CONTENT WARNING: Death, Mortality, Tribulations [but with the intent to create greater meaning and motivation in life!] To Free the Heart by Francis C. Anderson, Jr. Through dreary sodden daysThe field sponged upThe greying skies. And now the sunLies soft as birth againAs if the earth had just begun. And blossoms on the vinesDesigned in […]
“These are very charming poses, which doubtless owe their inspiration to antique painting and sculpture. The name arabesque applied to the flowing ornament of Moorish invention is exactly suited to express those graceful lines which are their counterpart in the art of dancing.” – Cyril W. Beaumont and Stanislas Idzikowski in The Cecchetti Method of […]
Turnout, external rotation from the hips, duck-walking ballet dancers…what does it all mean? Why is this “turnout” so important in classical ballet? A controversial topic indeed, here I discuss the myths, the function, technique tips from leading pedagogues, and how to build strength and flexibility to optimize this capacity in the body and expand our […]
Having worked with hundreds of high school, college, adult and graduate students in ballet and modern dance classes, I have learned to balance the stated objectives of the dance course with the expectations and personal goals of the individual students. We all come to dance (or whatever artistic practices we pursue) for diverse reasons, and […]
“Let us first deal with the new space we are going to journey into and occupy so as to not see it as a void and empty area, but a distinctly flavored environment.” The Nikolais/Louis Dance Technique** Last week I talked about the five positions of the feet and spatial intent, and today we’re, diving […]
“After the in-place alignment, the teacher reviewed the plié and relevé series. The dancers performed the movements radiating out into the dimensions of the room or stage and projected them through the forward wall and out into the imagined audience and further out to the back of the auditorium. Open pliés were pressed out into […]
“To understand the concepts of balance and counterbalance through posture and placement, it is helpful to identify (1) each of the three body planes, which link two of the three dimensions of height, width, and depth, (2) the center of gravity, (3) the central vertical axis, and (4) the base of support.” – Rory Foster, […]
Elements of Dance: The Body, Core “Definite stability is achieved only when the dancer realizes and feels the colossal part the back plays in aplomb. The stem of aplomb is the spine. The dancer should learn to feel and control her spine through observation of muscular sensations in the region of the back during various […]
During my training with Accomplishment Coaching, I read the wonderful book There is Nothing Wrong with You: Going Beyond Self-Hate, a compassionate process for learning to accept yourself exactly as you are, in which spiritual teacher Cheri Huber states: “The simplest example is that if self-hate is hating my body, it doesn’t matter what I […]
“With care, and skill, and cunning art, She parried Time’s malicious dart, And kept the years at bay, Till passion entered in her heart and aged her in a day!”– Ella Wheeler Wilcox Seven Basic Movements of Ballet This week we have been exploring the theme of darting as part of my series on the 7 Basic Movements […]
