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.
Practicing the fluid upper body movements of ballet and creating lines with the arms, head, and body to beautiful music is one of my favorite elements of classical dancing. The way arm and upper body movements harmonize with those of the legs, the relationship to spatial geometry, and the range of expression available makes my heart sing.
In October around Halloween time, I like to teach the story of “Hansel and Gretel,” or as I like to think of it, “Gretel and Hansel,” since alphabetically it follows, and Gretel is the real hero of the tale.
Including a range of expression and emotional content, beautiful music, natural and supernatural characters, it is rich with possibilities for dance improvisation, choreography, and education.
This story fits in well with witch dances and other spooky themes like ghosts, bats, cats, etc. and can be related to dreaming and courage in “Cinderella” (for which I also have a podcast, video, and blog), the Land of Sweets and Clara/Marie’s bravery in “The Nutcracker” (coming soon!) and tie in music appreciation from the opera and other sources.
I’m bringing you a ballet concept today that is so fun to watch and also to do, batterie or beats of the legs which appear in sparkling variations and jumping or allegro steps.
Imagery, Physical Forces, and Dance Movement Techniques of SWINGING, that’s what I’m writing about today and discussing on Episode 66 of the podcast!
One of the world’s most classic, iconic and ubiquitous tales, the “Cinderella” ballet can provide an entrée to universal themes and concepts useful in life and interdisciplinary topics within and beyond dance.
This final week, we are setting up to keep your practice going after the “Intensive” is complete. The idea is to have a well-rounded conditioning and cross-training routine that requires a very small commitment of time. You can continue to add different movements slowly as well as take full-length classes with me online or through other teachers and live studios.
