When a lot of people generally think of ballet, they think of the pointe shoes of course, but also the elegance of the tutu. The tutu has come a long way, and has so much history. It is important for us as dancers to know the power of the tutu, the work it takes it make a tutu, and the feeling that wearing such a gorgeous piece of art gives off. Below the Australian Ballet talks about the power of the tutu, the challenges of dancing with a tutu, and how a tutu makes a ballerina!
As dancers our talent is a big part of what can make or break us in the industry. Although this is true we also have to consider sometimes it is just as important to value what you know as well as who you know. Developing supernodes is a substantial aspect in keeping ballet alive to assure that we are exposed to the most valuable performers and also to make sure we have an audience to keep watching so that we can keep the art of ballet very active and relevent.
This page in particular I keep a connection through other blogs such as The Ballet Bag or my Tumblr peer Regan who runs The Dance Blog. My connection with these to blogs allows others who haven’t seen my blog before to maybe give a chance because of the credibility of the other two blogs that are linking me and sharing my posts. This is a great example of the importance of Supernodes because just like other blogs can bring exposure to my own personal thoughts and writing, staying in touch with dancers or teachers that have a voice in the very small ballet world could be your ticket into a company.
The biggest thing for dancers is to remember, your competition could be your opportunity into your next company job so you have to make positive connections in your attitude and technique all the time. Every time you are in class you have to dance like you are performing for your way into American Ballet Theatre because truth be told you never know who is watching and wha opportunities it can lead to. Following the footsteps of other ballet bloggers in my community as aided me because now my voice can be heard, so if you follow the footsteps and grab the attention of other dancers and instructors you can build a network which makes starting a professional career a little bit easier.
Below is a video of the apprentices of New York City Ballet and their journey of trying to make it as a professional dancer,
It’s a good example to remember to stay on your toes and that you have to always consistently dance your best because you never know what network is watching!
I recently voyaged on Wikipedia just to see what “history” (or lack there of) that they had on ballet, companies, and dancers within the industry. While out on my search I found a little piece of shocking knowledge and that was that there wasn’t a page for African-American or Black ballerinas in the industry. This was important to me because little girls should know that there is diversity within the ballet world and that no matter your skin color or ethnic background, there is a possibility that you could be a prima ballerina with a prominent ballet company. With this being said I took it in my own hands to do some research and attempt to create a ballet page for African-American Ballerinas (It’s a continuous work in progress but check it out!).
I must say I am no Wikipedia wiz, by no means at all, but I wanted to create the page to continuously make the issue relevant and let people know that African-American ballerinas exist and not just in Dance Theatre of Harlem or Complexions. Some of the challenge I faced was finding where to start and who to write about. There are a lot of African-American ballerinas that have made the industry more lucrative for up and coming black ballerinas that I didn’t want to leave anyone important out. I had to take into consideration that this is Wikipedia and there is plenty of room for outside spectators to add to the page and help it continue to grow. The coding was also a little tricky for me but I am more that sure the genius’ of Wikipedia would be more than happy to trail behind me and fix all that I have wronged.
Alicia Graf Mack
My Main point in creating this page is awareness that ballet is changing, and hopefully growth will continuously happen. It’s so much motivation for Minorites in general when they see a Paloma Herrera or Misty Copeland living their dream on stage and prominent ballet companies. Hopefully the ballet world continues to transform and focus not about color but more about talent. As an African-American dancer in this generation of dance, I am fortunate for those that broke the boundaries so that I could possibly succeed. Hopefully the Wikipedia page continues to grow with names and achievements so growing African-American dancers can be encouraged to possibly be a ballerina themselves.
Below I will leave you with a performance of the Legendary Lauren Anderson and the up and coming Ballerina MIchaela Deprince
Svetlana Zakharova Principal Dancer of the Bolshoi
When people think of ballet, most of the time they think of the pretty tutus or the gracefulness of the dancing. What is often forgotten about what the dancers are doing. Yes of course the audience the big leaps and the multitude of turns, but rarely tend to notice the small things such as the transitions in between or the port de bras of the dancers. The bigger question is, if there was a difference in all the little details of the ballet would the audience notice? To a dancer the difference in Russian training and American training is gargantuan. It affect how the repertoire is performed and the expectation of what it takes as a ballet dancer. Training and trends of ballet from the east to the west completely differ, and they the styles vary across the world. The turn out, the flexibility, and the port de bras all are so different in the two trainings, some Americans might even find themselves a little jealous of the difference in trainings. The styles are apparent to dancers, but they can also be very apparent to an audience.
Let’s take a look at Odile Pas de Deux with the American Ballet Theatre and the Mariinsky Ballet
Gillian Murphy, American Ballet Theatre Swan Lake, 2005
Ekaterina Kondaurova, Mariinsky Ballet Swan Lake, 2013
Between those two videos, besides being absolutely mesmerized by the dancing you would notice that the training in the to dancers differs, and begins to affect the demeanor of the performance that you are watching. Watching Gillian, you still get the aggression that it requires to take in role of being Odile but at the same time you get a sort of softness that creates the texture that you see more in American training. Watching Ekaterina, there is this sort of attack that devours your while watching her dance. The emphasis on flexibility and port de bras in the Russian training is very apparent in the performance and also provides a sense of the training that Russian Ballet requires. When I think of American ballet of course the first thing that comes to mind is Balanchine. The more contemporary works are a huge focus here which changes the gears to a more contemporary style of training. Russian Ballet on the other hand is way more classical. Russian Ballet produces Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet which are classics in the ballet world, and stand out as defining ballets in dance history. When styles cross, it can be epic and the possibilities of ballet become endless. (See the video below and you will see exactly what I’m talking about)
An American at the Bolshoi
Ballet Compared to Pop Culture: What are you training for?
Prima Ballerina of ABT, Misty Copeland, With platinum Recording artist Prince.
It’s interesting how from East to West, the art of dancing is taken very seriously. In Russia, when they practice ballet, it’s a big deal. They have to go through rigorous training, and the top ballet schools only choose the best of the best. Rarely ever choosing foreign students. I can definitely compare that rigorous training to the entertainment industry in Asian countries. Some refer to the process as “manufacturing stars”. For example, in Korea, to become a korean pop idol, you have to be trained. If you can’t sing, you rap, if you can’t rap, you become the what they call “the visual”. If you can’t sing or dance or rap, often times, if they decide to keep you, you will either be trained to become an actor or a model. If you go to Korea, trying to find someone who hasn’t been approached by an entertainment company at some point in their life would be hard. Trainees will go through rigorous training and classes just to be able to debut as pop stars. Some start at young ages, and don’t debut for YEARS.
The whole idol dream is based off of the fact that everyone dreams of being famous and living the celebrity lifestyle.
Krystal Jang from the popular Korean girl group F(X) was scouted at the age of 5, but her parents opposed to the idea of Krystal debuting, so at age 11, they used her sister, Jessica Jung, and had her train with one of the top entertainment companies in Korea called SM Entertainment. The top big 3 companies in South Korea are SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment.
F(x) at SXSW 2014
When a trainee passes all the various levels of auditions, they are finally able to sign with their company. (See a YG ENT trainee, Jennie Kim’s debut video here) The only trick is, that when they sign with their company, they are basically signing and acknowledging that their company cannot guarantee when their debut will be. It can take months and ever years after a group is signed to be able to show their faces to the entertainment world.
The idol life is not all candy and games. Idols barely have enough time for a social life, and the trainee life is not as inviting either. Trainees are trained to sing ballads as well as korean pop songs. They are also trained to sing a lot of western music as well. A lot are actually schooled on western artists like Chris Brown and Michael Jackson.
So it is very interesting to see how training for a professional ballet career can vary from coast to coast, and how it also compares to the dedication that it takes to succeed in pop culture. Styles maybe different but the goal of being successful is the common denominator when talking about ballet or pop culture.
This article was in collaboration with Cheyenne! Check her blog out if you like pop culture and enterntainment from east to west coast!
Todays post is a little different as I posted on Storify to give a little bit more of a visual of how to overcome an injury! Check it out the link is below and comment to let me know what you think!
There’s been some things heavy on my mind that I am realizing when it comes to it being not just a dancer but also being a professional as well. As dancers, it is so easy for us to forget that we are beyond movement. When it comes to dancers in the professional world you have to educate yourself in your profession. As a dancer, it’s okay to ask yourself questions like “How much am I being paid?” or “What is expected of me?” because if you never take out the time to educate yourself you could end up being jaded into what you think you are getting yourself into. As aspiring ballet dancers we really need to use research as a foundation to choosing what route we should take when it comes to pursuing your dance career. My biggest concern for dancers is that they go out looking for work blindsided either technically, financially, or professionally and they throw their talents on the line because of the lack of preparation when it comes to going the professional route.
Photo: Pretty Matches Productions/Zero Point Zero Production.
Where are you at technically?
Before you go out and put everything out on the line you have to take a look at the technique you have and compare to the technical level of the members of the company that you are trying to join. Our generation of dancers like to rush technique and that creates a problem when it comes to auditioning for companies. You can never be 100% prepared for an audition but if your technique level closely matches those in the company you are making yourself more of a candidate. Am I discouraging auditioning? Heavens no! I think dancers should audition of to get them more comfortable and used to the pressures that it brings along, but i think the problem comes along when people credit auditions as class which is not the case at all. Consistently staying in class is the best thing for you technique and is also the best way train yourself for these auditions.
What is your financial stance?
Auditioning as a ballet dancer is quite expensive contrary to people’s beliefs. Think of the travel, the shoes, your appearance; maintaining all of these can be quite the cost, so you have to look at the cost of all of these things so you can make sure you are fully prepared to begin the audition process. Now next becomes the big question of how much to professional ballet dancers get paid? You have to do your research as a dancer because regardless of what of your outside circle tells you it is more than possible to live a stable lifestyle as a dancer. Now let’s be clear, when first entering a company do not expect to get the pay of Yuan Yuan Tan or Steven McRae but use your resources and find out how much your company of interest pays and their benefits and compare that to your lifestyle now.
What is being “professional”?
Of course talent is a must when it comes to making it in the ballet world but often dancers forget that professionalism is a must when it comes to making a career out of dance. As dancers you have to evaluate your dancers etiquette that you are when you step foot into your first ballet class. You have to constantly be practicing concepts like your timeliness in class, your body language while you are learning in class, or even your dress code. You are probably reading this thinking, of course why would I not follow these guidelines, but a lot of dancers tend to forget their etiquette when they start to get comfortable at their studio or intensive. Don’t allow yourself to exude this lack of effort in your mannerisms because believe or not they will reflect in your dancing on and off stage!
Dancers have been some of the most intellectual people I have met and hope that dancers are continuing their intellect by not just being a dancer but being a smart dancer. To make it as a professional dancer you have to put in that extra time to understand that ballet is a business, and just like any other business you have to make yourself marketable to succeed in the crazy professional world. With this being said you should check out a really cool article where Donna Sapolin of Forbes discusses “7 Things Ballet can Teach Us About Work”. It brings in the other side of how the concepts of ballet are effective in the professional world, so now lets link these concepts and gear them towards creating your own professional ballet career!
Below I will leave you with some ferocious Derek Dunn and Jim Nowakowski turns to take us to dance heaven (both Houston Ballet)
As dancers we all know the blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to make it in the professional ballet world. As a professional dancer, most train five to six days a week a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of rehearsals after class, so we definitely put our bodies through a lot to make sure look amazing on stage. With this being said this poses a popular question, are dancers artists or athletes? I think Dance Consortium said it best in their article talking about dancers as athletes. Dance Consortium first defines what an athlete is and then compares how the life of a dancer fits around that definition. Dance Consortium uses the ideas of stamina used through performances, the injuries that are endured as a dancer, and the physicality that it takes to make it through the week as a professional all as an example to why dancers are not just artists, but they are athletes as well.
“Dancers are the athletes of God.” – Albert Einstein
Being involved in dance and sports both in my past, the athleticism that you face are both parallel; the only difference is that you don’t have to look pretty playing basketball.Dance is such a commitment to your body because you have to train your technique consistently and constantly remind your body the do’s and don’t’s in class, so that on stage it looks effortless. Dancers consistently fight through a lot of the strain and injuries that are also faced by football players because when you continuously train and work your body rigorously overuse and long term injuries become a problem. The New York City Ballet describes the injuries that they face as professional dancers, and just like any other athlete one major injury can really put your career on the line. Dancers are now more than ever rehabilitating themselves as athletes by going to physical therapy regularly and strengthening themselves using outlets such as Pilates or yoga. Although dancers meet some of the same demands of an athletes I think I can hardly call it a sport because it is so much more that. The heart, soul, and passion that goes behind the performance to tell a story as dancer is what takes more than athleticism, but also artistry to convey. There is no way that a ballerina can portray both the roles of Odile and Odette of Swan Lake without the passion and emotion that comes behind both the characters. Ballet is definitely not as easy as it looks, but the athletic and artistic values that requires are what makes it such a beauty to watch. Below I will leave you with Soloist Jilian Vanstone of the Canada National Ballet talking about her life as a ballet dancer and what it means to her.
As always dancers,
Keep calm dance on!
Jilian Vanstone – A Day in the life of a Ballerina
Whether you have heard them or not, Bad Boy’s of Dance is a driving force in the contemporary ballet world and is showing how daring men can be when it comes to breaking the stereotypes. According to Judith Mackrell of The Gaurdian, she saw less art and more Chippendale’s. Mackrell describes the Bad Boy’s of Dance’s Rock the Ballet performance as “lamer than it’s title” and “less badass than bemused chorus boys”. The article bascally states that the performance missed it’s point and is as she calls it “Chippendale’s with classical class”.
As a personal fan of the Bad Boys of Dance I think I could very much beg to differ with Mackrell’s opinion of the Performance. The physicality and energy that the Bad Boy’s of Dance exudes is what this dance world needs. Often in classical ballet, the male dancer becomes the prop. It becomes less about the male dancer and more about showing off the beauty and lines of the ballerina. As ballet becomes more contemporary, the role of the male is changing. Men are doing more than just partnering, jumping, and turning but company’s are more than ever looking and men’s lines and artistry and the choreography is becomeing more intense. The dance started to see a shift in male roles when Balanchine Ballet’s started to come into play, and we see men having more reponsibilties, and the choreography becoming more instense for males (Take a look at the Rubies act fro Jewels or Apollo). Bad Boy’s of Ballet becomes a contiuation to this rebellion of the idea that men are not just props, but that being a male dancer takes just as much technique and skill as it does to be a prima ballerina. This isn’t a way to discredit the beauty, artistry, and strength that it takes to be a ballerina, but hey men have to be technicians too! When Mackrell see this performance, she looks past the passion and the absolute joy to dance that allows a dancer to express themself without limitations. Bad Boy’s of Dance have recently been featured as contestants on America’s Got Talent under the psuedo name “Bad Boy’s of Ballet”, and I personally feel like this is an amazing opportunity to not just show the aggresion and skill level of dancers, but to also show that there is more to ballet than the Nutcracker or Swan Lake. I posted a couple videos below of the Bad Boy’s of Dance, do you think it’s contributing to a new era in male’s dance, or do you agree with Mackrell’s “Chippendale’s” approach? Either way you’ve got to admit it, these boys are ferocious!
As aspiring ballet dancers technique is everything. If we aren’t consistently using our turnout or establishing strong a port de bras, we are distracting the audience from the story that we are trying to convey. With this being said, some ballet dancers have a myth that taking other styles of dance such as tap, jazz, or hip hop distort the technique of classical ballet training. As much ballet training that it takes to become a professional dancer, do you really think a sassy jazz walk every now and then will tarnish a strong background of technique? Thankfully Steven McRae, Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet, addressed the issue in his #McRaeDanceTips. The successful ballet dancer talks about how his exposure to other dance styles positively influenced him in his career today. He compares dance training to “Academic Studies” and says “The more styles and knowledge you can gain the better”. Steven McRae even used an example of his role as the Mad Hatter to show that dance isn’t very black and white anymore, that it is becoming more about fusing other styles to make compelling repertoire. (Click the photo below to link to the article)
Now if you don’t believe me or Steven McRae that being a well-rounded dancer is a positive move for your professional dance career, let’s take a look at the more contemporary works that are being placed on classical ballet companies. Wayne McGreggor, one of my favorite choreographers to this date, is one of the most prominent choreographers in the game. His works are very physical but require more than the standard ballet technique. To perform a Wayne McGreggor work, you have to add a little soul that you can get from jazz or strong contractions which appear in modern technique. Let’s face it folks other styles are integrating themselves in the ballet world, so it never hurts to get yourself in those jazz, tap, or modern classes. Below I will leave you a couple of pieces of my favorite Mcgreggor works, Chroma and Borderlands, to see how other styles influence the work.
In the new age of ballet the idea of shape, size, and race are consistently changing. I recently read Misty Copeland’s Life in Motion and it really changed my whole perspective of what ballet is, how the industry works, and how to overcome obstacles that you face as a professional dancer. Misty Copeland has broken so many boundaries in the ballet world, it’s amazing to hear her articulate her battles as a nineteen year old dancer entering the professional industry and as a thirty one year old who is currently succeeding in the dance industry. This interveiw talks about her book Life in Motion but it also articulates how ballet has changed her and the struggles of the art form.
Grab Life in Motion, it is definitely an amazing read, also learn more about Misty Copeland’s story and how she broke barriers in the ballet world.
Of course talent is a must when it comes to making it in the ballet world but often dancers forget that professionalism is a must when it comes to making a career out of dance. As dancers you have to evaluate your dancers etiquette that you are when you step foot into your first ballet class. You have to constantly be practicing concepts like your timeliness in class, your body language while you are learning in class, or even your dress code. You are probably reading this thinking, of course why would I not follow these guidelines, but a lot of dancers tend to forget their etiquette when they start to get comfortable at their studio or intensive. Don’t allow yourself to exude this lack of effort in your mannerisms because believe or not they will reflect in your dancing on and off stage!
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