Category Archives: Dance

Music for the Ballet Classroom

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BalletBarreUnless you are the American Ballet School the likelihood of an instructor having live music in ballet class is slim.  So, most ballet instructors need to use recorded music.  On top of the music being recorded, many dance teachers use classical, which makes it difficult to keep the attention of any student, especially if they are under twelve years old.  Over the past eight years of teaching dance I have learned that if you use music that they can relate to in some way they are more likely to be interested in the class.

Children between the ages of three and seven have the attention span of two seconds.  Everything in the ballet classroom has to have a game like quality to it including the music.  For classes with these age groups I found that disney music or any child type films work best such as Shrek or Despicable Me.  The kids not only recognize the music, but they know the words to the songs.  For example, you can use “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” or “Beauty and the Beast” to do across the floor work such as turning or relevé walks.  For jumping or leaping type exercises you can use music such as “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from The Lion King or “Zero to Hero” from Hercules.

As dancers become older and hit between the ages of eight and twelve, continue to connect the music to something the students can relate to such as television shows.  In current pop culture there is Disney Channel’s Austin & Ally or Victorious (which is shown as reruns on Nickelodeon).  Either way there will be music from these shows that they can connect to.  As your students hit this age group you should start to introduce them to classical music, but in a relatable sense, such as music from the ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, or Cinderella.  All of these ballets have music that is used in many of the classic films that children watch everyday.  Introducing them to classical music early will start to prepare them with what to expect if they decide to go to dance intensives or begin to do auditions.

Hitting the teenage years can be tough for most parents, but in dance classroom this age group can be the best.  I hope that if a teenager is taking dance classes they are serious about the art form in some capacity whether it is to do it professionally, go to college, or it is an activity they enjoy to do.  Either way this age group usually has a strong dance technique to work with as well as being more open minded to music and learning new movement.  I have found playing top 40s music or artists is the best way to reach these students whether it is instrument or with lyrics; I believe that either delivers the same results.  The Vitamin String Quartet does some great instrumental versions of popular songs such as “Fix You” by Coldplay or “Stolen” by Dashboard Confessional.  Not into strings there is also the Piano Tribute Players that take popular songs and turn them into piano versions such as “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol or “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey.

Whatever music you chose for the ballet classroom make it relatable to the kids that you are teaching and be conscious of the age group.  Using the wrong type of music could turn a child away from dance because they find it boring or they just can’t connect to the class.  You need to give children a reason to fall in love with dance.  Use various resources to find music such as your nieces, nephews, cousins, or your friends who have children.  All those resources will be able to tell you what is popular with the kids today.  If all else fails go color and watch the disney channel; it will help you find that inner child.

Male Ballet Dancers Get A Bad Rep

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January 22nd was the birthday of famed choreographer and founder of New York City Ballet – George Balanchine.  So, in honor of this amazing man I decided to get a little confrontational on a statement he once said.  “The ballet is a purely female thing; it is a woman, a garden of beautiful flowers, and man is the gardener.”  Balanchine, you are one of my idols in the dance world, but I believe this statement is a bunch of crap.  What about Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ethan Stiefel, Angel Corella, Robert Fairchild, and Justin Peck.   Are they not flowers with their smooth transitions, their immaculate turning capabilities, and the power houses each one of them becomes in any allegro?  Male ballet dancers get a bad rap for either being the “prop” or the “support system” for the female lead.  What really steams me the most is when a male chauvinist feels the need to tell their child that ballet is for girls.

I recently got in an argument with an eight year old (I know real mature) about ballet.  He said, “my dad told me that ballet is for girls.”  Of course being a ballet teacher I told him that his father was wrong and that ballet is for boys and girls.  Needless to say this argument went back and forth for awhile and I pretty much felt like I was arguing with a drunk person.  So, instead of continuing the insanity of fighting, I told him that I would show him some male ballet dancers next week.  I brought in my laptop and pulled up videos of Ethan Stiefel and Angel Corella and this kid was totally blown away.  When his dad came to pick him up from Jazz/ Tap class that day he was telling him all about Ethan Stiefel and that both boys and girls do ballet.

Ballet is not only an art form, but it gives anyone the ability to strengthen every muscle in their body including some that you didn’t even know existed.  The strength a male dancer has to have to carry a 100 pound ballerina twisted up, over their head, across the stage and make it look like it was nothing is not an easy task.  The strength needed to jump feet off the ground without having a trampoline.  The power and control needed to turn multiple times and then stop on a dime with nothing but gravity fighting your every turn.  Dear human population, the next time you feel the need to tell your son that ballet is for girls maybe you should go talk to a football player or better yet watch a video of a male ballet dancer and try to replicate the grace and precision he has in one tiny finger.

Emma Watson is currently fighting for women equality in the world, but I’m fighting for male equality in ballet.  I want to live in a world where a boy is not bulled for his love of dance.  I want to live in a world where a father doesn’t feel that sports are more masculine then ballet.  And I want to live in a world where a boy is educated by his parents to know that ballet welcomes any gender.  Mr. Balanchine you have brought so much to America in the ballet world, but to say that ballet is a female thing and that the male is gardener of the flowers means that the males never get to be the flowers and they are just as much the flowers as the female soloist.

Dance Moms – Where to Begin…

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Where do I start about dance moms, and no I do not mean the TV show.  Anyone who is a dance instructor knows all about the types of mothers and/ or fathers that are over barring and think their kids are the next Sylvie Guillem or Mikhail Baryshnikov.  Don’t get me wrong, I think parents should be supportive and take an interest in their children’s hobbies, but when you come into my classroom and are yelling at your five year old to pay attention, it is neither productive or helpful.  There are two types of parents, “parents who want their kids to be a dancer,” I’ll call these parents “forceful parents” and “helicopter parents.”  These parents may sound like their the same, but personally I think the helicopter parent is worse.

First you have the “forceful parents.”  These parents makes their kid take dance class even though they do not want to be there.  For example, lets say you have a daughter named Lucy.  Every time she steps into ballet class she cries, or she sits in the corner and pouts until it’s time to go home.  Not only does this disrupt the class, but Lucy is not having fun because she doesn’t want to be there.  Now you may wonder why I call these parents “forceful parents.”  Anytime I have a conversation with these types of parents they always tell me how they wished they were in dance classes when they were little or as an adolescent and they want to be able to give their child that experience.  Newsflash – Your kid hates it and doesn’t want to be there.  Lucy would rather be in soccer.  Want to know how I know that?  Because I asked her.

Second you have the ‘helicopter parents.”  Helicopter parents are those parents that are trying to give their kid an edge in someway.  Whether it is becoming buddy buddy with the dance studio owner or the instructor so your kid gets a good part or taking the blame when your kid forgets something of vital importance for a competition and you expect another kid to give up theirs because their child has a bigger part in the dance piece.  Dear helicopter parents, your kids are going to become the most dependent babies and/ or continue to make stupid mistakes their entire lives because you have never let them fall flat on their face.  Without failure their is no learning process.

My parents were supportive people in any thing we did.  They had three very different children, one that was into music, one that was obsessed with baseball, and me – the type A personality that had to have control of everything all the time dance fanatic.  While we were growing up, my parents were firm believers that kids needed to learn to fight their own battles at an early age, which is why when something was unfair at an activity we were involved with they stayed out of it and let us handle it in our own way.  My parents were also the type of people to ask us if we were still interested in an activity at a young age.  We were never allowed to quit something in the middle of a season or year, we always had to finish the activity out.  Your children are smarter than you think.  Let them be involved in the decision on whether or not they want to be in dance class and don’t be so involved that they never fail at that activity, your children need to learn and grow, and the only way to do that is with failure.  As the saying goes if you have never failed than you have never succeeded.

Dance Competitions – Make the Songs Stop Bleeding to Death

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Anyone who has ever been to a dance competition knows that it’s filled with studio colors, junk food, and a whole bunch of girls and boys who are uber nervous about messing up on stage.  No I didn’t mistake with that second item.  Yes full of junk food.  From starburst and gummy bears to goldfish and cans of soda.  Most dancers are at a competition from 8:00 AM to sometimes as late as 10:00 PM, so to keep a thirteen year old awake you feed them sugar.  I digress.  At dance competitions you also hear various songs performed to well choreographed dance routines that represent the best from each studio all over the country.  Every year there is that one popular song that every studio uses and you literally want to rip your ears off every time a kid steps on the stage and you hear those first few notes.  I’m talking about that song that there is basically a verbal brawl on who is going to get to dance to it at the studio, because once one person has claimed that song at the studio, no one else can dance to it.

My big competition years were between 2001-2004.  I can still list the most popular used songs for each of those years and I can’t listen them.  The debut of the artist Alicia Keys with ‘Fallin’ was the best emotional R&B song to come out in 2001.  Keys even won three Grammys for ‘Fallin,’ but after the second dance competition and hearing it fourteen times (in each competition) I just can’t bring myself to ever listen to that song.  Evanescence’s ‘My Immortal’ in 2004 was worse.  I swear every other dance solo or duet that came to the stage that was announced was using that song.  If I was a judge I don’t think I could have kept anyone straight, let alone made a judgement call on how well any of the movement was executed.

The whole point when you are competing or in any performance is to standout.  When you are searching for a song to give to your instructor for the new year try to find a band or artist that is up and coming or music that is older.  Instructors – give your students other song options before the new competition year.  Give your students other artists to get excited about at the end of a competition year that are new or developing a following so when they come back to class they could have a new found passion for another band or singer.  There are resources that the millennial generation did not have as kids such as streaming music services, YouTube, and Pandora.  These resources gives you the ability to find out about new artists as well as find similar music that have the same vibe or sound of a song you were looking at originally.  If you have older siblings that are really into music use them.  Don’t get stuck in the pop culture world when there are so many other artists to discover like alternative groups such as Sleeping At Last, PVRIS, and State Champs; all who have great songs for contemporary or lyrical routines.  Look into songs that music publications are writing about such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, or Alternative Press.  Be bold.  Be brave.  And stop caring so much about what your friends are going to think if you don’t pick the new One Direction song or Little Mix single as your solo music.  As Dr. Seuss says, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.”

Dancing in Boston

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cropped-dancerlayback1.jpgDance is a very internal community.  The more people you know in the industry the easier it is to find job openings (artistic and administrative), best locations to take classes based on style, teaching opportunities to increase your revenue or experience as an artist, space rentals, or to see some great dance performances.  I have been living in Boston, Massachusetts for the last three years and even though I believe that if you are looking for a career as a dancer you are better off long-term in New York City or Los Angeles, Boston is a spring board for those not sure if you want to make the big leap to those intimidating cities.

There is a website called Boston Dance Alliance, which is a great starting point for any new dancer in the area, or someone trying to get more involved in the Boston dance community.  You can find any numerous opportunities from auditions and choreography gigs to fellowships, performance venues, and teaching prospects.  If you are looking for classes check out places such as the Dance Complex or Green Street Studios.  Both are in Cambridge, but are well worth the trip.  They have affordable classes that range from $9 to $15 depending on the instructor and a variety of dance styles to chose.  Unfortunately they do not take credit cards because you pay the instructor directly, but they do accept cash or check in most cases.  If you are a beginner, not a problem, they have beginner and advance classes in each style of dance and everyone who takes class is always supportive, friendly, and approachable.  If you are short on funds check out the work-study program the Dance Complex has for incoming students.  These positions are tough to come by and sometimes takes a few months till something becomes available, but hey what in life comes easy that is worth it?

If you are looking for more consistency in classes check out Urbanity Dance for hip-hop, contemporary, world dance, and Yoga.  Urbanity Dance is a prominent company with an epic director named Betsi Graves who has an extraordinary background commissioning work all over the country, winning choreographic awards, and was selected by Mia Michaels to tour on a full scholarship with LA Underground when she was only seventeen.  Graves company has been around for about six years and is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the Boston area.  She has brought more contemporary dance into the community by starting the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival two years ago, which has brought artists from Canada, New York, Texas, Florida, Rhode Island, and all over Massachusetts to present and mingle with other artists in the area.  Also, check out Urbanity Dance performances throughout the year.  Next performance in Boston is at the ICA in February through World Music/ CRASHArts.

You can’t go to class without looking like you should be there right?  In my opinion you don’t need to buy fancy leotards and warm ups as long as your clothes are comfortable, form-fitting, and you can move without feeling restricted.  I am sure every fourteen year old that I danced with which is literally half my age now (wow I’m old) would disagree with me.  So, for those of you willing to spend some money on dance clothes and/ or shoes check out Dancer’s Image (Newton, MA) or Back Bay Dancewear (Burlington, MA).  For those you looking for pointe shoes, both locations have pointe shoe specialists that can help you find the right shoe for your type of feet.  Not all pointe shoes are the same, but that is another story.

I literally spent my entire life in a dance studio growing up and I miss not dancing everyday, but at least I have the opportunity to dance when it fits into my schedule and not totally break the bank.  So the next time someone looks at you all weird and ask you why you dance just respond why do I breathe.