Balance……

Post by Christina Salerno, SCB Alumna and Executive Director

Guest photo by Scott Lewis

Ideally, one is suspended, hovering, in control, yet fully grounded to the floor, when “balancing.”  Dance is perhaps unique in the performing arts in its requirement that artists be able to display moments of uninterrupted movement.  And to really show oneself as a virtuoso, those moments should extend into seconds and even minutes.

Balance requires an incredibly developed core strength.  The rudimentary cannon of sit ups and crunches can do wonders to improve the overall condition of one’s physical form, and it will help a dancer find that magical “balance” in any number of poses as well.  An audience member might see a “static” pose as a “balance,” but, when a dancer finds a balance, his or her body is actually making hundreds of tiny adjustments every fraction of a second in order to maintain the look of a stationary pose. A dancer’s body is not a rock “balancing” on its narrow end, it is more like a locomotive suspended vertically from its caboose, each car exerting a force on the next, but together staying strong around a central axis point.

For a dancer, perhaps nothing is as magical as the moment one finds oneself suspended in a balance.  Balance is the moment of peace within one’s body, the moment when all is working as it should, the moment when bones, muscles and limbs are all working in perfect concert together.  Balance is a magical moment, a fleeting moment, and a moment which always leaves the dancer craving for a repeat performance.

Breathing in a New Year

Post by Christina Salerno, SCB Executive Director & Alumna
Guest photo by Keith Gerling

To “stretch” is a verb. The word denotes an activity, a movement, to bring the body (or the mind) from one level to the next. But to really stretch, to really lengthen, to really extend and expand (both the body and the mind), one has to be able to engage a certain amount of passivity. Actively breathing through the stretch can help foster the relaxation necessary for growth.

For young dancers, it is important to learn that you must breathe through stretching. If your muscles do not have oxygen they will never be able to “let go.” Actively taking elongated breaths can help the muscles learn to “let go.” As a young dancer, I routinely pushed my limbs in all sorts of directions to help them stretch out. Little did I realize that I was pushing tightened muscles into positions without really relaxing them enough to get the stretching effect I desired. Not until I turned professional and started taking yoga did I learn that taut, gripped muscles do not stretch. Dancers don’t need yoga to learn to stretch, but yoga’s adherence to breathing techniques can definitely be helpful to any dancer looking to elongate their body.

To stretch properly and effectively, all the joints and muscles must be correctly aligned and warmed up sufficiently to accommodate the stretching. Dancers also sometimes confuse “relaxed” for “limp,” the two are different and should not be confused. Your muscles cannot be like limp spaghetti if you want to stretch, you have to actively relax, in the proper positions and with engaged strength – so, if you are trying to improve your split a la second (side split), you must still have strong legs and stretched knees, but you want your hamstrings to relax.

Dancers tend to run out of ballet class following the reverence, but this is actually the best time to take a few minutes and stretch. Even taking a moment to stretch your calves in a simple lunge or your hamstrings in a forward fold at this warmed up state can do wonders for flexibility in class the next time around.

Try to visualize what muscle you want to stretch. It may be helpful to look at an illustration of the muscular system as a starting point. Take a deep breath…..as you exhale, move into the stretch, slowly at first and then more deeply as you visualize the particular muscle lengthening. Now take another breath (still maintaining the stretch), release with an outward breath, visualize and move deeper into the stretch.

Voila!

Personality in Teaching

Guest post by Margaret Evers, SCB Alumna
Photos by Keith Gerling

When I think back on my experiences with Luba Gulyaeva, I recall the many different facets of her personality that come out so clearly when she teaches.

Luba was an extremely challenging teacher who demanded nothing but the utmost best from each of her students. At times, she could be downright frightening but within seconds she would lighten the mood with a playful reference to a dancer’s “mosquito” arms or their toothy grin and choices in fashion. Her passion for this art is evident every minute that she teaches.

Just look at her eyes and hands in these photos. They are perfection.

Though the classroom is now her stage, there is no doubt that the woman can still perform! P.S. Don’t forget to notice the students’ smiling faces, too! Their experiences during this summer intensive will surely be remembered for many years to come.

Achievement

Guest post by Christina Salerno, SCB Alumna & Executive Director
Photos by Keith Gerling

I’ve told the story many a time, but somehow, I know that I will be telling it many more times to come….For me, the realities of the world of dance held an intriguing allure. My mother found the “world of dance” to be a bit foreign, a bit difficult to navigate, a bit harsh and perhaps even a bit isolated from reality…But for me, dance always WAS reality. It was (and is still!) about working hard at something and not always achieving what I myself felt I must surely deserve. It was (and is) about disappointment in being typecast, about aching muscles and about long hours in a studio. It was (and is) about giving myself to something bigger that myself, about participating in a colossal team effort. For me, dance WAS reality on a grand scale. It was (and is still!) fun! It was (and is) incredible to feel an audience watching me. It was (and is) exciting to hear the applause. It was (and is) a most wonderful experience to hang out with my fellow dancers in rehearsal and backstage.

Auditions are always fun, exciting, difficult, thrilling and disappointing – depending upon the anticipation, the expectations and the results. It’s never easy, sometimes you get the best possible role, but then you look over and realize your best friend was not so fortunate. One year everyone in your class is in the same cast except you.

So, here’s the story…..I was never Clara….not that I couldn’t be, or wasn’t talented enough, or shouldn’t have been, really, none of that mattered back then and it doesn’t matter right now, but what seemed so colossally important so many moons ago, really didn’t shape my career or my life, unless, of course, you count the fact that a steady supply of disappointment led me to work harder, to prove I could have, I should have…

Adult Dancers Take Ballet to Heart

Words by Laura Amann
Photos by Keith Gerling

Ballet classes aren’t just for the young – they’re for the young at heart and anyone who enjoys the beauty and gracefulness of dance. Salt Creek Ballet has always offered a variety of adult classes and they’ve been growing in popularity through the years.

Longtime SCB instructor Sue Wren now teaches more than 12 adult level classes per week, offering instruction to everyone from beginner beginners to advanced students. “There is something for anyone at any level,” she says. “I don’t want anyone to feel inhibited if their bodies are not typical ‘ballet bodies.’ All ages, body types and levels can dance.”

Maria Davis started taking when she was 26 and then left for 10 years. But when she saw kids in her neighborhood starting to take ballet, she felt the itch to dance again. Now in her 40s and with three kids, she has a deeper appreciation for the ballet.

“I never danced as a kid so there was never that pressure on me. I take classes purely for the love it. I like that it combines beauty with athleticism and that we can move to beautiful music. Plus it’s a major stress relief. You can’t think of anything else in ballet class – it just takes you to another place.”

Natasha Meshaov always dreamed of dancing but never took as a child. Five years ago, she started classes and hasn’t stopped.

“I was a little intimidated at first. I thought, who am I to take a professional ballet? But it was wonderful when I got there and now I’m totally addicted. I go five days a week.”

There’s a different feeling in an adult class. The women are there because they want to be there, not because their mother or someone else is pushing them into ballet. While the same can be said of the high school students, for adults, there are also no grueling recital and performance schedules. It’s purely the love of dance that motivates the women.

Natasha is quick to credit her teacher, someone who takes adult dancers seriously and really wants everyone to learn. “As a result, we all take it seriously and we actually improve!”

Sue Wren points out that the adult dancers are there either because they never had the opportunity to take ballet before and it is something they wanted to do, or because they took it in the past, loved it and want to dance again. They know the value of hard work and results and they’re internally motivated.

And the benefits of taking ballet go beyond the classroom. “I feel great after a class – I get a major high from the exercise, the beauty and the movement.”

Natasha adds, “It really is hard to explain. But when I’m in dance class I’m happy. I’m in a different world. I really, really love it. Just the combination of music and movement, I’ve always loved dance.”

Finding the Picture

Guest post by Christina Salerno, SCB Executive Director & Alumna
Photos by Keith Gerling

The fifth week of the Summer Intensive now complete, each dancer probably has a whole host of images, teachings, lessons, frustrations and challenges to recall. Former Ballerina of Milwaukee Ballet, Tatiana Jouravel, worked with the dancers to achieve some accomplishments in each of these broad categories…

To help the images become static when a position calls for it……

To help the teachings of each teacher to become ingrained in the body’s movements……

To help the lessons of combinations, the lessons of emotions, the lessons of tenacity, hard work, and perseverence manifest themselves in the individual dancer and in the corps as a whole as they dance together….

To help frustrations not stop progress, to help dancers work with frustration to become better dancers……

What a Teacher Needs

Guest post by Maria Mosina, Colorado Ballet Ballerina and SCB Guest Teacher
Photos by Keith Gerling

A teacher needs to see that the student is taking what the teacher gives in each class. The teacher offers a vision of dance, a series of corrections, everything dancers need to grow and improve, and a teacher needs to receive equal amounts of energy back from each dancer.

When a student gives back, I can see the result right away, whether it be improvement in a small variation or increased technique displayed during a ballet combination. Sometimes this “give back” is displayed through the intent in the dancer’s eyes, a visual representation of their own knowledge that they are presenting themselves and trying to be better.

I love to work with very disciplined students who know right away what I am looking for, who show that they are taking in everything, whether or not it is directed specifically to them. Especially in the summer, with no school and with warm weather to keep the muscles ready for movement, students can progress further. They keep pushing themselves, and the results when they take in and give back are what a teacher needs to renew their own energy and inspiration for the next class.

An Hour of Uninterrupted Grace: An Adult Student’s Perspective

Guest Post by Gabrielle Grace, SCB Adult Student
Photos by Keith Gerling

When I walk into the dance studio at Salt Creek for my ballet classes, I feel like I leave the messiness and hard edges of the world behind and enter a world where beauty reigns. I always loved to watch others make such a demanding discipline look so easy and beautiful, but felt myself on the outside looking in. It was almost as if I wouldn’t let myself believe that I could be part of that world. But as I’ve been letting myself be pulled into the music, choreography, discipline and grace of my lessons with Sue at Salt Creek, I’ve found myself feeling more and more a participant in the beauty for which Sue is encouraging us to strive. A reaching soft hand, a pointed toe at the end of a strong, outstretched leg, a head tilted just so are not always easy to achieve, especially as my brain is trying to catch on to a new combination! But when the steps are mostly learned and I begin to actually feel like I’m dancing with some grace, I start to feel the beauty deep in my soul, and it actually feels like a way to honor others, myself and the Creator of Beauty!

The women I dance with are smart, funny and very diverse in many ways. We have a lot of fun (often laughing at ourselves!), but we also work hard learning and executing the ever-changing choreography that Sue blesses and challenges us with. Taking 2 different class levels (A and C) allows me to get to know many amazing women, some very experienced, and some just getting started in ballet. It’s so gratifying when, with Sue’s exacting and encouraging instruction, one of us finally gets a step or combination that has been eluding us. The camaraderie in our striving to improve is one of the reasons I love being in class.

When I leave after a lesson, I’m usually good and tired, hungry, sweaty and feel that I have just been blessed with an hour or so of uninterrupted grace, beauty, artistry and friendship, which, I hope, spills over into the rest of my life!

Bio:
Nom de plume: Gabrielle Grace
Dance experience: ballet age 7-13, 2 semesters in college, 4 years as an adult
Mother of 3 teenagers
M.A. French Literature, 1992 UNC Chapel Hill

Summer Intensive: First Thoughts

Guest post by Christina Salerno, SCB Alumna and Executive Director
Guest photo by Scott Lewis

Two weeks of the Summer Intensive have been completed with overwhelming levels of energy, intensity and perseverance. Sitting where I sit now, in an office with views onto dancers entering and exiting the studio, I am captivated by students whose first Summer Intensives are still filled with the newness of spending all day dancing while at the same time I am humbled by the willingness of the more experienced dancers to give their summer to movement, art and exhaustion.

One of the interesting things about dance photos is that they elicit both an emotional response, and also, if you listen carefully to them, a rhythm. Looking at the photo below, you can hear the dancers pause in their breath…and, if you saw the piece in performance, you can hear the music of Saint-Saens. If you danced in the work, you may even be able to hear the actual melody played during that pose.

And here is the connection between the photo and the Summer Intensive….at the taking of the photo, the Summer Intensive was just a distant event. Now, fully underway, the Summer Intensive is a reality and the photo becomes the distant memory. Caught in film, for sure, but caught in emotion and in rhythm as well. Now the future Summer Intensive Showcase is a distant event…..but it is an event already begun in every studio with breath, life, energy and expereience….ready to be caught on film (or digitally!) sometime soon. Can you hear the music of the future yet?

Springtime in Paris

Photos by Keith Gerling, SCB Parent
Words by Jack Gerling, Level G Dancer

I’ve greatly enjoyed this spring’s Level G jazz class and dance number. Michelle’s exciting teaching style and my classmates’ outgoing and fun personalities had caused me to look forward to every week’s jazz class. Michelle created the “I Love Paris” number, which has become one of my favorite dance numbers to perform. It had a great storyline of a clueless American in Paris and an amazing Eiffel Tower prop toward the back of the stage. Michelle choreographed an excellent performance number that I will remember forever.