The Art of Dance

I've had the chance to attend a little bit of a two different dance competitions over the past few weeks and had both great and disheartening experiences. Hopefully I can explain and you will understand a little better both my like and dislike for dance competitions.

There are lots of great things about dance competitions. Dance competitions are a wonderful opportunity for young dancers to have a goal to work towards. They spend hours rehearsing and preparing group numbers, solos, duets etc. and work diligently in order to dance the best that they can. Dance competitions are also an amazing place to get another perspective on your skills and abilities as a dancer. Often teachers become so familir with a student they can miss out little details that other judges may see- both things that are great and things that could use improvement. Competitions are also a wonderful place to see other great dancers. It is always inspiring to see another group or another solo that reminds you of why you dance and just how incredible someones talent can be.

However, in my personal opinion there are also downsides to dance competitions. Sometimes in the quest for perfection of technique and group precision dancers can lose sight of the joy of dancing. While rehearsals are supposed to be hard work they should also always be a reminder of why you love to dance. Competitions are also a breeding ground for...you guessed it competitiveness! I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a little healthy competition. In fact competition is important as it often motivates one to push their limits further than they have known. But competition can also become mean and when this happens it is just simply inappropriate. Finally, probably my largest pet peeve with dance competitions, is that often in the quest for that gold medal the art of dance gets lost along the way.

Before I go on I just want to reinforce that there are always exceptions! And there are plenty of wonderful experiences to be had by attending dance competitions. I don't in any way intend to cut down something which I obviously support, having enetered students in competitons!

But back to the art thing. To me, dance is art. And art is about something bigger than a silly gold medal at a dance competition. Sure it's great to feel good enough to get a gold, but shouldn't it feel greater to know that you stuck the landing on that pirouette, you did the perfect grand jete, you got through all your fouettes, or danced your solo with more energy than you ever have before? Dance is about making a connection with your audienec, telling them a story and sharing a part of yourself with them while you are on stage. It's about doing amazing technical things and using your body as a vehicle of expression. It's about entertainment that is real, not fake. It's about feeling something so powerful that you have to dance to get it out. There are no words, just movement.

Maybe I'm a bit of a dreamer but I wish that more students were taught this. My heart always feels a little heavy when I go to competitions and see wonderful talented young dancers who don't know what dance is really about. They are there to win, or to smile, or to do great tricks. They are not there to dance. I know that being a dancer does not mean being the best. Of course it helps to be great, but you can be great at dancing and not be a great dancer. A true dancer is something special to come across. And each time I see a real dancer I hope very hard that they have the right tools to get them to where they want to go.

Like I said I'm a bit of a dreamer, but in my world one day everyone will know what dance is really about and the beauty and artistry of it all.

Jordan

Ballet Exams Are Over!

With a sigh of relief I am glad to say that Ballet exams are done! I am simply exhausted after 2 long days and glad to be home in my comfy clothes. All in all it went well, and was a wonderful first experience for me in entering exam candidates. I will most certainly look forwrad to entering students again in the future. For those of you who don't know much about ballet exams, they are somewhat similar to piano exams. There is a set syllabus for each Grade (Primary- Grade 8) and students are required to prepare the set work and then perform it (from memory) in front of an examiner, with a live pianist. It is quite a wonderful experience which really allows the girls to devleop their technique, presentation and performance qualities. As well as learning how to deal with nerves under pressure. I am so proud of all our dancers who completed their ballet exams over the past two days. Everybody worked hard and really dedicated themselves to completing their exams successfully. Of course there were a few little hiccups along the way (only to be expected) but over all things ran smoothly. Here are some photos to document my first set of RAD Ballet exams!

Exam Day

Well it's finally here. After months of hard work and diligent practice it's ballet exam day! I'm feeling nervous and excited at this point. I know just how nerve wracking exams can be for some students. But they also tend to be a great way to push and pull the best out of others. I'm hoping all my lovely little ballerinas will have a spectacular experience with their first ever ballet exam and be ready to do it all again next year! I don't have much time so I will be on my way. But I promise to take photos of the excitement and post a lovely blog after exams are all said and done later tomorrow.

Jordan

Spring Break

So I haven't exactly been motivated to write lately because I've been on Spring break and not teaching, and well, I've just been lazy! It's funny to me how one week without the usual schedule can make such a huge difference in the way you feel and what you do, or don't do!

I must confess as a former dancer and as a teacher I do now just how much of a difference a week off can make in the body of a dancer. It may seem very small- 7 days, but to a dancing body that is used to training 4 or more times a week 7 days off is a whole lot. Normally it just takes a week or so to get back to the condition you were in before your little break, and usually this is ok. If you're not training as a professional it's good to give the body a little rest. But I must confess that this week it has worried me as our ballet exams are next weekend. That's right April 8-9! And what's most terrifying is that after many months of hard work and diligent practice our girls have had 1 week to forget all their individual ballet corrections and just relax their bodies. A little scary because we will have only 1 week (2 classes) to get them back into the right mentality and physicality to go in their exams and excel! Totally do-able, but also worrisome to me- as a bit of a perfectionist of a teacher!

In any case. I'll make sure to give a report on exams once they are through.

And that's all from me right now.


Jordan