So, as the the Redlands Dance Theatre season begins, we are faces with the awful world of getting back in shape. I wasn’t paying attention and I landed wrong in a stupid sauté in first. Somehow, I have torn two tendons and a ligament in my foot, and so that is just pretty $hitty to start the season off. Plus side, I don’t really dance. Just teach, coach and set stuff. Downside, it’s harder when I can’t be as mobile as I would like to be. Anyways, I am in the middle of coaching  the solos for Paquita and cleaning Paquita corps… And we are about to audition the students into Nutcracker, and about to start Nutcracker Rehearsals.

Coaching Paquita is really hard, probably just as hard as dancing it. There has to be this kind of sexy undertone while maintaining the classical frame work. Then there is a layer of my dynamic and approach to it all. Like for example, the hops en pointe section has to travel at least half of the stage or I get bored. Then we have the issue of musicality and “flare”… The variation has to have flare, but the music is painstakingly slow, and kind of lack luster until the en dedan pirouettes. The walks on pointe are either ridiculously slow… and unless the port de bras is ridiculously milky and the face is absolutely lovely, that is boring as well… From the technical standpoint, it is hard– but that is why principals take on these roles… Then I asked to see a student, and a trainee do the variation and I was so bored and disappointed.

Students: When you are given the chance to understudy or learn something… You are supposed to go home, and master it the best to your abilities and have it prepared… That way, when the AD, or teacher gives you a chance at it… You aren’t this incredible disappointment or joke. Unfortunately, now for that student they will not be asked to join the trainee program, and the trainee will not be joining the apprentice program. Seriously, it wasn’t that hard of a task… #overit.