As we know, most of today's classical ballet and modern dance companies worldwide perform a repertoire ranging from 19th Century classics such as Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (Petipa, Ivanov 1895), Sleeping Beauty (Petipa, 1890), Nutcracker (Ivanov, 1842) and Adolphe Adam's Giselle (Coralli, Perrot, 1841) in contrast to 20th Century contemporary and neo-classical works and those of the early 21st Century such as pieces from choreographers such as John Cranko, George Balanchine, Kenneth Mac Millan, David Bintley, Uwe Scholz, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Mats Ek, Hans van Manen and Jiri Kylian.
Therefore, shouldn't 21st Century dancers be open and flexible, mentally and physically when it comes to being able to perform and be created on in works of different dance genres? With this great range of work and styles, what impact does this have on the dancer's vocational training as well as those responsible for their training? Do these styles also have an impact on young and aspiring choreographers? What teaching and learning styles, strategies and learning theories are the most successful for today's dance students? Which is the best approach to training a versatile dancer? Is there a danger that versatility equals lack of purity? (pointemagazine.com)
Reflecting on my own vocational training, I feel that because I learnt many different dance styles, this did prepare me once I entered my first professional company to not only manage but to enjoy the diverse repertoire.
I started off with the Royal Academy of Dance Examination system which was a wonderful base for my technique. This system with exams once a year was an excellent guide for me personally and is equally excellent for young students today as it gives them a goal to work towards and the impetus to therefore achieve a high standard. (Wooliams,1978,p26.) I loved gaining knowledge through my RAD classes and exams for ten years. This system gave me a good basic technique to continue to build on. Upon reflection and from observing now, although classical ballet is a wonderful base, often classical dancers don't use their bodies enough, appearing to be stiff and rigid. For e.g a full ports de bras devant and derriere: instead of bending forward and backward like a board, is it not only aesthetically more pleasing if the dancer undulates and goes through the spine moving with a smooth and soft wave-like motion? Additionally, is it not more beneficial for the dancer's spine? This was mentioned by the famous Professor Martin Puttke in lectures in Berlin.(PDPTC, Deutsche Oper,July, 2014) Dancers who have done contemporary as well as classical seem to be more aware of how their body moves, therefore, for e.g. executing a full ports de bras devant correctly through the spine.
As mentioned above, character dance, modern, contemporary and jazz classes gave me strength and dynamics. For e.g isolations in jazz, floorwork in contemporary, stamps, epaulement and strong accents in character dance. Using all these different muscles for these different movements, strengthens the body. Such strength and dynamics are necessary for fast staccato movements such as in the first movement of George Balanchine's Symphony in C (Balanchine,1947), to the beautiful music by Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875). Without the fast precise movements, musical accents and correct use of dynamics, the brilliance, sparkle and flair of this ballet is lost. I loved dancing in this ballet, it was one of the first ballets I performed in at sixteen years of age with the Bavarian National Ballet, Munich.
In front of the very beautiful National Theatre, Munich, Germany.
George Balanchine's dazzling "Symphony in C"
The technique in Balanchine ballets as well as the musicality are incredibly difficult (but it must look beautiful). There are gallops, changements en pointe at an incredibly fast pace. There's also lots of fast petite allegro in contrast to very controlled slow adage movements. A dancer must be super fit to perform “Mr B's” (as our coach Patricia Neary at the Bavarian National Ballet used to affectionately call him) beautiful works at their best.
Although I feel my training with a variety of dance styles prepared me thoroughly, perhaps this is not the right training for others. There are different views and some would not agree, some teachers would argue the benefits of versatility means that the purity of the classical ballet art form suffers or is lost.(pointmagazine.com)
It is interesting though to read articles where dancers, teachers and choreographers agree that versatility is essential and will help a dancer's development. To quote Stephanie Chrosniak, a member of New York City Ballet's corps, “I would definitely say that training with different styles can help you gain success as a dancer”. Another interesting comment from Parrish Maynard, who teaches at the San Fransisco Ballet School believes studying only one approach undermines a dancer's education (pointmagazine.com).
Yes dancers learn different styles but regarding the range of repertoire they are expected to perform today and the huge contrast between what choreographers want they should be open and able to change styles. As Maynard, SBS, says, “styles are like jackets. You put them on and take them off” (or that dancers should be able to!). Not only did it help me to learn different dance genres but to have RAD and Cecchetti classes... this all helped me towards my professional career. At fifteen years I learnt the Vaganova style at the Munich Ballet Academy. A teacher that truly inspired me was first Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, Olga Lepishinskaya who was a Guest Teacher with us in Munich. She was incredibly charming and sweet. She was wonderful when it came to using metaphors to correct us. For e.g doing a jete an avant in attitude with arms in demi- bras, she explained that we should support our arms as if we were holding ''ten cups of tea''. After lectures with Professor Martin Puttke (PDPTC, Deutsche Oper,July, 2014 ) and upon reflection from my vocational studies with some teachers, I realise that using metaphors for students is a wonderful teaching strategy as it helps students to understand and process a correction much faster.
With Professor Martin Puttke during RAD studies in the Deutsche Oper, Berlin.
Although I feel my vocational training and education prepared me for picking up choreography, an opposing opinion from Alan Hineline, resident choreographer of CPYB feels, “no training, however varied can fully prepare a dancer to go into a company and dance the variety of styles that even one repertory program might call for, like Balanchine, Taylor, and Tharp. The importance of the preparation is in being emotionally open to new styles so that you can easily adapt”.
This psychological mental state, to be open minded and flexible and therefore adaptable when it comes to working in different dance styles for different choreographers is perhaps the responsibility of the teachers. Dancers should be trained to be thinking dancers, to quote Keith.A.Thompson, “A thinking dancer is a dancer who takes the initiative and is making choices. They will run with their imagination, which gives choreographers not just one appetizer but a platter to choose from”. Surely this is exactly the kind of dancer we should be creating in the 21st Century? But does this mean that teachers have to be equally versatile?
Reflecting on my vocational training, a teacher that made a huge impact on my development as a thinking and cognitive dancer was Professor John Mullins. He was, originally, an English/Drama and Dance teacher. I was incredibly fortunate to work with him from the age of eleven. Thanks to Mr Mullins, Davidson High was the first Highschool in New South Wales to have Dance as a subject. We learnt Cunningham technique. (I later learnt Martha Graham technique at the Munich Ballet Academy). Professor John Mullins also created works on us which we performed. I also had the honour to be chosen for the N.S.W Dance Ensemble of which Professor John Mullins was in charge. We prepared new works in the studio which we then performed all over Sydney and also at the Sydney Opera House and also toured N.S.W. My favourite experience was to perform the lead role as Venus, which was created on me, from The Planets, music by Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934) with the N.S.W Youth Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House.
This experience was invaluable when it came to my future career. Being created on was wonderful and important for my development as a cognitive dancer. (He also encouraged me to choreograph). As a learner I was always hungry for more and was so inspired that I gave one hundred percent. My preferred learning styles were:
• Visual, using imagery. • Aural, auditory – musical, I love music and I loved having our own pianist for the lessons. This helped me with my piano lessons. • Physical, I always need to move, especially to great music! Social, learning in groups can be fun and inspiring.
Dancers are incredibly social and physical. It is also interesting to know that ''research shows us that each learning style uses different parts of the brain – by involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn''. (learningstyles.com) As we know, to be passionate about something can be a wonderful tool and emotion to stimulate learning. To quote choreographer Keith.A.Thompson, ideally, his dancers emerge hungry to seize on a movement, absorb it, embody it - maybe even wrestle with it. I always loved to get my teeth into a movement, new ballet or new modern creation. I'm always hungry to do and learn more. Isn't that the way dancers should be?
After performing Balanchine's "Concerto Barocco" Premiere, Bayerisches Staats Ballett, Munich.
The San Fransisco Ballet School, I feel, have the right idea, they offer repertoire classes that include exerpts from Balanchine as well as William Forsythe and Jiri Kylian. As Parrish Maynard, teacher from SFBS, says, ''SFB artistic director Helgi Tomasson wants students going into the company looking very classically orientated but with a contemporary edge''. (pointemagazine.com) Are we not in the 21st Century? Shouldn't dancers and choreographers evolve with the times? This supports Helgi Tomasson's idea as above, that all students should have a contemporary edge. It is a challenge to sustain the classics and purity but isn't it also necessary to move forward and create exciting new versatile, open minded, thinking and cognitive dancers/ choreographers for our future?
"Odette" in the famous Ballet "Swan Lake".
Luckily, choosing the Heinz Bosl Stiftung (The Munich Ballet Academy), they had an excellent modern teacher from New York, who introduced us to Martha Graham and Limon techniques. We also learnt pieces from the Alvin Ailey repertoire. She was such an enthusiastic teacher and had brilliant teaching strategies. All the students loved working for her, she showed a strong personal interest equally in all of us.
She seemed to be the ideal example of David Carr's quote ''Teacher's are like Priests'' and that they should be concerned with the development of the 'whole child' (usually taken to include affective, moral, social and spiritual development. (Carr, 2003p.45)
So, this seems to all point to the fact that the young dancer must be equipped, more than ever now for contemporary dance, along with excellent classical ballet technique, be working harder than ever whilst still not forgetting expressiveness and display great feeling whilst performing all forms of dance.
With Vladimir Malakhov, Ballet Superstar at Deutsche Oper, Berliner Staatsballett during PDPTC studies 2014.
It goes without saying that all dancers should watch as many performances as possible. A dancer/choreographer can learn so much and be inspired from watching different works and different dancers. A particularly talented dancer arrived in Munich when I was there,
everyone was calling him the new Nijinsky and they were right! Vladimir Malakhov performed in a Gala with us in Munich and we were very inspired indeed. It was wonderful to see him again later in Berlin and to know he supported the PDPTC programme.
Vladimir Malakhov, Ballet Superstar, in performance.
Reference List:
Carman, Joseph. ''The Style Debate'', Which is the best approach to your training: versatility or purity? Pointe Magazine. April/May 2011. Web. 17Aug. 2014. http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/aprilmay-2011/style-debate
Carr, David, Making Sense of Education: an introduction to the philosophy and theory of education and teaching. London and New York: Routledge Falmer, 2003. Print.
Cherry, Kendra. ''Learning Theories of Development'' About Education, 2014. Web 22Aug 2014 http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse/a/dev_learning.htm
Fontana, David, Psychology for Teachers. 3rd ed. London: Macmillan, 1995. Print.
Mc Leod, Gregory. Learning Theory and Instructional Design. principals.in/instructional/learning theory, June,2014
Overview of Learning Styles, www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/ 2014.
Professor Keith A. Thompson trains ''thinking dancers'' Mason Gross School of the Arts masongross.rutgers.edu 2014 Web. 20Aug 2014 http://masongross.rutgers.edu/dance/keith-thompson-profile (no author listed) Professor Keith A. Thompson trains ''thinking dancers'' Mason Gross Achool of the Arts masongross.rutgers.edu 2014 Web. 20Aug 2014 http://masongross.rutgers.edu/dance/keith-thompson-profile (no author listed)
Wooliams, Anne, Ballet Studio, An Inside View. Australia: Ure Smith, 1978. Print.
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