#ballet training

[darkcrowprincess]

batman and batfamily thoughts:

Bat and bird training definitely has to consist of some ballet lessons or some form of dance lessons. Especially for them to be that light and quick on their feet. Doubly so if your a robin. When they work together if it's like Nightwing and Robin or Robin and Batman. It looks so much like dancing how they fight together.

[mindonpointe1]

100 Lessons In Classical Ballet

This book contains the full Vaganova curriculum of classical ballet, the most useful resource for classical ballet.

I have spent so many years training from youtube ballet videos, but I was inconsistent because these classes lack progression from year to year, which is unorganized and unmotivating for me somehow, so I find this book the best to train from.

I just wish if it was made into a series of videos so it's easier to follow along.

If you have access to a studio with organized ballet training with progression from one level to another, then good for you, but some people-including me- simply don't have this luxury around. So here you are. Happy Dancing.

P.S : If you need more ballet books, please let me know and I will see if I can help.

[tikitania]

Hello, Thank you for a great blog and sharing ballet inside and discussion! I wanted to ask if you (or someone else who sees this) can tell what are the other good or valued professional ballet academies / choreographic schools in Russia besides Vaganova, Perm school, Eifman Academy and Moscow choreographic school (though I have heard that the latest is partly hanging on its reputation and the current state of the school is a bit solala..)

Awww, thank you! That means a lot. I rediscovered my love for ballet during COVID and was thrilled to find several Tumblr sites/blogs (@ballet-symphonie, https://melmoth.co) that inspired me to dig deeper into the dancers, choreographers, and companies that I admired. I also started attending more ballet performances, too! As rich as the YouTube / IG ballet world is — the magic is in the theater. It's thrilling! As for ballet in training in Russia beyond the big four, I really don't have the knowledge to ascertain which ones are considered top notch. But what I have done is researched where some of my favorite dancers trained — and the results can be surprising. Tereshkina trained at Krasnoyarsk and did a year or two of finishing at Vaganova. Elena Svinko, the new Mariinsky 1st soloist also came from Krasnoyarsk. Semyon Chudin graduated from the Novosibirsk Choreographic College. Alexandra Khiteeva trained for the first five years in Kazan. Historically, the Kiev Choreographic College has trained amazing dancers including Svetlana Zhakrova, Sergei Polunin, Alina Cojocaru, Leonid Sarafanov, and more. Tragically, I think training has been disrupted due to the war. Here's a video highlighting some of their illustrious grads:

Russia and in the former Soviet republics do not suffer a shortage of ballet schools because there's a seemingly an endless supply of excellent retired dancers and pedagogues to teach! It’s a valued profession there. Nina Ananiashvili has started a school in Tbilisi, Georgia — a school for the company she's leading there. For instance, Maria Alexandrova was just appointed the rector of the Sevastopol Choreographic School -- a very controversial appointment because the city is in Crimea, which is Ukrainian territory that Russia has invaded and claimed, so this appointment feels extremely political. And there are endless private schools that train at a really high level. As an example, I'll leave you with this — Maria Bulanova, aged 10 at the Kuramshin School in St. Petersburg where she trained for several years until she entered Vaganova.

[ballet-symphonie]

General/ Misc Asks - Technique, Style, Training

This is sort of incoherent but quick question- In Ali’s variation, when they can choose to land and go all the way down. How???

Ahahaha, so you’re referring to when the dancer does a big assemble jump, lands in all the way down in grand plie, and then does a big explosive sissone out of it. Landing in that position requires a lot of quad and glue strength, which, you guessed it, is built over years of practice: grand plies in ballet class, working out in the gym, pilates and calisthenics etc

Hi! I am 25 and want to become a great ballerina. Not professionally or anything, but just for me. I danced from age 2-11 and then stopped so I have a fairly decent grasp on the concept of ballet. I was wondering if you have any tips for someone starting from scratch? I’m not overweight but I have virtually no strength or stamina. I’m not terribly flexible and my hips are weak. Basically, I’m wondering what routine of classes/exercises/stretches you would recommend and how often. Thanks!! 

My first and most important piece of advice: GO TO CLASS. Find a good studio or school that has quality teachers, ideally someone who has experienced life as a professional and has credentials or a good body of work as a teacher. Do your research! 

If you can make it to class around 3 times a week, that’s a great start as an adult beginner. 

In addition, I recommend incorporating daily yoga/stretching, balancing with pilates and some lightweight training a few times a week, and your preferred form of cardio. 

Hi Ale! I have a question: are some styles of executing movements (Vaganova, Balanchine etc) harder than others? Or are they all similarly difficult but just different?

I tend to argue the latter, I personally find the Balanchine technique more difficult but that’s because I didn’t train in a Balanchine school. A lot depends on a dancer's education as well as what kind of company they end up dancing in and the repertoire performed there. 

you at some point commented on how a ballerina (i don't remember her name) struggled with keeping her heels down in plies. i used to dance - amateur, but i did love it - and had difficulty with that as well. are there any stretches/exercises that can help, or is it just that some people are born with a better ankle configuration than i have?

Some people definitely have more flexible ankles and Achilles tendons. However, improvement is totally possible and honestly a good idea for people in general. Look up ankle mobility drills as well as Achilles and calf stretches. 

Hi Ale! I don't know if this is going to be a very unpopular ask, but do you think the tall ballerina era ruined some things forever in ballet, or at least in Russian ballet? Watching Ulanova, Plisetskaya, Makarova, Bessmertnova etc, in SL is so perfect. With their puffy tutu and small limbs, they look like a perfect, fragile swan, due to their small figures. Nowdays, super tall ballerinas, with giagantic flat tutus can't look like a Odette at all (I take Lopatkina off this list). Maybe a Odile.

I’m not going to say ‘ruined’ but the tall aesthetic, especially the super skinny body type promoted by Balanchine that then extended worldwide, has absolutely and irrevocably changed ballet. Different physical traits and skills are treated as valuable as are different tempos and styles of choreography. I also think its important to note that the dancers you listed have quite different body types, I wouldn't say Plisetskaya and Markarova have similar physiques

[peter-tschirky]

Tutu Lady - she’s so beautiful

[mariadoval]

https://www.facebook.com/mariadovalballet

[alexandremartinezblog]

Pushing Past Your Limits: Applying the Navy Seals' 40% Rule to Fitness and Life

Have you ever felt like you’ve hit your limit, but still have a little gas left in the tank? According to the Navy Seals, you’re only at 40% of your capacity! That’s right, when your mind is telling you that you can’t go any further, you’ve still got 60% more to give. The famous 40% rule was coined by the Navy Seals to push themselves beyond their limits. They discovered that when their minds…

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[ballet-symphonie]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before (and maybe sounds so silly), but in schools like AGP, TAZ, John Cranko, DNBA, which ballet style/method did they use there? Also, in term of outcome, is it better to focus on one training method or combining several methods (for example, a dancer was initially trained in Vaganova method, but they changed to another method halfway through their education)? Thank you in advance :)

Those schools you mentioned are "European" style schools, meaning they blend French/Italian methods. Honestly, the technique's specifics largely depend on the director and the education of the current faculty. Some have also been influenced by the school's history and the style of prominent choreographers/directors that have come from that school.

Having one training method at least as a foundation is more cohesive in my opinion. It certainly looks more unified when the corps de ballet is from one company. However, the dance world is moving faster and faster nowadays, and companies are facing a wider repertoire now than ever before. It's advantageous for a dancer to be able to move well in a variety of genres and techniques.