I finally got to see the Kirov perform tonight - their second to last performance here after 3 weeks at City Center. I would have loved to have seen all of their different programs, but there's only so much time in a week haha. So tonight I saw the Balanchine program.
I'm writing a real review for exploredance (and my crit course...) but my thoughts for now...
they are all such incredible dancers. their feet and legs and everything are just amazing. wow
the program was Serenade, Rubies from Jewels, and Ballet Imperial. By far my favorite was Rubies. Serenade is a gorgeous ballet in itself, but maybe because I've seen it too many times I didn't think it was anything special tonight. I just saw it on the same stage when PA Ballet did it in November and yes the dancers are far different, but I don't know. Rubies was a huge treat, though. Amazing. Ballet Imperial was the only one I hadn't seen ever before and it was pretty...
Maybe I'm going through a phase since I've seen a lot of contemporary dance lately, but, and I reeeeally hate to admit this, I was almost a teeny tiny bit bored tonight. I shouldn't even be writing that casually about a company so great - and they ARE incredible - but after seeing some deep downtown stuff recently that dug further than just 'being pretty' it was kind of a lot of superficial stuff.
I'll probably erase the above paragraph in the morning when I've come to my senses after thinking about the performance and what I'm going to write in my actual review...but that was my initial thought despite the immense talent of the company.
Showing posts with label balanchine style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balanchine style. Show all posts
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
differences in technique
I took class today with the teacher I took with a few weeks back who is super Balanchine...and it was good, but interesting because I was noticing some of the big differences in technique with different teachers.
First of all, I really like taking a Balanchine class because it's so fast and it works me really hard and gets the inner thighs and all the right muscles working quickly - but there are some things that are just so off the wall opposite from classical technique that it makes me laugh to hear the teacher emphasize them where other teachers would scream out against them. It's only small details, but they're important things that I try to pick up on. One of the benefits of the position I'm in at the moment is that I can take class with whomever I want and experience many different styles and stuff, but sometimes that can be even harder since you need to know which things each teacher prefers. Interesting.
So I spent most of my day in class there and then at my usual class I take. I've been on an energy kick or something the past few weeks because I've been dancing way more than is probably necessary at the moment...but I love it, haha.
Anyways...the rest of the weekend is devoted to writing since today was a dance day. Many things due in the coming week so I better get to work!
First of all, I really like taking a Balanchine class because it's so fast and it works me really hard and gets the inner thighs and all the right muscles working quickly - but there are some things that are just so off the wall opposite from classical technique that it makes me laugh to hear the teacher emphasize them where other teachers would scream out against them. It's only small details, but they're important things that I try to pick up on. One of the benefits of the position I'm in at the moment is that I can take class with whomever I want and experience many different styles and stuff, but sometimes that can be even harder since you need to know which things each teacher prefers. Interesting.
So I spent most of my day in class there and then at my usual class I take. I've been on an energy kick or something the past few weeks because I've been dancing way more than is probably necessary at the moment...but I love it, haha.
Anyways...the rest of the weekend is devoted to writing since today was a dance day. Many things due in the coming week so I better get to work!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
new class and more
Today was another super busy day.
I had rehearsal again this morning, and it was fine. Two of the dancers are going to be out next week, so I'm going to have to fill in for one or the other most days next week - so I had to really watch close today and try to learn everyone's choreography and traffic patterns. It's kind of hard with this piece becauase a lot of the phrases are similar with just minor changes in order and spacing for each person, so remembering who does what, when, and where is a challenge. Hopefully I'll get it all straight by next week, although all of them are still in the learning phase as well so I don't feel too bad.
After rehearsal I ran up to work with my high school kids. Since I was late from rehearsal their usual teacher gave them the warmup, so I just jumped into my choreography. We decided this week would be a review week, to go over everything we had done so far. They definitely needed it, and it seemed to be a productive rehearsal. I'm looking forward to moving on with the rest of the dance. The school is having trouble finding space for their performance in May, however, because they have basically no budget to rent anywhere (their usual place is being renovated). So if anyone knows of affordable performance space to rent for a night in May, let me know!
After that I came home to answer numerous emails and calls, etc. Sometimes I sit at the computer for hours and I have nothing to show for it really, but I am so busy as I sit there writing email after email about various projects. It doesn't help that my computer is super slow and keeps dying on me :( ugh.
Then later tonight I tried a new open class that I've never been to before. Since the usual teacher I take with (obsessively) is away this week, it was time for me to branch out. I am really glad I did tonight, because I found a great teacher! She is super Balanchine, which I haven't experienced in a few months now. It was SUCH a good class. Minus the fact that I'm still slightly out of shape, it went really well. I can already feel my inner thighs burning thanks to the strict Balanchine barre of a zillion tendus. As much as it is kind of a pain (literally and figuratively) I realized tonight that I kind of do miss that work. There aren't many other true Balanchine open classes in the city, and as much as I love my usual teacher (and the extensive benefits of her class) I feel like I need to have a little kick once and a while to push me in the way that tonight's class did. I'll definitely be going back later this week and whenever else I get a chance. Not only was the class good (and small...10 people or so! nice...with BIG studio) but she herself was nice and energetic. She asked me where I trained and told me to come back again. I'm glad I took a chance tonight, and I most definitely will be returning.
After my long day I came home to still more emails and calls. No complaining though :) Tomorrow is another crazy busy day, but luckily the weekend is pretty quiet.
I had rehearsal again this morning, and it was fine. Two of the dancers are going to be out next week, so I'm going to have to fill in for one or the other most days next week - so I had to really watch close today and try to learn everyone's choreography and traffic patterns. It's kind of hard with this piece becauase a lot of the phrases are similar with just minor changes in order and spacing for each person, so remembering who does what, when, and where is a challenge. Hopefully I'll get it all straight by next week, although all of them are still in the learning phase as well so I don't feel too bad.
After rehearsal I ran up to work with my high school kids. Since I was late from rehearsal their usual teacher gave them the warmup, so I just jumped into my choreography. We decided this week would be a review week, to go over everything we had done so far. They definitely needed it, and it seemed to be a productive rehearsal. I'm looking forward to moving on with the rest of the dance. The school is having trouble finding space for their performance in May, however, because they have basically no budget to rent anywhere (their usual place is being renovated). So if anyone knows of affordable performance space to rent for a night in May, let me know!
After that I came home to answer numerous emails and calls, etc. Sometimes I sit at the computer for hours and I have nothing to show for it really, but I am so busy as I sit there writing email after email about various projects. It doesn't help that my computer is super slow and keeps dying on me :( ugh.
Then later tonight I tried a new open class that I've never been to before. Since the usual teacher I take with (obsessively) is away this week, it was time for me to branch out. I am really glad I did tonight, because I found a great teacher! She is super Balanchine, which I haven't experienced in a few months now. It was SUCH a good class. Minus the fact that I'm still slightly out of shape, it went really well. I can already feel my inner thighs burning thanks to the strict Balanchine barre of a zillion tendus. As much as it is kind of a pain (literally and figuratively) I realized tonight that I kind of do miss that work. There aren't many other true Balanchine open classes in the city, and as much as I love my usual teacher (and the extensive benefits of her class) I feel like I need to have a little kick once and a while to push me in the way that tonight's class did. I'll definitely be going back later this week and whenever else I get a chance. Not only was the class good (and small...10 people or so! nice...with BIG studio) but she herself was nice and energetic. She asked me where I trained and told me to come back again. I'm glad I took a chance tonight, and I most definitely will be returning.
After my long day I came home to still more emails and calls. No complaining though :) Tomorrow is another crazy busy day, but luckily the weekend is pretty quiet.
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