Becoming Your Character

A huge part of dance, especially when performing in ballets is being able to portray your character. Dancers are tasked with being able to project a certain character without talking. Not only must they add a certain flair to the character , but use facial expressions as well. This skill to act and successfully dance a character can make or break a lot of dancers. You can't just act the character, in dance you must be the character. Below are videos on how dancers are able to portray their characters and what methods they use. Enjoy :)

The Red Queen- Royal Opera House

Odette- The Australian Ballet

The Importance of Shoes

     Shoes are everything in the world of ballet. They enable dancers to dance. When going to see a ballet production you will most likely see the ballerinas in pointe shoes and admire the beauty of it. But what you don't know is what they are comprised of and what it takes to make them "stage ready".

    Pointe shoes are definitely the most beautiful shoe, however they can also be quite painful. The pointe shoe is made up of five key parts: a shank, which is a piece of wood inserted in the sole of the shoe to provide arch support, a vamp which is the top front part of the shoe and helps keep your foot close to the shank, a toe box, which is the flat top part of the shoe which allows you to stand on your toes an, ribbons and elastic, which help support your ankle when dancing on pointe. If one of these parts isn't functioning properly it could cause severe injury to the dancer. Which is why it is important not only to prepare our shoes properly, but to know when your shoe is no longer supporting you, or "dead". 

     Shoes are not only important for women, but for men also. In the first video the male principal dancer of the Royal Opera House, Edward Watson, says that when he doesn't have the proper shoes on he feels as if he is dancing with someone else's legs.

     The first video also shows the Royal Opera Houses's female principal dancer, Mara Galeazzi, discussing how important her shoes are and how she prepares her shoes.

     Each dancer has a unique way of preparing their shoes and making them stage perfect. So in the second video it shows how several different members of the Australian Ballet prepare their shoes.

   

      Royal Opera House Video:

The Australian Ballet Video:

Enjoy :)

Blog 10: Essential Question

1. Essential Question

Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
• Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if each meets the rule of three.
• Tell why they do or don't.

a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

This EQ does not meet the rule of three because it is not specific enough and it would cause the student to lack “breadth and depth” while doing research.

b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

This EQ does meet the rule of three because it is specific enough to allow the student to focus on a certain aspect, takes a stance and is worded correctly.

c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

This EQ does not meet the rule of three because the format is off.

d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

This EQ does meet the the rule of three because it gives “breadth and depth”, takes a stance, and is formatted correctly.

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.  The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

What is the best way for an aspiring professional dancer to train?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I am proud that I was able to convey as much information as I did, especially without showing any images or video to give examples.

2. Questions to Consider

   a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

I would give myself a P.

   b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

I deserve a P because I met time and covered all of the points for a P that were stated on the contract.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

Bringing a poster helped a lot, it had all the points that I was covering and it helped keep me on track and helped my audience better understand me.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

I would change my activity, I felt that I could’ve been more creative.

Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake: Performed by The Australian Ballet

On October 12 I went to go see Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake performed by The Australian Ballet, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Although it was not your traditional Swan Lake it was still a dazzling production. It brought the old Swan Lake, we all know and love, and placed it in a more realistic and relatable setting. Amber Scott, who played Odette, had to portray a character who seemed to be losing her mind after she discovers her Prince Siegfried, played by Adam Bull, is having an affair with Baroness Von Rothbart, played by Lana Jones. Odette discovers this the day of her wedding and from their her mental state goes down hill. She is thrown into an insane asylum by the queen with the assistance of the jealous Baroness. Once Odette is in the asylum she imagines herself as one of the swans in the lake that her room window over looks. She then appears in the castle at a party that the Baroness and the Prince are throwing. The prince then decides that he made a mistake choosing the Baroness over Odette and wants her back. Once Odette realizes this she then feels that she is "complete" and commits suicide in the next act by drowning in the lake.  

The dancing in this ballet was more contemporary and modern ballet fusion than classical ballet. A great example of this is when Odette is in the insane asylum and is visited by the prince she performs bare foot, which is rarely done in ballets. Graeme Murphy also decided to take out a lot of the character dances and only left the Hungarian character dance.

Overall this ballet was beautiful and The Australian Ballet did an amazing job. Each dancer was able to not only perform the dances, but also portray their characters emotions and project it onto the audience, which is a huge part of dance.    

This is a preview of the ballet and it shows a section from each scene. Enjoy. :)

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. My working EQ is "What is the best way to train as a dancer?"

2.What is a possible answer to your working EQ?

• Dancers should have a strong background in various dance genres.
• Dancers wanting to pursue a professional dance career should train everyday for at least an hour and a half daily.

3.What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your EQ?

• The most important source that I have used is the book Basic Principles of Classical Ballet.

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you doing your mentorship and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

• My mentor is Belinda Maturo the director of a dance studio, for my mentorship I am taking classes at the studio and training, at my mentorship I take various genres of dance classes so the different training helps me see the differences between genres and their similarities.

Blog 7: Independent Component Approval

1. For my 1st semester Independent Component I will be training myself in the Intermediate RAD syllabus, in order to prepare for my exams. I will be taking the Intermediate Class twice a week for an hour and a half each class.

2. To show that I have completed the 30 hours needed I will fill out the mentorship hours on my hours list and also get my instructor to sign a paper that I have completed 30 hours of training.

3.By training and preparing for the exams this will help me discover an answer to my EQ. That answer being that ballet is the fundamental building block for all dancers.

54 Pirouettes

At the age of 10, dancer Sophia Lucia broke the world record for pirouettes on March 25,2012 turning in both passé and coupé. Sophia then went and broke the record again on February 16,2013 doing 54 pirouettes all in passé. The first video is here in March of 2012. The second video is her in February of 2013. Enjoy. :)

Blog 6: Second Interview Preperation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

     My mentor is Belinda Maturo, she is the owner of Perfect Pointe School of Dance in Covina.

2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1. At what age did you start dancing and why did you start to dance?
2. What classes did you take and what do you think was the most fundamental class?
3. How many hours a week would you dance?
4. When did you start to teach and what class/ classes did you teach?
5. What age do you think is the best age for a student who wants to go professional to start to dance and why?
6. What style do you think is the most important and why?

Blog 5: Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?
    
   I found my mentor actually 2 years ago, when I signed up for dance classes at her studio. So when senior project came along and I decided on dance for my topic, I asked if she would mentor me.

2. What has been the most important article you have read and why?

    The most important article I have read so far is an article I found in Pointe Magazine, entitled "Forward Momentum" by Kristin Lewis. I found this article to be the most helpful because it shows that dance is continuously evolving and if a dancer wants to become a professional they must evolve with it.

Black Swan Pas de Deux

This is one of my favorite Pas de Deux. Don't know what a pas de duex is click here. It is from the ballet Swan Lake and I thought I would share it with you. This variation shows partnering and makes it look so easy. However, partnering is quite difficult because the dancers must move as one and in this case show the chemistry between the characters without talking. I hope you enjoy.  

Blog 4: Interview Preperation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

I will be interviewing Ms. Michelle, a teacher at the dance studio I am mentoring at. She had started dancing at the age of 3 and continued to dance throughout college.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• What age do you think a dancer should start training in order to become a professional? Why?
• What style(s) of dance do you think is the most important for a professional dancer to be trained in? Why?    

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Topic: Dancing Professionally 

2.Question to focus on this month:

• What must a dancer do in order to make it as a professional?

3. A link to my Working Bibliography can be found here or on the right hand side of my blog under links.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

1.https://docs.google.com/document/d/19p7EuzS3IJx7qKEqMXNKrb-GBYBJiRbyPodFrbT-hww/pub

2. Perfect Pointe School of Dance

   Belinda Maturo- School Director

   626-404-2219

3. What is the best age a dancer should start dancing?

   How many hours should a young dancer be training if they want to go professional?

   What is the best way to help a dancer understand and remember choreography?

4. The most important thing I gained from this experience is that not all dancers are the same and you cannot teach them as if they are. When teaching a class you often have to go through the steps multiple times and break it down for each dancer in different ways.

5. My senior topic is still going to be on dance, specifically what it takes to train a professional dancer. My summer mentorship helped me decide on this topic because a lot of the teachers I shadowed were former professional dancers and the dancers in the classes I observed showed a lot of dedication and passion for dance.

Blog 1: 2 hour presentations

1. What presentations did you see?

Alejandro Espinoza                    Teaching Biology
Krystal Lam                                 Editorial Publishing
Gabriel Mendoza                        Creating a Franchise
Bryan Pinto                                  Plant Science
Samantha Cooper                      Military Leadership
Nathan Mira                                Graphic Design
Erika Lara                                    Acting
Christian Demesa                      Clinical Pharmacy
Johnathan Shoemaker              Theater Tech
Kimberly Gonzalez                    Counseling
Lara McConnaughey                 Linguistics 
Juan Munoz                                 Business (Corporate Leadership)
Gustavo Rios                               Theater Acting
Cheyenne Capener                    Organic Architecture
Felicia Stears                               Marine Biology

2. What questions do you have that haven't been answered about senior project?

• What are the independent components? 
• If you are not happy with your grade on your senior project can you choose to represent?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

• Making time
• Citing sources
• Have everything nice and organized 

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

      I am considering dance for my topic because it is something I have a lot of joy doing and I'm constantly doing it whether at school or at my dance studio after school.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

     I will be mentoring with the director of my dance studio assisting her with classes and seeing how she teaches different age groups and how the different age groups respond.