What a performance by this incredible, classically-trained ballerina! Ballerinas and Ballet Dancers are truly the strongest people in the world--it takes years of training and discipline to reach this level--they outlast Olympian swimmers in stamina: families/blog/are-ballet-dancers-fitter-than-swimmers. One of the reasons professional football players will take ballet is due to this. While the feats of strength are made to look effortless, delicate, and they are thin, elongated and move gracefully, if you ever have the opportunity to shake a ballerinas hand, the first thing you will notice is that he or she can crush it. At 10 years old, one is literally eating, breathing, and dancing ballet, every day, with all of ones actions centered around the idea: Does this make me a better ballet dancer for my career? and Will this lead me to be ready for company tryouts?. Thanks to my mom saving up all of her money as a custodian, I was able to take classical ballet and tap professionally 3 times per week at Friends University in Wichita, KS finally for one year at age 12 (which is considered a late age to begin training), and earned an auditioned spot in their famous yearly Nutcracker Ballet. I had a fantastic, strict instructor named Miss Sharon Rogers who spoke to us only in French. This was not a school you would go to if you casually wanted to have fun, socialize, wear tutus or whatever dance wear, as long it lets your body move--if that did happen, one can be certain it was a purposefully scheduled special or rare event. It was not a school where everyone was told theyre dancing wonderfully, as the intention in a lot of dance schools for youth is simply to foster friendship, give mom and dad a break at home, and build self-esteem. Yet, I saw the precision, high standards, and intense training Miss Sharon employed as the best form of kindness, and underneath the seemingly cold exterior was a passion and an eye for perfection--she gave her all and expected daily improvement and proper conformity to technique and turn-out in return in order for us to gain total command of our bodies. She and her husband Stan are still associate professors there to this day. At Friends University, you wore a black leotard, pink tights, hair in tight bun, no skirts allowed in order for one to see, maintain, and judge the cleanest lines, ballet slippers, proper posture at all times, notes complete, ready, and graded, stood in first position if the teacher had a speech to make (otherwise, always dancing through exercises), silence at all times, (unless called upon, and mostly we said in unison, Yes Miss Sharon). Each girl took every movement and note with military seriousness throughout class (not to say this wasnt without joy), which oddly enough, made me feel more at home with this group than if I were able to talk during class. We had homework after each class and were expected to practice and perfect new steps and pieces daily as well as practice previously learned steps at home before the next class. I will always remember my transition from going home in tears for the first several classes, to at the end of the year, her pointing to me and two of the other best dancers in the class, and saying: You are mine. And you are mine. And you are mine. I couldnt have been more elated. At the beginning, in her words, Swans never sweat....a criticism to the fact that I tend to sweat immediately and profusely when I start dancing (which I learned later is actually a sign of fitness and partially from inheriting this from my dad, who was in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.). Second, before I had up finally paid for my own Lasik eye surgery at age 26, I had the definition of legally blind eyesight but doctors couldnt fit contacts into my eyes because the lids were small, and I couldnt wear glasses while dancing or they would go flying off--so I became very good at depth perception yet always had to make sure I was close enough to Miss Sharon to make out the forms and shapes that I could. At the school, I was able to learn an extensive amount of terminology and this sparked one of the reasons I wanted to go to (and eventually did visit) France: the language is so beautiful. I was blessed to watch some incredible performances by the older classes. Ive heard that the only way to know whether or not a teacher is a good one is by looking at his or her students, because by their fruits ye shall know them: I agree. So here is a brief peak into a Friends University student practice and performance: https://youtube/watch?v=IX4i3GSPvV8 https://youtube/watch?v=ZuIOBOpW7cU I aspire to such greatness as the Chinese ballerina performing Swan Lake here, in my own form. Ballet combined with weights in a way that lengthens and tones (which is usually forbidden in ballet as most weight lifting shortens rather than lengthens the muscle), to eventually join the Plant-Built team in Austin. I like a combined style of hip-hop, jazz, and ballet. Here are some performances that inspire and motivate me towards achievement of a myriad of worthy goals. (Hip-hop meets ballet, by Alex Wong. I found the final performance particularly inspiring.): https://youtube/watch?v=4IjP9IV2S7g Center Stage final performances: https://youtube/watch?v=ffEQ20X-gZ4 and https://youtube/watch?v=P2XirHXS2k8 Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger funky dancing chic: https://youtube/watch?v=Sr2JneittqQ Levis ballet commercial with the Korea National Ballet: https://youtube/watch?v=CAckx0aPf-k I wish I could have seen this performance in person by College Dance Team 2004 University of Minnesota-Minneapolis! https://youtube/watch?v=Ua7TTRyMX04 ASU dance teams jazz performance 2014: https://youtube/watch?v=IbTEN3aCT4o Dance Redefined (What a hustler!): https://youtube/watch?v=TFIvl2IJBXA Absolutely riveting ballet documentary, First Position: balletdocumentary/about/ Ah, students from all around the world seek to attend one of the finest ballet academies in the world, the Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg! Its interesting how Russia consistently produces some of the best dancers and runners. In terms of dance, articles describe the Vaganova method taught in Russia as superior to the same method taught in the U.S. balletdocumentary/about/ May you all enjoy! :)
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 07:31:21 +0000
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