A Blythe Coach

Tag: Dance

Embracing Ballet Balancé – Classical Waltzing Theory & Practice

According to Agrippina Vaganova in Basic Principles of Classical Ballet**, Pas Balancé “Is one of the simple pas allegro, which is easily done even by children. In classical dancing it is often used in waltz tempo.” (p.99) I love to waltz alone or as a pair, in ballet, ballroom and other styles, and find it’s […]

Go Bananas for the Splits, Leap like Yoga Mythology’s Monkey God Hanuman (and a review of the basics of stretching technique)

This article explores the classic splitting shape of Hanumanasana in yoga or “The Splits,” which becomes leaps like Grand Jete in Ballet dancing technique and others, in mythology, proper stretching practices, and performance.

Change in the Air: Out of Ruts, Into Action

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes are happening, from the inauguration of a new president in the US, vaccinations coming out for the deadly pandemic that has swept the planet, a new calendar year, all of us having had to radically change our lives in some way, recently, if not in every way. The change process is an area I’m […]

Truths About Turnout

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 […]

Goal-Setting for Dancers

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 […]

End-of-2020 Reflections

First of all, however long you’ve been tuned in, reading, watching, dancing along, etc. I want to THANK YOU so much for being here this year as I started this blog here on my new website, as well as the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel and Podcast, and offered classes online for the first time! […]

Care & Actualization of the Self

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 […]

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