Reflections in Sequins and Satin

Imagine that you just received your ballroom dress ordered from the internet, and the quality is not as promised, the dress doesn't fit you, and it doesn't even look like the one on the picture?. Worst of all – you can't return it.

It’s so easy to make a mistake that can cost you a lot of money and turn your ballroom dance competition into big, costly disappointment. Here are some common mistakes and tips/

Not Knowing Enough About the Dress Company

Before you buy your ballroom dress you should always get all the neccessary information. Here are some questions that you should ask that can save you hundreds of dollars:

1. How exprienced are you, and how long have you been selling dresses on the Internet?
2. Are you making your own dresses, or do you resell??

Buy directly from a dressmaker to save at least 20 to 30%

3. Does anyone in the company has dance exprience ?

You can’t expect professional advice or assistance from someone who does not know anything about dancing or ballroom dresses. Unfortunately there are companies that sell hundreds of dresses, but they don’t have any knowledge or experience in that field. You should especially check if the designer or the person taking your order, is knowledgeable in ballroom dancing costumes.

4. Are you making dresses for a specific customers, like the European, Asian, North American, or do you take international orders too?

There is a big difference between ballroom dancers from the US and Japan for example. Their mentality, expectations, body type and style of performance are very different. Make sure your dressmaker as experience in making dresses for your particular market.

5. Are you experienced in making dresses for online customers?

These days almost every dressmaker owns a website. But many of them focus on local dancers that come for a fitting. Usually it takes 2 to 3 visits to make sure the dress fits well. So when they take an online order, the customer that is on other side of the world they might struggle getting the dress properly fitted, as they are not used to working with size chart and mannequin alone.

2. Buying With no Guarantee

That is probably the biggest mistake you are likely to make.

It is in your best interest to check the following:

1. Does the company/ dressmaker guarantees the quality of its work, fabrics and stones?

2. Does the company/ dressmaker guarantees that the dress size will fit you?

3. Do they have a satisfaction guarantee or return policy?

Buy your ballroom dress only from a company that provides clear quality and fit guarantee and accepts returns in case the dress doesn’t meet your expectations.

3. Choosing a Dress That Would Look Better on Someone Else

Very often when we watch dance competition and see the dress that is absolutely breathtaking, we fall in love with it instantly. What we don't realize is that the strong impression we had was not just the dress. It was both the dress and dancer( her body shape, skin color, hairstyle, make up) and the dancing (her technical skills, speed, presentation). If you put the same dress on someone else, you will have impression. Wear something that feels and looks right on you as an individual.

4. Buying Cheap, Poor Quality Dresses

Unfortunately, there is no such a thing as “good quality, cheap ballroom dress” In order to compete on prices some companies are using poor quality fabrics unsuitable for dance costumes, mass producing same design in 100s or even 1000, using general sizes like S, M, L, XL, and hiring unexperienced dressmakers

Many companies are buying cheap, mass produced dresses directly from Chinese factories, and stylizing them as high quality dance gowns. It’s done by sticking few laces on top, putting some sequins and some stones and few pieces of fabric. It may look good on the picture you see on Internet, but the actual ress won't be worth it.

To make a high quality stunning dress you have to use dance costume dedicated, high quality fabrics. They are highly stretchable, to let you move and dance comfortably, and do not wear as easily as regular fabrics to keep the fresh, stunning look for a long time. Dedicated fabric can be even 10 X more expensive then the regular materials. Next are the stones. If you wanna look gorgeous you have to go with famous Swarovski stones. This Austrian company is a real legend and has been making stones for dance costumes for years. You simply can’t beat the sparkle, shine and attention that Swarovski stones draw on the dance floor. They are much more expansive then the other stones. Last but not least is the quality of work. Well and properly made dress will fit like a glove and last.

How you look, and how you feel has a great impact on your performance. Make sure you get the best dress you can afford. Don’t miss your chance of winning by trying to save few bucks.

4. Buying General Sizes

Many companies that mass produce dresses offer only general sizes like: S, M, L, XL. Those average sizes almost never match a real person measurements. Most women have either a few inches more or less in different parts of the body compare to general sizes.

A well fitted dress is very important. If it is too loose or too tight it will completely disturb your dancing. You won’t be able to concentrate and enjoy your performance. Remember that you are not buying an evening dress, that you are going to walk or stand around. You are buying a ballroom dress or a Latin dress that you are going to move, stretch, turn and twist. It’s very important that you feel comfortable wearing it.

Always buy a dress that is well fit to your body, or spend some extra money on tailor to get it adjusted to your body size and shape.

6. Buying Without Professional Advice And Assistance

You might have a good taste for fashion and clothing, but it requires a real experience to choose a dance dress that makes you look really good.

Well chosen dress will bring attention to the parts of the body that you feel most comfortable about. It will emphasize your strengths as a dancer, and it will hide your weaknesses. For example if you have a strong technique and want to show your leg action in Latin or Rhythm you need dress that will draw attention there. On the other hand if leg lines or foot action is not your strength, you want judges to look somewhere else, maybe at your hands and beautiful smile.

If possible find a professional designer that can work with you to create custom dance dress that is perfect for your body type and your dancing skills. Another idea: Put everything into one design ( 5 different ideas from different dresses)

A Few Handy Saving Tips

Buy directly from a dress maker not reseller (save 20-40%)
Buy from an online company that doesn’t have an expensive showroom ( showroom cost usually makes your dress 20 – 30% more expensive)
Find company that doesn’t charge extra for custom-made dresses and made to measure dresses (save 15-30%)

Take a look at any magazine on dance, and judging by the number of ads for competitions, you would think that every school attends them. Many do, but there are also plenty that do not. Each side of the discussion has points of merit, and of course there are extremes on both sides.

School owners who do send their students to competitions cite reasons that range from “It keeps students motivated,” and “My students and parents really want to do them,” to “It helps me to see how my dancers compare to dancers from other schools.” The reasons school owners give for not competing are equally varied and valid: “Dance is an art form and should be cooperative, not competitive”; “I would rather have students spend their money on more classes than costumes, entry fees, and travel”; “We’ve seen dancers win who perform their dance well, but that’s all they know—that one dance”; “I don’t like the behavior and examples that I see at some competitions.”

Despite the pros and cons of competing, most people won’t argue the fact that it can be a great learning experience for students. If your school doesn’t compete, or if you’re considering cutting back or stopping completely, it’s a good idea to think about what you can do to provide your students with same kind of benefits that competition provides.

Performing groups or companies

Including a performance group or youth company among the options at your school can provide many of the advantages offered by competitions. Throughout the process of learning, rehearsing, and performing choreography the dancers will face challenges that build strength in many areas. Auditions for the company provide school owners and teachers with a wonderful opportunity to discuss each student’s strengths and help them improve in the areas that need work. To keep the audition process objective, Diane Gudat of Indianapolis-based The Dance Company, Inc. suggests bringing in an outside teacher to act as a judge. This is a great way to take the pressure off you and your staff and reduce the chance that people will think that any favoritism is involved in the selection process.

Gudat also recommends using the word “and” instead of “but” when speaking to students about the need to work harder or improve in a certain area. For example, saying, “I’m so pleased with your progress on your port de bras, and now I’d like you to apply that same focus to your posture” has a far more positive tone than “but you still need to work on your posture.”

In addition to having students audition for membership in the group or company, you might choose to have them audition for parts in specific dances. This can be a formal audition or simply an understanding that the choreographer will choose the dancers who are best suited to the piece. By working in a range of choreographic styles and being exposed to multiple instructors, students will expand their performance abilities. Also, studying various styles increases their ability to pick up choreography quickly.

Participating in a group or company is an excellent way for students to learn the value of commitment and responsibility. They learn that being absent for a rehearsal or performance affects the whole group. It also teaches them to adapt to continually changing circumstances; if someone is ill or injured, an understudy must fill in or the choreography must be adapted, sometimes with little advance warning. Another life skill they learn is time management. Dancers learn to make the best use of their time when they must add the responsibility of rehearsals and performances to the time they set aside for schoolwork and social functions.

How you set up your school’s performance group or youth company and select the kinds of activities it does can be simple (taking a class or two to the local nursing home, mall, or fair for mini-performances, for example) or as involved as setting up a nonprofit corporation (which requires recruiting community board members, writing grants, and seeking bookings). Think about how much time you have and want to devote to the group. Will you establish a small, one-person operation or will you need the assistance of others? Will you involve parent volunteers or restrict their participation and input?

Depending on the structure you choose, you may want to consider offering some performance options to those students who cannot make a yearlong commitment to a company. By doing so, you open participation to those students who have other obligations that might extend for one to three months. Perhaps breaking the performing year into seasonal commitments can provide that possibility. Whichever method you choose, your students will gain confidence in their abilities through successful performances.

Informal performances

Once you get the word out that your students are available to perform, you will discover performance opportunities at every turn. Fairs and festivals are a part of every community, and most of them are looking for entertainment. Malls, libraries, and social clubs often have programs that showcase the arts.

Sometimes you don’t even have to go outside your own school. You might want to hold informal performances in your classroom space and open them to the public free of charge. This not only gives your students additional performance opportunities but allows members of the community to observe your students, facilities, and choreography. This kind of community awareness is good for your school’s reputation and can be especially helpful at registration time.

Student-choreographed performances

Another great learning experience is to have students of a certain level, age, or group choreograph a short piece. Set a time limit (we say one minute) and any rules, such as number of dancers, types of music allowed, whether or not the choreographers may dance in the piece, and whether costumes are allowed. (If you say yes to costumes, set a limit on the cost.) Those dancers who choose to include others in their choreography also experience the challenges of teaching and directing.

Limit the audience for this casual performance to all students in the group, plus their parents and the school’s faculty. This provides a supportive and nonthreatening atmosphere for the dancers. We found that this was a very popular event with both students and parents, and the students gained new appreciation for the work that goes into choreographing. One even said, “Do you know how many hours it took me to choreograph one minute of dance?”

Workshops: a chance to branch out

One of the benefits of competitions is the exposure to other dancers, teachers, and choreographers. Teachers often talk about how helpful it was to see their students in comparison to those from other schools. Taking the students out of their “home” sometimes clarifies which areas need attention or improvement. It’s also a humbling experience for dancers who are the big fish in a little pond.

The same benefits can also be obtained by attending workshops that do not have a competition component or those that include competitions as a minor part of broader educational offerings. Exposing students to a range of performance and teaching styles not only expands their learning experiences but can reinforce the material that has already been presented to them. Many teachers have smiled and said, “That’s great!” when a student relates a comment or correction from a workshop teacher that they themselves had given repeatedly.

The educational benefits for students aren’t limited to their own participation. Teachers who attend workshops also contribute to their students’ learning. It’s great to see inspiring choreography that will thrill your students, but being exposed to various teaching methods and theories can help educators accomplish even more of their teaching goals. Those who attend continuing education classes bring enthusiasm and a feeling of renewal to the classroom, along with new techniques and choreography.

Another advantage to workshops is the camaraderie and outreach they offer to both students and teachers. Meeting students and teachers from other schools can be inspiring and supportive. Sometimes the ideas teachers share are worth the cost of the workshop. It’s also great to receive validation from people in your field whom you respect. Continuing education programs allow teachers to build a network of associates who can lend a hand in all kinds of situations. Likewise, students can build friendships that can last for years, with people they may even reconnect with at colleges or employment situations.

Guest choreographers or teachers

Depending on your school’s enrollment, location, and budget, you may want to consider hiring guest teachers to offer master classes or set choreography. If the cost is prohibitive, you may be able to exchange services with a teacher from another area, maybe someone you met at a workshop or seminar. For the most basic option, merely having students take class with someone else on your staff helps to broaden their outlook on dance.

Attend professional performances as a group

Exposing students to quality performances in dance and musical theater is another chance for development. Organizing a group outing may take some effort but is worthwhile. If no one on your staff has the time, consider enlisting a parent volunteer to handle the details. If possible, discussing the performance with the students as a group will help them analyze many aspects of it and give them the perspective of others in the group.

Dance educators who want to provide their students with growth opportunities other than competitions have many options available to them. All they need to do is look around at the resources available to them, both close to home and at more distant sites, and determine which ones are best suited to their circumstances. Anything that takes students and teachers out from behind their studio’s doors and exposes them to the greater dance world is bound to have benefits.

At Right - A Dancer's Guide to Getting Work [Paperback] by Jenny Belingy and John Byrne

Whether you're dreaming of being a professional ballerina, creating dances for the stage, or designing beautiful costumes, or you're a dancer looking for other work inside the dance field, there are many careers that can help you make a living out of a major in dance.

Potential Dance Careers in Teaching

Dance teachers are crucial in spreading a love of the art to others. If you think that a dance instructor has to teach ballet and tap to five-year-olds at a local studio, you may be surprised to learn about your diverse options in dance education.

K-12 Instruction In K-12 education, public and private schools are interested in adding dance instructors to their physical education departments. Although the ballet teacher is less common than the basketball coach, there is a need for dedicated educators at this level. Look for arts-based magnet school programs for broader curriculum opportunities.

Private Instructors Private instructors are still the mainstay of dance education, teaching both children and adults. Dancers can find positions teaching at established studios. In fact, many dancers end up returning to their home dance studio to join the staff. If you can't find a local studio, or if you have a specific vision you would like to see realized, you can always open your own. However, this path requires as much business know-how as dance skill.

Looking across the country in small towns and large cities, dance studios for girls and boys flourish now as perhaps never before. Graduates with a degree in dance who enjoy working with children can find a career as a full time dance instructor working with individuals and groups from ages as young as two through to young adult dance enthusiasts. More and more dance studios and performing arts centers offer programs during the school year and dance camps during the summer providing graduates with a degree in dance year round employment.

The current craze over adult dancing classes has also opened up career opportunities for graduates with a degree in dance who like to teach but prefer adult students. Whatever your specialty, ballroom, square dancing, line dancing or all of the above you will find a ready and waiting clientèle in almost every state in the nation.

Salaries and benefits accruing to dance teachers and studio owners is to a large degree dependent upon the student pool or the involvement of other sponsoring agencies like municipal arts associations. Possessing a degree in dance from an accredited college or university provides the graduate with a bargaining chip when salaries are being negotiated.

Community Programs Outside of the studio, community programs may be in need of instructors. Teach toddlers how to move to music or lead a group of senior citizens in country line dance steps. Contact your local parks and recreation department or community education office for teaching opportunities.

College Dance teachers are also needed at the college level. Although an advanced degree is needed for a professorial position, there may also be openings for instructors of introductory-level elective dance courses. If you are pursuing a graduate degree in dance or a related fitness field, investigate graduate assistantship opportunities in teaching. In addition, professional dancers may be eligible for special fellowships and "artist-in-residence" programs.

Careers in Dance Performance

For many dancers, getting paid to perform is a lifelong dream. You can find dance careers in performance with both dance and theater companies, depending upon your specialty. Another option for dancers is to become part of the entertainment at a theme park, on a cruise or at a resort. You can take part in stage shows, dance in parades, or have fun as a dancing costumed character while enjoying a unique locale. In the entertainment industry, you can become a backup dancer for commercials, concerts, music videos, and more. Of course, all of these professional dancers need choreographers to create their stunning moves. And costume designers help to create the right look for a particular routine. Designers could also create recital costumes or a new line of dance wear.

As a side note, it's important to use ballet as a starting point, along with yoga and Pilates. Then continue on in jazz, theater, tap, modern, hip-hop, ethnic and ballroom. They all round out your dance experience.

Other Options

Dance therapy can be a rewarding career, helping those with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral problems learn to express themselves through dance in the hopes of improving their condition.

Physical therapists can assist performers with dance injuries. Bring your choreography and teaching skills to aerobics classes at your local gym.

Behind the scenes Dance and theater companies need more than dancers. From accounting to set-building, you may be able to make a career of another interest while still remaining involved in the world of dance.

Become an agent for other dancers, promoting their work and finding appropriate opportunities for them. Add dance to an unrelated career. If you're a writer, report on dance news for a local arts publication or become a grant writer for a foundation dedicated to the field.

Choreographer

While some graduates with a degree in dance know that they can never be happy unless they perform there are others who because they are more realistic , less gifted or simply have different dance related skills recognize early on in their training that they don't want to perform they want in a sense to "direct" the dancing that will take place. In the dance world this effectively means that some graduates with a degree in dance feel drawn to a career in choreography.

Certainly there are some graduates with a degree in dance who do both - they dance and they do their own choreography. Some graduates with a degree in dance begin as dancers and then as years pass and they become a little less limber they segue into second careers in choreography. Some graduates with a degree in dance decide that they simply enjoy the directing more than the performing and chose choreography from the start.

Those who work as choreographers need of course to be skilled in dance, need to know what dancers are capable of doing but they also benefit from a strong musical and theater background. This allows them to blend the steps and moves they know as graduates with a degree in dance with the music and the dramatic themes that are being used in a given production.

In terms of total numbers of available careers for graduates with a degree in dance what applies to theater applies to dance. Just as you need fewer directors than you do actors, there is less demand for choreographers than for dancers. The upside is that the graduate with a degree in dance who lands a choreography job is likely to land a much bigger pay check than the dancer who appears in only one or two numbers of a performance.

Dance Therapy - Dance involves the fully coordinated use of arms, legs body and muscles but it also calls upon the dancer to be creative, to let their body express feelings and emotions. Because it involves so many human aspects dance is frequently a powerful tool used by specialists for both physical and emotional therapy.

There are an increasing number of careers available for graduates with a degree in dance who choose to use their professional knowledge of dance to assist others in using dance to build coordination skills, overcome emotional difficulties or simply to grow as fuller, happier children or adults. While some additional training in therapy techniques may be required, graduates with a degree in dance can approach a career in dance therapy with confidence. Dance Critic There are careers for graduates with a degree in dance who happen also to have well developed skills or professional training in writing. Just as magazines and newspapers employ theater or music critics , in metropolitan centers many publications also employ dance critics. Who better to critique dance performances or the dance aspects of musical theater than someone who is a graduate with a degree in dance. Such critics, while they may occasionally offer comments reflective of personal tastes, can be relied upon to substantiate their opinions on the basis of their degree in dance and the professional training for which that degree was awarded.

A career as a dance critic allows a graduate to continue to connect directly with the world of dance and perhaps to enrich or explain that experience to others who have no such background.

Volunteer jobs might not pay, but offer a wealth of experience. Many may turn into paying positions. Learning somthing is never a waste of time.

Additional Resources

Read more about dance careers with the dancers and choreographers fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. If you're a teacher looking to introduce your students to performing arts careers, get ideas with a lesson plan from Discover Education. Visit the website of any college dance department for informative career advice intended for current students.

From the time children are coordinated enough to move arms and legs together, dancing is a part of our human existence. We dance for joy. We embrace those we love in dance. We see our human emotions played out in the dancing of others. For graduates with a degree in dance, Shakespeare was right. "All the world is a stage." Whether you make a career of your interest in dance or it remains an enjoyable hobby, just remember to keep dancing.

At Right - Ruth St Denis with Edna Malone, Betty Horst and Doris Humphrey in Greek Veil Plastique.. Witzel -- Photographer. 1918.

“What exactly is modern dance?” It’s a question the teachers at studios that offer modern are likely used to hearing. And it can be a notoriously hard one to answer. In fact, it could be argued that there are as many definitions of modern dance as there are modern-dance makers, because at the heart of the form’s identity is self-expression.

The short history of modern dance is a wildly eclectic one, riddled with rule-breakers and revolutionaries. But since Isadora Duncan first took to the stage, barefoot, at the turn of the century, one theme continues to emerge in every generation: the celebration of the individual. Techniques established by seminal modern choreographers like Martha Graham, José Limón, Katherine Dunham, and Merce Cunningham continue to provide a framework for modern-dance training. But no explanation of modern—and no curriculum for it—is complete without the essential ingredients of exploration, creation, and self-discovery. So how does an instructor create a class environment specific to preteens and teenagers in which these goals can thrive?

Creative Expression as Priority

Top educators agree that young students develop a passion for modern when they begin to understand the motivation for movement. “I always start from an emotional level,” says Roger Turner about his work with students encountering the form for the first time. A dance artist and teacher at the Center for Modern Dance Education in Hackensack, New Jersey, he teaches teens in a variety of contexts, from the studio to public high schools to at-risk youth programs.

After explaining the ground rules (such as no making fun) and that there is no right or wrong way to move, Turner might ask students to “come up with one word that expresses how they are feeling today.” He then has them express that word through a single movement on the floor. “It’s important to connect to the expression they’re trying for, so I might mirror their movements or say, ‘When you squeezed yourself into a ball, I got a lonely feeling.’ Right away they realize they are communicating something, regardless of whether they have dance experience.”

Introducing improvisational exercises early in the lesson creates a sense of play and possibility that can carry over to the entire class. Students learn to approach even the more challenging aspects of technique with an attitude of curiosity rather than fear or mere determination.

Ellie Potts Barrett, a sought-after modern-dance instructor and creator of a modern-dance syllabus for the Florida Dance Masters Organization, warms up her students with a series of creative locomotor activities. “I try to grab them right off,” she says. “I don’t dive into technique right away. I’ll have them move around the room first: walk, skip, slide, hop, jump, leap, run —freeze! Then, ‘Walk with your head leading; write your name with your shoulder; melt like butter in a hot frying pan.’ When I’ve got them hooked, we’ll work on prances, drops, and other Humphrey/Limón-based exercises.”

Getting students to interact early on also helps build an atmosphere of trust in which students can experiment and take risks. Roberta Wong, a modern-dance instructor at Jordan Dance Academy in Indianapolis, uses a variety of theater games and cooperative exercises to create a spirit of camaraderie. “I’ll have students mirror one another in pairs, or work in groups to create a short skit based on a theme of the day or prompt. ‘You just received a phone call with some important news.’ They act it out and the class guesses what it is. Or, based on workshop material I learned from Dance Kaleidoscope’s education program, ‘Act out a morning scene, like washing your hair, then abstract the movement.’ I’ll structure the groups so that shy students are placed with a more experienced one. It gives the more self-assured students a chance to take a leadership role.”

Dancers who feel self-conscious improvising may respond more confidently to manipulating movement they have already learned. Before introducing imagination-based activities, Wong leads her students through a set warm-up. She then has them take the first 32 counts and change the quality. “I might ask them to show me a heavy quality, or a silky one, or to do the movement in slow motion or fast forward,” she says. “Doing the improv through a structured phrase is really helpful if they’re timid or not used to creating, because it gives them something to work from.”

Through creative problem solving, students develop an approach to movement that goes beyond imitation to creation. “As pre-teens and teenagers, they’re trying to show everybody who they are, but they don’t yet fully understand who they are, so they tend to fall back on what they see in the media,” observes Katie Kruger, a dance artist and teacher at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, California. While popular television shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew are sparking new interest in dance among young people, Kruger feels, modern can move them beyond a desire to replicate stylish moves to an exploration of where movement comes from.

Technique as Means to an End

If the ultimate objective of modern-dance education is self-expression, technique provides students with a vocabulary with which to articulate their ideas and experience. A Graham contraction, Limón triplet, or Cunningham upper-body curve opens up new movement possibilities while grounding students in a rich modern-dance legacy. “I try to communicate the historical heritage of the form,” says Barrett. “I want them to realize this is a great gift that’s being passed down to them.”

As in any dance form, students of modern need to learn to integrate and perform movement demonstrated by a teacher or choreographer. Teaching set phrases helps build muscle memory and performance-quality skills. But an emphasis on clear, authentic technique need not compete with the goal of cultivating creativity. By emphasizing the intent of a Horton flat back or Humphrey side tilt—the aesthetic or emotional quality it evokes—teachers help broaden the creative choices available to students in their own dance making.

“I try to grab them right off. I don’t dive into technique right away. I’ll have them move around the room first: walk, skip, slide, hop, jump, leap, run —freeze!” —Ellie Potts Barrett, modern dance instructor

“As a modern teacher,” Turner explains, “you have to be able to execute the movements so the students know what to strive for. But the ultimate goal should be to help them express what they want to express. My students get really excited when they learn that first piece of Graham technique that helps them get across what they’re trying to communicate. It’s important for them to know what Graham was trying to express, but that’s secondary. First they have to connect to the movement from their own emotional experience.”

An effective way to highlight how technique can serve creativity is to have students create their own choreography using vocabulary covered in class. Kruger develops a combination around a particular goal her students need to work on, such as getting into and out of the floor seamlessly or communicating intent through focus. She then teaches the phrase over four successive classes; two classes on the right side, and two on the left. During the fourth class, she condenses the lesson and has students manipulate the material to create their own short dances. “I might have them take eight movements or so from the phrase and rearrange the order,” she says. “Then I’ll ask them to change the orientation of the movements in space to create relationships between the dancers.” Assignments along these lines help students take ownership of their technical training as they use it to make creative decisions.

Choreographing the Teenage Experience

Beyond teaching them choreographic skills, creating their own dances can help students process their experiences as preteens and teenagers. The years between the ages of 12 and 18 can be tumultuous ones, and choreography can provide a critical outlet. “Their bodies and voices are changing, their limbs are growing, and there’s an influx of hormones,” says Nicole Zvarik, director of the dance program at Bayside STEM Academy in San Mateo, California. “Their peers exert a huge influence, and they can be extremely insecure. Making dances gives them the chance to work through all that intense stuff they’re going through.”

Zvarik describes one assignment that required her students to create a dance about a class they were taking in school. One group chose lunchtime. “I told them that was breaking the rule, but since rule-breaking was in keeping with the spirit of modern dance, they could do it anyway,” she laughs. “They came up with this intricate piece about friendship interactions in the cafeteria. They love to make dances about their peers. I think it helps them process the social activity in their lives, which can be so overwhelming at that age.”

Choreographing also helps students discover their personal strengths as emerging artists. “Not all students are performers,” says Zvarik. “Some are creators. Even if you only devote a small amount of time at the end of class to choreography, it gives those students a chance to shine.”

Music for Emerging Moderns

In the quest to open students to new ways of thinking and moving, there is no more powerful tool than music. While peers and popular media tend to dictate the everyday musical tastes of most pre-teens and teens, modern class provides a safe environment for exploring new genres. “I rarely use my students’ requests for music,” says Kruger. “I want to open their ears and help them find new motivations for movement.”

One way she does this is by having the class dance the same phrase to a variety of musical selections. The students then discuss how changing the music affected the way they viewed the dance. Wong uses a similar approach. A free-dance section to a collage of artists—Bach, Yanni, Arvo Pärt, Bela Fleck, Steve Reich —demonstrates how music affects movement choice and quality.

Modern class can also teach students how to choose music for their own choreography. “I try to help them understand that their intention should be the subject of the dance, not the music,” says Turner. “That’s not something we tend to teach younger students. Sometimes I’ll let them bring in their own music, but it has to accompany my choreography. Or I’ll have them come up with the choreography, and then perform it to my music. I want them to learn the difference between making a musical choice for a piece of choreography and choreographing to music.”

While many dancers don’t encounter such concepts until college, encouraging young dancers to think critically about their artistic choices can only forge better artists in the long run.

Modern Beyond the Studio

For students who want to pursue dance beyond their high school years, modern serves as preparation for the dance environments they are likely to encounter at the college, conservatory, and professional levels. Now more than ever, college recruiters and artistic directors look for technical versatility and a high comfort level with generating movement in prospective dancers.

“I think every dance school should offer modern,” says Barrett, “because the dance curriculum at most colleges is 80 percent modern and 20 percent ballet.” Because most of Barrett’s students audition for college dance departments, she makes it a point to talk regularly with recruiters from top programs. “I want them to be better prepared than I was,” she says.

Despite the growing predominance of modern in the college dance world, online studio directories throughout the United States and Canada show that less than 50 percent of schools that serve 12- to 18-year-olds offer modern. While many studio owners recognize its value, they may not feel qualified to teach it. In these cases Barrett suggests connecting with dance departments at local universities or community colleges where students may be open to teaching opportunities.

Some studios find that the term “contemporary” generates less skepticism than does “modern” and therefore makes for an easier sell. In many urban dance communities, the terms are used interchangeably. Schools that use “contemporary,” however, should make sure their definition correlates to the term’s meaning in the wider dance world. Lyrical dance, popular among young dancers for its emphasis on creative interpretation, is rarely practiced outside competition and recital settings and should not be confused with contemporary dance.

Spreading the Word

Once a studio does decide to launch a modern program, how can it convince parents and students that modern is worth the venture into the unknown? One way is to ensure that the desk staff is educated about the form and can articulate the instructor’s goals. Observation windows allow fellow dancers to see for themselves what goes on in class, and dynamic modern performances at recitals can kindle interest in younger dancers. Some schools encourage modern students to choreograph their own work for concerts or informal showings.

However, many schools find that the most effective means of generating new modern students is word of mouth. If students genuinely enjoy class, they are sure to tell their friends. Instructors can usually gauge the fun factor of their classes by their own engagement. “As a teacher, you always have to keep it alive for yourself,” says Wong. “There’s a phrase I try to live by: ‘Now replace ambition with curiosity.’ When I’m invested in the material, that curiosity becomes contagious.”

Perhaps the highest joy of teaching modern dance is witnessing students’ process of self-discovery as it unfolds. The long-term results may surprise. Who’s to say whether the self-conscious 15-year-old in the corner might emerge as the next Twyla Tharp or Paul Taylor? Except, of course, the dance she would bring to the world would be utterly her own.

At Right - Paris Opera House

Ballet’s roots may be Italian, but its native language is French. Were it not for the French terms and expressions common to all ballet classes, American dancers might easily be unaware of ballet’s French legacy.

Origins of the French school

Ballet’s roots lie in the Renaissance court dances of Italy, in the form of lavish outdoor spectacles (called “triumphs”) and banquets. The art form made its way to France courtesy of Catherine de’ Medici, queen of France, who placed violinist Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx in charge of court entertainments. His best-known feat was staging what is now considered the first ballet, Ballet Comique de la Reine, in 1581.

Not only was the first ballet performed in France, but in 1661 France saw the first creation of formal academic dance technique (danse d’école, generally translated as “classical ballet”) in the Académie Royale de Danse. In 1713 France’s King Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” an excellent dancer and one of the most flamboyant and glamorous of history’s monarchs, founded the Ballet School of the Paris Opera (POB School). It operated under the direction of the Académie and still trains dancers in the danse d’écoletechnique.

The Ballet of the Paris Opera (POB), home to such familiar names as Marie Camargo, Louis Dupré, Auguste Vestris, and Jean-Georges Noverre, dominated the ballet world in Western Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Every major dancer of the time performed there (including such luminaries as Maria (aka Marie) Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, and Carlotta Grisi), and it was there that La Sylphide and Giselle premiered and made an indelible mark on ballet history.

Training in France

The POB School was the first school to teach ballet. Louis XIV evidently understood the considerable advantages of teaching ballet in a school environment, with set exercises and advancement to higher levels allowed only when students demonstrated that they could perform lower-level exercises competently. The strict adherence to classical ballet technique has assured the continuity ofdanse d’école through generations of dancers. The POB and its school preserve the tradition of classical ballet in its purest form.

French-school instructors teach ballet as if they were constructing a building: without a proper foundation, the structures resting on it, no matter how highly ornamented, will be neither stable nor aesthetically pleasing. This “building block” concept has been imitated to one degree or another by most other schools of ballet to produce top-quality dancers.

Other notable aspects of the French approach to ballet training include its emphasis on simplicity and cleanness. To promote cleanly executed steps, the combinations in the first years of training are very simple and short; the patterns are limited and practice is repetitive to the point of tediousness. Instructors at the POB School hold that students must perform ballet basics impeccably before they attempt more elaborate combinations.

French-school instructors favor series of exercises calculated to work a specific part of the body or a particular movement (e.g., assemblés or sissonnes). They emphasize vivacity and liveliness, especially in the lower part of the legs, even in simple barre exercises, and introduce exercises that promote foot flexibility and sharp knee articulation at early stages of training. The result is the development of rapidity in movements of the lower leg, which renders small steps light, sharp, and airy. By contrast, adagio exercises or high extension of the legs may not get the attention in the French school that they receive, for example, in the Russian school.

This approach to ballet instruction has produced excellent dancers; even POB School students who do not enter the POB are in high demand throughout the world. The thorough mastery of the basics allows these dancers to adjust easily to different styles of ballet and choreography, wherever they may end up performing.

It has also influenced French ballet instruction outside of the POB School. Very few non-POB students pursue ballet as teenagers, at least partly because there are few professional ballet opportunities in France. French ballet schools do not, therefore, have teenage students dancing in amateur productions, which are common in the United States. Thus French instructors do not feel pressure from students who want to perform beyond their abilities. They are free to emphasize the basics and ensure that students “get it right”; there is little or no pressure to advance students to more difficult moves simply because they are now 14 years old, or because the next ballet being produced requires some techniques that they haven’t acquired yet.

Distinctiveness of the French School

Because cultural and national characteristics give particular “flavors” and different approaches to the art of
ballet, dancers’ performances reflect the school of their training, even when performing the same step. Indiana University professor Violette Verdy is particularly qualified to assess the differences that result from training, since she was born and trained in France yet spent most of her performing career as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. According to Verdy, what distinguishes French ballet from other styles is its eloquence. She notes that “French ballet has a sense of form; American ballet has a sense of movement.” She points out that ballet’s deep historical roots in France add weight and density to that country’s interpretation of the art form.

Verdy adds that Russian dancers have a “more pronounced sense of drama” than do French dancers. The desire to express deeper emotions has fashioned ballet technique to allow more extended port de bras, more dramatic upper-body motions, sharper angles in the positions of the head, and extreme leg extensions. The lyricism of Russian ballet contrasts with the more reserved and subtle French danse d’école. Among other styles, the Royal Danish Ballet’s Bournonville style emphasizes ballon and batterie; American ballet, symbolized by Balanchine’s neoclassical work, is noted for its fluidity, brilliance, and free spirit. In contrast, the French school distinguishes itself with elegance and purity of execution.

Dancer characteristics

As in all ballet, the French school aims to develop harmonious and eye-pleasing lines of the body. Female dancers in particular aim for charm and elegance in their dancing. Dancers hold their heads with soft angles and incline the chin upward to include spectators in the balcony while pushing down the shoulders to make the neck more visible and projecting the chest forward from the upper back. Épaulements and arm movements tend to be more discreet and reserved than in other ballet schools.

These aspects of carriage impart majesty and nobility to ballet poses and moves, possibly a holdover from ballet’s origins in court dance. However, the emphasis on form and appearance may, according to Verdy, result in overly stylized performances, with dancers striving mainly to remain within the set boundaries of danse d’école, particularly when performing the POB’s classical repertory ballets.

The beauty of movement in French ballet lies in simplicity and precision. Influenced by 18th-century Italian dancers, French dancers have perfected the vivacity and the rapidity of the lower leg in small allegro and pointe work (taqueté). If the feet play a major role in all ballet schools, the French school has perfected their function and developed their capacity to its limits, and French dancers love to show them off. The feet are more than the pointed extensions of the legs, and their elegance and flexibility tend to steal attention from a leg movement.

Adapting elements of the French style

Ballet students everywhere can benefit today from the French tradition of training. When instructors emphasize placement and executing the basics properly before tackling more challenging moves, there is less of a chance of injury. Students who dance the basics well will look elegant and majestic, even without achieving technical virtuosity.

Some students and parents may feel that this approach holds students back, does not challenge them, or does not lead to what they might think is more impressive dancing that they see elsewhere. Yet an emphasis on footwork, exercises to increase the rapidity of lower-leg movements, precision in performing steps, and a focus on the upper back and carriage of the head are all aspects of the danse d’école that are worth incorporating into any school’s ballet training.

One aspect of training that helps students develop speed in footwork is the quick bending of the knee in movements like battement frappé and coupé. For instance, instead of practicing battement frappé with the accent out, it will be done with the upbeat on the cou-de-pied. Also, including some quick coupé (bringing the foot in on the cou-de-pied devant and derriére) at the barre helps increase the quickness of the bending of the knee.

French ballet dancers make great use of their adductors for quick closings into fifth. The practice of quick and low (no higher than 25 degrees) battements jetés develops the strength of the adductors. The jetés should be done either facing the barre or with the back to the barre, keeping the rest of the body as still as possible.

Students also benefit from practicing the barre regularly without ballet slippers, so that they can better feel the articulations of the foot and the instructor can check on the position of the foot on the floor, flat and on demi-pointe.

France’s Legacy

The year 2013 marks the 300th anniversary of the POB School, which has played a crucial role in preserving pure classical ballet technique. While there have been stylistic and pedagogic adjustments—thus allowing the art form to survive—the core of French technique has remained unchanged. It is the root of all varieties of ballet. Regardless of where they train, ballet students should understand that there is more French in ballet than its terminology.

To Learn More

Only a few old publications exist about the French school of ballet, most of which are in French, such as Grammaire de la Danse Classique (Genevieve Guillot), Les Verbes de la Danse (Suzanne de Soye), Le Monde Merveilleux de la Danse (Odette Joyeux), and Le Ballet de l’Opera de Paris (Ivor Guest).

Some of the work at the POB School can be seen on DVD in Les Enfants de la Danse (documentary on the school) and Etoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet (documentary on the company and the school). One of the best ways to observe the work of the POB School is to attend the biannual class demonstrations at the Paris Opera—popular performances that are often sold out.

Many DVDs are available that display some of the repertoire of the POB company, including The Paris Opera Ballet: Seven Ballets(1989) and The Paris Opera Ballet: Six Ballets (1985)

Recently, I wrote an article about the stigma surrounding boys in dance, here, but my twitter friend Nina Amir's husband wrote a very enlightening post on Nina's site from a man and father's point of view regarding their son Julian. I loved what he had to say and thought I'd share.

By Ron Lacey

As a father of a dancin’ boy, my wife asked me to write a blog post from a dad’s perspective on why fathers should support sons when they show an interest in becoming dancers. Here are my thoughts on that subject.

A Parent’s Job

I believe that a primary aspect of a parent’s job is to raise their children so they can fulfill their lives’ calling and/or pursue their passion, thus creating a life of meaning. To do this usually requires exposure to many different experiences and endeavors. That means a parent must be open to children exploring things that interest them as they grow up, even if it is outside a parent’s comfort zone. (The caveat being that these things should not be illegal or detrimental to them or to others, and dance certainly does not fall into this category.) So, as a father you do your job, be the grown up, set a good example, and support your son’s interests even if they happen to be something that is unfamiliar to you or makes you a bit uncomfortable.

To see the original article, as well as other posts, click Here.

Whenever I see professional dance performances, I wonder what it would be like to have the luxury of 10 or more hand-selected, well-trained dancers for 8 hours a day, 5 days each week, as well as a professional lighting designer and costumer. Most dance teachers have to work with young dancers—enthusiastic, yes, but limited in talent. They have a stack of costume books and a rigid budget. We use whatever theater we can manage to rent, sometimes with high school students or volunteers as crew. They often design and build our own sets. They have a 2- to 3-minute time limit per dance, and the music must be age appropriate.

Sometimes teachers ask too much of themselves.. Their work feels like they're doing “chore-eography” instead of choreography. So, here are some ideas to find some fresh inspiration:

Use a Theme

A theme helps you focus your creative spirit. Many studio owners select a recital theme and base all of their choreography on that idea. This also helps with music and costume selections. Of course, with a little creativity you can make any dance match any theme. Some people select one theme for their ballet classes and a slightly looser one for the other disciplines; others choose a different theme for each section of the show. Keeping concepts simple allows you to remain flexible.

Two of my favorite themes are “Food Fabulous Food,” in which all of the dances have to do with food and the program is a full menu, and “Don’t Bug Me, I’m Dancing,” with dances that center on the world of insects and bugs. Audience favorites I know of include circus, colors, hats, and travel themes.

Go to the Theater

See professional companies and performances of all kinds. Go to Broadway shows, plays, the symphony, and even operas and ice skating shows. The music as well as talent and artistic flair of others is extremely inspiring. Being in a live audience, with its sounds, colors, and electricity, will recharge your own artistic batteries.

Surround yourself with art and color

I like to visit art museums, art shows, and fairs. I make notes about colors and shapes and let these things inspire my choreography. Allow the colors to flow over into the costuming. A favorite painting or sculpture can be a jumping-off point for an entire piece. This year I selected a painting from the Museum of Modern Art that featured bright colors and geometric shapes on a round canvas. It led me to create circular movement that I had not previously used, and its color patterns influenced the dance’s costuming. As I choreographed, I pictured the painting on the floor. I assigned each student a color, then had them move in ways that described their color’s patterns on the floor. The angles in the painting gave me new ideas for arm shapes and isolation patterns. The blending of colors led to ideas for partnering and the shading helped me include a variety of levels in my work.

Being in a live audience, with its sounds, colors, and electricity, will recharge your own artistic batteries.

Tell a Story

It doesn't matter whether the dancers or audiences ever know what the story is; you simply draw on the characters and events in the story to generate ideas for movement. I once told the story of purchasing my Yorkshire terrier—my dancers never knew they were tracing the head, legs, and tail of my dog when they ran intricate floor patterns. Swinging arms, floor rolls, and spirited jumps all described my pet and made the process of choreographing—and the secret story behind it—fun for me. In another recent piece of mine, the dancers represented people in my life, which created an interesting motivation for dancer interaction and helped me feel closer to people I had been missing.

Read a Good Book

Books are excellent sources for ideas, both fact and fiction. Sample some that describe the lives, ideas, and works of different choreographers and the art of effectively designing movement.

Tap Into Your Students' Ideas

Draw inspiration from your students and their creative spirit by allowing them to experiment with improvisation and watching what they create. Students love to feel involved and are proud of their input.

During a choreographic workshop with my modern students, I watched a beautiful 1-minute story performed by an 8-year-old. She told about planting a seed in the fall, her disappointment when it did not grow right away, and her surprise when it sprouted in the spring. Many others created captivating pieces that told complete stories they were unwilling to explain but that inspired new, heartfelt movement. Try layering their pieces together and watching the students interact. And always give appropriate credit when listing choreographers.

Select Music You Enjoy

Working with music you do not like can be a real chore. Go to a large music store, grab an expensive cup of coffee, and visit the listening stations to sample new music or artists. Online music stores like iTunes, Amazon, and Wal-Mart Music allow you to sample large collections of music in the comfort of your pajamas before purchasing.

Being able to cut, layer, and enhance music can make it more desirable to work with. Learn to use a music-editing program or find someone to do it for you.

Use Guest Choreographers

Sometimes guest artists who create dances for your school unearth talents or weaknesses in your students that you had overlooked. Observe their choreographic process and ask questions if possible. This will allow you to take a much-deserved break and learn something at the same time.

Try to incorporate small sections of choreography you acquire at conventions or workshops into your dances that might inspire something new in you.

Some choreographers start by selecting music; some begin with movement; others rely on improvisation or simply connect their favorite combinations from class. Regardless of your method, know that creative blocks come and go for all artists. But a sincere love of teaching and your students will see you through dance after dance.

Being on Broadway takes more than just solid dance technique. Performers are expected to be well-versed in their dancing, singing and acting abilities. Being in a Broadway show is a great way to break into the scene and offers a good paycheck, a steady gig, tons of performance experience and room for networking. But how does one get so lucky?

Versaltility

First, realize that there is no such thing as “just a dancer” on Broadway anymore. The ensemble are fierce triple-threat performers these days, and competition is high. You must immerse yourself in all styles, starting with ballet for a strong base, then continuing on in jazz, theater, tap, modern, hip-hop, ethnic and ballroom. They all round out your dance experience.

If you want to enter the Broadway arena, it is your responsibility to do your homework, past and present. Watch old movies with Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell, watch musicals in general, go to as many Broadway musicals as you can. Go to TKTS or take advantage of the student rush discounts. Dive into the history of the American musical, and as you do, dive into the present as well. If there is a teacher in the city who is starting to work as a choreographer on Broadway, then it is always a good idea to take their class. They get to know you and you get to know them.

At more and more open calls, dancers are asked to stay in the studio after their dance audition and show any tumbling or acrobatic skills they have in their arsenal. If you're just getting started, cartwheels, round-offs and walkovers are toned-down versions of fast-paced tumbling that are reasonably easy to learn. Worried about your strength and stamina? Consider joining a gym to add cardio, weight lifting, Pilates or yoga to your regimen.

Audition for as many roles as you can. Veteran Broadway dancer Carolyn Ockert-Haythe stated in an interview for "Inside Ballet" that when starting out it can take 100 auditions before you land a single role.

Improve your skills. Be on the lookout for dance jobs, dance groups and ballet companies that you can join and work with. Do not spend all of your time auditioning for Broadway without also working to improve and hone your dancing skills.

Acting Skills

In musical theater, you're not only a dancer; you're a character helping to move the plot along. So how can you beef up your acting skills? Books by acting coaches and performers like Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Stella Adler can help you learn about motivation, action and dramatic conflict. However, nothing can beat practical scene classes at an acting school, where you can explore your emotions and study how to embody different characters, speak in dialects and relate to other actors onstage. Many colleges also provide inexpensive introductory acting classes that you can audit. When you're prepping for auditions, make sure to have two monologuesâ€ - one contemporary (think Neil LaBute or Theresa Rebeck) and one classical (Shakespeare)ready to perform. If two equally talented dancers are up for a principal role, acting ability can tip the scale in an actor's favor.

Consider attending networking and auditioning seminars like those given by Actor's Connection Actor's Connection provides contacts involving actors, dancers and singers with agents, casting directors and other industry professionals. Meeting and talking with these people will help you learn the ins and out of the business and help you to market and present yourself effecively.

Singing

Since many companies can't afford to hire separate dancing and singing ensembles (and few shows have any roles that don't require both), dancer has to learn to his/raise her voice. Many dancers are reluctant to sing, but using your voice on a daily basis will help you become comfortable with this essential ability, says Rick Hip-Flores, a musical director and composer in NYC. If possible, get a vocal coach. Seek out a fellow dancer who can sing or singer and ask for some tips. If you make it through theÂ dancing portion of the audition but have no material to sing when called back, you appear unprofessional and lopsided. You must study, polish your audition techniques, have a finished book of a selection of songs and be prepared with everything from a Broadway up-tempo song to country, a ballad and more.

You may also want to learn to play an instrument. According to Hip-Flores, the piano is the most helpful instrument to learn, because you're a one-person orchestra. You can pick out your part, learn harmonies and understand theory. Instruments like the guitar and violin, on the other hand, are more mobile. Look for free online guides to put you on the path to musicianship before you decide if you're ready to commit to private instruction.

Prepare Physically and Mentally

Dancers should present themselves professionally. Wear the appropriate attire and find out what a particular choreographer would like to see. If you’re constantly working on your craft auditions should be fun. However, there is nothing worse than the feeling of not being ready. Know your type, strengths and weaknesses. For example, don’t go to an audition that says they are looking for Ziegfeld Follies Showgirl-types if you’re 5’2”. On the other hand, if you fit a certain "look" that a role calls for, use that to your advantage.

Be positive and friendly. Directors and choreographers may be more likely to hire someone they feel is positive and easy to work with. Broadway performer and choreographer Tina Paul suggests that if you treat the audition like a class instead of a competition, you will have more fun and be more relaxed.

Like any other athlete, you should be in good shape before you get a show. You must be motivated to train in class and at the gym to stay in top form, including also getting enough rest and good nutrition.

It is your responsibility, your job, to come to work eight shows a week and perform to the fullest. As in any other exceptional performance situation, you are among an elite few who are expected to give it all every night. ;Eat well, get plenty of rest, continue studying and growing and make every move important. As a dancer once told me - "A step is a step is a step is a boring step. Dance the emotion, dance the idea, dance the character, dance the music." People who practice this perform on a higher level – a Broadway-caliber level. You must not just want to perform,you must need to perform, the love of performing in your blood.

Cinderella is suddenly popping up again, in the ballet world, a Broadway productiion and Disney film in the works.

There are thousand of versions of Cinderella, the story, in existence throughout the world From the Brothers Grimm to Walt Disney, comparing some of the most popular tales reveals the depth and complexity of the Cinderella story and character.

The first written record of the tale appeared in Greece during the 1st century B.C. It described a girl in ancient Egypt who’s shoe is stolen by a passing eagle. The eagle takes the shoe to Memphis and drops it in the lap of the Pharaoh. The king is so overcome by the beauty and daintiness of the slipper that he orders a search for the maiden! Of course, this story was part of the tradition of oral storytelling long before it was ever written down. There are other histories from ancient Greece that describe the maiden of this story as a slave who is freed by the king. The similarities leads some scholars to attribute this story as the first appearance of our little cinder girl.

The first version of the story to closely resemble what we know today appeared in China - The story of Ye Xian tells the tale of a young woman whose mother is killed by her stepmother and step sister. Her mother is reincarnated as a fish who helps the maiden prepare for the New Year’s festival. At the festival, she is discovered by her step-family and loses her shoe as she runs away. The kind discovers the shoe and falls in love with the maiden.

A story similar to the Chinese version exists in the Philippines, except that the mother is reincarnated as a crab.
There is a version in Vietnam as well, where a maiden is fooled out of her birthright by her step-family. The rest of the story follows the same plot with a festival and a king and a slipper, but this time the story ends with the CInderella character boiling her stepsister alive and then feeding her to her unwitting stepmother.

Of the Eastern versions of the story, the Korean version is the closest to what Americans and western culture recognize as Cinderella. There’s a fairy godmother figure, a celebration at the royal palace, and a slipper.

The Brothers' Grimm's Ashputtle

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Cinderella (Broadview Press, 1991), published in 1812, is as cunning as the character of the earlier tales. When Cinderella’s father asks her and her stepsisters what they would like him to bring back from the fair, the stepsisters ask for material possessions. Cinderella asks for the first twig that brushes his hat. She then plants the tree on her mother’s grave, and it grows into a magical tree.

Cinderella’s character shows patience and forethought as she waits for the perfect time to use the tree's power. She asks the wicked stepmother to attend the ball. When the stepmother gives her an impossible task to perform in exchange for her permission to attend the ball, Cinderella enlists the help of the birds in the sky. Finally, Cinderella completes the task and makes it to the ball.

Although there is no magic involved, Cinderella decides to conceal herself from the prince. In a significant departure from the Disney version, when Cinderella does reveal herself, it is as she really is, without the fancy clothes and jewels.

This version has a particularly bloody ending. The stepmother mutilates her daughters' feet in an attempt to force them into the slipper, and the stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by birds at Cinderella's wedding. In this fairy tale, the stepsisters are punished.

While there are thousands of versions of Cinderella tales throughout the world, Charles Perrault's "Cendrillon" provides the blueprint for many modern depictions.

In Charles Perrault's Cendrillon, the evolutionary footprints of her character make a clear departure from earlier tales where she is in charge of her own fate. These changes have culminated in how most people view Cinderella today.

Cendrillon

Charles Perrault's French Cinderella was published in Paris in 1697. This tale most closely resembles the mainstream versions of the story known to today's readers and viewers.

A Sweet, Docile, and Ever-Patient Cinderella

In the very first lines of Cendrillon, readers are presented with a character "of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper." This Cinderella is one so docile and accepting of her situation that, “When the housework was all done, she would tuck herself away in the chimney corner to sit quietly among the cinders.” Here, we have a character who chooses to sit amongst the ashes, unlike her feisty ancestor who does so only out of force.

When the stepsisters are getting ready to attend the ball, who willingly advises them on their fashion and helps them with their hair? Cinderella, of course. This Cinderella bears the harsh treatment of her cruel stepmother and stepmothers with patience, perhaps with blind faith that good things come to those who wait. This Cinderella is clearly one who is powerless in the grip of circumstance, rather than one who struggles against it.

Cinderella's Strength is Her (Inner) Beauty

Perrault’s version is one that equates outer beauty with inner beauty as Cinderella “was as good as she was beautiful.” Although, other than beauty, this Cinderella does not possess numerous strengths to help change her fate, her destiny is altered for her by the help of magical mice, a fairy godmother and a lovestruck prince. Cinderella's help comes to her easily in the form of magic, rather than in acts of revelation and ingenuity.

If there is any doubt as to the intended moral of this tale, Perrault cinches it up nicely in his statement at the end extolling the female virtues of beauty, graciousness, good breeding, common sense, and the power of a magical blessing to change one's stars.

Here, the seeds are sown for the simplistic Hollywood fairy tale in which one only has to be kind, beautiful, and in the right place at the right time to secure a happy ending (Cinderella: Ashes, Blood, and the Slipper of Glass). The simplistic “rags to riches" blueprint in which beautiful helpless women are rescued and fulfilled by the happy ending of marriage lies in opposition to the energy and color of folk-fairy tales; in these original tales, characters are empowered by acts of self-determination, industriousness and powerful transformations.

The more important lesson of the fairy taleis that all of these cultures across all of these centuries have something in common – people aren’t really all that different, are they? We all want to hope and dream that even in the face some bad times, there is always the hope for something better on the horizon.

The Ballet

There are records of ballet versions of Cinderella being performed as early as 1813 in Vienna and 1822 in London, and of a notable production by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Enrico Cecchetti for the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in 1893. With music by Baron Boris Fitinhof-Schell this version famously showcased Pierina Legnani and her 32 fouettées en tournant (a feat which would later be incorporated into the ballet Swan Lake) for the first time.

Using Sergei Prokofiev’s memorable score, Rostislav Zakharov’s 1945 ballet for the Bolshoi is seen as the first landmark Cinderella. Zakharov was the Bolshoi’s principal choreographer. He conceived the work at a time when the Soviets were in a celebratory mood: the German World War II invasion had been beaten back and a new ballet was needed which could serve as a metaphor for triumph over tyranny. Prokofiev and librettist Nikolai Volkov were guided by Charles Perrault‘s version of the story and influenced by Tchaikovsky’s ballet scores, which so perfectly matched the structure of Petipa’s choreography, to create a definitive score for Cinderella. Another factor that helped cement the success of Zakharov’s version was its association with Galina Ulanova who became legendary in the leading role, even though the ballet had been originally created on Olga Lepeshinskaya.

The Ashton version

Sir Frederick Ashton decided to focus on Prokofiev’s Cinderella in 1948 because he sympathized with the score’s intentions and emotions “the poetic love of Cinderella and the Prince, the birth and flowering of that love”. At that time, wartime restrictions had been lifted so the Company had enough resources to allow Ashton to realise a tribute to Petipa and experiment with his first full-length piece.

Ashton brought a very British flavor to the ballet. Unlike the Russian versions, he opted to feature the stepsisters as men portraying women to honor pantomime tradition. He also did away with the figure of the wicked stepmother and had Cinderella living with the ugly sisters and a feeble father instead. The spoiled stepsisters were originally played by Ashton and Robert Helpmann.

Besides the comedy provided by the stepsisters and their entourage, there is plenty of room for drama and classicism, as in the scenes where Cinderella dances alone thinking of the happier days in the past, the solos for the season fairies and the waltz for the corps. There is a lush Grand Pas de Deux for the Prince and Cinderella which takes place at the ball in act 2, rather than at their wedding celebration in act 3 as would have been typical of Petipa. Ashton also decided to cut the Prince’s round-the-world search for Cinderella which was featured in the Russian versions. He had intended the ballet to be another vehicle for Margot Fonteyn but when injury kept her from stage the ballet was created using Moira Shearer with Michael Somes as her Prince, although Fonteyn took over the role when she was well.

Prokofiev's Score

Prokofiev began his work in 1940, but put it on hold during World War II to work on a more patriotic project, the opera War and Peace. In 1944, he resumed work on Cinderella after an Allied victory over Germany seemed imminent, and the work received a triumphant premiere on November 21, 1945 at the Bolshoi Theatre. Prokofiev and Volkov were guided by Charles Perrault‘s version of the story and influenced by Tchaikovsky’s ballet scores which so perfectly matched the structure of Petipa’s choreography. Prokofiev dedicated his composition to Tchaikovsky saying that he had structured Cinderella:

… "as a classical ballet with variations, adagios, pas de deux, etc… I see Cinderella not only as a fairy-tale character but also as a real person, feeling, experiencing, and moving among us

What I wished to express above all in the music of Cinderella was the poetic love of Cinderella and the Prince, the birth and flowering of that love, the obstacles in its path and finally the dream fulfilled."

Each act of the ballet has a different sonority. The first begins with “domestic life” scenes, with lean sounds and slowly progresses to magic as the fairy godmother comes to take Cinderella to the ball. A different atmosphere sets in for Act 2 which recalls and expands on the magic themes of act 1 to match the big ballroom numbers such as a lush waltz. The Prince and Cinderella dance a Pas de Deux representing love at first sight full of strings, light flutes and woodwind sounds. The mood shifts from romance to threat for the concluding number of the act. When Cinderella realizes she must leave just as the clock strikes midnight, powerful trombones and bass drum dominating the musical texture.

Prokofiev's somewhat heavy score is accompanied by some of the most unique and challenging choreography. Cinderella has a difficult variation, where she has to do a series of flickering turns in a circle, not just once but twice, and just watching is dizzying enough. The ball pas de deux with her Prince is an interesting one, containing references to clock hands and the countdown to her midnight curfew. The way she beats her legs together midair mimics the seconds ticking away, and all kinds of straight limbs in arabesque and penchée indicate time’s influence on her allotment with the Prince. It’s not as though the shapes tell you exactly what time it is, but the way they’re jumbled together is an obvious statement as to how she loses herself in time as she is falling in love.

Cinderella’s Variation: Alina Cojocaru

Cinderella Pas de Deux, with Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg:

By far, howver, it’s Cinderella’s entrance that is perhaps one of the finest moments, as she descends a staircase and simply bourées forward, The bourée being one of the most elementary of movements on pointe, it is often relegated as a way to get from A to B when a sort of shimmering, or floating effect is desired. Rarely does the bourée by itself get respect as a choreographed step.(Fokine’s The Dying Swan consists of all bourées, but is a piece that is told through the arms rather than the feet.)

Cinderella’s Entrance, with Margot Fonteyn:

San Francisco Ballet's choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella which premieres May 1, 2013, is yet another take on the famous tale, and one that should be widely successful. The haunting Prokofiev score will be there, and so will the romantic rapture. ( For a review, click Here

But Before getting down to choreographing, Wheeldon and his librettist, the playwright Craig Lucas, launched an intense investigation into "Cinderella" material, not just the existing ballets, but also the Rossini opera (from which he has borrowed one character), the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical (currently in revival on Broadway) and movie versions of the tale (he's partial to the Drew Barrymore film, "Ever After").

Wheeldon's principal inspiration has been the version of the tale by the Brothers Grimm, which he much prefers to the standard Charles Perrault recounting. "It's sugary, it's the Disney version," he says. "I remembered the Grimm from my childhood. It's naughty, a bit darker and more wicked."

This Cinderella is a young woman who makes choices in her life; she's not the poor, much beaten-down girl of convention. And as we lean her story of growing up, we also get a glimpse into the prince's. He's just a boy who wants to marry for love, not to father a dynasty.

Sabado Lam

When designing for dance it is important to always be aware of the movement. Every form of dance has it’s own particular movement flow and uses the body in different ways. I have been fortunate in my experience to have seen a great deal of dance before I was ever asked to design for dance. I will try to give a basic outline of how I work through my design process so that choreographers and designers may have a guide as to how to put their ideas together. Of course, each project must be approached with some degree of individuality, so not all works will follow the same route in their development. The designer and choreographer should always try to make the process a collaboration, allowing each one’s artistic values to be evident. This comes with good communication and a respect for each other’s talents.

To begin, I try to find out what the given are. By this I mean that we settle on what the basic guidelines are for the project – the budget, the deadline, number of performers and pieces of costume that they will need.
This will decide whether it is a project that is manageable. Time and money are always important factors.

Next is to see the dance. It helps if you can get a visual record. I find it very helpful to be able to see the dance more than once so I can get a sense of how the body is being used. The basic ideas really needs to be there. I do not like to design for works in progress. Doing so is like having to select a frame for an unfinished painting. I think that the stronger the vision a choreographer has, the stronger the design element can be. Here is where I usually clarify with the choreographer what his ideas and intent is for the piece. What ideas or feelings is he or she trying to bring out? What is the mood?

After having seen the dance, as nearly finished as possible, I try to determine a silhouette. I make some basic line drawings to show the shapes that I think will work best with the movement. This will enable the choreographer to decide what direction to take. These drawing should be simple. But they will help determine basic shapes for the neckline, hemline, sleeve length, loose fitting or close fitting.

Once the choreographer has decided on the outline, I try to ask about colors. Color is important to set the tonal mood for the piece. Other factors here will be what the lighting and scenics are doing. Make sure the color choices are in harmony with these other essential aspects of a production. I will also make some suggestions as to what fabric choice I think will work with the movement.

I have found that taking the choreographer to look at fabric to be a great help. Most designers will offer fabric swatches (small sample pieces) for a choreographer to choose from. But I find that it is much easier for both the designer and the choreographer when they see the fabric on the bolt. Each type of fabric has its own intrinsic movement and weight. One cannot get a good sense of this from a swatch. Often the availability of the materials may help to determine what the final choice will be. It is at this time that the budget and timeline factor into the final design and ultimately how complicated or intricate a costume can be.

Once materials are chosen I make some sample costumes. This will allow the dancer and the choreographer to try it with the movement and give feedback on what they like and what they dislike. From this information you can make modifications as necessary to move towards the final costume. Make sure to communicate to them what final additions are to be made to the costume before it is completely finished. For example, what kind of undergarments will be used, what closures will be used, jewelry choices, head pieces, make up and hair. These details can play a very important part in the total look of a design.

Finally I check to make sure that the overall look is what the choreographer wants. Does the final design add to the entirety of the work? Nothing is worse than to see a costume restricting the dance. The other danger is that a costume calls too much attention to itself such that it distracts they eye from the dance. Design should always serve to highlight the movement not to hinder it.

Sabado Lam has spent twenty years in and out of dressing rooms. He spent many years working for Paul Taylor, a few for Washington Ballet, and now works in several D.C. theaters. In addition to his design work, he earns a living as a wardrobe assistant.

At Right - Chloe Cris Crossed Ankle Strap Flats

The world of ballet has given us much in the ay of fashion, including the show which bears its name. Perfect for slipping on and running out the door for a busy afternoon of shopping, ballet flats, or ballerina flat shoes are universally adored for being both comfortable and chic. For those of us looking to take a break from our heels and leave a daintier footprint on our earth, the ballet flat is the perfect shoe to satisfy our needs. The ballet flat is lightweight, and with little to no heel, walking in them could not be more comfortable. They are truly a fashion classic.

Ballet flats have been in style for centuries, and naturally it all started with ballet, modeling the ballet flat after the ballet slipper. The ballet flat dates all the way back to the 16^th century when they served as equal opportunity footwear. However, the flat briefly went out of style with the introduction of the high heel after Catherine de’ Medici wore them at her wedding.

However like all trends in the style world, ballet flats were revived after Marine Antoinette walked to the guillotine in a pair of heels. Heels quickly went out of style and ballet flats became the shoe of choice for many women.

At Right - Brigette Bardot in her Ballet Flats.

Then, in 1947 ballet flats were introduced to the everyday women with the help of Rose Repetto. She crafted her first ballet flat, hand-stitching the now timeless Repetto ballet flat, for her son, the renowned dancer and choreographer, Roland Petit. Her ballet flats immediately became popular among professional dancers. After French actress and animal activist Brigitte Bardot wore a pair of Repetto’s flats the trend of the ballet shoe launched into iconic status.

Ballet flats took off again in the 1950s after Audrey Hepburn wore a pair of ballet flats with skinny jeans in the film “Funny Face” in 1957.

Today women all over the world consider the ballet flat to be their go-to shoe, so lesson learned, never underestimate a ballerina!

According to the Justice Department, one out of every four kids is abused by another youth each month, and every day as many as 160,000 U.S. children miss school because of bullying. Many programs are designed to cope with youth conflict issues, but one dancer/educator, Dr. Martha Eddy, believes that in order for a program to be effective, it must integrate movement into the curriculum. Since dance teachers work in an environment built around movement, the principles Eddy has developed are particularly suitable to them.

“Body language and movement are at the heart of human behavior,” explains Eddy. In addition to holding a doctorate in movement science and education, she is a registered somatic movement therapist, certified movement analyst, and founder and director of The Center for Kinesthetic Education in New York City.
Central to Eddy’s work is the premise that “any type of violence—physical, psychological, verbal—will have an impact on our bodies,” she says. “Sometimes it affects our whole body; sometimes we just get shoulder cramps or an increased heart rate. This has to be reconciled; the body has to come back to homeostasis. Unless we move, we carry that tension.”

Last February in New York, at the Dance Education Laboratory of the 92nd Street Y, she presented a course on conflict resolution and bullying prevention for teachers. Her curriculum for “Performing Peace: Including the Bully” uses a cooperative approach drawing from dance, theater, creative movement, somatic education, and reflective thinking processes. The workshop guides adults or children (K–12) in understanding and examining the nature of bullying and being bullied, and in the practical implementation of peaceful behavior in times of stress—teaching new responses through movement games, and choreographing positive responses to a wide range of feelings.

Including the bully might sound like a recipe for disaster, but according to Eddy, the opposite is true. “If you don’t include the bullies, they will still stand apart, be angry, and feel alienated,” she says. “They probably have their own history of trauma, of being bullied. Until we really help that bully, nothing is going to change at that school. Often bullies are leaders, but have been told they are bad or never do [things] right. We have to get them to buy into rules about human caring and set some rules with the group. Rule number one: no physical abuse.”

While working on her doctorate, “The Role of Physical Activity in Violence Prevention Programs for Youth,” at Teachers College at Columbia University, Eddy identified conflict resolution and non-violence programs around the country. They showcased an array of approaches: from martial arts to dance and theater, somatic awareness and relaxation, and even social studies taught by a dance therapist. “To the credit of all the existing programs,” she says, “they all used role play—but role play is just a beginning, not necessarily a context that conflict will come up in.

“For some programs,” Eddy continues, “the main issue is about focusing on the kids having self-control or being strong enough to defend themselves, or aware. So a lot of programs are just about becoming aware of violence, learning that some of what goes on at parties is psychological abuse, learning to be alert to that. It might not be learning how to stand up to violence, but about how to respond.”

Adapting some ideas from movement analysis and child psychiatry, Eddy identified four content themes related to progressive decision making:

Self-Control/Social Skills
Awareness of violence and the Surrounding Environment
Self-assertion and Self-determination in the Face of Violence
Peace Activism

Each of these could be addressed by four movement activities or behaviors: body regulation, avoiding violence, finding strength, and readiness to act. Using these principles, students can learn to regulate tension and energy. Through movement phrases, gestures, or compositions, they can learn to focus on avoiding violence or perceiving peaceable options. Movement can help them find the strength to stand steady, to assert themselves, and also learn when it is appropriate to act or get involved.

Dance can be used to enhance self-control, self-assertion, and interpersonal awareness.

Dance expression through improvisation, choreography, and performance around concerns regarding conflict and violence provides an outlet for expressing feelings and building confidence and self-esteem.

Improvisation and composition teach problem-solving skills, creative brainstorming, and cooperation—all needed for conflict resolution and moral reasoning.

Choreography also encourages problem solving and team building, while performance expands the sphere of responsibility to the community at large, providing an opportunity to take action in the world, which helps develop confidence and pride.

Eddy’s research also uncovered the importance of teacher commitments to youth advocacy and the teacher empathy needed for these programs to succeed. Among the notable people identified during her research were Nancy Beardall at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Sarah Crowell at Destiny Arts in Oakland, California, pioneers who are still leading in the field.

Beardall, dance therapy coordinator in the Expressive Therapies Division at Lesley University, has a peace-education program and also heads a creative-arts program. “Her original ideas,” Eddy says, “came out of the [university] dance club, and the intimacy a teacher has preparing everything for performance. She developed the first program dealing with bullying in her company in the ’90s.”

Crowell has taught dance, theater, and violence prevention to youths in schools and community centers in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990. In 1993 she co-founded Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, a troupe for teens to co-create original movement/theater productions based on their own experiences.

“They have a dojo [a martial-arts training space] and a dance and theater program,” Eddy says. “All the kids get to do their own choreography and write their own scripts around issues of violence, and they are taught some conflict-resolution skills.”

Conflict-resolution skills come naturally when you work in a group, according to Eddy. “Even if [teachers] don’t know they are teaching conflict resolution, because they are modeling it, student issues will come to the fore. Teachers in classrooms, gyms, and studios draw upon body-awareness activities like breathing and stretching with equal ease. This technique, which is used to calm groups down, helps with self-regulation and focus.”

Eddy has been teaching courses for educators and therapists on conflict resolution through movement and dance for about 10 years. As part of her “Embodying Peace” classes, she offers workshops for adults or children in conflict resolution, violence prevention, body awareness and language, stress reduction, and the use of the arts for social and emotional education. Teachers learn to guide students to respond to conflict peacefully by using body language awareness and to manage anger by tuning in to bodily cues. Verbal and nonverbal behavior for resisting bullying and dealing with difficult situations are practiced. Students may be taught how to express moods through dance and then to use dance alone, with partners, and with groups to make positive choices in responding to their feelings.

Eddy recommends that teachers who are interested in conducting workshops “invite in experts who have an understanding of your population. First-graders have different needs than eighth-graders. Girls have different social dynamics than boys. Experts can help teachers learn about ‘Queen Bees’ (strong-willed, popular girls), that boys need to rely on play fighting for physical contact, etc.”

When hiring an expert, Eddy says, make sure he or she includes a body language and movement component. Alternately, work with The Center for Kinesthetic Education to develop a movement-filled workshop or take the Dance Education Lab workshop next time it is offered at the 92nd Street Y.

Resources

Embody Peace: embodypeace.org
The Center for Kinesthetic Education: wellnesscke.net
Lesley University Division of Expressive Therapies: lesley.edu/gsass/56etp.html
Destiny Arts: destinyarts.org

At Right - The Rangerettes on the cover of Life Magazine, c 1949

Pioneers most often lead conventional lives. Take Gussie Nell Davis (1906–1993), founder of the precision drill team dancing still seen during football halftime shows today. Never a wife or mother, Davis instead devoted her life’s work to a group of 30 to 55 young women, known as the Kilgore College Rangerettes. For four decades she directed the heralded team, which gushed out of oil-rich Kilgore, Texas, and onto the national scene in 1940. Davis’ groundbreaking style of patriotically clad girls high-kicking in military-like formations sparked a movement throughout high schools and colleges around the globe, and it eventually led to a multibillion dollar industry that now encompasses uniform and prop companies, worldwide drill camps, specialist choreographers and travel agencies dedicated to the drill-team-dance style she developed.

Born in Farmersville, TX, Davis always loved to move to music, but dancing was not widely accepted in the Bible Belt; her mother groomed her to be a concert pianist. “She hated being physically inactive,” says former Rangerette Mazie Jamison. “Her mother used to tell her, ‘I’ll give you a nickel if you sit still for five minutes.’” Davis defied her parents’ wishes and chose to study physical education, at what is now Texas Woman’s University, as an outlet to take social and folk dance classes. At age 20, Davis, who was an excellent student and a quick learner, earned a master’s in science from the University of Southern California, and in 1929 she took a job in Greenville, TX, directing the pep squad at Greenville High School. The team marched complex drills, using small wooden batons, flags, drums and bugles as props, during every football game halftime. Davis slowly integrated dance moves into the routines, molding her Flaming Flashes into the first twirl-and-dance group.

In 1939, Dean B. E. Masters of Kilgore College hired Davis to design a form of entertainment that would stop football attendees from drinking alcohol during halftime, and to help boost the college’s female population. Her suggestion: an all-girl student team that combined dance and precision military drill. Outfitted in Western-style hats, boots and red, white and blue skirted uniforms, the Rangerettes’ debut performance was a huge success. Fireworks exploded into the air as the girls emerged out of total darkness, performing with a military might. “There was a gasping hush across the audience,” one onlooker recalled to Shelley Wayne, the team’s current assistant director and choreographer, decades after the event.

But the Rangerettes didn’t rise to the top without facing controversy. Feminist groups criticized the team’s emphasis on physical appearance, authoritative training and short skirts, which fell two inches above the knee. Davis countered by marketing her girls as paradigms of old-fashioned female virtue. “Sex is a word I have never used with my girls, and I never will,” she told Sports Illustrated in 1974. “Sure, I tell them that when they’re out on that field I want them to forget they’re mama’s little girls and project! After the game they’re mama’s little girls again.”

Through discipline, Davis transformed her group into a poised and self-confident elite squad. “She was drill instructor, but she could also be charming,” says Jamison. When the going got tough (scalding heat, freezing rains, hours of waiting at attention), Davis knew how to rally her team. She told them, “Beauty knows no pain.” The motto electrified. The Rangerettes worked to be as precise as “Miss Davis,” who at five feet tall and impeccably dressed was nothing less than a fireball, says Wayne.

As other drill teams began to bloom throughout the region, the competitive-natured Davis stayed ahead by directing routines that were increasingly athletic and acrobatic. The kicks got higher; the spatial patterns became more complex (circle formations turned into stars); props included lassos and scrubbing boards; and the vocabulary expanded to incorporate steps from jazz, ballet and acrobatics. The Rangerettes’ presence was requested everywhere: 50 Cotton Bowls, rodeos, “The Ed Sullivan Show,” the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, presidential inaugural events (they performed on the same bill as New York City Ballet for Eisenhower’s inauguration) and abroad. Initially, Davis served as the sole choreographer, but in 1948 she hired Denard Haden, an admired East Texas choreographer, to help create material. She needed more time to teach her team about etiquette, posture, fashion and ethics to shape them into highly marriageable young women.

Davis retired in 1979, taking on a new title as the team’s godmother. She died on December 20, 1993. During her career, she was given numerous commendations, including an honor from the Houston Contemporary Museum of Art for creating a “living artform” and an induction into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. To this day, Rangerettes past and present still salute their beloved role model. The alumni group, Rangerettes Forever, is one of the largest contributors to Kilgore, and in 2006, a former team member gave the college $3.5 million to build the Gussie Nell Davis Residence Hall—a testament to the legacy of young women whose lives Davis touched and helped prepare for life beyond college.

Katie Wright-Sabbatino (left) and Science With Dance in Mind teachers improvise about photosynthesi

“Try standing up without applying Newton’s laws,” says dance educator Rima Faber to a group of teachers. “You have to push down on the floor to go up, you have to overcome inertia, you have to overcome the force of the propulsion to stop your constant motion. Just getting up out of your chair applies all the major laws.” Through simple activities like this, Faber has been encouraging a team of Baltimore teachers to teach science through dance. The collaboration resulted in a new program called Teaching Science With Dance in Mind that was launched in three Baltimore public schools.

Faber, who helped found the National Dance Education Organization and served as its program director until she retired this year in June, has been passionate about teaching science through dance since the 1970s, when she developed movement exercises to help her daughter grasp concepts that she couldn’t understand through verbal instruction alone. Faber and others, including Anne Green Gilbert in Seattle, have promoted movement as a key to academic learning for years. But what makes this project unique, says Faber, is that the aesthetics of dance are as important as scientific understanding. “They are given equal treatment,” she says. “Usually the art gets forfeited in favor of the academic goals. But here they are mutually respected.”

Faber pursued the idea for this program in 2009 when she learned of a Maryland-based nonprofit group that gave grants for experiential approaches to science education. She figured getting the funding would be a long shot since the organization, Hands-On-Science, had never funded a dance project and, due to the economic downturn, was about to shut its doors. Still, she decided to try and argued her case passionately. “I invited them to move forward to the 21st century by bringing science into a new realm of pedagogy that involved kinesthetic learning,” says Faber. Hands-On-Science, impressed by her arguments and syllabus, included her project in their final granting cycle.

Previously, Faber had created dance and science lessons by asking science teachers for a list of concepts that students were having trouble understanding. Then she’d devise isolated movement exercises to help. But with the Hands-On-Science funds, Faber has been able to design a more extensive approach that addresses a breadth of concepts included in Baltimore County’s science curriculum.

She has also been able to partner with two other Baltimore-based dance educators: Suzanne Henneman, who oversees the dance curriculum for the Baltimore County Public Schools, and Katie Wright-Sabbatino, an arts integration specialist who currently teaches second grade.

From the start, Faber knew she wanted the project to involve classroom teachers as well as dance specialists. One goal was to train dancers to teach science—but she also wanted science teachers to understand dance and to be able to use it as a teaching tool. “The ultimate goal is to get science teachers to automatically think of movement as a part of their lexicon of learning possibilities,” she says. “That’s what will give this longevity.”

From January through May, Faber held training sessions that provided five dance specialists and five science/general ed teachers with necessary skills. The classes tied elements of dance—space, direction, shape, levels, rhythm, timing, phrasing and movement quality—to scientific ideas. For example, when discussing quality of movement, Faber brought in scarves and beanbags and asked participants to describe how the objects fell—heavy, fast and direct for the beanbags and drifting, gentle, slow for the scarves. They translated these qualities into movement and also used the differences to discuss physical forces like gravity and air resistance.

After their initial training, each dance specialist was paired with a science teacher to collaboratively create movement exercises that they’ll teach as a team in primary or middle-school classrooms this fall. The teachers began by identifying parts of Baltimore’s science curriculum that they thought would be best served by dance and then worked with the dance specialists to create movement to go with those concepts. The 10 participants will
continue meeting as a group throughout the school year to discuss and assess their progress.

The teachers involved in the project have become an enthusiastic, close-knit group and are excited about this project’s potential to help a variety of students. “Some kids just don’t learn verbally, but when they experience something, they get it,” says Faber. “Without approaches like this, those children fall through the cracks. And even those who do learn well verbally enjoy this method.” Wright-Sabbatino agrees. “We think of science as being physical and concrete, but sometimes it can be very abstract,” she says. “Dance connects you to an idea and makes you feel it from the inside.”

“What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” Eleanor Powell- Shown at right in Born to Dance, 1936

Since May 25 is National Tap Dance Day, I'v decided to lead up to the big event by highlighting some of Tap's greatest stars.

Eleanor Powell was without peer among her dancing counterparts. For the better part of a decade, she was box-office gold, saving her studio, MGM, from bankruptcy with her winsome screen presence and show-stopping dance routines. Yet, despite her film success, Powell had the shortest career of any major musical star, starring in only a dozen movies from 1935 to 1945. Nevertheless, she left a lasting legacy through her work onscreen and off. See what many historians have called one of the greatest tap routines in history, Begin the Beguine with Fred Astaire, 1940, at bottom of post.

Primarily celebrated for her dazzling tap work, Powell was accomplished in ballet, acrobatics, ballroom, and jazz, combining elements of these into many of her routines. While her colleagues, including the great Fred Astaire, relied on choreographers for most, if not all, of their work, Powell choreographed her own dance numbers, which were always high in technical merit and creativity.

As for Fred Astaire, among his many and storied partners, Eleanor Powell was the only one who could match his footwork. In fact, when the “Queen of Taps” was suggested as his leading lady in Broadway Melody of 1940, Fred was a little unnerved at the thought of their pairing. He even conceded to Eleanor's choreography ideas and imput on the routine. Years, and many dancing partners, later, Astaire said that Powell “was in a class by herself.”

Born on November 21, 1912, to a teenage mother in a fatherless home, Eleanor entered the world under anything but auspicious circumstances. With her young mother working several jobs to make ends meet, Eleanor was raised by her maternal grandparents.

As a young girl, Eleanor was pathologically shy with no interest in or, according to her, any natural talent for, dancing—as hard as that is to imagine considering the body of her work. In hopes of helping her socialization, Eleanor’s mother enrolled her in ballet and acrobatic dance. She took to both and quickly excelled.

One day on a family trip to the beach, Eleanor’s playful acrobatics caught the eye of Gus Edwards, an Atlantic City club owner. Edwards recruited the 12-year-old to open for his dinner show. That led to other dancing gigs over the next couple of summers.

Ironically, Eleanor had a strong distaste for tap. But with her sights set on Broadway, she eventually, and begrudgingly, enrolled in tap class. Nearly quitting after a shaky start, Eleanor finally caught on to hoofing and, with only 10 lessons under her belt, began dancing at social events with legendary Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Robinson became her mentor, life-long friend, and later, with Pearl Bailey, the god-parent of her son, Peter Ford.

Her big break came when she was 22 years old. It was then that she was tagged to do a specialty number in the movie, George White’s 1935 Scandals. Her performance captured the attention of MGM mogul Louis Mayer, who gave her a lead part in Broadway Melody of 1936. That led to a succession of starring roles in Born to Dance (1936), Rosalie (1937), Broadway Melody of 1938, Honolulu (1939), and what many consider the zenith of her career, Broadway Melody of 1940, in which she starred with Fred Astaire in their one-and-only pairing.

It was the first movie Fred had made without Ginger. He was arguably the world’s best male hoofer, and Ellie(his nickname for her) the best female. Together they lit up the silver screen as no dance team had done before or since. The final dance sequence, “Begin the Beguine”—shot amazingly in just one take—has been called the finest moment in Hollywood musical history. Of it, the late Frank Sinatra said, in That’s Entertainment (1974), "You know, you can wait around and hope, but I tell you, you'll never see the likes of this again." One film critic remarked that if he were exiled to a desert island with but one movie clip to take, it would be “Begin the Beguine.”

For eight years, Eleanor Powell reigned as queen of the Hollywood musical. Then, in 1943, her life took a sharp turn after falling in love with Glenn Ford. At the time, Powell was a huge star and Ford a little known “B” actor, with a little known “B” actor salary. Nevertheless, Eleanor walked away from the fame and fortune of stardom to become a devoted wife and homemaker.

In October that same year, Eleanor married Ford and, 15 months later, gave birth to their one and only child, Peter. When asked whether she would come out of retirement, she dismissed the notion. As a professed “old-fashioned mother,” Eleanor was adamant that the interests of children are best served when at least one parent is home to give love and nurture. She would be a stay-at-home mom.

Soon she began volunteering in her church—first in the nursery and later teaching her son’s Sunday school class. That led to another role for the former Hollywood star turned-wife-and-mom—host of a first-of-its-kind television program for children, Faith of Our Children.

Breaking ground

Faith of Our Children first aired in 1954. It was a weekly non-denominational, public service program aimed at the spiritual formation of children, complete with Bible stories, skits, and guest entertainers.

Powell hosted and scripted each show, fashioned after her Beverly Hills Presbyterian Sunday school class. (In a studio still, Powell is shown teaching Matthew 22:37 to a group of young children.) When asked about her new role, Eleanor replied, “I’m surrounded by children whom I love...I feel that my work as a dancer in the past was just a prologue to the work I am now doing.”

Faith of Our Children was groundbreaking, and not just for being the first children’s religious show on TV. During an era of growing racial tensions in the country, Faith of Our Children featured multi-racial guests and an audience of multi-racial children. And that didn’t set well with some viewers.

In Eleanor Powell: First Lady of Dance, author Alice Levin writes that after one show, “a well-known minister” called, complaining about “the number of dark-skinned youngsters” on the set. Eleanor politely responded to the minister, saying that she would make the necessary adjustments before the next airing. The following week viewers were treated to a program featuring an all black audience and a black guest star, to boot. The minister didn't bother calling back to say how he enjoyed the adjustments.

From 1954 to 1956, Faith of Our Children garnered five regional Emmys for excellence in children’s programming, as well as numerous honors from various organizations for contributing to the spiritual growth of children and the advancement of Christian brotherhood—the latter a long-time passion of Powell.

Eleanor’s views on race were shaped by her Christian faith, as this verse from a tender poem she wrote about God’s kaleidoscopic creation indicates:

But when He looks on man I think
He sees but soul and mind;
And where HIS children are concerned
Our Father’s color-blind!

Eleanor lived that verse, giving of herself to others, regardless of race, creed, or ethnicity. Against the prejudice that was rife in the studios throughout her film career, she became life-long friends with black entertainers like Bill Robinson and Ethel Waters, and she helped others, like choreographer WiIlie Covan, land jobs in the industry.

Her burden for the disenfranchised was exceeded only by her love of children, especially the chronically sick and underprivileged. By bringing to bear the full force of her celebrity, skills, and energies, Ellie raised awareness and funds for disadvantaged children and those afflicted with asthma, blindness, polio, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy. Throughout her life, she received dozens of awards and honors for her humanitarian work—a testament to her tireless devotion and effectiveness as an advocate for young people.

When asked the one question that all great dancers are asked, “Who was your favorite dancing partner?” Ellie’s answer was always the same: “God.” It was her way of acknowledging the Source of her gift and His calling upon her, as was the life-long philosophy she regularly shared with interviewers and audiences: “What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”

In 1981, Eleanor was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She told a concerned press, “I’ve placed myself in the hands of God...It’s going to be fine.” The next year on February 11, at the age of 69, her favorite Partner called her home (I can imagine the joyful rhythms that began echoing throughout the heavenly halls), her earthly remains fittingly placed in a bronze replica of the Bible.

Today, Eleanor Powell’s place in movie history may be largely forgotten—a fate to which all measures of worldly success succumb, sooner or later—but her place with her Maker, and in the hearts of all the people she touched who have come and gone, as well as those she continues to touch through her films, will endure forever.

If you haven't seen this routine, it really gives new meaning to the word Talent. Enjoy Eleanor and Fred:

Gregory Oliver Hines (1946–2003) spent his boyhood days at Harlem’s Apollo Theater with his brother Maurice, watching tap dancers like Chuck Green, Charles “Honi” Coles, Teddy Hale, The Nicholas Brothers and Howard “Sandman” Sims. Between performances, the hoofers would gather in the dimly lit, costume-cluttered basement to jam on the worn-in rehearsal floor. It was here, trading steps with tap legends, that Hines fell in love with the artform and learned how to develop his own rhythms. “They really loved him, because he could think on his feet and didn’t have any fear,” says Hines’ brother Maurice.

A true triple threat, Gregory Hines ultimately became one of tap’s most recognized performers and preservers of the art. He appeared in major motion pictures, on television and on Broadway, and for more than half a century, he carried on the tap lineage, eventually sharing it with a new generation of tappers. And in October 2009, Dance Affiliates launched a 10-week national tour of Thank You Gregory, A Tribute to the Legends of Tap to honor the man who bridged the generations and transformed rhythm tap into a respected dance style.

Born on February 14, 1946, in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, Hines began his formal tap training at age 3 with Henry LeTang. Two years later, he and 8-year-old Maurice were performing professionally as “The Hines Kids.” They toured the world, dancing in nightclubs, theaters and on TV shows, including three dozen appearances on “The Tonight Show.” In 1954, the brothers made their Broadway debut in The Girl in Pink Tights and in 1964, their father, Maurice Hines Sr., joined the touring act (renamed “Hines, Hines & Dad”) as a drummer.

But unfortunately, the Hines brothers caught the tail end of an era. While their fame was slowly rising, tap’s popularity declined. Big bands fell out of fashion and jazz nightclubs shuttered. And Broadway, encouraged by the success of West Side Story, turned to ballet and jazz as storytelling forms. The hoofers who had mentored young Gregory had a difficult time finding work. Even Hines found himself pulling away from tap. In the early 1970s, after months of soul-searching, Hines left his family act, his first wife and their 2-year-old daughter, Daria, and fled to Venice Beach, California, where he formed the jazz-rock ensemble Severance and adopted the hippie lifestyle.

Five years later, Hines returned to his passion. He moved back to New York and soon landed a role alongside Maurice in the musical revue Eubie! (1978), which was being choreographed by LeTang. This performance earned the natural rhythm-maker his first Tony nomination, which was followed by two more for his work in Comin’ Uptown (1979) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981). Ten years later, Hines finally took home a Tony Award for his lead role in Jelly’s Last Jam (1992).

As Hines’ career blossomed, he continued to make tap more visible while pushing the genre’s boundaries. He broke away from the polished, foursquare tempos of the 1930s to captivate audiences with hard, roughed-up, low-to-the-ground, free-flowing, funky rhythms—movements expanded by his protégé Savion Glover and generations to come. “He felt tap should be as modern and new as Twyla Tharp. Top hats and tails were out, tight Armani T-shirts were in,” says close friend and tap historian Jane Goldberg.

In the 1985 film White Nights, Hines tapped to contemporary music and went toe-to-toe with ballet virtuoso Mikhail Baryshnikov. “This film put both artforms on equal footing. It said, ‘This tap dancer and tap dance are at the same level as Mikhail in ballet,’” says Tony Waag, the artistic director of the American Tap Dance Foundation. Hines also starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s Harlem jazz club crime-drama The Cotton Club and 1989’s Tap, a movie that experimented with rock music and brought together a teenage Glover and legends like Sandman Sims, Jimmy Slyde and Bunny Briggs. “He made tap cool to young people in terms of using contemporary music and innovating how we use our feet,” says hoofer Jason Samuels Smith. “He was the motivating force behind our whole generation’s movement.”

Having witnessed the older generations struggle through tap’s dormancy, Hines made tireless efforts to ensure tap’s vitality in the 21st century. When Congress was considering legislation to create National Tap Dance Day, Hines showed up in Washington, DC, to speak to the Congressional Black Caucus. This day has been celebrated on May 25 since 1989. In 2001, Hines helped Waag launch Tap City, a New York tap festival, and just a week before he died, Hines was supposed to participate in the inaugural Los Angeles Tap Festival. “It was so humbling for me to hear how eager he was to be a part of it,” says Samuels Smith, the festival’s co-creator.

On August 9, 2003, Hines passed away at age 57, after a 13-month battle with liver cancer. While his passing was a great loss, he left a timeless legacy through his generous support of the tap community. Hines used to say he was “just a tap dancer,” says Maurice. “I told him, ‘You’re not just a tap dancer, you’re the tap dancer.’”

White Nights, Hines and Baryshnikov tap dance. Music: Prove Me Wrong by David Pack

In the 1953 MGM movie Kiss Me Kate, Ann Miller (1923–2004) bursts into a production meeting between her actor boyfriend and composer Cole Porter, dazzling them with the number “Too Darn Hot.” Her machine-gun tap routine lets loose atop a coffee table; her mile-long legs are presented in all their glory as she towers over the men. Miller’s dancing resembles fireworks, visually and acoustically. Like her Broadway-bound character, the Texas-born dancer aimed high. Dancing with athleticism and determination, Miller was one of the first female Hollywood tappers to move beyond the chorus line and become a solo artist.

Originally known as Johnnie Lucille Collier (her father wanted a son), Miller took her first dance lessons to strengthen her legs weakened by rickets. She found ballet instruction stifling, but the rhythms of tap set her aflame. “I was always tapping like a whirlwind,” she wrote in her 1972 autobiography, Miller’s High Life.
When Miller was 9, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. At a Sunset Boulevard storefront where tap shoes were sold, Miller was given a board, shoes and practice time, to the delight of onlookers. Her big break came when Lucille Ball and actor/comedian Benny Rubin saw her dance at San Francisco’s Bal Tabarin nightclub. She formally changed her name to the all-American sounding Ann Miller and signed a seven-year RKO contract when she was 13 years old. (A fake birth certificate stated she was 18.)

Almost immediately, the critics compared her dancing to that of Eleanor Powell, who was 11 years her senior. But unlike Powell, Miller was marketed as a glamour girl, and directors—including Hermes Pan, Robert Alton, Busby Berkeley and Jack Cole—capitalized on her long, muscular legs. She enthralled audiences with her speed, producing a rumored 500 taps per minute. Even so, Powell was clinching many of the tap roles. So at 16, Miller left Hollywood and joined the cast of George White’s Scandals, a high-end burlesque show on Broadway. She devised a number called “The Mexiconga,” which adopted the call-and-response structure of jazz music. She writes in her 1972 autobiography: “To every beat of the drum, I gave an answer with my feet.” The producer realized they had a star on their hands, and to advertise the show, Miller’s image was plastered across Times Square.

A year later, RKO welcomed her back and her salary skyrocketed from $250 to $3,000 a week. Despite the paycheck, Miller never starred in a movie and she moved to Columbia Pictures in search of better parts. There, she wowed audiences in the film The Thrill of Brazil (1946) with a six-minute tap number that included 125 turns, choreographed by Hermes Pan.

Finally, in 1948, Miller landed a role across from Fred Astaire in MGM’s Easter Parade. MGM was where she expanded her artistic range (1949–55): In On the Town (also starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra), she played a wisecracking, boy-crazy anthropologist; and in Hit the Deck, she danced barefoot with emotional abandon. And after her scintillating “Too Darn Hot” number in Kiss Me Kate, Lloyds of London insured her legs for a million dollars. But regardless of these successes, Miller dubbed herself “the Queen of the Bs” because she appeared in dozens of B movies, made quickly for mass consumption.

When the Golden Age of movie musicals came to a close, Miller made numerous TV and commercial appearances. In 1969, she starred on Broadway in Mame, replacing Angela Lansbury. A decade later, she co-starred with Mickey Rooney in a vaudeville-style revue, Sugar Babies, which then toured for nine years.

Honored with a Gypsy Award (1993) and the Flo-Bert Award (1994), Miller received acknowledgement that her devotion to show business was as strong as her million-dollar legs. Her career spanned seven decades, proving that her artistry ran deeper than her brassy sex appeal. In 1998, she made her last stage appearance in the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, where she nightly affirmed her staying power, singing the ballad “I’m Still Here.”

Trivia

* Miller’s first Columbia film, You Can’t Take It With You, won the 1938 Academy Award for Best Picture.

* At 14, Miller was in the 1937 film Stage Door with Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball.

* Bill “Bojangles” Robinson is said to have given Miller a tap lesson backstage at the Houston Theatre.

* Miller has a Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard between producer Charles Fries and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger).

* In 1996, “Saturday Night Live” actress Molly Shannon spoofed Ann Miller in a skit, “Leg Up,” that also featured Cheri Oteri as Debbie Reynolds and guest Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Books and Articles

Conner, Jim. Ann Miller Tops in Taps, An Authorized Pictorial History. New York: Franklin Watts, 1981.

Frank, Rusty, E. Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories: 1900-1955. New York: Da Capo Press, 1990, 1994.

Miller, Ann and Nora Lee Browning. Miller’s High Life. New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc., 1972

One of Ann's best routines, showing her incredibly fast tapping and spinning - "I Got to Hear that Beat" from Small Town Girl, 1953

When you think of foot injuries among dancers, you most often think of ballet. However, tap dancers may use their feet more than any other type of dancer, as they slide, jump, slap, stomp and balance on the balls of their feet, quickly shifting into various positions. “Tappers use all points of the foot in contact with the floor in different percussive or frictional ways,” says Megan Richardson, a clinical specialist and certified athletic trainer at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City. The percussive nature of tap dance poses special issues when it comes to injury and foot care. Help yourself or your students prevent the following common tap-related problems.

Blisters

Friction, moisture and poor-fitting shoes cause blisters. If a student reports redness and sensitivity around an irritated spot, have them place a gel patch or blister pad on the inflamed area and do 10-minute-long cold foot soaks until the pain is gone. Wearing properly fitted shoes and moisture-wicking socks will ultimately help prevent blisters.

Tendonitis

Tendonitis is caused by repetitive stress or overuse. It commonly occurs when students first begin tapping or increase their dance load, since their muscles and tendons may not have sufficient strength to endure repetitive classes and performances, says Terry Sneed, owner and director of Elite Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Washington, DC. (Sneed also served as a touring physical therapist for Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk.) A gradual build-up is necessary, she adds. Watch out for chronic soreness around the ankle joint or a nagging pain in the heel. This pain is usually not severe and worsens after activity. Relative rest, icing feet, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), stretching, strengthening, taping and correction of technical faults are a few necessary actions to avoid tendonitis. For further prevention, always take students through a thorough warm-up, and encourage them to stretch before and ice after activity.

Ankle Sprains

Ankle sprains happen with traumatic force as the result of missed steps or untreated injuries. “Some injury-causing movements unique to tappers include ‘flash’ steps, like wings, and turns and jumps that require constant, intricate foot and ankle movement,” says Kendra Sakamoto, a tap dancer and athletic trainer for Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA. The constant pounding of the foot and ankle, the type of footwear and poor technique are all factors that can contribute to ankle sprains. Be aware of sharp pain, noticeable swelling and difficulty continuing activity. Advise students to take the same precautions as with any muscle injury. Some treatments may call for crutches, stabilizing braces and professional medical assistance. Take extra time for ankle-strengthening exercises, and pay special attention to body alignment, especially when the student is wearing heeled tap shoes.

Stress Fractures

Tappers are prone to metatarsal stress fractures, because they jump, pound and stomp their feet in shoes that lack shock absorption. “At first, the muscles absorb the vibration of the floor, then the bones,” says Richardson. “Wear and tear of that nature can give tappers stress fractures.” These fractures can be tricky to spot, but if a student complains of constant pain that doesn’t go away and worsens with weight-bearing activities, look for swelling and point tenderness as a sure indicator. Sometimes these injuries are better diagnosed with an X-ray or MRI. Rest, ice and NSAIDs will help ease the pain, but a walking boot with crutches may be needed, depending on severity.

Ingrown Toenails

Tight or poorly fitted shoes that allow the foot to slip and slide can cause ingrown toenails (as will toenails that are too long). Along with discomfort, tappers might notice redness and swelling around the affected area, typically in the big toe. Soak feet in a tub of warm, salty water two to three times per day and pad the toe for relief. Have students see a doctor if there is an infection. Keeping toenails trimmed and wearing the right shoes (or at least padding) can alleviate the pressure. DT

Foot Care Tips from Famous Tappers

Chloé Arnold
“I aim to stretch before dancing, and that definitely includes rolling through my foot. I soak my feet when I can. I try to know when to rotate my shoes out and get a new pair to protect my feet. In high heels, I always have a gel pad. If I am sore, I try to ice. It brings down the pain and reduces the swelling. I have a foot roller and use that, and I’m in the process of trying out different insoles that address my high arch.”

Derick K. Grant
“Stretching. It took a while for me to make the connection with this one—I’m lazy by nature. But since the feet have all the nerve endings, pain is usually the result of something going wrong somewhere else in the body. So, when I experience cramping in my feet, I start stretching right away.”

Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards
“If I am dancing every single day, I’ll rub my feet every day, especially the parts that are tender. I use a hard ball or a rolling pin and roll it back and forth. I make sure my toe nails are cut low, and I try to wear shoes that are comfortable for my feet. I have to be able to wiggle my toes in the shoes. I have a wide foot and narrow heel, so sometimes I need a heel grip. If the shoes are hard at the bottom, I’ll go a half size bigger and put an insole inside to help with the pounding and pressure.”

For most students, summer school is something to be dreaded. But when it comes to dancing, there are some great benefits to continuing studies. Here are just a few reasons to make dance a priority this summer.

1. Prevent loss of strength and flexibility: Dance trains very specificmuscles in the body, and although other summer activities can keep dancers in shape, dancers may lose dance-specific strength and flexibility gains they made throughout the year. Continue to take class at least twice a week in order to limit loss of strength and flexibility. Take more than two classes and you may find yourself stronger by Fall.

2. Improve technique: Placement auditions, new classes, and new challenges are waiting around the corner in the fall. Summer class is a great way to bring your technique to the next level in order to achieve your goals.

3. Try something new: Summer allows extra time for your activities, and may give you the opportunity to try a new style. Training in a variety of styles not only increases your movement vocabulary, it also trains your brain to pick up new ideas more quickly. Who knows? You may find a new dance style that you are passionate about.

4. Make new friends: Summer study offers you the opportunity to meet fellow students who you would not normally take class with during the year. Take the opportunity to expand your social circle.

5. Work on specific goals: Want to kick your face or perfect your pirouette? During the summer, you can make and accomplish specific goals that you may not have time to focus on during the school year. Summer dance can take many forms; whether taking class, going away to camp, or taking an intensive, choose a program that will help you to accomplish your goals.

6. Stay in Shape: Summer classes are a great way to stay in shape while doing something you enjoy. Just be sure not to overdo. .

Extra Tips to Prepare for Summer Intensives

Keep a Journal: Intensives introduce you to a whole host of new movement ideas, steps, and choreography, and you don’t want to forget it all before the end of summer! Carry a small notebook with you in your dance bag to record important things you learn. Write in it daily at lunch or the end of the day while combinations are still fresh.

Pack the Right Stuff: Find out in advance if your intensive has a dress code and choose your outfits accordingly. You may be able to wear different attire for ballet versus other classes, so make sure to at least pack jazz pants. You may also want to bring a cover-up in case you get cold during breaks or lunch. Make sure you bring all of your shoes with you in your dance bag.

Eat Enough: At an intensive, you will be more active then you usually are in your daily life. Make sure you compensate for the extra activity by adding calories to your lunch. This will help you to make up for what you lost in the morning and help you power through your afternoon classes. Make sure all of your meals consist of a protein, a carbohydrate, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Make sure to also pack snacks for a quick bite between classes.

Mention Mia Slavenska and odds are you won't hear her name spoken of as one of the great ballerinas in history.

Mia Slavenska(February 20, 1916 – October 5, 2002) was a ground-breaking Croatian-born Prima Ballerina, a ground breaking maverick who, because of her own innovative spirit and turbulent pre-WWII politics, was exiled from her homeland of Croatia despite her celebrated status as a leading ballerina.

A dancer since the age of four, she became the Prima Ballerina with the Zagreb Opera at age 17. Mia Slavenska was born in what was Austria-Hungary, later to become Yugoslavia. Born as Mia Čorak, she changed the name soon after permanently leaving the country in 1937.

She studied under Josephine Weiss and made her debut in the Croatian National Theatre. She left Zagreb to study in Paris with former principal dancer Olga Preobrazenska. In Vienna her teachers included Léopold Dubois who, she later recalled, taught her the meaning of classicism, and Gertrud Kraus, a pioneer of Central European modern dance. Mia completed her ballet training in the Cecchetti Method under his protégé Maestro Vincenzo Celli.

Mia gave a complete evening of her own choreography in Zagreb in 1928 at the age of 12. She was prima ballerina at the Zagreb National Theater from 1934 to 1936, and received international attention when she performed at the dance festival held in conjunction with the Berlin Olympics of 1936, winning both the choreography and dance award. In 1937, she was one of the stars of ''La Mort du Cygne,'' a film by Jean Benoît-Lévy, released in America as ''Ballerina.'

For many years, Mia danced with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She moved to the U.S. with the outset of the World War II, gaining her American citizenship in 1947.Also in 1947, she gave birth to her daughter Maria. In 1950, she co-founded the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet Company with Freddie Franklin. In 1954, she became the Prima Ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

At Right - Mia with Freddie Franklin in A Streetcar Named Desire.

One of her most surprising roles was that of Blanche DuBois in ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' the adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play that the modern dancer Valerie Bettis choreographed in 1952 for the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet. Audiences had long known that Ms. Slavenska was classically versatile. Here she proved authoritative in a contemporary dance style.

She opened a ballet studio in New York in 1960. In 1961, Mia dancer at Brooklyn College, New York, partnered by Igor Youskevitch. She retired frpm the stage July 17th, 1961 at the American Dance Fastival at the Metropolitan Arts Center. Later she moved to California, she taught at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1969 to 1983 and concurrently at California Institute for the Arts (CalArts) from 1970 to 1983.

Mia died in a California retirement home on October 5, 2002. On April 18, 2005, Mia's ashes were interred in the Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb, Croatia. A biography about Mia's life was published in Croatia in 2004.

Mia Slavenska Documentary Trailer: "A Dancer's Odyssey

Mia died believing she had been forgotten both by newer generations of dancers as well as her beloved homeland. However, as her daughter Maria discovered, when she undertook the journey to Croatia to make this film about her mother, Mia is still beloved there.

Croatia is a new democracy and independent country. Behind the Iron Curtain it was sealed off from any knowledge of the many artists it lost during the war and ensuing communist regime. Then, Mia could only be whispered about in the ballet halls and back stages of the national theatre. Today the country is rediscovering its rich artistic contributions to the world. Because of this, despite Mia’s fears, her legacy lives on.

Though the documentary is unfinished it has affected a country. It is about Mia, a lost time in dance, Mothers and Daughters, and coming to terms with loss and change in art and in life.

Getting Your Money's Worth When Buying a Ballroom Dress

A Win-Win Deal: Dance Competition Alternatives

Various, Diverse Careers for College Dance Majors

Defining Modern Dance

Reclaiming French Influences on Ballet

A Father's Role: Support Your Dancin' Boy by Ron Lacey

A Parent’s Job

When Choreography Becomes a Chore: Finding New, Fresh Inspiration

Bright Lights, Big City: Dancing on Broadway

From Page to Ballet Stage: A History of Cinderella

Fitting Movement: A Costume Designer Talks about Designing for Dance

Ballet's Gift to the Fashion World - The Ballet Flat's History

Fighting Bullying With Dance Movement

Dance Drill Team Pioneer Gussie Nell Davis

Teaching Science With Dance

Eleanor Powell: America's First Lady of Tap

Gregory Hines: Tap Dance Ambassador to the World

Countdown to Tap Dance Day: Ann Miller: Fastest Feet in Hollywood

Tapping Troubles Away: Dealing With Tap Injuries

Why Summer School is Beneficial for Dancers

Mia's Odyssey: The Legacy of A Dancer, Mother and Country