Building Blocks of Dance Welcome to the latest installment of my series on the “Seven Basic Movements” of ballet and classical dancing. Thus far, I have explored Plier/to bend, Sauter/to jump, Glisser/to glide, and Élancer/to dart in blog articles, videos, and podcasts, and created a Playlist on YouTube about the 7 Movements to support learning […]
I had long heard that “Plié is the first thing you learn and the last thing you master,” but had to look up who said it and adultballerinaproject.com says it was Suzanne Farrell, a famous ballerina whom I admired as a young dance student.
It’s one of the most amazing things to me that in ballet, as with other highly-sophisticated techniques, you can continue to learn new things about technique and artistry your whole life. The training never ends, no matter how “advanced” or masterful you become.
So it is with Plié. On the one hand, it’s just one of many steps a ballet dancer must learn, but it is also integral to modern dance and mastery of movement in general. All athletes could benefit from a little Plié in their lives.
Joyful movement in general, and ballet in particular, is one of the great passions of my life. I find the movements of the arms particularly captivating, and in recent times it has become more relevant than ever that they are accessible with little available space. As I age, I also appreciate how I can continue […]
Do you ever feel distracted, floaty, overwhelmed, or disconnected? Creating a stable, grounded, foundation is the first step in building a supportive yoga practice, dancing posture, and well-designed yet flexible life.
A delightful conversation with fellow dance educator and UNCSA alumnus as well as super-talented and wonderful guy, Matthew Donnell! We talk about the highs and lows of being a multi-passionate jack-of-all-trades, his highlights as a professional ballet dancer, how to fall down and get back up again, the importance of révérence, character dance, and technique variety in ballet training, developing character in dancers and human beings, serving our communities, helping dancers find their voice, and assert that all people are valuable!
I can’t possibly provide an exhaustive account of such a dancing phenomenon as “The Nutcracker” ballet, but I’d like to share some of the history and my own fascination with the music, dancing, costumes, and magical story. Hopefully it sparks a bit of your own childlike wonder, dreams, and fantasies as well as your grown-up appreciation of music, storytelling, and the art of dance.
I was so pleased to welcome Kia’ikai “Kai” Iguchi to my podcast for the second installment in my mini-series on Dancing Body Acceptance! They have connected me with a wealth of wonderful resources when it comes to dancing nutrition, eating disorder treatment, equity and access and I’m so grateful for their knowledge.
Part 1 of my mini-series on Dancing Body Acceptance! I had the great pleasure, during my personal “Body-Positive October” celebration research, to talk with Dietician Fumi Sumehara, who is based in Australia. Fumi took time out of her busy day at the DDD Clinic to talk with me about diet culture in ballet and society and ways to promote nourishment and a healthy relationship with eating and body image as dancers, teachers, companies and schools, and others.
Here’s a healthy half-dozen ballet connecting steps to practice as you develop your dancing over the years, so many fun ways to get from one place to another!
Moving into the chilly and dark time of year here in the northern hemisphere, I like to get cozy and comfy, and also to bring some wonderful warmth from the inside out with yummy dance and movement warm-up exercises. As I age, it becomes more and more important to properly prepare for dancing and teaching, and it takes a little time and loving care to find ease and range of movement, as well as manage pain and stiffness. At any age, it is critical to properly warm up before we undertake larger movements and stretches in order to prevent injury.
