***Experience The Education***
Welcome to your free, MONTHLY, online connection to Ballet Class!
KAT'S Class Updates for the month of November:
Kat's regular teaching schedule is here. Bookmark it so you don't forget. Go here to download a printable Ailey Extension Schedule! In the words of Artistic Director, Judith Jamison, "If you can get yourself in the door, you can take a class!"
The Ailey Studios Location:
at the Joan Weil Center for Dance
405 W. 55th Street (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
212-405-9500
*Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday November 2, 2008 Set your clocks back one hour!*Monday morning just sleep late. AAAD is rehearsing and we have evening classes only! (Nov. 3) 6pm and 7:30pm.
*November 4th: Election Day this first Tuesday in November. PLEASE VOTE!
*Thanksgiving Weekend: Friday & Saturday November 28 & 29 The Ailey Extension STUDIOS ARE OPEN! All Classes!
*Starting this month in November and every other month, Wednesday pointe classes at 12noon and Saturdays at 6:15pm will begin a new format: A 20-minute pointe technical warm-up and 40 mins of variations rehearsal. Learning 2 and 3 ballet variations every other month. Everyone is invited, even if you are not yet en pointe (you can learn these variations in your soft ballet shoes)! This Month we are learning the Variations from Peasant Pas & the soloists of the Willis Act 2, all from the ballet Giselle. Our next Variations Month will be January 2009, repertory to be announced!
*November 23rd 5pm & 7pm Adult Student Repertory Workshop Performance! Buy your tickets online now! For 5pm show here and for 7pm show here Mark your calendar and come see your classmates perform tricky dance moves from the ballet, Giselle! Gentleman and their chosen ladies are also doing the "Peasant Pas". Vic DiMonda will be setting Crossing from the Broadway musical, "Big River." Paula Talayco has choreographed a Lyrical Ballet piece especially for this showcase & Kristina Staykova will make a guest appearance dancing "El Raton" to the music of Joe Cuba. The ever popular Link dance company will be debuting a piece by Ginger Cox. We are so happy to have the Congolese dancers join us from Fusha Dance in a piece by Funmilayo. We also have word that International artist/ Choreographer Bev Brown will choreograph and offer up a special Hip Hop/Funk piece, not to be missed. Ben Byrd has gathered together the Zumba dancers to do their stuff. What a great performance this promises to be. Get your tickets now, this event has limited seating and sells out quickly!
ONGOING CLASS UPDATES
*Christmas Eve Wednesday December 24, 10:30, 12 Pointe & 3PM Holiday Open classes!
*New Year's Eve Wednesday December 31, 10:30, 12 Pointe & 3pm Last classes of the year! Plan to be there!
Our regular schedule: Check here.
A Word (or more) from Kat
November is here. I want to thank so many of you for the huge turn out for Halloween class yesterday. It was the best ever. It was wonderful to see you all decked out in your costumes dancing. Arthur will have the pictures posted here very soon. Keep checking back. Congratz to all the winners!:
The Busiest Body: Bumble bee Martine
The Deadliest: Jocelyn T Spider lady
Wishful Thinking: Osama Genie David H
Kat's personal prize: Greg O'C for commitment to character through out the whole class.
You all deserve your prizes, and a big thank you tutu all our judges this year: Our most senior judge Sharon and her husband Harvey, Our French judge Rachel and her ever popular husband Joe, Our returning judge Ben, and our guest judge Igor. Thank you all for a most memorable Halloween experience!
Your classmates have been working hard for our huge "Giselle" performance (see above) please make plans to come and support them at the end of the month. It's the Sunday just before Thanksgiving! Our next workshop rehearsals will commence after the new year. Remember, Thursdays and Sundays are private lesson days, and yes there are still slots available Thanksgiving Day, LOL, book now! Also, I wanted to give you the heads up: the first and last week of the month, most of my classes will be down in LL studios because the company is in town and they really need their studios! We will have the wet sponge box available and make the most out of reminiscing our first weeks here at the Ailey Extension two years ago! Also, our official dressing rooms for all of the Ailey Extension students, male and female, are located down on LL (lower Level). Please be sure to use them and remember the lockers there are for 'Day Use Only' (which just means we need to take our belongings with us and not leave them overnight. Thanks!)
This months Master classes include a visit to a lovely school, Darcy's Academy of Dance in Peekskill, NY on Sunday the 2nd, and on Sunday the 9th, Vladimir joins me at Princeton University's newly formed Ballet Group, there. Drink lotza water, Kat!
Classroom Confidential: TMI and Honorable Mentions
November is Birthday month for the following dancers/classmates: "B." H; Michiko T; Our good friend in Alaska- Laura C.; Mylana A; Christopher F D.; Royce K. Z; Adam L; Mary H.D; Dasha V; Pierre Z; Elana V; Richard Y; Andrea W; and Rachel C-W; Happy birthday dancers! (hope I didn't miss anyone - please let me know) Enjoy a very special birthday this year...Sylvia W will be the recipient of one of the most prestigious Dance Magazine Awards 2008. Congratulations!...Kent L hits the road Nov 6 with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Wow! Have a great time!...Kimberly C has joined Odyssey Dance Theatre based in Utah...Xiaoyang F starts a new job in SF, CA. While she was waiting for the job to start, she took a trip to Tibet, and sent me a postcard from atop Mt. Everest- WOW!...Adesina S and wife will have another child in December, it's a boy this time!...Clare T wanted to let us know she has a new show coming up, check performance calendar below for more details, she'll be dancing in almost every number!...Go see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular this year. You'll see classmates in every single performance, including our web-mistress Taylor G, Matthew W, the lil one a.k.a. Allie P, Rockettes Karolyn, Julie, Kristen, and many, many others you all know and love!...Emily W is in Philadelphia dancing with Ballet X, opening on Nov 4th, and guesting with Penn Ballet…Pam G is headed to "the world's," the most prestigious international Irish dance competition there is. More on this soon...Check out Lea McG's pointe video…Congrats to AC H. had a big career change (five years in the making). See the performance calendar in this issue...Oh no, Cora's been blogging and this time there's video!...Check out Eric's dance calendar…David L shares this Total Lifetime Fitness Radio Network interview with Julian Littleford, a former dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and world-renowned Pilates Master Teacher.
*Quote of the month: "The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances." -Martha Washington
*Andros on Jules Perrot (1810-1892), a famous dancer and one of the choreographers of Giselle.
Taylor's Tales
A column by our webmaster, Taylor.
Living the Dream: Radio City
The past few weeks have absolutely been a dream come true. As my last column revealed, I'm going to be dancing in the ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and we have officially started rehearsals and even run throughs onstage. It has been incredible and exhausting and glamorous and grueling. I've loved every minute and cannot wait to open the show in less than a week! Here's a blog post from the first day we did the show in its entirety at the studio before heading to the theater. Other highlights: joining the union, dancing in my "ballerina bear" costume, and going onstage for the first time.
Today was amazing. It was our final day of rehearsal in the studio before tech starts. We had a full run through nonstop of the show for each cast while the other cast watched. What fun! Yesterday at the end of rehearsal our cast, named the Blue Cast (the other is Gold), decided that we would all get together for our last day and all wear blue. So today everyone came in with blue leotards and shirts and so forth. Hooray for team spirit! The energy was so positive with the group as a whole - way more so than the workhorse nature of the past 2 weeks.
Throughout the two run throughs everyone was SO supportive of each other, cheering each other on and giving a standing ovation at the end. The directors even commented at the end of the day on how well we all worked together. Our "show" went well. I felt good about it, and I enjoyed it much more having an audience beyond the 4 dance captains staring us down in search of mistakes, haha. Even though it was only the 60 or so members of the other cast watching (crammed along the mirrors up front!) it was great because it made me "perform" more.
At the end, everyone stood up and was clapping wildly - both casts. It was this incredible moment of satisfaction and excitement and energy and gratitude and joy and teamwork. You give so much while dancing, and those moments of actual performance are sublime. Your mind goes blank and your body takes over and it's pure movement and music radiating from inside.
But that moment immediately when it's over: wow. Maybe it's the adrenaline or the shakiness of muscle fatigue or the sake of being so very in the moment. But there is no feeling like that. Today I wanted to close my eyes and just savor those seconds of incredible happiness. I haven't felt it like that in so long, if ever to that extent. Nothing else but performance can do that, to me anyway.
The clatter of applause drowns out all noise. Time freezes with a smile, and then the warmth of joy melts you back to reality. Fulfillment and emptiness coexist. You have everything and yet gave it all. But a few minutes later that moment is gone, forever. Ephemeral. I can only imagine what it will be like experiencing this moment ONSTAGE at Radio City Music Hall with 6,000 people clapping. I can't believe the best is yet to come!
For my show schedule, click here. For updates on all that's going on, read here. Buy tickets here or tell me if you're coming :)
Kat's Monthly Mailbag
(a mere sampling)
*Good morning Kat! I get these daily notes about optimism, performing at our best, etc and this one reminded me of you! So I thought i'd forward it along. I always remember you saying how before we could dance beautifully we had to make a ton of mistakes, and dance ugly. Then, we get better. :) "#286. Eric Butterworth: Practice! Practice! Practice! 'Ask the great athlete or the concert pianist or the successful actor if they arrived at the place where they need no further practice. They will tell you that the higher you climb in proficiency and public acceptance, the greater the need for practice.'" Much love! TCH.
*Dear TCH, Thanks for sharing this with us, and I'm so happy you remember things from ballet class. We miss you here also. My best, Kat
And Finally...
Thank you for signing up to the Kat E- Newsletter! As we said before, we'll never share or disclose your name or e-mail address with anyone, and we won't send more than two newsletters per month. To view the current newsletter please click here. Once again, thank you for being a part of the ballet class family! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Casting Call: Hot Auditions and Gigs Here
*The Rebecca Davis Dance Company in Philadelphia is looking for two male dancers. The company is offering part-time contracts with rehearsals on weekends. Rehearsals and performances are paid. Contact Rebecca Davis to attend a company class by calling 215-840-3890 or emailing davis@rebeccadavisdance.com. More here
*BalletX is hiring MALE dancers only for their 2008-2009 season. Please send pic and resume to info@balletx.org ASAP. Audition TBA.
*Trey McIntyre Project is seeking a male dancer for position with a flexible start date between now and Jan 5, 2009. Minimum height 5'8". Please send resume and DVD with performance and/or studio samples to:Trey McIntyre Project,P.O. Box 2698,Boise ID 83701-2698,Additionally accepting applications for male and female openings in 2009-10 season.
*Travel the world and dance: Do you have strong technique? Good ballet and jazz? Celebrity Cruise Lines is auditioning male and female dancers on Nov. 23 at New York's Ailey Studios. Sign in 10 a.m.
*Your Audition Horror Stories - Tell DM All! Ever been turned down--big time? Screwed up the choreography royally? Insulted the auditioner? Now's the time to share. Dance Magazine is collecting audition catastrophes for our upcoming February 2009 Audition Guide and we want to hear yours. Email Emily emacel@dancemedia.com
*Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett in Nuremberg, Germany is casting a new production of Romeo and Juliet, to premiere in February. They are looking for skilled male and female dancers with a solid classical and modern training as well as stage experience. The audition on November 2 is by invitation only. Send your CV with head-shot and full-body shot Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett, Richard-Wagner-Platz 2-10, 90443 Nürnberg, Germany or via e-mail to ballett@staatstheater.nuernberg.de. More here
*Playbill On-Line's Casting and Job Listings
*Dance NYC audition listings
*Backstage Casting listingsKat's Klassifieds
This is a section of the newsletter we need to add for your classmates offering/needing services. Please note, these are not reccomendations just announcements:
*Dancers Responding to Aids: When AIDS is stopped we will dance for joy. Until then we will dance for Life! Become a dancer responding with action. Make a difference, a donation of as little as one dollar can make a difference in a dancers life. For more info and to make a secure online donation visit here
*Hi, I used to take Kat's class at Ailey last year but have since returned to the South of France. I just wanted to let you know that there's a great dance school for sale, here in Hyères, South of France. So in case anyone is dreaming of moving to the Riviera...check out www.sdp83.com. The school has 200 pupils, children as well as adults. They have also trained professional dancers for the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, for the Conservatoire of Marseille, the Ballet Prelocaj at Aix en Provence and the Crazy Horse Paris. The asking price is 130,000 euros. It's a great opportunity. If anyone is interested, get in touch with me at miriam.aziz@wanadoo.fr. Miriam Aziz
*Through Nov. 18 vocal coach Recession Special $40.00 an hour! Matthew Deming conveniently located on 94th and Broadway. 347.804.7151
Ballerina of the Month: Margo Fonteyn
The name Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) was a decisive force in British ballet for over forty years. She was one of the truly great dancers of the twentieth century long before the wonderful partnership with Rudolf Nureyev, which did not begin until the autumn of her career. All those fortunate enough to have seen her dancing will never forget the experience.
*At Cornish College of the Arts
*Fonteyn and Nureyev: her 1st Giselle
*SWAN LAKE in 10 min
*A Portrait
*Sleeping Beauty Rose Adagio
*Romeo & Juliet
Read all about each month's ballerina here for all archives.
FOR MEN ONLY
*Houston Ballet pirouette competition
*Boys Ballet: Russia
*ARB boys ballet class
*15 Pirouettes S'all Good
Performance Corner: Catch Your Fellow Students and More
*See AC Haley's Effervescent Hour at the Reprise Room at Dillions NYC November 2 at 5pm, 245 West 54th St. NYC. AC Haley's Effervescent Hour is an eclectic trip through music's classical, rock, Broadway and choral offerings. It's "heavyosity" with a lighthearted vibe. The strong musical selections are sung by the petite Ms. Haley who accompanies herself on electric bass guitar. Enjoy an evening of juxtaposition at its most entertaining.
*NRW International Dance Festival 2008 Nov 7 - 30, 2008 - Dusseldorf, Essen and Wuppertal Pina Bausch hosts and presents artists from around the world, including Kahekili of Hawaii, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre from Taiwan, Sylvie Guillem, LIN Hwai-min, Louise Lecavalier, and Eva Yerbabuena.
*See Clare T perform in:
Volver Al Sur
Friday, Nov. 7th at 8pm
Saturday, Nov. 8th at 3pm and 8pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Symphony Space.
Tickets here.
Tel: 212.864.5400
The New Generation Dance Company, with Artistic Director Dardo Galletto, presents a unique fusion of Argentine tango, modern and classical ballet, as a common language of movement. In "Volver Al Sur" ("Return to the South"), individuals journeying through a changing world bring with them their music and dance, their need to celebrate and their longing to return. The company is joined by acclaimed tango stars Guillermina Quiroga and Natalia Hills from Argentina.
*See Sophia Robbins' film "Alpha City" Big Apple Film Festival November 19-22, 2008 Tribeca Cinemas, New York City. For more info: www.bigapplefilmfestival.com
*See Erin G and also Royce Z (birthday guy) perform: SENSEDANCE in "CLOUDFOREST" and other new dances by Henning Rübsam. Ailey Citigroup Theater (downstairs!) 405 W. 55th Street (at 9th Avenue), New York City November 8 - 11, 2008
*American Ballet Theatre October 21- Nov 22 City Center
*Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, America's cultural ambassador to the world, marks its 50th anniversary of bringing African American cultural expression and the American modern dance tradition to the world's stages. December 3 - January 4 @ City Center. Visit here for all the events and special activities commemorating Ailey's 50th Anniversary!.
*If you have performance info you wanna share with your fellow classmates, please send it to kat_wildish@yahoo.com.
Fun Stuff: Take a Break and Enjoy
*CLASS PICTURES: FUN PICTURES MANY HAVE BEEN ASKING ABOUT. Be sure to scroll down.
*Halloween Class 2008 pics here
*ALSO pictures Arthur will take at our 4th Student workshop showcase, November 23, 2008 here
*On Point Trailer
THIS MONTH IN DANCE HISTORY
Read all about November's ballet history here.
*November 20, 1932: Modern dance icon Martha Graham premières Chorus of Youth--Companions, Dance Songs and Prelude at the Guild Theatre in New York City.
*November 22, 2007: Maurice Béjart, one of the century's most influential choreographers, dies.
*November, 25, 1936: Choreographer Trisha Brown, a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, was born in Aberdeen, Washington. 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of her dance company.
Read all about each month's ballet history here for all archives.
BALLET TERMS
Tire-bouchon: Like a corkscrew. A term of the Russian school. This is a position in which the leg is raised so that the thigh is in the second position and the tip of the pointed toe touches the knee of the supporting leg. A pirouette in this position when done with a renverse' movement (upset, a bending of the body during the turn in which the normal balance is upset but not the equilibrium), gives the impression of a corkscrew.
These excerpts are provided here for you from the "Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet" by G. Grant. A reference book you should have in your library!
Weekly Tips: Stretching, Pointe, Health, & More
*Stretch-o-da-Month: November 2008: Wide Legged Forward Bend
The wide-legged forward-bend will work to strengthen the muscles of the legs and lower back, stretch the hamstrings and relieve tension in the upper back and neck. This pose is also great for working on your balance and can be easily performed at all levels. Remember to bend your knees slightly if you have a history of knee problems. Hold the stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds.
*Pointe Shoe Tip 'o the Week:
*Padding for Pointe Shoes
*Take a look at the video demonstration of rolling through your shoes.
*How to correctly control the arches using the small muscles of the foot
*Remember: Starting November and every other month, Wednesday pointe classes will begin a new format: A 20-30 min pointe technical warm-up and 30-45 mins of variations. Learning 2 and 3 ballet variations every other month. Everyone is invited even if you are not yet en pointe!
| | |
