Category: Technique
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Ballet History on IG
We all know that ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th center, or at least we should. Famously, as ballet history and folklore goes, Catherine de’ Medici brought ballet to France when she married the second son of the King of France. A fourteen-year-old girl, not of royal blood, is responsible for…
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Ballet Vocabulary of the Day: Cabriole Fermée
Cabriole Fermée: a step that very few people use in class, but pops up in random variations like the first variation in Le Corsaire’s Odalisque Pas de Trois. Cabriole fermée is basically, well, a closed cabriole. But what makes a cabriole fermée so impressive? Simple. It is four leg movements in two counts or less,…
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Cross – Training Deep Dive : Rhythmic Gymnastics
Beautiful lines, stamina, and strength. Elena Baltovick of Danceology and Emerald City Rhythmics discusses art and sport.
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The Throwback that Inspires
A Ballet Education can sometimes be more than ballet. We through this Thursday back to the movers of today’s start and see where they have gone.
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THE PAQUITA FILES: Notes on Variation 2-ish
One of my favorite variations to coach is the the Paquita Variation from Ondine. This waltz variation is often overlooked because it is short and dancers often think that it doesn’t show off enough at ballet competition. WRONG. Totally wrong. All Wrong.
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BIG NEWS! A Ballet Education is coming to Los Angeles FULL-TIME!
We are so excited to announce that A Ballet Education is coming to The Debbie Allen Dance Academy!
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Friday Feels: Misa Kuranaga This One’s for you: A Ballet Playlist Inspired by the Pop Ballets We Love
Misa Kuranaga’s Insta post yesterday of her and William Forsythe dancing together while rehearsing his ballet Playlist set our souls on fire!
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#ThrowbackThursday: Katlyn Addison, Ballet West’s Newest Principal Dancer
A huge congratulations to Katlyn Addison on her promotion to Principal.
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On Trend: The Awakening of Flora
The Awakening of Flora, a ballet rarely seen outside of Russia is taking the competitive world of ballet by storm.
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Notes on La Vivandière
This variation is ferocious. It isn’t your typical 5 part female principal variation. In fact, this variation is 50 seconds of pure jumping. It is a mix of petit allegro, moderato, and grand allegro all finished with extremely fast pointe work.
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The Guide to Tying Pointe Shoes
Oof. Whether it’s inside first or outside first, over or under, or wrap the ribbon twice- there really isn’t one way to tie a pointe shoe. I think for a lot of women it is about comfort, and what holds the foot in. As a male teacher, I always think it is odd that when…
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Chassé You Don’t Stay: The Connecting Steps of Ballet
They say, when it comes to a professional dancer, that you can tell how talented a dancer is based on their connecting steps. Some say the petit allegro is the tell-all of a dancer, but when it comes to ballet these days, we often get caught up in pirouettes, hypermobility and flexibility, and what is…
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Daily Ballet Vocab: Tendu Pour le Pied
Daily Ballet Vocabulary: Sometimes it is hard to remember the names of ballet terms or the technique behind them, but today we are bringing you ballet vocabulary!
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Notes on Second Position / Perfect Symmetry
Second Position is usually noted as the easiest position of the five as it has the least amount of pressure on the hips and knees, but lately I have been finding that second position might be even more difficult than first if done properly. Let’s break it down… The idea of Second position takes Davinci’s…
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Notes on the Ideal Arabesque & Getting it Higher… part 1
In ballet, there is one position above all others. It is the dreaded, gorgeous and controversial placement known as arabesque. There are a million ways to approach and improve arabesque, but the most important thing about it is to maintain control and show constraint. Below is how I teach arabesque and how to achieve an ideal…
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NOTES ON ROND DE JAMBE…
Notes on Rond De Jambes (a terre) “Round of the leg on the ground” poster available here in 3 sizes. (click here) Eeesh. This is one of the hardest steps at barre in ballet. The exercise requires a ton of control and focus. In theory, this step should be really easy and a lot of…
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Arabesque.
The Position That Makes Ballet, well ballet… Sara Michelle Murawski’s, a soloist at Slovak National Ballet, super famous arabesque picture that probably one of the first pictures that made dancers addicted to instagram. Contemporary Dancers have the tilt, jazz dancers have the layout, but ballet dancers have arabesque. For those of you who are auditioning…
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Your petit allegro is awful…
Petit Allegro is neglected at most smaller schools in the US. It seems to be tossed aside, or never really done right. Either the tempo is too slow, or they just don’t teach their students the importance of petit allegro. The above picture is why. There are so many “ballet dictionaries” out there that teachers…
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The Great Debate: Gaynor Mindens…
The Great Debate: Gaynor Mindens… If I had it my way, everyone would dance in Freeds. Period. Because we are a free enterprise country, there are hundreds of different pointe shoes now available. Each brand has their own series of pointe shoes, and each pointe shoe has a “different personality” to accommodate a dancer’s needs.…
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