Fondus Intrigued Me

There are few ballet movements that got me as intellectually engaged with ballet as the fondu did. 

I was so intrigued that two legs, exactly the same length, had to travel different speeds from a bent position to arrive fully stretched at the same time. How was that possible? I remember trying it out when I thought no one was looking. lol. I was really really intrigued by the difficulty of the coordination of it.

And then came the music for it.. oye.

One teacher only wanted...

Classical Music and Circle K

Did you know that convenience stores often play classical music outside their entrance to discourage people from hanging around? Why? Why do you think classical music would have that kind of power?

I would speculate that the layers of rhythm, harmonies, structure, etc in classical music is just too much information for untrained (music-wise) minds to really appreciate; it's noise rather than music to them. They would likely simply say they don't like it, but my guess is that...

Time to talk..

Music for Plies

When I think about plies as a musician, my mind immediately goes to long and slow. When I was first learning to accompany for ballet, plies were a safe haven since they were the easiest to play for. Later on, as I became more confident in my ability and in my understanding of accents, rhythms, etc, it became something dull and often boring for me. Now, in my 'old' age of experience accompanying ballet, I love them.

I love the weight and elasticity of the movement. I love...

Similarities Between Music within a Metered Family

Have you ever considered the differences and similarities between different music styles? For example, the 4/4 and the 2/4 are both part of the duple meter family, meaning you, as a dance teacher, can count both of them by simply saying 1 & 2 & along with the music; they are divisible by 2. 

Another similarity is the 3/4 adagio and 6/8 adagio, they are both slow triple meter music, meaning you, as a dance  teacher, count them the same,...

We all know that we gravitate to the familiar. There’s something comforting about doing something you’ve done before because you know it works. My challenge to you for this week is to stop ‘getting in the groove’ and instead, decide that you’re ‘stuck in a rut’ of ease.

Every ballet teacher has their favorites. Maybe it’s a tango for your fondu exercise. Maybe it’s a 6/8 for your plies. Maybe it’s a horn pipe for your sautés. Let’s...