need to move or dance which encourages them to interact with others.
Dance/Music can help kids and parents relate to each other by creating a relaxed atmosphere for communication or shared activities.
Babies respond to music, too. Maybe this is why parents instinctively sing to their infants. When we sing to babies, it provides a sort of communication between you and the baby. This can lay the groundwork for effective verbal communication when your baby gets older.
Participating in music – either as dancing, studying, or playing an instrument – gives children a sense of confidence that they take into their interpersonal relationships. Confident kids tend to attract friends.

Emotional Skills

Music can provide an emotional outlet for children. This can be in the form of playing an instrument or dancing to music. It can also involve drawing or writing poems to music.
The effects of music on mood are well-known, and these effects hold true for children too. Children can learn to manage their feelings by listening to music to calm them down, give them energy, or help lift their mood.
Recognizing emotions is another way that music helps children develop emotional intelligence. Music helps kids to “hear” what certain feelings sound like, and they can learn to tell what emotion is evoked by a particular piece of music. Dancing helps them get “in touch” with what they are feeling.
Appropriate self-expression springs from a sense of self, and music (especially early music education) can help immensely with this.
The lyrics of songs can also help children understand complex emotions related to specific events or situations.

These are only a few of the ways that interaction with dance/music can help to develop your child’s social and emotional skills. Remember, the more “practice” your child gets, the more easily these concepts will be understood. Try incorporating dance/music into your child’s life where appropriate and watch as he/she blossoms.

Tips for Dancers

If you're sending yourself negative messages, plant positive ones in their place. For example, if you find you're telling yourself "I'm stupid" after making a mistake, replace that message with "What can I do differently next time?"

Commit to responsibilities. This helps you learn not to give up. It is also a way of earning other people's trust.

Take personal accountability. Being accountable is being dependable.

Identify comfort zones and try to go beyond them.

Identify fears and try facing them. Doing this can develop self-confidence. It can attain assurances that anything can be overcome.

Practice being humble. Accepting mistakes in life helps build high self-esteem.

Floats, Royalty and Fun - The History of Mardi Gras

2015-02-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

The grand tradition of Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," is a spectacular event, one that has been attracting tourists to New Orleans since 1872. It traditionally begins each year on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, which was believed to be the date on which the Wise Men visited the Christ child. It lasts for weeks and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins, exactly 46 days before Easter Sunday. the dates of Mardi Gras vary from early February to early March. In 2015, Mardi Gras is Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Mardi Gras has been celebrated in various places throughout the world since about 1699, but New Orleans is by far the best and most worthy of the millions of tourists who have traveled from all over the globe to witness this extravaganza.

Mardi Gras is the last day of a period known as "Carnival", a multi-week pre-Lenten celebration filled with parades, pageants, parties, and of course, lots of good food and drink. Carnival begins on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. It is still highly popular today in predominately Christian countries all over the world.

The history of Mardi Gras began long before Europeans set foot in the New World. In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival not entirely unlike the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today. When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom.

As Christianity spread from Rome to other European countries, so did Carnival. Just prior to Lent, medieval monarchs often held festivals similar to today's Mardi Gras in order to ceremoniously welcome new knights to their service, and also held feasts to honor the knights. Sometimes, prosperous landowners would even ride though their lands rewarding the peasants with cakes, coins and similar trinkets, like present day parade float riders.

Carnival was celebrated in England until the 19th century. The celebration included sports, and ball games between neighboring villages often turned into riots. The games were followed by feasts of pancakes and lots of alcohol. Today, "Pancake Tuesday" is still a tradition in parts of the United Kingdom, and pancake tosses and pancake races are still popular events.

Germany also had a Carnival season, a tradition which continues to this day. Called "Fasching" or "Fastnacht", it features parties, costume balls, and parades which include street floats, similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Onlookers, as well as parade participants, dress up in elaborate costumes or paint their faces.

Similar pre-Lenten festivals, were and still are to some degree, held in France, Spain, and Portugal, as well as the countries of South America. The best known of these is "Carnival", a major celebration held each year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mardi Gras came to the United States in 1699. That year, the French explorer Sieur d'Iberville arrived in the Gulf of Mexico, and from there, sailed up the Mississippi River. He set up camp on the river at a place about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. Because that day, March 3rd, was the same day Mardi Gras was being celebrated back in his native county, he named the his camp site "Point du Mardi Gras".

The Mardi Gras celebration in the United States as we know it today, is most likely based on the Paris Carnivals held during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These included private masked balls and banquets, as well as the famous ball held at the Paris Opera House. Artisan guilds paraded through the streets of Paris. But, most of its' fame and popularity was a result of the numerous public masked balls and the crowds of masked citizens celebrating in the streets of Paris.

The French termed the pre-Lenten celebration "Mardi Gras", meaning "Fat Tuesday" which became the climax of festivities preceding Ash Wednesday. The early Mardi Gras balls in Paris were quite the formal affair with elaborate costumes and grotesque masks.

At Right - Vintage King and Queen of the Rex Parade and Ball, 1950's.

It was in 1872 that purple, green, and gold became the official colors of the Mardi Gras celebration. A group of local businessmen decided that the Mardi Gras parade was so grand that it warranted a king. This King of Carnival became known as "Rex." Rex would lead the Mardi Gras parade through New Orleans and act as the official Monarch of Merriment. The first coronation of Rex went to the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia who happened to be visiting New Orleans that year. His faithful subjects bestowed upon him the duty of selecting the official colors of Mardi Gras- he chose the rich colors of purple, green, and gold. No one knows for certain why he selected these colors. It has been speculated that he chose them because they reflect a royal tone. He would later choose these same colors for his family crest- the Royal House of Romanoff. Also, Romanoff wanted to hear Lydia Thompson, who was in town, sing the song If Ever I Cease to Love. That song became the official theme of Mardi Gras to this day.

It would be twenty years before meaning would be attached to the vibrant colors of Mardi Gras. Each year the Rex parade would take on a new theme. In 1892 the parade theme was "The Symbolism of Color." It was then that the colors received their significance. Purple represented justice, green represented faith, and gold represented power.

Over the last three hundred years many traditions have been assimilated into the New Orleans Mardi Gras. In the 19th century elaborate parade floats began to make their way down Bourbon Street. Revelers on the floats would throw candy, trinkets, and beads to the jubilant crowd.

In 1873, floats began to be constructed entirely in New Orleans instead of France, culminating with Comus' magnificent "The Missing Links to Darwin's Origin of Species," in which exotic paper-mache' animal costumes served as the basis for Comus to mock both Darwin's theory and local officials, including Governor Henry Warmoth. In 1875, Governor Warmoth signed the "Mardi Gras Act," making Fat Tuesday a legal holiday in Louisiana, which it still is. The late 1960's saw the rise of super parades Bacchus and Endymion, inviting celebrities to ride as monarchs. Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, and many more have enjoyed the revelry.

Most Mardi Gras krewes today developed from private social clubs with restrictive membership policies. Since all of these parade organizations are completely funded by their members, New Orleanians call it the "Greatest Free Show on Earth," and revelers from all over the world come to be a part of it.

King Cakes

A King Cake is a baked good traditionally associated with the holiday of Epiphany. King Cakes in different forms and varieties are traditionally eaten in many European countries, including Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Greece, and Portugal. The cakes are called King Cakes because they represent the three kings of the bible. Christian tradition states that it took the kings twelve days (the twelve days of Christmas) to reach Bethlehem, whereupon they venerated the Christ child on Epiphany day.

In New Orleans, the king cake has evolved into a braided brioche bread ring that is topped with sugar, usually with a cinnamon-roll like flavor. The sugar alternates in the three colors of Mardi Gras: purple to represent justice, green to represent faith, and gold to represent power. Tucked inside the bread is a favor, most commonly a plastic baby. Traditionally, king cake is first served each year on Twelfth Night, January 6, and is served throughout the Mardi Gras seasonuntil Mardi Gras day. Now, however, the cake can be easily bought before January 6 throughout New Orleans, as various bakeries and groceries vie for the best rendition of a beloved festival-time treat.

In the past, a bean or favor was hidden in the cake. For many years in the twentieth century, china kewpie dolls were used. Today, plastic babies of approximately one inch in length are used.

At one time, the finder of the baby figurine was the King or Queen for the day. Later as King Cake parties were popularized, the finder of the baby was obliged to give the next King Cake party. Now, as king cakes are commonly sold at grocery stores and bakeries, when a cake is served at the office or at schools, the finder of the baby must supply the next king cake.

Bakers have embellished the traditional king cake. Today, they are often covered in colorful icing, filled with fruit or cheese centers of varying complexity and composition, and even filled with chocolate. The New Orleans Cake Cafe sells a delicious goat cheese and apple version, Haydel's Bakery fills theirs with praline, and the local Whole Foods produces a vegan rendition of the classic. Most bakeries ship King cakes, which can also be ordered online.

Ingredients to Make Your Own King Cake

PASTRY:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans(optional)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins(optional)
1/2 cup melted butter
FROSTING:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon water
Small bottle of Maraachino Cheries

Directions

Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners’ sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Add cherries for extra flavor.

For more info on the history of Mardi Gras, where to stay, see Mardi Gras live, visit MardiGrasNewOrleans.com

To get a taste of New Orleans Jazz music, listen to one of the city's most famous songs when the Saints Go Marching In

Mama Mia! When Your Child is Also Your Dance Student

2015-02-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

By Abby Margulies

Teaching your own child can be a challenging task. Many parent-teachers struggle to find the balance between being the mother of a child whose skills they are uniquely proud of and being the teacher of a classroom filled with students they have to treat equally. But a few key strategies can make the pleasure of teaching your child far outweigh the added stress.

Teacher vs. Mom

For mothers who double as teachers, the first step toward avoiding conflict is helping your child differentiate between you in “teacher mode” and you in “mom mode.” Mary Price Boday, an associate professor at Oklahoma City University’s Ann Lacey School of American Dance and Arts Management and the coordinator of the school’s American Dance Teacher Pedagogy Program, suggests beginning when the child is young with a conversation that draws the distinction between you as mother and you as teacher.

“Explain to your daughter that she is one of the students, and when she’s in the room it’s not mommy and daughter anymore, it’s teacher and student,” Boday says. “Mommy and daughter time is afterwards.” In fact, scheduling a specific “mommy-daughter” outing soon after class—a trip to the ice cream stand or the bookstore—can help younger children differentiate between “teacher mom” and “mom mom.” Bevalie Pritchard, the school mistress and principal teacher at the Orlando Ballet School, found this method to be highly successful when teaching her two daughters. “Eventually, they separated me as mommy from me as teacher, almost as if I were two different people,” she says.

Separate, But Not Equal

Isolation from peers is also common among the children of dance teachers, because it is hard for them to define themselves as individuals in their mother’s presence. Boday had trouble with her daughter who, as a teenager, developed an attitude about the other students in class. “Our late-night dinner conversations would be my daughter asking what was wrong with everyone else in the class,” Boday says. “‘Why didn’t you correct this? Why didn’t you try to fix that?’ She kept herself separated from all the other students because of it.”

According to Boday, children of dance teachers often feel overshadowed by their parents, and they have a tendency to think that things should go their way because they are the teacher’s child. In this case, Boday eased that tension by explaining the rationale behind when and how she made corrections in class. “I told my daughter that if I corrected every single thing that every single person did wrong, nobody would get anything done and everyone would have a flattened ego,” Boday says. “So I picked only the most important things to correct.” Boday also suggests preventing isolation from peers by making the rules the same for everybody and sticking to them. “It’s not always possible, but if you can, make it so that everyone has the same part and no one is going to be a soloist,” says Boday. “That way it’s easier for your child to feel equal to the other students, and they in turn don’t view your child as a threat or someone they are jealous of.”

Look at Me!

That same need to define themselves as individuals can also cause teacher’s children to engage in attention-seeking behaviors. Tracy Solomon, director of The Dothan School of Dance, found this was the case with her daughter Ashlie. “Ashlie wanted to be friends with everybody,” says Solomon. “But it was hard for her because I was there in class clamping down on her. She would resent that and, as retaliation, disobey the rules.”

On one particularly harrowing day, Solomon asked Ashlie to leave class because she was disrupting the barre routine. A few minutes later, Solomon looked out the window and saw that Ashlie was right outside of the studio, ostentatiously continuing her barre on the porch. For Solomon, the problem was frustrating on a number of levels. Not only did Ashlie misbehave so frequently that Solomon had to ask her to leave class at least once a week, but Solomon was also disappointed by the fact that Ashlie was wasting time making scenes and therefore not living up to her potential. “I expected her to be everything that I knew she could be, and when she would clown around or not try a hundred percent, it would really ruffle my feathers,” Solomon says. “It was hard to treat her the same as any other child because my expectations for her were higher.”

Boday acknowledges the difficulty of tempering your expectations for your child and recommends actively “checking” yourself as a parent. “You have to have a mental conversation with yourself,” says Boday. “Say, ‘I’m invested in every student that walks through the door.’ You have to give each and every person the same amount of yourself, your child included.” Solomon found that giving Ashlie additional responsibilities as she got older also led her to be more attentive in class. “I would give her younger group dances to choreograph and also let her teach some pre-ballet classes,” Solomon says. “It helped her realize how important it is that teachers demand attention and attentiveness and that the students follow the rules.” Experiencing the challenges of being a teacher will help your child understand the decisions you make in class.

The More Teachers, the Merrier

Giving your child the opportunity to study under other teachers—both at your own studio and over the summer, if possible—is also helpful. “It’s important for your child to have the opportunity to learn from others along the way, so that you aren’t her only idea of what a teacher is,” Pritchard says. According to Boday, working with different teachers will also help your child respect and enjoy the classes she takes with you more, since you will no longer be her only dance authority figure. And summer programs, if affordable, can be even more beneficial. “Sometimes the children of teachers love dance, but they haven’t really buckled down because it’s their mom at the front of the classroom,” says Boday. “Then, when they go away to a summer program, they get so excited about the progress they’ve made that they’re more serious when they come back.”

Solomon hired another teacher to teach Ashlie’s classes during her junior and senior years of high school. “She finally realized that dance class was serious, not just a place to goof off,” Solomon says. “Her junior and senior years were when she buckled down and realized that she wanted to do this as a career.” Even with the challenges, most teachers agree that the experience of teaching one’s own child is priceless. “Watching them grow up is the most exciting thing in the world,” says Pritchard. “Now we’re closer because of it.”

Abby Margulies is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn.

Cheering the Team to Victory: Being an NFL Cheerleader

2015-01-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

The most important thing to understand about being a cheerleader for an NFL organization is that cheerleaders represent the company organization and the image that it wants to convey. While there is a great deal of money in sports, cheerleading can often be viewed as a community service organization. Cheerleaders appear all across their state at charity events representing the team organization's charities. In fact, this has been such an important part of cheerleading that some squads even have a non-performing cheerleading squad that specifically goes around to make appearances on behalf of the organization.

One of these cheerleaders is former New Orleans Saintsation, Chrissy(Christine) Hamilton, who made the Saintsations sqad in 2005, and left after the Saints' Superbowl victory in Feb. 2010. Now with a career as a pharmacist, she reveals the challenges, surprises and rewards of the NFL cheering life.

Hamilton grew up in Chalmette. She was a student at Xavier University College of Pharmacy in New Orleans in August 2005. Along with her being a Saintsation, her family had moved into their brand new house earlier in the year. Life was good, then Hurricane Katrina struck. "The storm left 15 feet of water in the house," she says.

Hamilton Enterprises, the 30-year-old family furniture and hardware business her dad and his three brothers ran, flooded, too. "The store was our life. My mom and dad had never done anything else," she says "It was such a heart-wrenching time for us. I didn't want to go back to cheerleading for my second year," she says. "But my mom said, 'Just give it a try.'"

By then, her parents, David and Lisa Hamilton, had come back home to rebuild their home and the family business in Chalmette, and she was back in pharmacy school at Xavier.

She decided to listen to her mom, and she's thrilled she did.In addition to gaining confidence, she has learned time management, something you need when you're a full-time college student, work at Walgreen's in Chalmette, have dance practice three times a week, and make frequent public appearances.

How do you become a Saintsation? Is the competition stiff?
Chrissy: We usually have 100 to 150 girls try out. They conduct a couple workshops, and then we have preliminary auditions where we perform a one-minute routine. They'll make some cuts, then we have another round of dancing and interviews, then they have a training session boot camp with 50 finalists. They pretty much start practice and see how the girls handle it. They cut about 15, and we end up with 35 girls or so.

How many hours a week did you practice?
Chrissy: On a normal basis, every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. That is from the day you make the team in the spring until the end of the season. It's a big time commitment and a lot of hard work. We did three new dances every game, and our four lines -- one in each corner of the field -- were synchronized.

How do you stay in shape?
Chrissy: I love running. I run about three miles four or five times a week. It really tones my muscles. It's all about finding what works for you.

What aspct of being a Saintation did you enjoy most?
Chrissy: I loved interacting with the fans on game days - New Orleans really does have the best fans. I love doing community work and being a role model, showing that we are intelligent women who have jobs and go to school. I enjoy dancing and performing, and especially the 2009 season, where we sold out every game, 80,000 fans. It's an awesome adrenaline rush. It's so cool. I wish everyone could experience it just once.

You grew up right outside New Orleans. Did you ever dream you'd be a Saintsation?
Chrissy: No way! I've been dancing since I was 2, and I just so happened to be on the dance team in high school, and the company we'd go to competitions with actually owned the Saintsations. A couple of friends recruited me and I made the team.

What else does being a Saintsation involve?
Chrissy: We did 20 outside appearances, and then we had outreach programs. We worked with the Angel's Place, an organization for terminally ill children. And we each had to sell at least 100 of our calendars.

Favorite Memories?
Chrissy: By far, being at the Super Bowl with the Saints. Thinking about what that meant to the team, us and the people of New Orleans. I can't even put into words how great it was, but I will remember it for the rest of my life.

For more about the Saintsations, click here

Fighting Bullying With Dance Movement

2015-01-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

According to the Justice Department, one out of every four kids is abused by another youth each month, and every day as many as 160,000 U.S. children miss school because of bullying. Many programs are designed to cope with youth conflict issues, but one dancer/educator, Dr. Martha Eddy, believes that in order for a program to be effective, it must integrate movement into the curriculum. Since dance teachers work in an environment built around movement, the principles Eddy has developed are particularly suitable to them.

“Body language and movement are at the heart of human behavior,” explains Eddy. In addition to holding a doctorate in movement science and education, she is a registered somatic movement therapist, certified movement analyst, and founder and director of The Center for Kinesthetic Education in New York City.
Central to Eddy’s work is the premise that “any type of violence—physical, psychological, verbal—will have an impact on our bodies,” she says. “Sometimes it affects our whole body; sometimes we just get shoulder cramps or an increased heart rate. This has to be reconciled; the body has to come back to homeostasis. Unless we move, we carry that tension.”

Last February in New York, at the Dance Education Laboratory of the 92nd Street Y, she presented a course on conflict resolution and bullying prevention for teachers. Her curriculum for “Performing Peace: Including the Bully” uses a cooperative approach drawing from dance, theater, creative movement, somatic education, and reflective thinking processes. The workshop guides adults or children (K–12) in understanding and examining the nature of bullying and being bullied, and in the practical implementation of peaceful behavior in times of stress—teaching new responses through movement games, and choreographing positive responses to a wide range of feelings.

Including the bully might sound like a recipe for disaster, but according to Eddy, the opposite is true. “If you don’t include the bullies, they will still stand apart, be angry, and feel alienated,” she says. “They probably have their own history of trauma, of being bullied. Until we really help that bully, nothing is going to change at that school. Often bullies are leaders, but have been told they are bad or never do [things] right. We have to get them to buy into rules about human caring and set some rules with the group. Rule number one: no physical abuse.”

While working on her doctorate, “The Role of Physical Activity in Violence Prevention Programs for Youth,” at Teachers College at Columbia University, Eddy identified conflict resolution and non-violence programs around the country. They showcased an array of approaches: from martial arts to dance and theater, somatic awareness and relaxation, and even social studies taught by a dance therapist. “To the credit of all the existing programs,” she says, “they all used role play—but role play is just a beginning, not necessarily a context that conflict will come up in.

“For some programs,” Eddy continues, “the main issue is about focusing on the kids having self-control or being strong enough to defend themselves, or aware. So a lot of programs are just about becoming aware of violence, learning that some of what goes on at parties is psychological abuse, learning to be alert to that. It might not be learning how to stand up to violence, but about how to respond.”

Adapting some ideas from movement analysis and child psychiatry, Eddy identified four content themes related to progressive decision making:

Self-Control/Social Skills
Awareness of violence and the Surrounding Environment
Self-assertion and Self-determination in the Face of Violence
Peace Activism

Each of these could be addressed by four movement activities or behaviors: body regulation, avoiding violence, finding strength, and readiness to act. Using these principles, students can learn to regulate tension and energy. Through movement phrases, gestures, or compositions, they can learn to focus on avoiding violence or perceiving peaceable options. Movement can help them find the strength to stand steady, to assert themselves, and also learn when it is appropriate to act or get involved.

Dance can be used to enhance self-control, self-assertion, and interpersonal awareness.

Dance expression through improvisation, choreography, and performance around concerns regarding conflict and violence provides an outlet for expressing feelings and building confidence and self-esteem.

Improvisation and composition teach problem-solving skills, creative brainstorming, and cooperation—all needed for conflict resolution and moral reasoning.

Choreography also encourages problem solving and team building, while performance expands the sphere of responsibility to the community at large, providing an opportunity to take action in the world, which helps develop confidence and pride.

Eddy’s research also uncovered the importance of teacher commitments to youth advocacy and the teacher empathy needed for these programs to succeed. Among the notable people identified during her research were Nancy Beardall at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Sarah Crowell at Destiny Arts in Oakland, California, pioneers who are still leading in the field.

Beardall, dance therapy coordinator in the Expressive Therapies Division at Lesley University, has a peace-education program and also heads a creative-arts program. “Her original ideas,” Eddy says, “came out of the [university] dance club, and the intimacy a teacher has preparing everything for performance. She developed the first program dealing with bullying in her company in the ’90s.”

Crowell has taught dance, theater, and violence prevention to youths in schools and community centers in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990. In 1993 she co-founded Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, a troupe for teens to co-create original movement/theater productions based on their own experiences.

“They have a dojo [a martial-arts training space] and a dance and theater program,” Eddy says. “All the kids get to do their own choreography and write their own scripts around issues of violence, and they are taught some conflict-resolution skills.”

Conflict-resolution skills come naturally when you work in a group, according to Eddy. “Even if [teachers] don’t know they are teaching conflict resolution, because they are modeling it, student issues will come to the fore. Teachers in classrooms, gyms, and studios draw upon body-awareness activities like breathing and stretching with equal ease. This technique, which is used to calm groups down, helps with self-regulation and focus.”

Eddy has been teaching courses for educators and therapists on conflict resolution through movement and dance for about 10 years. As part of her “Embodying Peace” classes, she offers workshops for adults or children in conflict resolution, violence prevention, body awareness and language, stress reduction, and the use of the arts for social and emotional education. Teachers learn to guide students to respond to conflict peacefully by using body language awareness and to manage anger by tuning in to bodily cues. Verbal and nonverbal behavior for resisting bullying and dealing with difficult situations are practiced. Students may be taught how to express moods through dance and then to use dance alone, with partners, and with groups to make positive choices in responding to their feelings.

Eddy recommends that teachers who are interested in conducting workshops “invite in experts who have an understanding of your population. First-graders have different needs than eighth-graders. Girls have different social dynamics than boys. Experts can help teachers learn about ‘Queen Bees’ (strong-willed, popular girls), that boys need to rely on play fighting for physical contact, etc.”

When hiring an expert, Eddy says, make sure he or she includes a body language and movement component. Alternately, work with The Center for Kinesthetic Education to develop a movement-filled workshop or take the Dance Education Lab workshop next time it is offered at the 92nd Street Y.

Resources

Embody Peace: embodypeace.org
The Center for Kinesthetic Education: wellnesscke.net
Lesley University Division of Expressive Therapies: lesley.edu/gsass/56etp.html
Destiny Arts: destinyarts.org

Defining Healthy: The Ever Changing Ideal Dance Body Shape

2015-01-20T16:01:00.001-08:00

It wasn’t so long ago that university dance programs were affiliated with physical education departments, and some schools were slower than others in moving their dance students into the humanities. At Stanford, this happened in 1996, just in time for Chelsea Clinton’s visit to the campus, when the dance division switched from the Athletics Department to the Drama Department. Dr. Janice Ross, who now heads Stanford’s Dance Division, said the aim of the program in previous decades had been “giving girls a good experience in movement rather than producing artists.”

With its transition from athletics to humanities, dance has challenged assumptions about its purpose, such as illustrating physical virtuosity, as well as its practitioners, namely agile bodies, especially female bodies. Even so, these definitions remain among some audiences and in certain contexts. Conversations about the role of dancing in societies and who is deemed “suitable” to dance did not always accompany the shift to different departments.

Although there are both schools and artists today that promote dance as a form of knowledge, communication and expression, the definition of a dancer as an idealized athlete is still prominent. Today’s reality television shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars contribute to notions of dancers as technicians who can be assessed according to physical prowess, versatility, flexibility and strength. These shows equate dancing with vigor and youth; when Buzz Aldrin, then 80, competed on Dancing with the Stars, he didn’t last long, with critics saying he was “clearly outmatched.”

The blurring of dance and sports is visible on concert stages as well. A New Republic article entitled “Crisis in Contemporary Ballet” reported that there is “too much athleticism” in the art form, stating that “artists today seem more attached to form than perhaps ever before—wedded to concept, abstraction, gymnastic moves and external appearance.” A week later another New Republic writer responded, “This dearth of feeling might have something to do with the growth of competition culture, in which artistry is scored and treated as just another variable.”

Dancers may have a hard time extracting this art form from associations with athletes and competitions because these are dominant forces in American culture and politics. As far back as the Greek Olympics, physical training was valued for its role in nurturing endurance and patience, and these qualities were linked to being a good citizen: disciplined, devout and virtuous. The chiseled bodies of Olympic competitors became synonymous with strength, competence and health. Even President Kennedy participated in this ideology of linking aesthetics and health when he wrote an article for Sports Illustrated in 1960 that derided the “soft American.” He stated, “The President and all departments of government must make it clearly understood that the promotion of sports participation and physical fitness is a basic and continuing policy of the United States… the federal government can make a substantial contribution toward improving the health and vigor of our citizens.”

Jostling conventional ideas about who’s a dancer is a trend that’s now 40 or 50 years old. Liz Lerman incorporated multiple generations of performers in her work, inspired by an idea of community by Robert Nisbet that advocated for the establishment of new forms, “forms which are relevant to contemporary life and thought.” With the current generation of artists in the Bay Area and abroad, this search for relevant forms continues. Artists like Catherine Long, Eric Kupers and Sean Dorsey challenge us to dismantle associations of bodily aesthetics as “ideal” or “healthy.” Years ago Lerman noticed that if “one dancer is her own self, the more another dancer can be his own self.”
This ability to honor differences, which includes cultivating a sense of groundedness and awareness, keeps dancing, the art form of our bodies, alive and healthy. Kupers, director of Bandelion, adds, “I crave art that is raw, that stays human, that has glitches and rough edges. I want to leave a show, my own or other artists’, feeling more alive, more human, more accepting of all parts of myself. But usually I feel alienated from apparently ‘perfect’ bodies doing ‘perfect’ movements that I feel I could never do, and especially that those not trained in dance feel separate from. What’s the point of paying a bunch of money to feel more separate?”

Sean Dorsey, the Artistic Director of Sean Dorsey Dance and Fresh Meat Productions, says, “Modern dance, as a physical mode of expression, has the tremendous potential and capacity to empower, liberate, inspire and connect diverse communities. It also has tremendous potential to expand what we think of as ‘beauty’ and ‘grace.’ But modern dance doesn’t always do this: modern dance often ends up enforcing all the hetero-normative, racist, gender-binary rules that we’ve been so busy FIGHTING against on the streets and in the courts. Why drop our politics as soon as we enter the theater? Many of my dance heroes have challenged the racist and white supremacist assumptions of modern dance; others have challenged the sexist and misogynist; others of my dance heroes have challenged the able-ist codes. Transgender visibility and gender norms are the very last to be challenged in modern dance. Transgender bodies, queer bodies, bodies brimming with complexity – these bodies are beautiful and full of grace and I ache to see them dancing, in leadership, creating, performing. This is my life work and it’s a JOY and a privilege.”

Inspired by Keith Hennessey, Liz Lerman, Bill T. Jones, AXIS Dance and Sins Invalid, Dorsey says “their luminous challenges to dance’s definitions of WHO can dance, and what makes a ‘healthy’ body” are important to his understanding of dance and performance. “I feel I’m part of a great big family of shit-disturbers who make beautiful, powerful work in the process of changing minds. I’m also inspired by transgender artists like writer Kate Bornstein, singer-songwriter Shawna Virago and filmmaker Christopher Lee.”

An artist and scholar invested in building awareness of disability cultures, Petra Kuppers writes: “I am fascinated by how artists use specific experimental techniques towards self-empowerment, system critique and identitarian allegiances (in various combinations).” Dorsey responds to this quote: “Too much is at stake for us NOT to critique the system. This is not an academic exercise for my community: my transgender and queer communities died by the hundred, by the thousand during the early AIDS crisis. No one talks about all the transgender women that died. History doesn’t remember them. Yes, my work is absolutely about self-empowerment. I hear it every week in emails I receive from young transpeople, LGBT elders and straight dancegoers. ‘Self-empowerment’ is a fancy term for: I want you to see your unique body reflected in art & culture; I want you to hear your unique story there; I want you to feel entitled to tell your story; and I want you to get to tell that story and know it will be listened to.”

As dancers have persisted in expanding definitions of who can perform and what people can dance about, audiences have embraced a diversity of body types on stages as well as an understanding of performances as sites that shift dominant ideologies about ideal bodies. Current generations continue questioning not only what it means to perform, and who we consider a dancer, but also how we interact with performers and how inclusivity can generate collectivity. Kupers’ performances involve artists and audiences of differently abled movers in ever-evolving relationships. He says, “We have choreography and written text and musical compositions to use as a launching pad, but we have to hold those lightly and allow for the mysterious to emerge—to allow for surprise and sudden change. And so we train in becoming intimate with our fusion of art forms and cultivating an ability to relax in uncertainty… In this context, the idea that performers should look one certain way, or have similar body shapes and sizes, or have the same abilities or disabilities is ridiculous. Conformity kills presence. And what we are seeking is presence.”

Kupers advocates for dancing as a performing art that belongs to anyone and any body, and his work challenges notions that dancers must present specific images of grace and beauty. This presses against missions of mixed-abilities companies that still aspire to create athletically daring or physically virtuosic programs. Kupers adds, “The idea that a dancer’s body has to be thin and young and highly athletic and able-bodied is to me a complete affront to the power of dance. Dance is a birthright. If we are breathing we can dance, and some would say we already are dancing. Yes, highly-trained concert dance can be beautiful, but no more so than street dance and ritual dance and club dancing. Each has its place and its function… ”

Janice Ross writes in her book about Anna Halprin, “Dance, more than any other art form, is weighted toward showcasing the kingdom of the well. Both those who create and those who perform dances are presumed to be healthy… The more visible the body, as in athletes or dancers, the more developed and refined [their sense of] control tends to be, conveying an impression of underlying health…”

Halprin, similar to Isadora Duncan before her, advocated for dancers’ health rather than “lockstep duplication.”11 Decades earlier, Duncan said that ballet was “an expression of degeneration, of living death,” and the bodies of such dancers consisted of “deformed” muscles and bones. In contrast, Duncan described her mission as expressing “what is the most moral, healthful, and beautiful in art.”

In the 1950's and 1960's, as Halprin rejected the tendency to define dancers through body types and its accompanying idea of dance as the display of vigorous feats, she also tapped into the variety of intelligences carried through bodily movement. In the documentary Artists in Exile Halprin explains her interests, “It became vital to me that we deal with people’s feelings, that we deal with the differences that we have. That started this whole idea for me of healing. How can dance look square in the eye at itself as some ‘Look at me!’ kind of dancing or ‘Look how clever I am!’ or ‘Look what I can do!’ Who cares?! I couldn’t care less!” Halprin’s rejection of dancing as athletic display coincided with her growing interest in the role of performers, and a specific interest in salutary experiences for these people.

Asked if he considers dance an art form that promotes healthy living, Kupers replied, “‘Healthy’ is highly subjective. It is not about where we fit on lists, statistics or probabilities… Health includes blood pressure and cholesterol and immune systems and metabolism and aerobic exercise. But it also equally includes state of mind, ability to flow between diverse emotional states and not get stuck anywhere, confidence to sing and dance just as you are, relationships with each other, relationships with the natural world, energy levels, ability to access joy in the present moment, ability to acknowledge grief and loss, finding one’s ‘calling,’ aligning one’s career with one’s deeper values, ability to help others, ability to be helped by others, ability to ignore statistics and probabilities when our intuition tells us something different, and so much more.”

Society and The Dance Boom of the 1960's And 70's

2015-01-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

At right - Politicians making war in Kurt Joos’s GREEN TABLE created in Germany between World Wars 1&2, staged by the Joffrey Ballet

Balletomania - extraordinary enthusiasm for ballet - resurges from time to time. During the 1960's and 1970's a convergence of creativity, talent, vision, politics and money created what is known by many as the dance boom.

Ballet, usually relegated to the back of the arts section, was front page news. The newspapers were full of ballet, which is normally kept for the back of the arts section. Ballet dancing even made the front pages. Many outstanding ballet dancers defected from the Soviet Union and seized the world's attention. The most prominent defectors included Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. These ballet dancers sparked a renaissance in classical ballet and nonclassical items were reinvented. Suddenly new first rate ballets started appearing and ballet was the hip thing to do.

And there was money for it. During the 60's and 70's the federal government established the National endowment for the Arts, individual states created their own arts councils and private organizations like the Ford Foundation gave generously to dance and dance education.

Today, a Russian dancer can move to New York without too much difficulty, but before the fall of communism, it was unthinkable. Russia did not allow people, especially prized ballet dancers, to emigrate. When Russian dancers had tours to Western countries, they were under constant surveillance and were not permitted to go on tour at all if the government harbored suspicions about them. Ballet dancers lived in fear for their families that were left behind in case the government retaliated against them. If they did defect, they had to assume that they would never see their loved ones or their homeland again. Artistic freedom came at an enormous price and huge risk.

Nureyev dominated the stage with his magnetism and put male dancing in the spotlight again. Makarova brought with her exquisite line and expressive phrasing along with brilliant technique. Baryshnikov will be remembered for his astounding leaps and turns that just seemed to come out of nowhere.

Nineteenth century ballets got a much needed boost, and new classics were in full production. In Europe, Cranko, MacMillan and Ashton choreographed important and enduring ballets. In New York, Arthur Mitchell founded the Dance Ttheatre of Harlem. At New York City Ballet, Balanchine and Robbins created some of their finest work. With NYCB's move to Lincoln Center in 1964, the advent of dance on television, creativity seemed boundless and endless. The 1972 Stravinsky Festival offered 22 premieres on one week, 10 by Ballanchine.

Alvin Ailey was a curator of dance as much as a creator of it. Under his leadership the company's repertory was as far-reaching, although not always as distinguished, as those of the Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theater, troupes with far greater financial resources. He had an endearingly casual, unpretentious way of bringing the great and not-so-great, the past and present generations of choreographers under his wing - Pearl Primus, Todd Bolender, Ulysses Dove, Ted Shawn, Hans van Manen, Katherine Dunham, Elisa Monte, Lester Horton, Billy Wilson, Lucas Hoving, Talley Beatty and Rudy Perez.

Although these choreographers' ethnicity is as various as their artistic stature, Ailey probably came by his preservationist streak through his own heritage. He wanted to give black choreographers the berth they could not easily attain, for reasons of prejudice and plain ignorance, in a primarily white dance world. His championship of victims of racism led him naturally to the victims of time and changing fashion, and so to such white pioneers of modern dance as Horton and Shawn.

Robert Joffrey demonstrated how ballet could rouse an audience to political protest. The Joffrey Ballet revived important but rarely seen ballets from the distant and not-so-distant past. It also presented new work by then unknown choreographers like Tharp, Forsythe and Morris. In 1967 Joffrey revived Kurt Jones's 1932 harrowing antiwar ballet, The Green Table Two years later, when the Vietnam War as at its height, Joffrey put The Green Table on the program. During the performance, each dancer wore a black armband when his or her character was taken by Death; their final group appearance at the end creating an eloquent silent protest. Audience members were moved to follow the dancers out onto the streets of New York to join the demonstration.

All that said, everyone knows that the dance boom has ended. It fell victim to drastic cuts in government and private financing that curtailed touring and put some companies out of business. The creative drive of that exciting time has also petered out. Douglas Dunne no longer lies on a crate for hours. Ms. Tharp no longer investigates the limits of perception, daring audiences to follow her dancers from room to room or up and down staircases in museums.
Old-timers will tell you, rightly, that dancers value technique over artistry today. But this is not true in all cases, especially in the way Balanchine works are danced 23 weeks a year at New York City Ballet, the only company in the world that can attract a public for that long in one city. Professional Balanchine mourners: move on. Doomsayers of the dance world: stand by; any art form is greater than a single individual, be it choreographer or superstar. We are in an interlude waiting for the next boom. In the end is the beginning.

Interview/Documentary from Dance in America with the Joffrey Ballet in 1976. Includes Robert Joffrey briefly interviewing Kurt Jooss about "The Green Table"

The Need to be Perfect: When Dancers Are Driven to Extremes

2015-01-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

Corps member Megan wanted her dancing to be absolutely perfect. She worked hard and was incredibly focused. But instead of concentrating on how much she was improving, she obsessed over her mistakes. “I constantly saw my weaknesses and flaws as something wrong with me,” she says. “In class, I’d be so busy thinking about the last mistake I made or the things about me that needed ‘fixing,’ that I would miss corrections from the teachers or would be slow to pick up the combination. This affected my confidence and focus.”

Sound familiar? If so, you may be suffering from a kind of perfectionism that is impeding your progress and making you feel bad about yourself. Clinical psychologist Dr. Linda Hamilton (who specializes in the performing arts) and sports psychologist Dr. Caroline Silby (who works with elite athletes and dancers) give the scoop on how to deal when perfectionism has got you down.

What is Neurotic Perfectionism—and how different is it from Perfectionism?

Most dancers are perfectionists, which is a good thing. We have a strong work ethic, high standards and are often organized. “A lot of what we do is about perfecting our physique and technique,” Megan says. “We are constantly making adjustments and improvements.”

But when this is taken to the extreme, it becomes neurotic, or maladaptive, perfectionism. “Neurotic perfectionism is the need to succeed taken to the extreme,” says Maryland-based Silby, who has worked with dancers at The Kirov Academy in Washington, DC, and American Ballet Theatre. Maladaptive perfectionism is characterized by a constant need for approval, the setting of unreasonable standards and endless anxiety about meeting those expectations. On the other hand, “People with a healthy drive to succeed understand that there are ups and downs,” Silby says. “If they fail to meet expectations, they’re able to negotiate through it in an effective way and use it to move forward. For neurotic perfectionists, it’s either success or failure, and typically, it’s failure because the standard is so high it’s almost impossible to meet.”

Maladaptive perfectionism can cause a host of psychological problems, like disordered eating, anxiety and substance abuse. It can make you lose your love for dance and make you feel depressed. It can also lead to burnout—a maladaptive perfectionist might “continually over-practice or never take a day off,” Hamilton explains. “She might add cross-training, thinking she’s doing something good for herself when she needs to rest.”

What are the Signs?

“If a dancer is unusually critical, is focusing on her mistakes, not seeing all the good things she has done, or is setting very high standards that no one could meet, my antennae go up for perfectionism,” Hamilton says.
Neurotic perfectionists tend to…

…overemphasize PRODUCT, and underemphasize PROCESS. Dancers who fixate on the final outcome—say, not being cast in a particular role—dismiss the ways in which they have contributed to their success. “They don’t say, ‘I had a great audition today and here’s why: I visualized my variation, I took a deep breath and told myself to trust my training,’” Silby says. This makes performing even more anxiety-provoking because they don’t give themselves any credit for contributing to the outcome! (In fact, when asked how they have contributed to their success, nine out of 10 perfectionists will say they don’t know.)
…set unrealistic standards that make them feel like they’re constantly failing, which can lead to depression.
…procrastinate. The sheer thought of failing keeps them from trying at all, so they put it off.
…be indecisive, which can be problematic on or offstage. “In performance, if you can’t decide whether you’re really going to go for it or kind of going to go for it, it wreaks havoc on performance,” Silby explains.
…feel shame and guilt about letting others down and worry about the sacrifices their parents or teachers have made for them.
…say “should” a lot instead of focusing on what they can do or have already accomplished.

Contributing Factors

Teachers and the studio environment also play an important role. Does your teacher put emphasis on effort or only on outcome? Does she pay attention to all the students or just the most talented ones? “You need to be able to dispute the negative thoughts with fact, logic and reason,” Hamilton says. Look at the bigger picture. The teacher may have ignored you today because she worked with you yesterday, or because you have a cold and you weren’t at your best.

This is hard to do on your own. Hamilton recommends thinking of what you’d say to your best friend if she was complaining of being ignored. You wouldn’t tell her she was a complete loser! You’d probably give her a slew of factors—mostly circumstantial—that have contributed to her feeling down.

Treatment

Hamilton focuses on both the physical and psychological issues, starting with whether the dancer is getting enough sleep. (Being sleep deprived can make anyone feel awful.) Then she uses cognitive behavior therapy to help a dancer cope.

First, she uses a technique called “thought-stopping”: When you feel a negative thought coming on, you stop it early. Then you reframe the situation by treating a mistake as a learning opportunity. Let’s say you fell out of a turn at a critical dress rehearsal. Instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself why. “Maybe you’re exhausted,” Hamilton says, “or maybe it’s an awkward step. It doesn’t have to mean you have no talent.”

Hamilton asks dancers to become aware of their own “self-talk.” What are you (unconsciously) telling yourself? Are you berating yourself for being untalented, or do you feel proud of doing a step well? Hamilton asks dancers she works with to keep a “stress diary,” where negative self-talk is disputed with facts, logic and reason.

You can learn to turn maladaptive perfectionism around so that it doesn’t negatively affect your dancing and self-esteem. “After a huge injury forced me to take a break, I realized that I focused too much on my imperfections and on the things that went wrong,” Megan explains. “I was stressing myself out and overworking in this unrealistic attempt to be perfect.” What did she do? “I started accepting myself and the things that I couldn’t change. I’m committed and disciplined, but now I try not to put unnecessary pressure on myself.”

She also advises staying positive for the sake of your fellow dancers. “The worst thing is working with a dancer who has a negative self-image. Now I work hard on my weaknesses, but they don’t affect my focus and stress level—and they don’t hold me back. It’s because I’m aware of my strengths, too.”

Kindness: A Weakness or Strength?

2014-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

“Someone is going to take advantage of your kindness.” Different variations of that theme exist in cultures all around the world, implying that people who are kind are going to be used by others who are not so nice. So much of society seems focused on helping the self rather than others, so this belief of kindness being weakness – not physical, but mental and emotional – may not be surprising. Specifically, kindness is viewed as weakness because kind people are seen as easy to manipulate, poor handlers of valuables, and simply naïve in matters of life.

The adjective kind is defined as “having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature …tolerant and forgiving under provocation.” These seem like positive traits for a human being to have, yet mentors often try to stamp out kindness in their students, saying that ruthlessness is much more likely to get a person to where he/she wants to be as an adult. Kindness, after all, is just a person’s inability to say no, right?

Not necessarily.

First, kindness is repeatedly mistaken as a personality quirk that makes someone easy to manipulate. Assumptions are made that kind folk can be maneuvered by fast talk and sad stories into giving up time, money, or energy for someone else. For example, a con artist might lie to a nice person about needing a loan to fix a car or help a child, hoping that the person’s “tender and considerate and helpful nature” will result in being gifted money with no interest or rush to pay it back – if it is paid back at all.

However, one can still be kind even if he/she does not pay out. Drawing up a contract that details how and when the money will be repaid, giving less than what was asked, or even offering to help work out a deal with the local bank are all offers of kindness to help out the one in need without being taken advantage of by the con artist. Helpfulness and kind actions do not mean that someone is easy to manipulate.

Next, kind people are assumed to be unfamiliar with the monetary value of objects and the importance of holding onto their possessions. “Why did you give that away? It could have been worth something!” is a sentiment heard all too frequently by those who donate to shelters or causes. Someone who decides to give away old electronics rather than sell them, for instance, can be thought of as a fool who does not understand the value of what was donated.

Kindness does not mean that the giver has no idea or does not care about making money. It does mean, though, that the giver finds the intrinsic reward of providing help to another to mean more than the extrinsic reward of selling items. One is not necessarily better or worse. Each person must make his/her own choice about whether to give or sell, and that has nothing to do with weakness, only a person’s private moral standards.

Finally, kindness is often believed to be a sign of someone’s naivety. Others assume that kind people do not understand how “the real world” works. As such, they are used, abused, and end up losing everything because they simply do not look out for their well-being. Kindness is thought to mean that the nice person does not realize how cutthroat and hard one is expected to act in order to get one’s desires, and so he/she gets nothing and accomplishes little.

Again, this is not true. Kind people can indeed push and fight for what they want to do, what they need to do, but they may not. They may prefer instead to achieve their goals through politeness, compassion and compromise. This sort of approach is commonly viewed as weakness – someone unwilling to fight for resources – but instead, it is just a different way of accomplishing goals.

Rather than putting self-interest first, kind people focus more on helping others. While assumptions about how easy kind folk are to manipulate, how little they value money, and how naïve they are frequently are thought to be weaknesses, I'd say that it takes far more strength to hold your tongue instead of lashing out, to spend time with a lonely person instead of spending time shopping for yourself. I do know that whenever I am kind, I feel better about myself. And, to me, it's a great and strong feeling.

Smart Goal Setting For Dance and Life

2014-12-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

For the new year, goals are more defined and easier to tackle than resolutions. For dancers, goals can be anything from nailing a new "trick", to perfecting a technique, to getting a role, or advancing in class levels. In life, creating goals is a process that requires much thought and motivation. In your life, work and relationships, it is not only an opportunity to take a closer, more in-depth look, into what you want to achieve, but even more,goals require constant attention and action.

To borrow a concept from the business world, a dancer's goals or any life goals should be "SMART" - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time framed.

GOAL SETTING TIPS

1. Your goals should reflect your dreams, values and passions.
2. Identify goals that you truly want to accomplish (not what you think will sound good to others).
3. Goal setting is for you. Share it only with family or friends you know will be supportive and encouraging.
4. You can have as many goals as you want.
5. Goals should be specific and measurable so you will know when you accomplish them.
6. Dreams and goals should be reviewed often.
7. Dreams and goals may change so adjust them over time.
8. The secret to accomplishing your goals is to write them down and review often.

The Specific Purpose of the Goal

First, your goals should be specific. This means, rather than saying "I want to get better at pirouettes," start your goal with "I want to achieve a clean, triple pirouette." By using specific terms (clean, triple), the goal becomes something tangible. Simply saying you want to get better at something does not constitute a goal, since getting better is objective and isn't easily determined to be achieved.

Setting goals helps keep life in balance, but one really important question to ask yourself is: Why do I want to make this my goal? Goals create momentum and when achieved, they give us a great sense of accomplishment. However, not all goals are good goals. The selection process in goal setting is an important one. A goal is good if it is the right fit. Finding the reasons behind the goals is just as important as creating the goal itself. In his book,"How Do I Set Goals That Work?"Tim Brownson suggests that intrinsic motivation is better for goal setting than extrinsic. Finding what is important and what will bring a greater sense of joy rather than what other people expect. Tim mentions the following as being good reasons for setting goals: "I want to leave a legacy, I want the world to be a better place for me having been here, I want to set a great example for my kids, I want to be able to leave my 9 to 5 job to spend more time with my family, and lastly I want to align with my own core values. These are all great reasons to set a goal." To get a clearer sense of what you hope to obtain from goal setting, make a list of the values that are important to you. This will set the stage for goal setting.

Measurable Goal

In the example above, a triple pirouette is measurable Losing 10 pounds is measurable. Saving $5 a month so that you can purchase a certain dress or pair of shoes is measurable. Having a set goal that you can measure in steps makes it easier to achieve.

Achievable and Realistic Goals

Your goals should be achievable and realistic, in that they should coincide with your abilities and current class levels. If you're a dance beginner, set a goal to master one of the new skills you are learning, such as a time step in tap or a tendu sequence in ballet. Don't try to aim for unrealistic goals outside of your skill and level range. It is better to set a goal that you can realistically achieve, but one that will take hard work and determination in order to reach.

For life goals, Robert Choat suggests. "Once you have the end in mind, then plan backwards."An important rule in goal setting is to make goals that can be reached as well as important to you. It is great to dream big, but if that seems too daunting, try to set smaller goals that are achievable. For long-term goals, use the system of breaking them down into smaller steps to make them more achievable. Being able to reach a goal is a huge accomplishment that can give great satisfaction. However, don't be afraid to make mistakes along the way. Mistakes can be great catalysts for finding a new way of thinking. They can help reveal answers that weren't present before. Tim Brownson said, "“The surest way to fail is to adopt the belief that it isn’t ok to fail.” Failing and taking risks is a part of life and goal setting.

Time Framed Goals And One at a Time

The final component of your goal is a time frame. For example, you could say "I want to achieve a clean, triple pirouette by April 1st," or "I want to achieve a clean, triple pirouette before my summer intensive audition." This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time framed. It gives a specific end date, and puts a timeline on your preparation.

Write down your goal in a place that you can refer to it often. It can be in a journal, in a notebook where you take notes for classes or write down choreography, on a piece of paper tucked into your dance bag, or on the mirror in your bedroom where you get ready for dance class. This will help you to keep sight of your goal or goals as you go through the dance season.
In life, set time frames. Be aware of the time and effort it will take to reach a specific objective, and include this in the description of the goal.

A long-term checklist is a great tool for keeping goals in perspective and keeping efforts moderate and realistic. Work on accomplishing major objectives in a realistic time period, and ensure that each goal gets the amount of attention it needs to be reached successfully. Check off each step that you complete to reach your ultimate goal.

When you achieve your long-term goal, you can set one for the next year. It is important not to get discouraged if you do not meet your goal in the time frame you set. Examine the goal again, and determine how to make it better. Maybe you need a longer time frame, or maybe you need to adjust your expectations a bit. Either way, discussing your goals with your instructor can help you to make sure your goals fit the SMART criteria, and press you to work hard during the dance season.

Reviewing Goals

Review your goal(s) After you have decided on your goal and written it down, tell your teachers and classmates. This helps you to be accountable for your goals, but it also gives you a support system. If you are working on a particular technique or step, your teacher can give you pointers and guide you to achieve it.

Be careful not to overload yourself with numerous goals. Set at least 2 goals for yourself: something you want to achieve by the end of the year (or end of the dance season, or at your annual recital), and then set a goal that you want to achieve in the next 1-2 months. Once you achieve your short-term goal, you can set another one and continue to update your goals every month.

In life, review a plan for reaching a goal every so often. See if the plan is on schedule, or if the plan needs to be reevaluated to take new situations into account. Looking at the steps of a plan can alert individuals to any problems in the plan, as well as any areas of a plan that have been neglected.

Choose a small reward for each completed step of a goal, such as a spa day, a trip to the movies or a fancy dinner. Rewards are a great tool for keeping motivation strong and improve the odds of successfully reaching an goal.

Setting and reaching goals can be a big challenge for many people. However, ensuring that goals are reasonable, well planned and specific can make the challenge manageable. Know what skills are needed and reward each success along the way to help make reaching any goal easier.

Staying Motivated

As you continue your journey with goal setting use this visualization exercise provided by Tim Brownson, "Sit in your favorite chair and take several deep breaths. Make sure the exhale is about 50% longer than the inhale and allow yourself to relax, When you are well chilled really imagine with all your senses. the more you visualize success, the more progress you will make.

Preparing for Setbacks

Small failures, roadblocks and setbacks are part of working on a goal. Errors and delays are common and can be frustrating for individuals. However, anticipating setbacks and coming up with alternate plans can help individuals deal with achievement problems. For example, prepare for a week of vacation by planning meals in advance to avoid over-eating when trying to lose weight.

Avoid feeling as though a temporary failure or setback makes any goal unreachable. Roadblocks on the path to reaching a goal can test an individual’s resilience, creativity and ability to cope with disappointment; learning these skills can also help individuals as they strive to reach other objectives in the future.

Overall, goals can lead to many great things in your llife as a dancer, in relationships, at school. etc. More importantly, these great things are set in motion by you.

Sources

Brownson, Tim, "How Do I Set Goals That Work?"
Choat, Robert, "New Year's Resolutions Are Simply an Illusion and What Really Works"

From Dark Story to Sweet Ballet: History of The Nutcracker

2014-12-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

Every holiday season, both the young and young at heart flock to see one of the world's most famous ballets. And some, including myself, have performed in it year after year, playing a snowflake, a flower, being Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Yet, I still enjoy seeing young dancers eagerly rehearsing, anxious to be a part of this iconic ballet.

But where did the story behind The Nutcracker ballet originate, and how did a little wooden novelty become one of the world's most recognizable protagonists?

The Nutcracker Ballet is based on a story called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written by an 18th-century German writer, composer, and critic known as E.T.A. Hoffman (E.T.A. Hoffman being his pen-name; his actual name was Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman).

Hoffmann wrote spooky tales that trespassed the border between fantasy and reality. They were such famous stories that other composers readthem and set them to to music throughout the 19th century — for example, Jacques Offenbach's opera, The Tales of Hoffmann.
One of the episodes in The Tales of Hoffmann is based on a story called "The Sandman," in which evil inventors create a robotic girl. It was also — loosely — the basis for Leo Delibes' comic ballet Coppelia, about the misadventures of a young man who falls in love with a life-size dancing doll.

Inanimate things come to life in many of Hoffmann's stories. He was a champion of the imagination run wild. Retired University of Minnesota German professor Jack Zipes says Hoffmann was rebelling against the dominant movement of the time, the Enlightenment, and its emphasis on rational philosophy. "He believed strongly, as most of the German Romantics at that time, that the imagination was being attacked by the rise of rationalism ... throughout Europe," Zipes tells Siegel. "The only way that an artist could survive would be to totally become dedicated to another way of looking at the world, and to reclaiming nature, reclaiming innocence, reclaiming an authentic way of living."

Those familiar with The Nutcracker ballet will be familiar with the story that frames "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"; this framing narrative involves a little girl named Marie and her brother Fritz who receive a nutcracker from their godfather, an inventor named Drosselmeyer. Fritz plays too roughly with the toy and breaks some of its teeth, but the gentle Marie bandages it and stays up late to nurse it back to health. After everyone else has fallen asleep, Marie witnesses an extraordinary sight as the house is suddenly filled with mice who threaten Marie and the nutcracker, but the nutcracker and other Christmas toys all inexplicably come to life and fight back.

This is where the story begins to differ from the ballet version. Marie watches the battle between the mice and toys until she eventually faints, and the next morning her parents explain that she must have imagined or dreamed the event. Then Drosselmeyer tells Marie a story about a princess named Pirlipat who, after a bizarre series of events, is turned into a strange creature with a wooden head and white beard by a vengeful mouse queen. Drosselmeyer explains that his own nephew was the one who eventually cured the princess, but in the process, he himself was transformed into a similarly grotesque creature, thus becoming the nutcracker.

That night, the relentless army of mice returns, and for several nights afterward Marie and the nutcracker must fight them off. Eventually the mice are vanquished. Shortly after, Marie proclaims that she will always love the nutcracker in spite of his appearance, and the nutcracker turns back into who he really was all along: Drosselmeyer's nephew, who was cursed to remain in his doll form until he found love. The two are married and depart to reign over the Doll Kingdom.

The Ballet Adaption

Of course, this all seems quite convoluted when compared with the plot of the ballet. However, Hoffman's version was streamlined by famed French writer Alexander Dumas in the 1844. Dumas called his version "The Story of a Hazlenut-cracker," and in the 19th century, Director of the Imperial Theaters Ivan Alexandrovitch Vsevolojsky came up with the idea of adapting this version into a ballet. He approached choreographer Marius Petipa and composer Peter Tchaikovsky with the idea.

Alexandre Dumas altered that original version, making it lighter and less scary. And in 1892 a team of Russians turned Dumas' version into a ballet. But something happened to Hoffmann's story in this progression from dark to light: Marie became Klara(Clara). Her flights of imagination became sweeter and more tame. And her real life family — called Silberhaus (which is German for "Silver House") in the ballet — became sweeter, too.

"What is interesting are the names, sometimes, that Hoffmann uses sometimes in 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,'" says German professor Jack Zipes. "The family in his story, in contrast to the ballet, is called Stahlbaum, which means 'steel tree.'" Marie, Hoffmann's protagonist, "is imprisoned within the regulations of the family, the family follows rituals in a prescribed way, and she feels somewhat constrained by this."
Then, Marie's strange and provocative godfather, Drosselmeier, appears. "It's very difficult to translate the word 'Drosselmeier,' but it's somebody who stirs things up," Zipes says. "And Drosselmeier certainly shakes things up. He brings these amazing toys that he's made, and ignites the imagination of the young people in the celebration of Christmas."

In the 1980s, the Pacific Northwest Ballet wanted to return to Hoffmann's original version. They turned to an illustrator and writer who was famous for his own dark voyages with childhood demons: Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. "So when I did read it, I became very interested, because it was a very bizarre story. Is a very bizarre story, and that of course would appeal to me," Sendak told NPR in 1984. "It meant something. It had bite and muscle, the way the Grimm fairy tales do. So I thought, if we could put up on the stage in Seattle, anything approximating Hoffmann without diluting or bashing Tchaikovsky, then perhaps we would have something that was interesting." And Sendak's version of The Nutcracker — with his sets and libretto — is the only version that Jack Zipes says captures Hoffmann's original spirit.

Now, stories evolve from one author and one medium, to adapters and new media. But Zipes says that what has been lost from most productions of The Nutcracker is Hoffmann's very attitude about imagination, reality and childhood. "There is a great deal of damage done to Hoffmann's story, because at the end of his story, Marie moves off into another world, or it seems that she's going off into another world, a world of her own choosing," he says, "whereas in the ballet, it's a harmless diversion that is full of sort of dancing and merriment, but there's nothing profound in the ending of the ballet as it exists. And it's also true of Dumas' story — ends in a very fluffy, saccharine way."

Hoffmann, Zipes adds, wanted to make sure his readers knew that Marie was aware of the contrast between her life with the rule-bound Stahlbaums, and the dream world of The Nutcracker, "a world of imagination, a world of her choice, where she can also make decisions that are more in accord with her own imagination."

This essence is in almost all of Hoffmann's fairy tales, and essentially it's that we have to keep in touch with the child within us.

Various Productions

At Right - Photo of Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara (left), an unknown performer (center), & Vassily Stulkolin as Fritz (right) in the Imperial Ballet's original production of "The Nutcracker".Circa December, 1892.
Unknown photographer of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire.

When The Nutcracker was first performed in Russia in 1892, it was poorly received. It would go though several revisions over the coming decades, and finally be re-imaginged in 1954 by famed choreographer George Balanchine, before becoming the international hit it is today. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes presented a two act version of Swan Lake (1910) in which Nijinski danced a solo as Prince Siegfried to the music of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ten years later, same company, same music, but this time used for the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. This also included the Danse Arabe and Danse Chinoise from The Nutcracker in the last act. Anna Pavlova toured the world with Snowflakes, choreographed by Ivan Clustine to music including Nutcracker's snow scene. This is seemingly the first occasion in which a pas de deux was danced to this music.

In England, the first Nutcracker was mounted by Sergeyev for the Vic-Wells Ballet, a predecessor of the Royal Ballet, in 1934. Sergeyev had left Russia after the October Revolution of 1917 and mounted this version based on Stepanov notation scores of the Maryinsky production that he had brought with him. His untraditional contribution to this version was to cast the actress Elsa Lanchester in the Arabian dance. He had seen her perform Ariel in The Tempest and decided that he must have the "Dramateek lady." Margot Fonteyn made her stage debut in this staging of The Nutcracker, April 21, 1934. She danced as a snowflake. In 1951, Sir Frederick Ashton premiered a one act version of The Nutcracker which countered critics of earlier productions who found the first act story uninteresting. He dispensed with the story altogether and made a plotless dance fantasy. When the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo staged a one act version in New York, the prince and Marie grew up to adults who danced the grand pas de deux in Act 2. At one performance in Hollywood, future President Reagan's daughter Maureen played the role of Clara.

The first complete Nutcracker was staged in London by the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1934, based on choreographic notation by Nicholas Sergeyev. Ten years later saw the first US version by San Francisco Ballet (1944) and another ten years brought George Balanchine’s blockbusting version for NYCB (1954), now staged every year by several US ballet companies. By the 1980s, 300 separate productions were touring the US.

Sir Peter Wright's 1984 version of The Nutcracker for The Royal Ballet, still performed by the Company, stays close to Hoffmann’s original tale. It emphasises Drosselmeyer’s mission to find a young girl – Clara – who can break the curse imposed by the Mouse King on his nephew Hans Peter and thus restore him to human form. References to Nuremberg and German Christmas traditions are present in the settings, with a kingdom of marzipan featured in Act 2. Equally successful is his 1990 version for The Birmingham Royal Ballet, this one closer to the Russian tradition of having Clara double up as the Sugar Plum Fairy, but with a slight twist: it is Clara’s alter ego ballerina doll who turns into the Fairy.

Nureyev’s production for POB has a clear emphasis on symbology and the subconscious: Clara wanders down the stairs at midnight to find her family and friends turned into rats and bats while Drosselmeyer transforms into a handsome prince.

Mikhail Baryshnikov‘s 1976 popular version for ABT turns the Christmas dream into a coming-of-age tale. There is no Sugar Plum Fairy nor Prince Koklush, the focus being Clara’s encounter with the Nutcracker Prince as orchestrated by her Godfather Drosselmeyer. As the ballet ends so does Clara’s fantasy.

In the United States, the Nutcracker was originally presented as a suite of highlights comprising some of the most famous musical selections from the full-length ballet. These include the "March of the Toy Soldiers," the "Waltz of the Flowers," and the various dances representing different cultures and foods, which make up much of the ballet's second act. Led by William Christensen, The San Francisco Ballet performed the first American full length production of The Nutcracker ballet in 1944, and since then, unabridged productions have become a holiday theatre tradition. Here are a few of the most notable U.S. Nutcracker productions.

* The New York City Ballet. Perhaps the classic iconic American production of the full-length Nutcracker ballet belongs to the New York City Ballet, choreographed by the late George Ballanchine, according to the Petipa version from St. Petersburg. Complete with an enormous growing Christmas tree, falling snowflakes, and a sleigh that flies across the stage to take Carla and the Nutcracker Prince away at the end of the Second Act, this version, performed in New York's Lincoln Center, is one of the iconic American Nutcracker productions.

* The San Francisco Ballet. In addition to having bragging rights for being the first U.S. unabridged Nutcracker production, the San Francisco Ballet offers an extravagant stage setting: hundreds of thousands of dollars of scenery and handmade costumes, along with a cast of more than 175 dancers.

* The Pacific Northwest Ballet. Here's a new take on an old theme: The Nutcracker ballet production of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle has stage sets and costumes that take their inspiration from Maurice Sendak's popular children's books.

* Boston Ballet, The Boston Ballet's version of the Nutcracker features some twists on the traditional production. The stage setting shows Carla dreaming that she is mouse-sized. As the props get bigger, Clara seems to shrink, and she witnesses the battle between the toy soldiers and the mice from the vantage point of a mouse-sized human. A balloon whisks Clara and her prince into the second act, where they are treated to extravagant performances celebrating dance and, of course, candy, at the Palace of Sweets.

* Houston Ballet. Any production of the Nutcracker has its share of humor, what with Drossylmeyer's goofy gifts and the war between the mice and the soldiers. But the Houston Ballet kicks it up a notch, turning the normally staid introductory party scene into a series of mini comedies, and opening Act II with flying chef-angels on hand to concoct the confections.

Video of The Nutcracker's History

Dancers Giving the Sick and Disabled Magic Year Round

2014-12-16T22:20:00.002-08:00

Members of the New Beford Youth Ballet

A little girl with curly hair stared at the swirls of deep purple tulle as would befit any Sugar Plum Fairy. “Go ahead, you can touch my pointe shoes,” said the dancer. The little girl slid off the chair and gently tapped the tops of the Fairy's toes.

The New Bedford Youth Ballet had just given a 50-minute performance of a mini-Nutcracker in the upstairs lobby of St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Doctors in scrubs stood against the wall while administrators, hospital workers, and a few patients sat in plastic chairs, all watching quietly as Snowflakes and Asian Dolls glissaded across the rug and tried not to let beepers and arriving elevators distract them. One waltzing Flower launched into a grand jeté and, upon landing, found herself nose to the wall. Someone knocked over a speaker. Dancers squeezed in and out of costumes and around each other in a sandwich of a space created by scenery flats.

“Oh, how beautiful,” a member of the audience sighed.

It was just another on-the-road show for the Youth Ballet, a performing arm of New Bedford Ballet (NBB), a ballet-only school. The Youth Ballet is open to any Southeastern Massachusetts ballet student, not only those who take class at NBB. In the course of a year, the troupe will lug sets and costumes and pointe shoes through hospitals, elementary schools, and Councils on Aging. These serious dancers, ages 11 to 18, trade the comfort of sprung floors, private dressing spaces, and flattering lighting for the opportunity to share their love of dance with the most unlikely—but often most appreciative—audiences around.

Like the little girl at St. Luke’s, who would be undergoing surgery the next day. “She’s been so sick, but she’s been talking and talking since we came in,” grandmother and hospital employee Philomena Torres says. “I waited until the last minute to tell her she was going to see The Nutcracker because she’d get so excited.”

Outreach performances and community-based programming has long been a staple of New Bedford Ballet. Rebecca Waskiel-Marchesseault, artistic director since last September, was a member of the original Youth Ballet, which began in 1988 when then-school director Shirley Kayne insisted that her pre-professional dancers take their dancing out of the studio and into the struggling industrial city. (A nonprofit foundation had been created in 1987 to support the Youth Ballet and other outreach efforts, while NBB continued to be operated as a for-profit.)

“I remember packing up the floor, going to public schools,” Waskiel-Marchesseault says. “One of Shirley’s biggest goals was to promote arts in the community and to be seen by people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to see ballet.”

Many of Kayne’s students went on to dance professionally or teach—like Waskiel-Marchesseault, a former member of Connecticut Ballet who taught at both Hartford Ballet and Boston Ballet schools. When Kayne retired after 22 years with the ballet, Waskiel-Marchesseault happily took the helm of her home studio.

Other changes were afoot at New Bedford Ballet. Forced out of its longtime studio when the building was sold to new owners, in the summer of 2008, the organization appealed to the public for help finding a new, affordable studio. Businesspersons and city officials offered expertise and advice, parents chipped in with physical labor, and New Bedford Ballet finally moved into its new home on Purchase Street last January.

“I think we’ll remember these performances forever.” —dancer Rebecca Bier, 16

Also in 2008, the for-profit school became a nonprofit under the umbrella of the New Bedford Ballet Foundation. The foundation uses grant monies from public sources such as United Way and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as well as private donors, to fund the Youth Ballet’s performances and numerous outreach programs.

And talk about outreach. There’s a summer Dance Arts Camp for preschoolers, an afterschool program for at-risk, underserved children, and hip-hop classes for hearing-impaired students. A multicultural program introduces elementary school children to Native American, Indian, Asian, and Trinidadian dance, while seniors benefit from an age-appropriate dance and movement program.

Terri deMedeiros, New Bedford Ballet Foundation board president says, “Fourteen students are now dancing on scholarships—half on full scholarships—thanks to the foundation.” Some dance students help with mentoring programs, such as Bringing Books to Life Through Movement, where school kids learn how to use dance to wiggle like the Hungry Caterpillar, or Mentoring Through Movement, where Head Start little ones dance out a story such as Peter Pan.

When the ballet comes to visit, everyone gets involved, says Karen Surprenant, PACE (People Acting in Community Endeavors) Head Start director. “They come with dance activities, with costumes; they talk about what it’s like to be a dancer,” she says. “All our boys and girls dance, and you should see them dance!”

On the morning of the St. Luke’s performance, Surprenant and about 40 of her tiny charges had braved the bitter cold to travel to the ballet’s studio for a Nutcracker showing. It was a lucky break for them—the Youth Ballet was to have danced, as it does every December, at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, but H1N1 flu fears got in the way. When the hospital cancelled the show, Waskiel-Marchesseault called PACE.

“For many of these children, their families don’t have the opportunity to see a live performance like this,” Surprenant says. “We do many projects with the ballet. It’s a nice relationship.”

The PACE performance would mark one of the ballet’s first showings of New England Nutcracker, set in the 19th century when whaling had made New Bedford one of the most prosperous cities in the world. Instead of Clara, this tale featured little Mary as the daughter of a whaling captain who brings back exotic animals—and a Nutcracker—from his voyages around the world.

The lights went down and the little ones were transfixed. There were cries of “Who’s that?” when a couple of Andean Bears tumbled about, and “Ooh”s of delight for two blue-and-pink Macaws. “Whoa, look at the pirates!” yelled another. (Actually, the “pirates” were whalers, but who cares?) Everyone wiggled and clapped when the Nutcracker and the Mouse King crossed swords, but the excitement was too much for one little tyke. “Quick, somebody stab him!” he shouted.

After the performance, the dancers and the Head Start kids mingled, laughed together, traded hugs. With three annual performances at hospitals, greeting children is a scene the dancers know well. “Talking to the audience after the show is the best,” dancer Rebecca Bier, 16, says.

Sugar Plum Fairy Elizabeth Mello, 17, and dancer Emily Bungert, 17, agree. They and Bier have stories galore about dancing on “vomit-proof” carpet (sticky and slick at the same time), adapting choreography to avoid trampling each other in small spaces, carrying so many flats up so many steps that their arms ache. There’s always that killer week in the spring when the Youth Ballet brings a spring production such as The Snow Queen or Peter and the Wolf to eight elementary schools in four days.

Minutes after the Head Start children climbed aboard their bus, the Youth Ballet dancers tore out of their costumes and prepared to move the show. Soon a heap of costumes and props was growing on the studio floor. Cold air whipped in an open back door as everyone picked up the edge of a flat and headed to the U-Haul. Carpool assignments were discussed, and it was off to the other side of town.

At St. Luke’s, the process unfolded in reverse. Dancers carrying flats were briefly flummoxed by the hospital’s revolving door, but soon they were hauling the scenery across the main floor and up the open-air staircase, oblivious to the stares of hospital patrons. Some warmed up holding onto telephone bays. Tiny Mice sprawled across the floor to chitchat. Waskiel-Marchesseault discussed a decision—pointe shoes or no pointe shoes?—with the senior dancers and adjusted a little dancer’s makeup. In less than an hour, the familiar first strains of the party music had begun again.

The dancers love it. “Honestly, it’s just crazy—the whole process of getting everything together,” Bungert says. “Once you are into the performance and you look at people, and you see you are brightening their day, it’s worth it.”

The annual spring trip to Boston Children’s Hospital is particularly special. There, many audience members are battling major illnesses. The dancers look out from their makeshift performance space to see tiny bald heads, feeding tubes, IVs in the aisles—but plenty of smiles. One little girl wearing a tiara told Bier, “If you get to look pretty, then I do too.” Two boys fussed to try on a reindeer head. One patient missed most of the show but was still happy. “I get to go home today,” she said to Mello.

The girls say that one of the “best shows ever” happened last year at a senior center. They danced in a space little bigger than a postage stamp, but the audience of elders was so grateful that some were in tears. “I talk to friends who dance other places. Technique here is important, but this is all just so different,” Bier says. “I think we’ll remember these performances forever.”

Waskiel-Marchesseault remembers her days with the Youth Ballet. An admittedly nervous performer, she found it difficult to dance for her peers at a public school, but she felt the joy of unconditional appreciation from nursing-home audiences. It’s why she came back to New Bedford—to continue what Shirley Kayne started, to serve the community through dance.

“Until last September, I was with Boston Ballet, and I loved being there. The prestige of that school is amazing,” Waskiel-Marchesseault says. “But when this came up, I thought—New Bedford needs this more. This school has done so much for the community, and I want to help that continue.”

When The Blues Affect Your Dancing: Dealing With Depression

2014-12-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

By Linda Hamilton

Imagine a dancer who gives the appearance of "having it all"--talent, prestige, admiration, lots of friends, and best of all, a promising future. Then, imagine this same person laid low by depression. Confusing? No one is immune to mood disorders, whether a top performer or a straggling dance student. Population estimates indicate that depression afflicts approximately 17 million Americans across the country.

Depression is a real medical illness, like diabetes or ulcers. This means that you can't "snap out of it" like you can from a temporary ease of the blues. Instead, symptoms of depression typically last for two or more weeks due to biochemical changes in the brain, creating feelings of sadness that permeate your life. Worrying and irritability are also common, as are problems with concentration and memory. It may be difficult to think, sleep, dance, or even have sufficient energy to do your daily activities.

For many dancers, injuries are more than broken bones or torn tissue. They come with a deeper kind of loss, one of precious stage time, the momentum of a burgeoning career, even personal identity. In the early stages of a serious injury, the physical pain is often overshadowed by the emotional trauma. Dancers’ fusion of self and body is so complete that when they can’t move, their world unravels.

“Injured dancers may experience a form of grief,” says Elizabeth Manejías, MD, who works with dancers at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. She says mild depressive symptoms and anxiety are common. Lynda Mainwaring, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, led a study on the topic. “We found that dancers, both here in Canada and in the United Kingdom, reported that often the psychological aspect of injury was the most difficult component to cope with,” says Mainwaring.

Dancers are trained to be stoic. And because their whole world is connected to their physical presence, when they’re forced to be stationary, there’s a void. “Especially when the injury is serious and involves long-term recovery, it threatens a dancer’s identity,” says Mainwaring. When dancers can’t dance, they temporarily lose not only their career but also their lifestyle, their means of expression, their sense of purpose.
“I’ve been dancing since I was 8; without it, I felt incomplete,” says the Joffrey Ballet’s Miguel Angel Blanco, who spent a year off the stage after two consecutive surgeries on his Achilles tendon. “I had days where I asked myself, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ I missed a lot of great shows, including a world premiere by Edwaard Liang and Wayne McGregor’s Infra.”

The danger of depression is twofold: In addition to the emotional drain, it can put the brakes on recovery. “Depression can hurt concentration, sleep and appetite, all of which are necessary to support the healing process,” says Manejías. A 2001 study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that patients with leg wounds who had depression were four times as likely to experience delayed recovery. “Also,” says Manejías, “there are studies to suggest that depression can heighten the experience of pain because similar areas in our nervous system process both feelings.”

Dangerous Territory: The Studio
Every dancer has a different coping strategy. Some feel so betrayed by their bodies that they want to avoid dance at all costs. Others find comfort in maintaining a connection to ballet. For Houston Ballet’s Madison Morris, who was out with ankle injuries at the end of last season, deciding to watch her peers proved a turning point. “I feel ashamed to admit that I had to drag myself to see our mixed rep program ‘Made in America,’ ” she says. “I knew it would be difficult to watch them while I was still unable to dance.” Ultimately, she found viewing the performance helped her feel closer to the work she loved.

“Some dancers may benefit from attending rehearsals and taking notes, or assisting in some way that helps them feel involved,” says Mainwaring. “Some may not feel comfortable watching others perform when they can’t.” The ability to return to the studio also evolves over the course of a recovery. Many dancers can only handle being back once they can start marking again. “Every step of the process is important,” says Dec. “I got my hope back once I was reaching certain milestones, getting closer to dancing again.”

Expand Your Artistry
Exploring a new passion while sidelined can be enormously beneficial. “I encourage dancers to focus on nurturing activities and exercise to give themselves the space to process any emotional turmoil,” says Manejías. Having another outlet helps keep dancers from getting obsessively wrapped up in their injury, and what they were—or weren’t—able to do in physical therapy that day.

It isn’t just about distracting your mind. Many dancers discover new dimensions of themselves. Whether it’s photography or Pilates, developing other talents will help you return to the studio as a more complete artist. Morris, for example, taught private ballet lessons, choreographed for a youth group and even joined a 24-hour film project. “I thought acting would be a fun and a less physical outlet while I recovered,” she explains.

Morris also found support from an unexpected source: an audience member. One day, while Morris was in the theater, a woman approached her wanting to know when she would be performing again. “Her concern during that simple conversation made me feel like I was still part of what was happening onstage,” she recalls. “I was still part of our talented team even if I was riding this one out on the bench.”

Different types of depression may produce additional symptoms. Dancers in the northern hemisphere who develop seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the late fall and winter months may crave sweet and starchy foods and gain weight. In contrast, individuals with bipolar disorder report mania in addition to depression, making rash decisions, such as maxing out their bank accounts, when elated. Dancers with the most benign type of mood disorder, known as dysthymia, suffer chronic, low-grade depression over many years, often beginning in childhood or adolescence. While some dancers are disabled by depression, others continue to function with difficulty. Still, clinical depression should never be ignored, since it is involved in more than half of all attempted suicides.

Although depression tends to run in families, factors apart from heredity can trigger an episode. These factors may include illness (such as an underactive thyroid), stressful life events, a decrease in exposure to sunlight, fluctuating hormones (associated with oral contraceptives or premenstrual syndrome), substance abuse, and burnout. Psychological makeup can also lead to depression, especially in high achievers. In fact, countless accomplished people have suffered from depression, including the late co-founder of the New York City Ballet, Lincoln Kirstein. Does this mean that talented people are more vulnerable to feeling down when others feel up? According to Dr. Sidney Blatt, a psychologist specializing in depression at Yale University, the same qualities that create significant achievement can also lead to self destruction, depending on one's perfectionistic tendencies.

So is perfectionism destructive? Yes and no. Like accomplished people throughout history, successful dancers tend to have extremely high standards. In fact, giftedness and perfectionism often go hand in hand. This is positive up to a point because it drives you to constantly push to achieve excellence. It becomes negative if you must avoid failure at all costs. Unfortunately, the dance culture's emphasis on an ideal body and technique may push certain vulnerable dancers over the edge, especially if teachers refuse to make allowances for fatigue, injuries, mistakes, or anatomical flaws. For example, I know one 16-year-old dancer who became seriously depressed after she was ridiculed in class for having "knobby" knees. Over time, her quadriceps muscle developed, making this problem much less noticeable. However, the emotional damage was already done.

Given the relationship between low self-esteem and depression, it is safer (and more productive) for teachers to focus on learning goals, where the dancer's self-worth is not tied to being perfect. Examples include learning new tasks and acquiring information. Taking a positive approach in dance training can also help dancers manage their own perfectionistic tendencies and set more realistic goals.

Not surprisingly, depression often catches dancers off guard, particularly in a culture that prizes stoicism. As a result, dancers and teachers may view certain red flags associated with depression, such as a loss of energy and concentration, as signs of weakness. Likewise, substance abuse, whether it's cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, or food, may represent a futile attempt to self-medicate for depression. Although it's never a good idea to rely on self-diagnosis, you can use a simple self-screening test developed by the National Mental Health Association to help you determine if you or someone you know is depressed.

But this is in no way a substitute for a medical diagnosis. First, check all the symptoms that apply. If they add up to five or more and have lasted for more than two weeks, the next step is to get a diagnosis from a licensed therapist, such as a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker--not some amateur who may want to analyze your past lives. The NMHA Resource Center can put you in touch with mental health services in your community (800.969.6642).

The good news is that depression is a highly treatable medical illness. In some cases, psychotherapy is all that is needed, although the length of treatment may be more extensive for negative perfectionism. Antidepressant medication can also be a useful adjunct to therapy--but he aware that using alcohol and illicit drugs along with certain antidepressants can be dangerous. At the very least, remember to set realistic goals and seek out supportive people. And never underestimate the healing power of laughter.

Former New York City Ballet dancer Linda Hamilton, Ph.D., is a lecturer, a psychologist in private practice, and author of Advice for Dancers (Jossey-Bass).

Ballet's Unsung Heroines: The Corps

2014-12-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

You’ve finally been cast in Coppélia, and you’re thrilled. Before the show, you spend extra time on your hair and make-up. You do a long barre to get warm and slip into your gorgeous costume. The performance starts, you make your first entrance…and then you sit in the same position for the next 15 minutes.

Why? Because you’re not dancing Swanilda, the lead role—you’re the doll. If you’re a corps de ballet member cast in full-length story ballets, chances are that at times, you’ll feel like you’re “living scenery,” the equivalent of a canvas cottage or basket of plastic fruit. While the swans in Swan Lake and the sylphs in Les Sylphides have significant dancing to do, they also have extended sections during which they’re posed and nearly motionless.

For dancers who are dying to be in a company that does the big classic ballets, playing a villager filling out a market scene or an attendant to a princess is a necessary thing. The trick is to make the most of your time onstage and breathe life into even the most static moments. Here are some tips to help keep you from feeling lost in a mob of villagers or smothered in a cluster of sylphs.

Standing still is often the hardest part of being a corps dancer. In Swan Lake, for example, dozens of swans line the stage, standing motionless in “B-plus,” throughout most of the second act. But what the audience doesn’t know is that many of these serene swans are cramping in their lower legs and feet. Elizabeth Mertz, a corps member at American Ballet Theatre since 2004, is a veteran swan. She recommends drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated and eating bananas for potassium, both of which prevent cramping. “And when you’re holding a pose on the side,” she says, “it’s very much like yoga, like a meditation. You’re listening to beautiful music, you feel the energy of your fellow dancers around you, and it’s a little bit of mind over matter.”

It’s also important to stay warm over the course of the evening to prevent muscle aches and pains. But most corps dancers can’t do a new barre before every act—they’re too busy backstage getting ready for their next entrance. Texas Ballet Theater’s Victoria Simo, who’s about to begin her eighth season with the company, knows this all too well. “When I’m not onstage,” she says, “I’m running up and down the stairs to change my costume or reapply makeup. Still, I always make time to stretch and do relevés hanging onto the light trees in the wings before I make my next entrance.”

And what if you’re onstage and you have to sneeze, scratch an itch or cough? “An itch isn’t going to kill you,” Mertz says with a laugh. “But it’s funny: When you enter the stage, it’s almost like something magical happens. The adrenaline takes away a lot of those little urges.” That being said, nothing ruins the beauty of a forest scene faster than the sight of a nymph hacking in front of the trees. If you’re truly sick, take the night off!

Staying Engaged

With all that non-dancing time onstage as a parent in The Nutcracker or a villager in Giselle, night after night, it’s easy to let your thoughts drift to dinner or where to take your parents after the show. But there are ways to keep your mind engaged and focused on the production. Silver Barkes, a corps dancer at Ballet West, has found that her fellow corps members help her stay in the zone. “Sometimes, I’ll look at another dancer across the stage and we’ll start our own little eye conversation,” she says. But be careful: “If you get too involved in the side story, you might miss an entrance or not have the right reaction to what’s going on with the ballet at the moment.”

Many dancers enjoy coming up with background stories for their characters, which can keep them involved during otherwise tedious scenes. “When we were doing Manon,” Mertz says, “we were cast as harlots, and it was kind of fun to come up with a little name for ourselves, or a story for how we got there and what we were doing.” As a peasant in Swan Lake, Mertz is shy one night and envious the next. Or, if she’s playing one of the aristocrats, she might be flirtatious or snobby and aloof with the peasants. “You definitely want to mix it up so that it feels fresh and natural,” she says. (Just make sure “mixing it up” doesn’t involve altering the given choreography or stealing the scene. If you choose to be a flirtatious aristocrat in Swan Lake, don’t start flirting with Prince Siegfried at center stage!)

The Benefits of Being a Living Prop

You might be sitting or standing on the side, but you’ve got front row seats to all the action onstage. The principals (who you may be one day) dance inches away from your toes, giving you the most intimate view in the house. “You can really learn from them even if you’re just standing there,” Barkes says. “One of the best ways to learn in ballet is by watching.” Some dancers also appreciate performing in a large corps
because it’s a low-pressure way to get comfortable with being onstage.

But don’t lose sight of the fact that the corps must still create an atmosphere for the audience to enjoy. A stage full of committed dancers raises the level of a performance and reflects the overall strength of a company. And while principal dancers might perform once or twice a week in a big ballet, the corps is the heart of the ballet company, quick-changing from role to role in nearly every performance. “We can be exhausted,” Mertz says, “but in the end our hard work is rewarding.”

So the next time you’re cast as a nameless villager, perform as if you’re in the spotlight. You’re not just scenery—you’re part of a team.

Not Your Ordinary Circus: Dancing With Cirque du Soleil

2014-12-07T17:21:00.002-08:00

It's a clichéd fantasy - running away and joining the circus. But if you're a highly expressive dancer with a creative bent and an interest in long-term employment, you may want to seriously consider turning that circus fantasy into reality with Cirque du Soleil. Because while the groundbreaking shows it produces all over the world feature performers with traditional circus skills, the esteemed organization also employs numerous dancers. So even if you have no acrobatic, clowning, or aerial abilities, you should not rule out auditioning for Cirque. For the right kind of dancer, it can offer extremely gratifying work.

"That acrobatic stereotype has been my biggest challenge over the last five years," says Rick Tjia, senior talent scout in the organization's dance casting sector. It seems that the dance community doesn't realize how many opportunities Cirque du Soleil now offers dancers who are not circus performers. About six years ago, he says, "when I first came to work in casting here, there were only about 20-some dance roles in the entire company, but within two years that number had jumped to over 100. The exact number varies as we create new shows, but I'd say that now we fluctuate between 130 and 180 dance roles at any given time."

Originally a small theater troupe formed by a stilt-walking, fire-breathing accordion player named Guy Laliberte, Cirque du Soleil began to tour in 1984, as part of Quebec's 450th anniversary celebration.Today, it's one of the world's biggest and best-known circus shows with some of the world's best gymnasts, trapeze artists, contortionists, jugglers, ballet dancers, parkour practitioners, clowns, mime artists, musicians and synchronized swimmers.

A Cirque du Soleil dancer needs to have a strong interest in the creative process and a willingness to play an integral role in the development of a show's dance material. "The way this company works is that the roles are created around the dancers who are cast, rather than the choreographer first setting a role in stone and then finding a dancer to fill it," Tjia explains. "We look for dancers who will inspire the creation of the material. Being a technically strong dancer or just being able to do tricks is not enough. Imagination, an open mind, and the willingness to jump into something unknown and find a way to make that interesting together with the creators are what's essential."

Even a dancer hired to fill a role in an already-running production is expected to participate in the creative process, as it doesn't end when the show opens. "The big difference between dancing in a Broadway show, for example, and what we do," Tjia says, "is that we like dancers to evolve in their roles, to bring something new and fresh and different to every performance. It's a lot like what actors normally do but that dancers usually don't."

According to Tjia, when audiences come to see a Cirque du Soleil production, they expect to be wowed and touched: "But 'wowed' doesn't necessarily mean you're going to do 10 pirouettes. That won't sustain an audience's attention for two hours. You have to wow them through the heart. That's what makes this company's shows so special—the artistic, expressive side. We want the kind of dancers who can really touch people through the execution of their movements." Once hired to work on a new production, dancers will often receive classes in physical acting, in addition to a daily morning technique class.

Among the various Cirque productions currently playing, there are roles for dancers who specialize in a multitude of styles. "The type of dancer for which we have the most roles is contemporary," says Tjia, "but right now we also have 12 or 13 tap-dance roles, around six hip-hop or B-boy roles, three Georgian folk dancers, a Romanian folk dancer, and a role that mixes contemporary or jazz and classical Indian dancing, which is one of the most difficult roles to fill, because of that mix."

Dancer Laura Cota is performing in "Love," Cirque du Soleil's Beatles-inspired show, at the Mirage in Las Vegas. After many years of dancing in music videos, with concert dance companies, and on cruise ships, Cota decided to audition for Cirque du Soleil because she wanted a job "that had a little more longevity to it," she says. Though she has been dancing in "Love" for a year and a half, she is the show's newest cast member. "Every other dancer has been here for at least two and a half years," she says. "It's a very positive work environment, and we've become like a family." She also notes that dancing with Cirque never gets boring, because of all the creative work involved and the educational opportunities: "I have never done another job that offers as much training as this one does."

In addition to performing two shows a night, the dancers in "Love" take a mandatory biweekly dance class and get daily workshops focusing on different forms of dance or physical performance, such as clowning or aerial work. Though Cota describes a Cirque du Soleil show as a "demanding" job—her audition alone took 18 hours over the course of two days—she also claims it's by far her favorite.

“Cirque du Soleil is a moment in time—an hour and a half—where you forget everything. It’s like taking a trip to the moon, it’s magical—somewhere between art and entertainment.”

Taking a Leap: Going from Classical to Commercial Dance

2014-12-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

You’re a total bunhead. Whether you live for Swan Lake or worship Jirí Kylián, you can’t imagine life without your pink tights. Except—at the back of your mind—you’ve always wondered about the commercial dance world. What would it be like to dance in a movie or to work with Mia Michaels on an industrial? DS has news for you: Many classically trained ballet and modern dancers are now finding success in the commercial realm, without sacrificing their technique or artistry. Here, five performers offer advice on making the transition.

Use What You’ve Got

There’s no question that classical training will get you noticed during a commercial audition. “When people see Hubbard Street Dance Chicago on my resumé, it’s like a gold star. It’s respected,” says Mark Swanhart, who moved to L.A. to choreograph and dance after a concert dance career that also included River North Chicago Dance Company. The lines, extension and carriage you’ve cultivated will be hard to miss, so flaunt your skills and don’t be embarrassed if your background makes you stick out!

Your training can even be useful for jobs that, on the surface, aren’t about dance. Ballet Hispanico dancer Candice Monet McCall does commercial work in NYC when her company is on layoff. She did an Asics print campaign in which models were asked to jump into the shot. “There were models there that were really awkward,” Candice says. “They couldn’t figure out how to move their bodies. But that’s what I do all the time! Having classical dance training helped me get the gig.”

You may not have been trained to speak and memorize lines, but you’ve probably done your share of ballet mime, which will help you in the acting department. “So much of dance is acting,” says Emaline Green, a former classical ballet dancer who performed with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and is now pursuing commercial jobs full-time. “I did a lot of story ballets growing up, which develops your physical acting. You learn how to carry yourself as a character.”

Supplement Your Skills

If you think commercial work is in your dance future, take these six steps to ease the transition. Try other styles. Study jazz, hip hop, contemporary and even tumbling. “As classical dancers, we’re always pulled up, and we can look rigid,” says Kelby Brown, who danced with Hartford Ballet and Les Ballets Grandiva and has since performed in Céline Dion A New Day… and choreographed for Justin Timberlake at the Kids’ Choice Awards. “Studying other styles and learning to improvise will help you become a better dancer, and it fosters creativity,” Kelby says. You may also benefit from singing and acting classes.

Put yourself out there. “When I first started going to commercial auditions, I went to everything, even if I wasn’t sure I was suited for the job,” says Luke Lazzaro, who danced with San Francisco Ballet, Louisville Ballet and others before moving to Las Vegas to perform in The Phantom of the Opera and pursue commercial jobs. Don’t think of auditioning as an exercise in rejection: “You’ll get a taste of the process and perspective on things you need to work on,” Luke explains.

Get representation—but be prepared to rep yourself. “Sometimes, if you want to work, you have to be your own agent,” Emaline says. “Read Back Stage and find casting calls yourself.”

Learn to network. “In L.A., you have to show up at parties and exchange numbers and business cards, because you never know who you’re going to meet,” says Kelby. “Tell people who you are and what you have to offer.” If you feel awkward talking yourself up, remember that in the commercial world, who you know can matter as much as how you dance.

Fit the part. “You have to give choreographers what they ask for,” says Candice. “If they want a girl with a funky personality or hip-hop style, you have to go in with that attitude even if it’s not you.” This includes your audition attire—don’t show up to a music video or artist tour call in a leotard and tights!

Have fun! “Ask yourself if you can have a good time doing commercial work,” Luke says. “Decide if hip hop and jazz are things you actually enjoy. If you find a passion for it, you’ll be fine. Then you’re motivated and it isn’t a chore.”

Find Fulfillment

The money might be amazing—a one-day commercial shoot can net you the equivalent of a week’s salary with a concert company—but you’re coming from the world of Marius Petipa, Twyla Tharp, Ohad Naharin and William Forsythe. Can you possibly be fulfilled doing music videos and fast food commercials?

First of all, recognize that today’s commercial dance world is nothing to look down on. Even though many directors and choreographers do still have a “there’s no time to make art” mentality, there are artists (Mark cites Mia Michaels, Vincent Patterson and Wade Robson, for starters) who are raising the bar. If you’re choosy with your projects, look for choreographers who will push you technically and artistically.

Still, Mark advises dancing for a company first, if you can. “Dance eight hours a day and perform works in the repertoire. Find a roommate and make $500 or less a week,” he says. “You’ll be so fulfilled—and it will make you a better dancer, too. Do that first, then move to L.A. There’s no reason not to do it all.” (You can also follow Candice’s lead and begin a commercial career before leaving company life.)

And who’s to say that the commercial realm won’t turn out to be just as satisfying as your previous, classical life? “I’m getting work and loving it,” Kelby says. “I love being on set. I love to hear the word ‘action.’ I love watching the magic happen. I want to live my life on television and film.”

Spotlighting Dancers For Less Money: The Frugal Lighting Designer

2014-11-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

When Olga Berest moved her school into a 150-year-old Dutch Colonial house, she didn’t anticipate making it into a performance venue. But the local Port Washington, New York, theater, where she now stages twice-yearly shows, was undergoing renovations. She created a makeshift stage by hanging a muslin curtain from the ceiling, and she rented four free-standing, professional-grade lighting fixtures and some color gels to create lighting effects with her bare hands.

“I just shut them off and on. The lights were plugged in on an extension,” Berest says. Each fixture, called a light tree, had different colors; two were filled with cool tones, like rose and blue, and the other two trees had warmer colors, like red and orange.

“It lit the dancers from the side and threw different colors on their costumes,” she says. Though simplistic, the setup worked, and Berest now uses her curtained room for performances of the Berest Dance Center’s youngest students.

Ideally, every dance group, large or small, would have access to a professional theater with a full, theatrical lighting rig and a lighting designer who specializes in dance. But sometimes you’re working with a high school technician who only knows how to run the light board. Or, you’re on a tight budget and find it necessary to convert a space, like a community center or your own studio. Whatever the situation, it is possible—with a little bit of lighting knowledge and some creativity —to achieve a wide range of sophisticated lighting effects.

What's Your Angle?

Lighting is the final design component, the last element in a long creative process, that enhances the choreography, music and costumes. When thinking about lighting a space, the first thing to consider is the performance’s purpose. Kevin Bender, who runs Bender Performing Arts in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Meri, says that for many shows, “Parents are there to see their kids, so the lighting needs to help them do that.” Sherry Moray, owner and director of The Academy of Dance Arts in Downers Grove, Illinois, agrees. “If the lighting isn’t highlighting the costume and the dancer’s face, it doesn’t matter how beautiful it is.”

In order to achieve this, choreographers and studio owners often think that more front light is needed. But, in fact, this can actually make it more difficult to see the dancers. Peter Jakubowski, assistant professor of production/design at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says that the best way to brighten a dancer’s face is by using top or side light. “When you add more front light,” he says, “you’re not only making the dancer brighter, you’re also making the floor brighter.” Without a contrast between the dancer and her surroundings, she disappears.

To fully cover the stage in brightness, you need to have lights downstage, center stage and upstage. If you’re adding lights to a studio space, it’s best to hang three or four pipes horizontally at different depth points above the performance area. “Using four pipes gives you the most flexibility, the most even look,” says Jakubowski. “So often we’re really lighting things so we can get a good video. This setup gives you the ability to have an even wash.” When you hang top lights at all three points on the stage—down, center and up—Jakubowski says, “No matter where the dancers are, the lighting is equal.”

Side light is a favored angle for both choreographers and lighting designers. When Bender wants to create shadows and mood, particularly for a lyrical or contemporary piece, he will use side lights alone. At the Performing Arts Center in Van Nuys, California, Joseph Malone and his wife Nanci Hammond have a convertible studio that becomes a 175-seat performance space. Malone does most of the lighting. Side light, he says, “sculpts the body quite a bit.” And in a smaller room, Malone says, side lights add drama.

Most often, side lighting angle is achieved with light trees like those Berest rented for her studio. The low lights on a tree, often called shin-kickers or shin-dusters, can be very useful for tap pieces, when you want to draw the eyes down to the floor. Tony Waag, artistic director of the American Tap Dance Foundation, says, “If you can make the stage completely dark, you can then bring up a light in just one area so you have isolated action. You can make it more interesting because you can focus a light on one area of the floor.” With low-lighting placed at the front of the stage, you can create silhouettes against a backdrop. “You can get a really nice shadow depending on how close the person is to the light and how close the back wall is,” says Waag.

But take care, as trees can be dangerous for young students. Nestled in the wings, light trees get very hot and can be blinding, presenting a real hazard, especially for inexperienced dancers.

Debra Dumas, who teaches lighting design at Pace and Adelphi universities, suggests an alternative. If you want the benefits of side light without the danger of trees, and you’ve got someone on your team who is comfortable doing some structural work, “You could do a goal post arrangement on scaffolding,” she says, hanging lights off a cross beam supported by two standing pieces that are spaced like a doorway for students to exit and enter through, “as long as it’s secure.”

Roma Flowers, an assistant professor of Dance Lighting Design and Production at Texas Christian University, suggests forgoing trees altogether and using backlight to achieve a similar effect. Back light, she says, “creates an edge of light around dancers’ bodies.” Jakubowski says that blue light specifically “helps punch the body out of the background.”

Color Creativity

If you’re working with older or more experienced dancers, your needs go beyond simply washing the stage in light. Color adds another layer, but how do you know which colors to choose? Most designers recommend having a red, blue and pale warm color, like Bastard Amber (which has a touch of red), which can be combined to create other hues.

Choreographers often describe color choices by mood or emotion because this is what color adds to the stage. While many people are familiar with the idea of lighting a “cool” or a “warm” piece—a somber lyrical number versus a punchy jazz piece—these two descriptions are not always specific enough when working with a less experienced designer or a lighting technician. Jakubowski suggests bringing in a photo or image that evokes the scene or feeling you’re imagining in your mind.

One of the most common places to use color is on the cyc, short for cyclorama, which is the vertical backdrop hung upstage. Jakubowski recommends lighting the cyc from both top and bottom if possible. “If you only light from the top, it becomes the hottest spot and the audience’s eyes can’t help but travel there,” he says. Dumas advises saturated hues for the cyc because a dancer won’t blend in. “If the cyc is light, the dancers have to be lighter,” she says, which can be difficult to achieve if you’re working with limited resources. In fact, says Dumas, sometimes it’s a good idea to leave the cyc black (if it works with the choreography) because the dancers will stand out against it.

Costume color should complement the choreography and the music. But think about brighter, lighter colors that will stand out when you have less light. Most lighting designers recommend fabrics with some reflective quality, especially in an unconventional space where light bouncing off the costumes will help maximize the light you have. White costumes will pick up whatever color you’re using, while “black can get kind of flat onstage,” says Jakubowski. And Dumas recommends staying away from yellow. “It’s the hardest color to light, especially if you need to have blue for a cool or evening piece. Yellow looks green under blue.”

Creating Texture

To add texture, designers often use gobos, or metal cutouts that sit in front of a light. If you’re looking for a specific graphic, like a lamppost or a boat, you might want to purchase a gobo. But if you simply need an abstract shape to break up the dance floor, you can make your own.

Dumas remembers lighting designer Craig Miller (who worked internation-ially with opera and ballet companies, and passed away in 1994) using a screwdriver to create holes in a pie tin, what he called the “punch and twist.” “You just punch the screwdriver through the pie tin,” Dumas says, “and twist it, which makes a little ‘V.’” For a more durable do-it-yourself gobo, Jakubowski suggests you visit a local newspaper and ask for a leftover printer’s tin, which can be cut using a utility knife.

Placing a gobo on a high side light, says Flowers, is a good angle if you’re using the pattern for more than one piece. Jakubowski agrees. “For texture, I like to do it from a high side position that criss-crosses the stage,” he says. “The point that the lights on stage left cross the lights from stage right is directly over the center. It creates almost a tepee shape and keeps the eye focused down and center.” Just make sure to focus the light so that the pattern is soft. “You don’t want it to be too descriptive,” says Flowers. “You just want a dabbling of light and dark.”

Do It Yourself

If you’re attempting to avoid theater rental fees altogether, you can do what studio directors Olga Berest and Joseph Malone have done and add lights to a studio space. But if you’re installing professional-strength lighting fixtures, make sure you have enough electricity. Peter Jakubowski of UNLV recommends 200 amps. “For every 20 amps that you have, you can have about three standard stage lights,” he says. “Two hundred amps really allows you to have some side light, a little bit of backlight, a little front light and a few specials (individual fixtures used to create single pools of light) which are the basic things you need to present something that looks professional,” he says.

But even hardware-store floodlights can provide a very inexpensive option for makeshift spaces. Curt Steinzor and Elaine Gardner, who run Pick of the Crop Dance company in Buffalo, New York, created a piece that was performed at various schools as part of an educational program. Steinzor, who is the musical director and de facto lighting designer, built wooden bases onto which he clamped floodlights. The dancers stood in front of the lights and a sheet hung in front of the dancers. “We got some pretty convincing shadows and silhouettes,” he says.

To create memorable stage pictures, you only need a few extra lights. Roma Flowers of TCU says that singular, visual moments onstage can have a strong impact. She gave this example: If a piece begins with a slow, meditative solo upstage right, put a separate light, or special, on that dancer. You could have it come up slowly, a gradual gain in intensity. Then the stage goes to full light and the audience sees the other dancers. At the end of the piece, the lights go back down to feature the soloist, who’s now down stage left, where you have the second special focused. A high contrast, intense image will set the mood for the piece. “Even if you use those two extra lights for only 9 to 10 seconds, you can make the beginning and the end look great and dramatic,” she says. “Go for that special moment that will define the whole mood for the audience.”

If you’re installing stage lighting, you might want to purchase a light board, but a household dimmer switch can also do the trick. “If you can get even a little control of light and dark, you’ve got a pretty basic setup,” says Flowers.

Another option to consider is light-emitting diodes, commonly known as LED lights, which use less electricity and can provide a wide range of colors on a single strip of lights. If you desire overall coverage, Flowers warns that LEDs don’t emit as much light. But they also don’t get as hot as traditional stage lights, making them a good alternative for side lights.

At Malone and Hammond’s Performing Arts Center, they usually cover the studio mirrors with parachute material that acts like a cyc. But sometimes, for less formal performances, they go without the material and let the lights reflect off the mirror. Experimenting with what you have can often create unexpected yet rewarding results.

Make the Most of your Tech Rehearsal

If you’ve rented theater space, you might have to cram together your dress and technical rehearsals to save money. Prepare and organize before you arrive to use the time efficiently.

When working with the Long Island Dance Consortium’s annual concert, designer Debra Dumas had only half an hour with each company to set lighting cues. But even before the dancers stepped onstage, she had generated lighting ideas based on a form she sent to directors in advance asking for information like the mood and costume color of each piece.

Sherry Moray of Academy of Dance Arts in Illinois has her teachers prepare tech sheets for the tech team a week before performance dates. “They know whether the students are using props, whether they’re entering with or without music,” she says. “We’re all on the same page.”

Communication is key when working with a lighting designer. Peter Jakubowski, assistant professor at UNLV, advises choreographers and directors to be “specific and clear” about what they want. “Talk in terms of what’s in front of your face. ‘I need more highlight on the head and shoulders,’ or ‘I need this piece to have an edgier quality.’”

And most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions and assert yourself.

Revamping Judging Procedures on Reality Talent Shows

2014-11-27T16:26:00.001-08:00

At Right, DWTS judges(LtoR) Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli

Everyone’s a critic, especially when it comes to judging talent. From American Idol to The X Factor to Dancing With the Stars, reality competition shows appeal to our desire to both watch people shoot for their dreams and determine who gets to fulfill them.

At the heart of these competitions is the idea that America or other countries get to choose the winner. But should that be the message? There are talented dancers/singers who get voted out in favor of less talented but very popular contestants, or those paired with popular pros or those that viewers feel sorry for due to injury or hardships overcome.

You can make the argument that yes, the popularity of shows like Idol is fueled by this enticing promise. If you diligently watch every episode and vote like a good fan should, then you get to participate in the making of these would-be stars. And, of course, each of these shows has a set of judges marketed to us as experts in the fields of music or dance. While their knowledge and savvy are nothing to sneeze at, leaving the decision solely up to professionals would extinguish the core reason for tuning in to these shows in the first place.

So what’s the solution? There may not be a right answer , but here some suggestions for improvement.

Define The Show

Is the show supposed to be a popularity contest or a talent show? If it truly wants the most talented to have a chance to win, then tell viewers that. Instead of encouraging the audience to vote for their "Favorites", implying whoever they like the most, encourage them to vote for the performance that they thought was the best. Or how about voting for whoever has improved the most from week to week? Clearly defining what the show is all about might help more talented but lesser known celebs get more deserved votes.

Return to the Show's Roots

Dancing With the Stars was originally conceived as a ballroom show like its predecessor, Strictly Come Dancing. But, the show has introduced more contemporary and jazz and is allowing less pure Paso Dobles and Viennese Waltzes. Let the main competition be ballroom and save other styles for a freestyle routine or guest dancers.

Music that Matches the Dance

Surely it can't be that difficult to have a waltz that matches a waltz routine, can it? As for using older music, shows are wrong in thinking that younger people don't like the style. They do. Plus, pretty music enhances a performer. Who wouldn't enjoy a Waltz performed to Engllebert Humperdinck's "Last Waltz"?

Make Voting Visible

A nagging factor in all of these shows is that viewers never get to see the percentage of votes each contestant gets. Tens of millions of votes are cast each week, yet we’re left only with the basic information of who’s grouped into the top and who’s left at the bottom. Revealing actual percentages — even the number of votes — could very well heighten the competition between contestants and boost overall viewership.

Add Math to Viewers Votes as Well as Judges

While some people are still miffed by the numerical grading system on Dancing With the Stars, it’s actually the most concrete way to chart each contestant’s growth on the show over time. Why not allow the audience to be able to give a 6.5 for instance, or a 10? Viewers love to see their favorite contestants improve over the course of the competition, and implementing a scoring system that can be combined with audience scores would create more tangible results.

Fix the Voting System

This is easier said than done, but finding a way to weed out automated programs or voting bots would legitimize the system as as whole. Limit the number of phone votes and use Captcha words to determine real voters.

Public Votes Until the Final

This would allow viewers to participate, but also allow the judges to determine the final winner out of the 2 or 3 finalists.

No Extra Voting by Judges

Here, I am addressing a problem with Dancing With the Stars. Currently, 3 finalists perform and the public votes. Their votes count for half of the total score. That would be ok except that the judges get to ad more points to their 50% by having the final 2 dance again. Why do this? It's unfair to the viewers and to the contestants.

Same Dance/Music/Theme

Have contestants all perform a set dance such as a Viennese Waltz or Rumba, or singers sing the same song. Boring? Well, maybe, maybe not. It would definitely give both judges and viewers a chance to compare the contestants on a level playing field.

Have Only 2 Finalists: Why have 3 people in a final, forcing one of them to have to exit? That must feel uncomfortable to the 3rd place contestant. Why not narrow it down to just 2? American Idol is great in this respect.

No Sympathy or Unfavorable Vids - It;s one thing to show training vids. It's another to use a contestant's injury or disability to be shown over and over again. Equally unfair is to catch a contestant in a bad mood and use to show him/her in a negative light. I'm sure that the contestants who go on these shows want to either win or lose fairly, based on their performances. In fact, many outright say so.

Do you think talent show judging needs some changes? What ideas do you have?

The Gifts Dance Brings to Our Lives

2014-11-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

The journey between who you once were and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place.” Barbara De Angelis

Anyone who has taken dance classes will have been taught not only steps and positions, but valuable life lessons about life as well. Stop and think about the gifts dance has brought to your life. Here are a few.

The Importance of Health

The first lesson children are taught in ballet class is to stand and sit up with straight backs. It is one of the hardest and most important lessons to achieve. Good posture is a key factor to good health as well as a better appearance. It also improves confidence and strength.

Standing up straight with the head proudly held up, shoulders pulled back and stomach held in will strengthen the core of the body, help avoid back problems, make the body look thinner and can improve circulation, digestion and mood. This simple action reduces the appearance of insecurity and shyness, thus improving confidence. Eating healthy food and regular exercise will also improve overall health.

Dancing is an excellent form of physical exercise for anyone, young or old, as it requires the full use of one's energy and physical participation by every part of the body. No one can dispute the health benefits of dance. Likewise, dance offers the unique opportunity of venting our frustrations, of stomping away anger, of leaping with pure joy,of speaking our needs without words, of connecting movement to music that soothes and heals our mind and spirit as well as soul.

Socializing with other people is the best way to keep mentally active and healthy.

Ballroom dance also teaches grace, movement, and style. Ballroom dance improves walking. Actors and actresses study ballrooom dance. It helps to promote excellent movement skills on and off the screen. Doctors are now telling people that ballroom dance is good for the heart. Ballroom dance is a nice, easy exercise that doesn't challenge the heart, but gives it the right balance of exercise.

Expression of One's Culture - Way to Communicate

We have the freedom to dance. The freedom of dance cannot go unacknowledged, as people from many parts of the globe still do not know the full meaning of true liberty.

Dance is also important as an art form and used in plays, operas, and other stage productions. Modern dance and ballet are used extensively in this venue. And of course tap dance is a great show stopper. Belly dance is also a very expressive dance and is used to help actresses and opera singers learn to be more creative in their movements on stage.
The use of dance in reality shows is a unique phenomenon for our era. Reality shows are now being televised and shown globally. Dancing on an open stage, directly in front of a live audience, while being filmed by television cameras, is only one potential source of entertainment. When this dancing is unedited, people comprehend it on a totally different level. Even the worst would-be dancer, who dances with two left feet, can relate to it.

Internationally, dancing is a very significant and appropriate art form. Dance is loved by people all over the world because it is such a true expression of human art. It helps people to explore their own lives and worlds, as well as to set their bodies, minds and spirits free, while allowing the manifestation of their full artistic potential.

Dancing competitions represent an international challenge. Almost everyone enjoys attempting to do something new. Competing in dance, on various levels, makes it even more exciting. At the same time, all of us can develop an understanding and appreciation of dancing, simply because dancing challenges us mentally, physically and emotionally.

Disipline and Self Control
Professional ballet dancers stay in shape by taking ballet class every day. Children and beginners learning to dance attend at least one class a week, if not more. They have to listen to their teacher, follow instructions and take criticism without offence. They work hard to improve, and practice the steps and technique over and over until they’re perfect.

Ballroom dance helps in the socialization of children. It is being used successfully in many inner city schools today to foster social skills, improve study habits, and build self-esteem. Once children are successful in something they become successful in other things. Ballroom dance teaches self-discipline. It teaches how to conduct yourself with the male or female. It teaches courtesy and etiquette.

The world today seems to be a place where discipline and self-control are unpopular and old-fashioned. Learning to say no to things that are damaging to health, lifestyle or environment is requires a similar discipline and dedication that dancers use to push their bodies to the limit every day.

Smile - You'll Feel Better: Expressing Your Emotions

This is the easiest lesson of all. Smile. It doesn’t hurt, makes others feel happier and brightens the room. Even if you don’t feel like it, smiling through the crabbiness, sadness or anger can at least disguise those feelings until true happiness returns.

Dancers who smile in class, at auditions, during rehearsals and in performance are opening a window to their soul, allowing people in to experience their joy of dancing. It comes naturally to some, while others need reminding. Smiling takes practice, like anything else.

Personally, dance has taught me how to gain and maintain self-control of body and mind. The emotions from being able to use it as a form of expression and communication motivated me to become more sociable and active.

Dance taught me how to dig deep inside my soul and pull out those strong and effective feelings that I struggle with. You discover yourself by your movements, your timing, grace, speed, creativity, and constructiveness. Dance is a tool to influence someone’s emotions, thoughts, and desires.

Courage

It’s sometimes difficult to do something new, to take that first class, perform a certain role, voyage into the unknown, but the rewards are worth it. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and grow.

Handling Criticism

Every dancer encounters criticism, of his/her technique, body, performance at some point. However, this also teaches dancers not to take criticism as a put-down, but use it as a tool to improve. By learning to use criticism in a positive way, especially with the help of parents and friends, dancers learn to distinguish between constructive criticism and uncalled for rudeness.

In everyday life, people are subjected to criticism, even bullying from bosses, teachers, co-workers, fellow students. Learning to handle and understand the reason behind the negative words can turn them into a guide to improving yourself on your own terms. If someone is just plain hostile, then walk away. If you see that some constructive criticism is warranted, then apply it.

The Art of Patience

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Ballet dancers have to practice the same steps and choreography over and over until it is right. Every small detail, from the angle of the head to the point of the foot, must be exact. The timing of the steps must go with the timing of the music, therefore the dancer has to listen carefully as he/she moves her body.

In everyday life, doing something well is very satisfying and rewarding. It doesn’t matter what it is or how long it takes as long as it is performed with enthusiasm and effort.

Nothing is Perfect

There is no such thing as a perfect person or thing. You have to make the best use of what talents you have. No matter what you do, don't aim for perfection. Aim for doing your best. There's a great satisfaction in knowing that whatever happens, you've given your all.

Passion

Whatever you do and enjoy, do it with passion. Passion is the difference between good and extraordinary. If you love what you are doing, it shows like a bright beacon and attracts people to you. The greatest dancers, or people in any field, aren't necessarily the best technically, but they pour their heart into their work. They work because they love doing it.

Life is a Journey

Dance includes what we want to be, what we are, and what has made us this way. It is a signal of reuniting, or even moving on. Dance makes that body healthy and strong. It also is a way of life for many. Dance is art, communication, expression, exercise, disciple, and a mirror as to you and your world

Goals and destinations are important, but you can’t look at where you are and compare yourself to others. Life, like Dance, is a journey. Always strive to improve, but enjoy where you are today; enjoy the journey. Look back and see where you came from and celebrate the success of what you have already achieved while you look forward to what lies ahead.

Using "The Nutcracker" to Expose Dance to All Students

2014-11-17T16:41:00.003-08:00

On the surface, the Renaissance Academy’s Nutcracker looks like many other productions of the ballet. There are party, battle and snow scenes performed in colorful costumes. But what the audience at the annual performances in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, may not know is that over half the ballet’s cast had no prior dance experience, and before participating in the production, knew very little about The Nutcracker.

The mix of dancers and nondancers is intentional, says Renaissance’s dance director Mehgan Jarvie. She seized an opportunity when she launched the production in 2007: Not only could The Nutcracker augment the school dance department’s two annual recitals, it could also expose the entire school to dance.

Each year, participation in the holiday ballet has increased. The all-inclusive Nutcracker has also inspired some of the production’s nondance students to enroll in the school’s dance classes. Renaissance principal Gina Guarino Buli says the production has translated into stronger community awareness of the school and its offerings. And Jarvie’s efforts, along with Renaissance’s arts goals, have earned the school national attention. In 2009, Renaissance Academy earned a Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts School of Distinction in Arts Education award, and the dance department received special recognition.

Renaissance Academy is a K–12 public charter school that opened in 2000 and draws students of all economic levels from 18 districts in the Phoenixville area. In addition to core curriculum classes in math, science, history and English, Renaissance offers music, drama, dance and visual arts. Roughly 40 percent of the school’s 1,000 students take dance, which is required in the third grade and offered as an elective to students in grades 7–12.

Now in its seventh year, Jarvie’s Nutcracker production has grown from a low-budget affair, featuring a cast of 110 students performing excerpts of the ballet in the school’s gym, to a full-blown production with 145 students dancing three shows at a local 500-seat theater.

Last year, the production cost $25,000, some of which Jarvie raised through grants and fundraising. She supplemented this support with the previous year’s ticket sales (roughly $10,000). Students pay a $20 fee and purchase their own shoes and tights. But if someone cannot afford these contributions, Jarvie waives the fee and purchases the child’s shoes and tights using production budget funds.

Casting for The Nutcracker begins each fall, when Jarvie announces open call auditions. Since she casts everyone, the audition serves more as an evaluation to see where students fit best. Jarvie separates students by grade level and teaches each group 15 counts of the choreography (most of which is original to her). She assesses how well each student can follow and repeat dance movements. She also looks at how they handle performing in front of the other auditionees. “Most of our students have never performed before,” she says. To make sure everyone has a positive experience, she doesn’t put anyone in the spotlight who might feel uncomfortable there.

Lead roles don’t always go to the best dancers or oldest students. One year Jarvie cast a fourth-grader as the Sugar Plum Fairy; another year, a high school senior performed the role. And students with no dance experience are often cast as leads. “I look for someone who is going to sparkle onstage,” she says.

Rehearsals begin the week after auditions and take place after school in the Renaissance dance studio. Jarvie generally uses non-ballet terms, especially for younger students. Jarvie prepares choreography ahead of time, but she’s always ready to make adjustments. “I try to make everyone look their best,” she says. “I would rather have simple movements with everyone smiling than complex steps the students are going to worry about.”

In November, Jarvie adds Saturday run-through rehearsals. For many participants, this is their first glimpse of the full Nutcracker story. She uses large posters arranged in the ballet’s order to guide the students. The posters also provide practical information about each scene: who’s dancing, where they enter and exit and what the number’s costumes look like.

On the final Saturday, the students gather for a dress rehearsal. Dancers try on their costumes, which are either purchased from a costume company or pulled from the inventory of those used in years past. Jarvie enlists parents and faculty to play the ballet’s adult roles. Ron Confino, who works in Renaissance’s technology department and coaches the high school’s golf and baseball teams, made his dance debut in last year’s production playing Drosselmeyer. Confino sees his participation as a way of opening up the minds of student athletes. “When they ask about me being in The Nutcracker I tell them, ‘Yeah it’s fun. A lot of pro athletes take ballet,’” says Confino. Seeing their coach onstage, he hopes, may inspire the young athletes to say, “I want to do that.”

To Use or Not - Using Props In Dance Routines

2014-11-11T17:49:00.004-08:00

While there is a trend for choreographers to utilize more props in their routines, there is also the possibility that a prop may be used ineffectively. Have you ever watched a routine, in competition or at a recital, and thought, "Couldn't they have done that same thing without the [umbrellas, candles, megaphones, etc.] props?" If so, this means that the dancers were not using their props to the fullest extent, and the props may have been thrown in at the last minute. Here are some tips for effectively utilizing props in a dance routine, especially Modern Dance.

Props Should Be Vital Parts of the Dance Routine

If a choreographer decides to use a prop, whether it is a piece of scenery that the dancers will climb on, individual props that each dancer holds, or a single or few props that are passed between the dancers, that prop must be treated as an integral part of the dance. Props should be woven into the choreography, so that there is a purpose for them being on stage, just as there is a purpose for each dancer on the stage.

It can become a distraction in the piece, rather than an important part of the piece. Judges are looking for technique, and audiences are looking for entertainment - if the prop hinders either of them, the piece will not be favored. Modern dance is an expressive form of dance that combines the foundations of ballet with expressive thoughts and art to form modern dance. Modern dance props can become an extension of the dancers or can become the focal point of the dance routine. Props in modern dance can also help young dancers understand the flow of a dance movement, such as using a dance ribbon to swirl gently while turning.

Props Can Set the Theme

Modern dance can tell a story or interpret a scene. Props come naturally to this form of dance. Conflict and struggles can be visualized in modern dance by using ropes, chains, long ribbons or nets. The props choreographed into the dance movements can show bondage and then freedom. Modern dance uses scarves and veils to show things hidden in the dance, or secrets that come from the dance. Some of the props, such as balls or streamers, are for fun and add energy to the dance routine.

Large Props Can Add Dimension

Many modern dances use a single large prop to add dimension to a routine. A giant box that the dancers pass through brings a new element to the visual part of the routine, as do large mirrors or giant tubes.

Dancers Can Be the Props in Modern Dance

Modern dance will even use the dancers themselves as props. A dancer can pose or use creative form to be a tree, a rock, mother earth, the moon or the stars. The dancers can form pyramids or other designs using human bodies. The dancers as props in modern dance can show emotions such as fear, happiness or anger.

Classes Explore Ways Props Can Be Used

Dance programs that teach technical theater, staging and production typeclasses may offer courses in modern dance props or the use of dance props. These classes explore ways props can be used in creative and unusual ways, which modern dance is perfect for.

Props Should Not Be Used to Hide Dancers or Weaknesses

There is a trap that choreographers may fall into by showcasing the props in their routines, rather than showcasing the dancers. The point of a performance, especially a competition piece, is to highlight the strengths of the dancers and to entertain the audience and judges. If a piece becomes focused solely on the props, the prop becomes a crutch for the dancers. Using a prop to hide weaknesses in one or more dancers can also backfire for competition pieces. If a few dancers, for example, climb a massive staircase and simply pose for a majority of the piece, judges will notice this. They will also take note if the use of props hides their view of the dancers' bodies, since they are trying to judge the piece based on the technique of the dancers.

Dangers of Using Props in Dance Routines

There are always things that can go wrong with props, which is why choreographers should not rely completely on props to execute any routine. They can easily be forgotten or broken and seem to have minds of their own. Chairs can stick, jump, or slide too easily across the stage, which will upset your choreography and could possibly injure your dancers. It's a good idea to rehearse dances with and without props, in case of emergencies like these. If a dancer needs to toss a basketball across the stage to another dancer, and it ends up flying into the wings, the dancers will need to know how to complete the piece without it.

Final Tips for Using Props

Keep it simple - Something as small and simple as one scarf or one candle passed among several dancers can impact a piece immensely.

Reuse and recycle old pieces - If your petite dancers were "Singin' in the Rain" with yellow umbrellas last year, perhaps your advanced dancers can paint them black or silver and use them in a contemporary piece this year. This not only cuts costs for the studio (and keeps your prop closet from overflowing), but it can spur ideas in choreographers on how to reuse their props each year.

The dancing should always come first - The point of your routine is always to showcase the dancers' technique and what they have learned in class, and mostly likely not their ability to juggle basketballs or turn their costumes inside out while doing fouettes. If choreographers focus first and foremost on the technique, the props can be used effectively and will serve as the icing on the cake.