This summer I had the privilege of
leading Ballet4life’s ‘ballet leg’ of the summer intensive week, including a
six day long ballet repertoire course. Having had a long break from teaching Repertoire myself, I noticed I was approaching the challenge with surprisingly
mixed feelings.
I was excited to be tipping my
dancing toes in the good old classics again; refreshing hours of material and
narrowing it down to suitable variations and corps de ballet pieces for our
students, however, I was faced with the smallest mental dilemma of how, as a
choreographer, I could stay as true to the original choreography as possible,
yet make it accessible and joyous to perform for all the dancers from such
multitudes of abilities and backgrounds.
It turned out we had an incredibly
productive week! Each piece was tweaked ever so slightly, mainly in order to be
performed more organically on demi - pointe. Over the six days we learned Giselle’s Friends (corps de ballet waltz,
Giselle, Act I), White Swan (Odette’s
variation, Swan Lake, Act I), Candida
(First Fairy variation, Sleeping Beauty, Act I), Dance of the Sacred Fire (Nikiya’s entrance variation, La Bayadere,
Act I) and Peasant Pas (Giselle’s
variation Peasant Pas De Deux, Giselle, Act I).
I got to work with most of the
dancers on a daily basis and gained an understanding of their bodies and minds
quickly. Instead of focusing on the grand bravado of flat 180 degree turnouts or
complex final diagonals, we approached all repertoire from an angle of
expressing our emotions through the character and the body, accepting its
abilities for what they are and ultimately dancing for ourselves, not expecting
anyone’s approval. We discussed a lot about emphasising the inner life of
ballet, creative expression and not being afraid to expose ourselves
artistically.
From a teacher’s and
choreographer’s point of view it was incredibly rewarding to witness how
quickly these dancers grew in confidence with such poise and passion and how
that elevated self-esteem has now been transferred back in to the class room that
the new term has started. I truly love witnessing personal breakthroughs and
there were so many during that week I only wish I had a camera to capture the
surprise and elation on the dancer’s face when something clicked and their
practice leaped forward that extra turn or balance or boost in self-esteem of
‘I can!’
We have very knowledgeable dancers
at Ballet4life, so many of our dancers are passionate, up to date dance fans
and know exactly what is going on each season, which is why it is only natural
they want to know more in depth what they are watching on stage. Our dancers
often give up a lot to get to class regularly, whether it be time with their
family, money or both, and I have such appreciation for this. Offering our
dancers an opportunity to learn some of the material they possibly have been
watching since their early childhood as well as putting into context the
technical steps and preparatory combinations they might have been honing for
years in the dance studio only makes sense to me. I believe all students should
be taught in a way that prepares them for performance, whether they ever intend
to step their foot on an actual theatre stage or rather embrace life in general
as their greatest showcase.
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