Tag: dance class

The French School of Ballet: The Elegant Original

The very first ballet school was established in France in 1661 by Louis XIV, which is why France is credited for being the original ballet technique despite Italy’s earlier balletic court dances. French ballet is known for its elegance and refinement rather than its virtousity. Check out the two beautiful videos here to see if you can get a feeling for the precision and understated beauty of this method.

The language of ballet terminology is French and is somewhat different in France than the version that is used in other methods. Take a quick peek at Gail Grant’s Dictionary and you’ll see many definitions annotated with, “A term of the French School.” Many of these phrases and words, such as sissone en descendant, are not used in any other method. The French School also has its own system ofarabesques, port de bras and wall/corner numbering.

L’École de Danse de I’Opéra de Paris is the modern day home of French ballet technique. Admission is extremely selective, and students at the Paris Opera Ballet School endure rigorous training and yearly eliminations. Apprentices and corps de ballet dancers are selected from those students that make it to graduation, which often makes training at this feeder school competitive and solitary.

The company, Paris Opera Ballet, currently numbers 191 ballet dancers total, and has a heirarchy system unique in the ballet world. POB has emerged as a leader not only in classical and contemporary ballet, but also in modern dance.

The French method is not often taught in the U.S., but it’s the direct parent school of all other ballet schools in the world. You can’t take a plié without having to credit the French!

Dancewear en l’air: The Sporty Zipper Unitard

Unitards can be fun for rehearsals and even auditions, especially for contemporary ballet, and Sansha’s mock-neck unitard #503 is a modern change from the usual unembellished tank and long-sleeved versions.

This unitard features a zipper from the neck to right below the bust so you can customize your look. Stirrups at the feet keep the leg lines as long as possible and accentuate pointe shoes particularly well.

How do you say “Cecchetti” anyway?

There are many different styles of ballet taught around the world. Each is usually named after its founder and that person’s country: Cecchetti for Italian ballet, for example. But what are the differences between them? Which one came first? Does it matter which one you are trained in? How can you choose which one is best for you? How can you figure out which one you’re currently training in?

The four most popular styles of ballet in the U.S. are:

  1. French Technique – This is the original style of ballet and the foundation for its vocabulary. All other ballet techniques can be traced to the French style.
  2. Cecchetti Technique – (Pronounced like “check-ET-ee”) A style created by ballet master Enrique Cecchetti in Italy as a revision of the French technique.
  3. Vaganova Technique – (Pronounced like “va-GAH-no-va”) A technique created by Agrippina Vaganova in Russia as a hybrid revision of the French and Cecchetti styles.
  4. Balanchine Technique – (Pronounced like “BA-lan-sheen”) Created in the U.S. by Russian-born George Balanchine as a revision of the Vaganova technique.

Other popular styles include Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), Cuban method and Bournonville (Danish ballet). Each technique has its own special philosophy on what kinds of movements look best on the body and are best mechanically-speaking. The vocabularies can vary quite a bit as well. I’ll be posting soon to tell you more about what makes each style unique and what would make a dancer choose one technique over another.

You can usually figure out what technique you are being taught by simply reading the brochures or website of your school or asking your teacher. Especially in the U.S. however, ballet teachers may be trained in a mix of styles and end up teaching their students different things from different techniques. This can create confusion for the student, especially the student thinks she is being trained in only one technique.

It can be great for your versatility to explore different ballet styles, but only once you have reached a somewhat advanced level in your dancing. Doing so too early can confuse your muscle memory and your brain! Until you are ready, its usually best to find a teacher who articulates what technique is being taught and who specifies when you are presented with a step or vocabulary from a different style.

Dancewear en l’air: The Figure-Flattering Camisole Leo

Camisole leotards are the most popular leotards on the market, which is why there are so many available – good, bad and ugly. But when you’re searching for a classic, picture-perfect camisole that will flatter every shape, look no further than Mirella’s M210L.

This camisole is beloved by dancers for its shape enhancing princess seams and pinch-front, which together create a classic hour-glass effect. This leotard also comes in nine beautiful shades including Mirella’s unique Seafoam color as shown, which looks great on blondes and fair-skinned ballerinas.

Ballet in Film: TutuMUCH

 

To keep with my theme today of professional track training, I thought it would be perfect to highlight the not-yet-released documentary TuTuMuch, which follows nine girls through the summer audition process of the revered Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Professional ballet schools can be very closed when it comes to their audition processes. For those of you who’ve never been through such an audition, TuTuMuch provides a revealing look at what happens behind the curtain. The vast majority of young dancers auditioning will not make it into the program, but those that do will be one step closer to making their dream a reality.

Dancewear en l’air: The Backseamed Pink Tight

Ballet tights in an unflattering shade of pink are one of the CBT’s pet peeves! Choosing a pink that clashes with your pointe shoes or ballet shoes will shorten your lines and just look wrong.

Pinks can vary depending on the amount of blue and yellow in the dye formula. Generally, classical or ballet pink tights look best with the more salmon-y shoes, like Freeds and Capezios, while theatrical pink looks better with truer pinks and paler shoes, like Grishkos and Russian Pointes. You may need to purchase one shade to match your soft shoes and one for pointe.

Non-mesh tights are usually very soft and appear to be a pretty pale pink in the package, but they often look white, yellow or purple once their on. Mesh tights can be almost scratchy sometimes, but usually have better pinks. (Steer clear of Capezio #9 in classical pink, though, it’s famous among dancers for looking bright orange!) A backseam makes alignment checks easier and visually lengthens your lines dramatically.

One of the best ballet tights on the market currently is the Body Wrappers A45, a convertible mesh version with a backseam available in ballet pink and theatrical pink. Its designed to feel super soft against the skin so you’ll get the best of both fabric worlds, and you’ll look polished and professional.

10 Pointe Shoe “Don’ts”

Fall is nearly here, and with it a brand new crop of beginner pointe students. Are you ready for pointe classes? Perhaps you have scheduled a fitting or are just waiting for shoe-approval from your teacher. Maybe you already sat down with a parent or an older student to learn how to sew your shoes. Or maybe you are even entering your second or third year of pointe.

The CBT sees a lot of mistakes from pointe students in their first few years. Its to be expected, but if you want to jump the learning curve a bit, there are some pointers that can save you time, frustration and embarrassment. So with that in mind …

  1. DON’T rely on your parents. As you may have gathered from the above and prior posts, students should start taking care of their own gear and hair for class sooner rather than later. Having your parents take care of these things implies to your teacher that you are probably too immature to handle really advanced training.
  2. DON’T try to cheat in your sewing with Pointe Snaps or any other such horrid invention. Not only do they totally not work, they stomp all over the traditions of ballet.
  3. DON’T use Knot Keepers or tape to keep your knots in place. By all means, be concerned if your ribbons come out of hiding -Professional contracts used to include monetary fines for dancers that had this happen. But don’t ruin the look of your shoes by cheating with these things. Just learn to tie them properly.
  4. DON’T use rosin on your shoes if you have a marley floor. Here’s where innovation is a good thing. Rosin was used by dancers back when ballet floors were made of wood. It made the shoes slightly tacky to give greater connection and feel for the floor. Marley’s special makeup eliminates the need for rosin, and rosin can actually damage a marley floor.
  5. DON’T force yourself to deal with loose lambs wool or paper towels as your beginner toe padding. Those things are just far too much trouble for even the most advanced dancers these days. Again, the quality innovation and technology in this area is worth taking advantage of.
  6. DON’T overpad your toes. This is a super common beginner mistake. Overpadding prevents you from feeling the floor and pointing your foot properly, which makes the feet look like floppy fish and ruins your lines! Pad within reason, and as your feet become used to pointe shoes, periodically try to scale back your padding by going to a smaller pad or by removing them in favor of spot-padding.
  7. DON’T be afraid to try different shoes for a while. It can take quite some time to find the shoe that fits you best. You’ll probably get a perfectly decent pair the first few times, but its worth it to keep trying different things to find your most perfect match. You have to be prepared to learn the balance point in each new shoe you try, however.
  8. DON’T practice center exercises at home. At least, not unless you like taking off from dancing for six weeks because you sprained your ankle trying to do a piqué arabesque in your kitchen…
  9. DON’T expect too much too fast. Pointe training has to be done gently and carefully in order to reach the desired result. Every pointe student has had to go through the on-two-feet-facing-the-barre stage. You will be beyond that before you know it and glad you put in the time.
  10. DON’T forget to be proud of yourself for all the hard work you’ve put in and for everything you have achieved.

Ballet in Print: In the Wings

Few photographers hold a candle to the perspective that Kyle Froman takes on ballet, and that really shows in his pictorial book, In the Wings: Behind the Scenes at New York City Ballet. This book is a dream for any aspiring student of ballet.

As an NYCB corps de ballet member for thirteen years, Kyle has had all the access to and intimacy with the company that a most photographers could only hope for. Add to this a professional dancer’s perspective on the productions that take place each night, and In the Wings becomes a wonderful peek into Balanchine’s great creation and one of the highest quality professional ballet companies in the world, New York City Ballet.

Dancewear en l’air: The Cap-Sleeved Retro Leo

Looking for a leotard that covers without looking dowdy? The Bombshell leotard by Vala has just the right amount of allure without exposing excessive skin.

The Bombshell is great for dancers who prefer to wear a bra in class. The retro neckline covers nicely, and the sultry cut and silky Supplex fabric are anything but boring. Princess seams and shaped inserts enhance your lines and create a gorgeous silhouette. A classic black cap-sleeve leotard looks great in any season, but especially when its done this right.

Bun 101

Does your ballet class hairstyle stand up to the force of chaines and multiple pirouettes? Nothing screams “amateur” like hair and hairpins flying. Oh, the embarrassment of the undone bun! But with just a little effort, you can put those pedestrian days behind you.

I expect students to start doing their own hair for class by around age ten. It can take some time to learn how to master the technique on yourself, but not half as long as you might think – usually a few hours of practice is all it takes. Today, you’ll get the 411 from the CBT on how to master this essential skill for dancers.

The basic bun style begins with a ponytail at the crown of the head. This step has to be done correctly in order for the bun to take shape properly. Use a good brush to sweep the hair evenly and smoothly into the pony. Dampening the hair can make it more manageable. Secure it with an elastic that is not too bulky, which will get in the way of hairpins and cause bumps, nor too flimsy, in which case it will need too many wrap-arounds and may break easily. Try to find elastics that are close in color to your hair. Use a light spray of hairspray (Elnett is a favorite of celebrity stylists and is available in a travel size.) to sleeken your wispies, or wait until the bun is complete and use clips to take care of them. Once the pony is in place, brush the hair in the tail to re-smooth it. DO NOT to coil the hair into a bun and then try to wrap a scrunchie or elastic around the bun … Seriously, just don’t!

The next part is the where it all usually goes wrong – here’s where you twist the ponytail and start to coil it around its base. What makes or breaks this part is whether the bun is kept close to the head with one hand each time the tail is coiled. If you don’t use a hand to secure the bun against the head as its coiled, you’ll end up with a cone-shaped thing that sticks out and looks, well, absurd.

After one full coil is made around the ponytail base, start inserting hairpins horizontally from the outer edge of the coil into the base, every inch or so of the circumference. Make sure to grab a bit of bun hair with each pin and a bit of hair from the scalp beneath the bun. That’s what connects the bun to your head. If you don’t feel a bit of resistance, the hairpin is probably just sitting in the bun and is not connecting anything to anything. As with the elastics, try to find pins that are similar in color to your hair. I find that U-shaped pins work better than “bobby” pins.

When you reach end, tuck the tail in and secure with a hairpin. Remember to secure wispies with clips; clip your bangs too if your studio requires. Voilá, a respectable bun!

Many dancers opt to also wrap a super-fine hairnet, again matched to the hair, around the bun to lock in bun wispies. Hair spray may be all that is needed for some, though others find these steps to be overkill. Whether you choose to do these steps may depend on the culture of your studio and your personal preferences, but both are must-dos for performances and auditions.

The ballerina bun isn’t just one style, it has many variations depending on the height wear the bun is fixed and what is done with the surrounding hair. A bun that sits very high on the head is generally associated with Balanchine technique, and a bun that sits low is often associated with more old-school techniques and, if the surrounding hair covers the ears a bit, with romantic-era ballets.

Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, play around with different configurations to find the style that suits you best. It’s a commonly held belief that the high bun is preferred for auditions, but the truth is that what’s best for auditions is dependant on what style the company or school is and what you feel most comfortable in. For class, its fun to experiment by adding a braid to your hairline, inverting the pony, braiding the pony or accessorizing with ribbons or flowers. There are tons of options out there – go have fun with your bun!

Dancewear en l’air: The Cashmere-Feel Thigh-High Warmers

Legwarmers are an absolute staple for ballet dancers. You can throw them on with practically anything to keep your gams toasty and cozy in a chilly studio, and they come in a wide variety of lengths and fabrics. Perfect for barrework and stretching, the Bloch Francessca W0948 thigh-high style is an ideal option.

The CBT loves the stirrup-free long length of these warmers, which protects you from achilles to quad in a soft acrylic blend while allowing you to accessorize with a skirt or a pair of cute shorts. Or wear them alone for a clean, unencumbered look that your teacher will love.

Ballet in Print: A Young Dancer’s Apprenticeship

A Young Dancer’s Apprenticeship is the fascinating story of Olympia Dowd, a very young ballerina who was selected out of a small summer program to apprentice with the Moscow City Ballet. Ms. Dowd was a true prodigy, with technique and artistry far beyond her years. Her exceptional talent comes alive in beautiful color photographs throughout this book.

The life of a student is very different from life as a professional with a touring company. If you are interested in becoming a professional ballet dancer or just enjoy reading about what that world is like, this book is the perfect choice for you.

When Awkward Leos Attack!

I’ll never forget my first ballet class away from home, standing at a barre in the middle of a huge ballroom with strips of marley duct-taped over red and blue carpeting. I’ll also never forget the sheer relief of realizing that the master class teacher’s annoyed comments after the first exercise were not directed to me, but to the dancer next to me who had been yanking her leo up in the front and down in the back incessantly. “Tell your mother to buy you a leotard that fits before you come to another class,” he said with complete seriousness. “If you have to pull it up and pull it down all the time, it doesn’t fit you!”

It had never occurred to me that adjusting a leotard was noticeable, let alone that it could turn into enough of a distraction for a teacher to ban it! We’ve all had That Leotard though … The one that you know will look totally gorgeous, if you can just have another sec to situate it just right …

Just like in street clothes, different cuts are made for different shapes. If you have a leo in your closet that bugs you no end, ask yourself why you are bothering with it? Endless tugging and yanking and wedgie picking – that’s right, I said it! – isn’t only a distraction to your own concentration, it’s annoying to your teachers and can make you seem unprepared and unprofessional. Um, not worth it!

Rest assured, the issue has nothing to do with you or your body. It has everything to do with one simple fact. Are you ready for this revelation?

People come in different shapes!

Shocking, I know. My longer torso was the cause of all my leotard tugging. Certain brands and cuts will never sit right on me – but others look simply fabulous!

Teacher annoyance aside, if you aren’t comfortable in your dance gear, you can’t put your all into your training. Don’t waste your time fussing with an awkward leo. Next time you’re shopping for dance clothes, try on as many different cuts, brands and fabrics as possible until you find what combinations look and feel great – so you can stop thinking about your gear and just focus on your dancing.

Dancewear en l’air: The Tulle-Strap Dance Dress

Anyone who’s taken pas de deux class while wearing a wrap skirt knows what an annoyance those ties can be in the middle of supported pirouettes or allegro work. Skirts can be fun to wear and can accent your movement nicely, but in partnering class they can be a distraction or irritation to you and your partner. Time for a one-piece dance dress, like Degas’s delicately refined 2519.

The CBT loves how Degas accents some of its pieces with light touches of tulle on the straps and bodices of its leotards and dresses (or tunics as they refer to them), especially on 2519. This tone-on-tone dress features a classic pinch-front, square-neck cut. Tulle for the straps and the attached short – but not too short – skirt makes for a lovely balance of fabric weights while giving it a real “ballerina” look.