More videos for your home use!

Hello again beautiful dancers!

Here are 2 more videos for you to do at home while I'm out of town: a Basic Ballet class and a Jazz combination.

The Basic Ballet class was recorded during an in-studio class in 2022 and the Jazz combo is the upbeat "Flashdance, What a Feeling" by Irene Cara.

Basic Ballet class

Jazz Combo

Happy dancing! See you in the studio on June 15!

Reversing myself - and you!

Hello beautiful dancers!

How can it be March 2023 already? My last blog post was in September of 2022! Wasn't that last week?

Reader: So what brings you to Blogger now, Leigh? Why are you writing a post instead of sharing a photo of your cute dog on Instagram?

It can be only one thing: I have stuff to say!

(Or maybe that's FFUTS since I'm reversing everything. )

Recently I have been reversing center combinations in my beginner and intermediate classes. Even my basic classes will reverse the tendu combination. I hear a lot of moans and groans from dancers when I announce, "Now let's reverse it!"

But there are many reasons why it's good to reverse combinations. Let's discuss!

"Hurry, Diptych" courtesy Cobalt123, CC lic

1. It's good for your brain.

Seriously, this is the best reason. How many times do we perform a combination like glissade jete, jete, assemble? Oh you could do it in your sleep! But when you reverse it, doing the steps under (dessous) instead of over (dessus), your brain has to work a bit harder to get your feet to comply. It has to ask, "what is glissade? what is jete? what is assemble?"

2. It's good for our technique.

Admit it: there are things you do that are a bit messy. You don't always brush the floor when you jete; you don't close fifth cleanly on sissonne ferme. But when you reverse, you give your technique a check-up. In some cases, when steps are especially tricky, you have to break them down into their individual parts.

3. It's good for creating choreography.

If you choreograph, having the ability to reverse a step or combination gives you infinitely more possibilities to build dances.

4. It's good for picking up choreography.

If you perform, knowing how to reverse steps can help you break down and learn choreography you're given. A dancer who doesn't know it's possible to reverse a temps de cuisse sissonne will be scratching their head trying to figure out what they're doing!

5. It's a good challenge for all levels.

So you think only advanced dancers should be reversing combinations? Think again! Everyone should learn! In fact, I don't understand why we don't teach jete under when we teach jete over. It's kind of like dancing only from right to left, or vice versa. 

5A. It helps eliminate allegro anxiety.

Much like pirouette anxiety, many dancers suffer from allegro anxiety. They freeze when it comes to small jumps, fearful of speed and the many direction changes that are often in quick combos. But mastering how to reverse steps helps give them that much more control over what they are doing, more confidence that they can do the allegro. It feels so good when you can reverse a combination. Like you've unlocked a secret door.

Bonus: It's fun!

Happy dancing! !gnicnad yppaH

Basic ballet vs. Beginner ballet - what's the difference?

Beautiful dancers, every teacher has a different definition of their "beginner" level. For some instructors, beginner is what brand new students start with, learning the positions of the feet and how to stand at the barre, etc. For others, it's a class that lots of different dancers take, including advanced dancers, and students do everything from plies to pirouettes.

(And for the record, I believe ALL dancers can benefit from a beginner or even a basic level class, regardless of their experience. Sometimes we learned things wrong or not at all! And sometimes we just need to focus on the technique and not complex choreography.)

**If a class marked Beginner has a finite number of classes, then generally speaking it will be a class for brand new students.

**If a class marked Beginner is ongoing and students can drop in at their whim, then generally speaking it will be a more advanced or "complete" class.

My Beginner level is the latter of the two above types. Students are expected to be familiar with:

--plies

--positions of the feet and arms

--tendus, degages, grand battements

--ronds de jambes

--developpes

 --compound steps like pas de bourree and balance

--glissades, jetes, assembles, chassees

They don't need to be experts at it all! But having been exposed to these steps or concepts will make my Beginner class a lot easier for them because it's more like Beginner/Advanced Beginner.

After the pandemic, I realized that a lot of my more advanced students would probably need a Beginner class to ease them back into the studio so the Beginner class began to include far more advanced dancers than it would have pre-pandemic. 

But I still wanted a place for brand new students! So that's when I decided to start my Basic class. This is the class for learning all of the steps above and so much more:

--port de bras

--classroom conventions and etiquette

--holding the barre, moving the head, engaging the audience

It's a great class for someone who has no experience in ballet or dance, a dancer who has had an injury or lengthy time away from the studio and needs to move slowly and mindfully, or anyone who wants to refresh their muscle memory or learn proper terminology.

So why am I telling you this now? Because I have a super awesome  

Thursday night Basic class at 7PM  

(at Inspire Dance Studio)

and I will be opening a  

 Saturday morning Beginner class at 10AM 

(at Inspire starting August 7th & it will also be hybrid) 

HAPPY DANCING, EVERYONE!

Magnet fingers! Palm mirrors! Portrait elbows! Tips to make your port de bras smooth

Beautiful dancers, we can all learn from a Basic Ballet class, even if we are experienced. Sometimes we learned steps incorrectly or incompletely; sometimes we jumped over a level or two when we were younger. Arms and head positions in particular are frequently skipped - many instructors assume you already know what to do or that you will figure it out on your own. 

Those of us who have danced for many years have built muscle memory for heads and arms. We automatically move arms when we move legs and tilt the head at the right time without having to think about it too hard. It just happens! 

But how does it happen? And if you are new to ballet, can you make it happen automatically? 

Of course you can! You just need to spend some time doing it and understand why you're doing it. Remember, when we are young, we absorb what we see like sponges. As adults, our brains question things more and we often need to know the how and why of a movement in order to fully incorporate it into our memory.

Here are a few helpful hints that I have been using in my brand new Basic Ballet class. This class is great for newbies and oldbies as well. There is always something new to learn!

Magnet fingers

WHAT: Ever look at a dancer's hands and wonder how they get that shape? It's not quite "sticking the pinky out when you drink a cup of tea" but it's also not plastic Barbie hands. It's something in between.

HOW: Take your palms and place them together, fingers matching, and then peel your palms apart until just the tips of the fingers are touching.

Imagine that the pads of your fingers are magnets and try to pull them apart. You will end up with your middle fingers about an inch away from each other and curved slightly inward. Your other fingers will be at different angles too. 

WHY: This will shape your hands and fingers so they don't look like they are stuck together (like when the Queen of England waves!). 

Palm mirrors

WHAT: How do you move the head? When do you move the head? It feels weird!

HOW: Imagine that you have mirrors on your palms. When you open your arms from first to second at the barre, try to look at yourself in your palm mirrors. You will naturally tilt your head in order to do so. Practice this at the barre (yes even when the arms are en haut!) and it will start to feel natural to you so that when you are in the center, it will feel weird to not move your head.

WHY: Tilting the head when you move tells the audience where to look. If you stare at the mirror, this will translate to staring at the audience, which (unless used for dramatic effect) can be awkward. When you coordinate your head with your body movement, the audience will follow.

Portrait elbows

WHAT: Elbows are tricky. Experienced dancers, how many times have you heard the direction to "round your elbows"? You can't round your elbows! Your elbows aren't round - they are angular!

HOW: Instead think of an old-fashioned portrait or a cameo brooch. It's not round but not exactly oval. Take your arms en haut and place your head inside them like you're in the portrait. The arms (and elbows) will naturally curve to form that shape around you. 

Now lower them just like that to your first position and then en bas. The portrait shape should remain intact through the whole movement.

WHY: Holding your arms in this shape will keep them active and not simply decorative; engaging your muscles will make it easier to jump, turn and do slow sustained movement.

Hope these tips will make your port de bras smooth and feel more organic. Happy dancing~

(Pre)Valentine's Day! Bring your special someone to class!

Beautiful dancers!

Do you have a friend, partner, or significant other who has always wanted to try ballet?

Tree of Love, cc lic: Faye Mozingo

Maybe...

...they're envious of all the fun you have!

...they see how happy you are when you talk about ballet, or when you practice at home.

...they wish they could toss around words like plie and developpe and grand assemble!

If so, then why not bring them to a special class on Wednesday, February 13 at 8PM? That's the day before Valentine's Day so they can take you somewhere nice on the actual holiday. (See, I'm always thinking about you, my beautiful dancers!)

I'll be teaching a fun, slow, very basic class on Wednesday, February 13 at 8PM, at Inspire Dance Studio. It will be a class that anyone can attend!

Best of all, your friend, partner, or significant other can take it for just $10! That's hardly an investment at all (and leaves them with lots of $ to take you out the next night or just buy you a thank you gift for introducing them to ballet! - once again, I'm thinking of you!).

What: Valentine's Special Class
When: Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Time: 8-9:30PM
Where: Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada CA 91011
Cost: Regular price for you (or class card) and only $10 for your friend, partner, or significant other

And you can bring more than one person too!

Retire v. Passe

What are you talking about, Leigh?

When a dancer pulls the foot of her gesture leg up to the knee of her support leg, this can alternately be called retire or passe. The two look exactly the same but are, in fact, quite different.

Huh? What's the difference?

Think of retire as a position while passe is an action. Retire means to withdraw or "draw up." Passe means passing, as if you are passing through something.

Still doesn't mean anything to me. Why do I need to know this?

It's important to understand the difference so you know when to apply each to what you're doing. For instance, in an adagio, you might think of the gesture leg moving through passe as you develop it en avant. In this case, it is an active part of the movement, rather than a static pose. However, if you were performing a pique turn, you would bring the leg up to the position of retire and think of holding it in that position as you pirouette.

Speaking of pirouette...which am I using?

Both. Kind of. Simultaneously. First, regardless of your preparation for your pirouette en dehors, you take a demi-plie and spring up to your releve on the support leg. The gesture leg draws up to retire and you think of this as the shape in which you will be rotating. BUT! During the turn, you need to keep that gesture leg active so while it is in the retire position, it is actually passe in that the knee is continuing to press back (as you "open the door") and maintaining turnout at the top of the thigh. It does indeed "pass through" just before you finish the turn and roll down to your final pose.

 Anything else you want to say on this topic?

Yes! No matter which you word you use, be sure to keep the hip down, avoid sickling the foot of the gesture leg, and pull up the quads/kneecaps/hamstrings of the support leg. And one more thing...

...happy dancing~

Your first ballet class~ever!

At this time of year (right after New Year), lots of people resolve to get back into shape or to return to ballet or to try something they've never done before and they go to a ballet class. But if they are brand new, they don't usually know where to go or which class to take.

Newbies, you have 2 choices, generally speaking:
 - Take a course with a finite number of classes/time, perhaps one offered at a college or rec center or at a studio or school that offers them in a workshop setting or short intensive; or
 - Take a drop-in class at a studio or school that has classes for adults.

I have taught both. Workshops or courses have a starting point and an ending point. They are meant as introductory or elementary classes that give you the basics to take a more advanced class or a drop-in. They can be terrific for super new people who want to be with other super new people.

Mostly, though, I teach drop-in classes at the Basic, Advanced Beginner and Beginner/Intermediate levels. (The non-dancer often refers to these classes as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced but because of the locations in which I teach, the class names must be consistent with other teachers' classes.) A drop-in class is ongoing with no need to sign up in advance or commit to a certain number of classes or time.And for the newbie who wants to take class with me, the Basic level is the one I always recommend.

When you attend, what can you expect? First of all, you will be overwhelmed, no question about it. I will place you next to people who can be role models, introduce you to them and them to you. I will often direct my comments at the barre to you, as in, "Joanna (if your name is Joanna), tendu means stretch so we always want to stretch our foot completely."  This is not an invitation for you to engage in conversation with me; it is simply to make sure you are paying attention to what I want you to pay attention to. If the class is big, the newbie is easily distracted by other people, by the studio and mirrors, by the fact that they are trying something new so I need to keep them focused to get the most out of the class.

I will watch you and jump in as necessary to guide you at the barre but mostly I want you to follow along. Much of ballet requires people to follow along. You are expected to watch the more advanced dancers when they perform - no matter what level you are at. (When I take class, I often watch the pros for the way they do something - you can always learn!)

In the center, I will modify combinations for the newbie and often stand directly in front of them. Keep in mind, the class is for my current students so I can't allow you to absorb all of my attention. I will only give you corrections for the most basic of things (e.g. when you're stepping with the wrong foot) but I will make sure you do not get lost. Don't worry - I won't abandon you! This is also because a lot of corrections in the first few classes are like water flowing over a bridge. Everything is so new to you that to try to make adjustments when you don't even know what the class structure is can be so frustrating. And I don't want you frustrated.

However, this class is not about you. You're an awesome person, I'm sure, and you'll make a fine addition to the class but I will begin to care about you more when you return consistently and prove you want to be there and are willing to work or try things. I want you to have fun, to enjoy yourself and the camaraderie of the other students (all of whom have been exactly where you are and will be incredibly supportive of you as you progress). I want you to want to make ballet a part of your life, not be frustrated and disappointed, so if I leave you alone, it's not because I don't like you, but because I want you to be a part of the group. I need to step back and watch you and see if we are a good fit for each other - and you should too. You might not like my style or my students or the music I play. If not, we part on pleasant terms and that's that. No one is disappointed in the other.

When you do return, it will get easier. I will suggest you watch my YouTube videos and read my blog for more info. I will start giving you corrections and feedback. I will continue to encourage you, as I do all of my students. But it will take time! Just give yourself permission to not know things. It's the best way to learn! And in a short time, you will be the one welcoming the next newbie.

Happy dancing~

Class 3 of Elementary Ballet Workshop

Our third week saw even more strides made by my students! The terms for the body positions (croise, efface, en face) gave them pause but otherwise, they retained all of the material we learned the week before. Yay!

Still following along at home?  Here are the new steps we learned in the third class:

--Grand plies in 4th position
--Coupe devant and coupe derriere
--Balancing with the leg in retire, facing the barre en releve
--Rond de jambe en dehors and rond de jambe en dedans
--Changements facing the barre
--Saute arabesque and saute passe, traveling on the diagonal
--Chassees in croise and efface, traveling on the diagonal
--Changements and sautes in 1st position in the center

We also added port de bras to our combinations at the barre.  The only step I left out was sousous at the barre, which will do next week. For our final class, we will do short plie, tendu, degage, rond de jambe, and grands battements combinations at the barre, as well as a short tendu and degage combination in the center.  We will finish with alternating sautes and chassees on the diagonal and a reverence.

Class 2 of Elementary Ballet Workshop

In the second week of the workshop - my "crash course" in ballet designed to give you the ultra basics in steps as well as class progression and typical etiquette - I teasingly pop-quizzed my students from the previous week about the steps they'd learned and then added more. (They passed with flying colors!)

For them, and for you, in case you are interested in any future workshops I may do, the following is the additional material we learned:

--Grand plies in 1st and 2nd positions
--Tendus from 5th position
--Degages from 5th position
--Grand battements from 5th position
--Retire facing the barre, balancing
--Sautes in 1st position facing the barre
--Cambre with arm facing the barre
--Tendus and degages from the 5th in center
--Chassees in efface on the diagonal with arms in first

Next week we will tackle changements at the barre, sautes in the center and on the diagonal, rond de jambes a terre, and a reverence. And then the final week will see us putting together short combinations, like a typical class would. Whoo-hoo!

What's new? Why, it's Elementary (ballet)!

Coming in February...

A four week course in Just the Basics - for adults only - on 4 Saturdays at Le Studio.

--Got a friend who'd love to take class with you but she's a little anxious about stepping on her toes? Or other people's toes?
--Have you been frustrated with a drop-in class that can't slow down to address the Super Basics, like "What's first position?"
--Need a crash course before you tackle a full class?

Try Elementary Ballet!  It's designed to give you the very basics you need to feel more confident in a drop-in class.  I will help you with terminology, classroom etiquette, basic barre and floor exercises, and class progression. You absolutely do not need to know anything about ballet in order to take this short course.  But you will finish with an understanding of a ballet class before you try a drop-in class.

What: Elementary Ballet
When: February 16 & 23, March 2 & 9 (4 Saturdays)
Time: 1:30-2:30PM
Cost: $75
Where: Le Studio Dance, 57 Palmetto Dr, Pasadena 91105

Happy dancing!

Basic vs. Adv Beginning, Beg/Int vs. Intermediate

Hello, dance friends!

Next week, I've got some new classes starting and I thought now would be a good time to define what each level of class means to me - and for you, the student. Because my classes are drop-in and open to all, it's a good idea to know what you're getting into.

Basic: the class for the absolute beginner. If you have never done ballet at all, this is the class to start with. Typically, I will stand near the new student and guide her at the barre.  I will use my hands to move her hips or feet or arms to where they need to be. As we progress, though, I ask that the new student observe and follow along as best she can so as not impede the advancement of the other students. Much can be learned by simply imitating those around you. Questions that arise are often answered in subsequent classes so it's important to give yourself time to catch up. You can't expect to know everything in one class!

Advanced Beginning: the next level up. Increased vocabulary and longer combinations at the barre and in the center. As usual, I break down new steps as they are introduced so everyone learns in a similar fashion. I will assume students know classroom etiquette, such as how to stand at the barre, when and how to ask questions, and how to space themselves in the center. I will do petit allegro and adagio combinations in my Adv Beginning class whereas I don't (as a rule) do them in my Basic class. Turns?  Of course!  We will put them in combinations.

Beg/Int: I have heard people say my Beg/Int is more Int than Beg and that may very well be true. At this level, I expect students to know all plies and port de bras at the barre, as well as tendus, degages, grands battements, frappe, fondu and rond de jambe en l'air.  They may not have mastered those steps but they are familiar with them.  In the center I will do adagio, allegro and turn combinations that are more complex. Lots of travel across the floor and multiple weight shifting in the center.

Intermediate: my most advanced class. I expect all of my students to be able to do multiple turns in the center, fouette turns at the barre, brise and beats in allegro as well as more advanced turns like attitude and arabesque.  Again, students may not have a command of all these things but they should be familiar with them.  I will do plenty of weight-shifting at the barre along with more complex combinations that reverse. With my more advanced students, I do not expect to have to walk them through combinations on both sides. 

So...ready, set, come check out my new classes!  See the schedule below for exact times and locations.  Happy dancing!