Sunday Snapshot: Impressions

The painter Degas seemed to enjoy capturing the natural asymmetry of dancers in training. He preserved the everyday moments of dancers between barre exercises, waiting or tying their ribbons, or shared with viewers the skewed perspective of performance from the wings.

Similarly, much of what I’ve seen of Carl Johnson’s ballet photography (I made his acquaintance early on in my blogging career) offers casual glimpses of the young dancers in his photos. The shot above may be a bit more formal but the muted reds and blues of this textured image recall the impressionistic paint strokes of Degas.

About the Photographer: Carl Johnson is a photographer from Albany, New York, whose photographs of dance have been sold around the world. Carl blogs about music, biking, and other aspects of his non-urban life over at My Non-Urban Life. His daughters are academy students at the School of the Albany Berkshire Ballet, directed by Madeline Cantarella Culpo, in Albany, New York. This photograph is from the school’s annual recital.

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3 x 12 — The Best of Dance Advantage 2009

2009

It’s been an incredibly packed year! Over 120 posts were added to this blog in 2009 and when I look back I must admit that I’m rather proud of the quality of much of that information. I know that I have grown and learned so much as a writer this year. I was so happy to welcome a handful of guest bloggers this year as well, particularly as my 1-year-old son became a 2-year-old!

And Dance Advantage has come a long way too!

At the start of the year, this blog was still hosted for free at wordpress.com. Though in January I had been blogging less than a year, I had already decided that to make this blog function the way I wanted, I would have to bite the bullet and jump into self-hosting. By April we had a new location and by May, a new look. I’m never satisfied and I don’t love the tediousness and headaches of maintaining a site (especially when I don’t really know what I’m doing!), BUT it’s been an exciting ride!

It’s also been exciting to watch this small community expand.

The blog is only part of it – Twitter followers, Facebook fans, you are some of my most loyal readers! I believe subscriptions to the blog/newsletter have tripled since the beginning of 09. I’m in awe and completely humbled that so many have visited and regularly read what’s here. And I am so thankful for those of you who comment and who take the time to voice your appreciation. It truly means so much to me!

3 x 12 = 36

Students, Teachers, and Parents are the focus of this dance blog. For each of the 12 months of 2009, there was at least one post for you. Below are 36 links (well, more than 36 actually) leading to the best Dance Advantage articles of 2009. What makes these posts the best? No real criteria. It is easy for articles to get “buried” on a blog that constantly updates information. Many of you who may not have even heard of this blog in January! These are the posts that I felt most proud of, that I felt provided truly useful tips or knowledge, and those in which I felt newcomers might be most interested. I hope you’ll agree it is a diverse collection that clearly illustrates the purpose of Dance Advantage.

Without Further Ado…

January was a busy burst of information in 2009!

For Students: Defining and Dissecting a Piqué Turn

For Teachers: 12 Tips for Teaching Tots

For Parents: A FREE Download for Parents of Dancers (Lisa Howell’s Parent’s Manual)

Honorable mention: What to Look for in a Dance Studio — This one is a bit of a cheat, as it compiles links to four important posts on DA (all of which were written in 2008)!

February is admittedly slim, Hey, I was into heavy rehearsal, but these are keepers.

For Students: 7 Secrets of Super Performers

For Teachers: Choreographic Inspiration — Using Your Past in Future Dances

For Parents: What Has Dance Taught You About Life? (Okay, not officially for parents but this is a great place to learn of additional ways dance can affect the life of your child… straight from those who live it. P.S. Feel free to keep the conversation going!)

March roared in with a handful of key posts for students.

For Students: 7 Ways Dance is Like Learning the ABC’s

For Teachers: How to Be a Great Teacher’s Assistant (Teachers have told me they refer their assistants to this post!)

For Parents: Guest Post: Life as a Dance Mom — Finding the Balance Between Friend and Fanatic

Honorable mention: Just as I slipped this post in at the very end of March, I’m slipping it in here. Why? Because I think I managed a decent answer to a good question! What is Artistry and How Do I Develop It?

April was a shower of articles on topics from Facebook to Eco-Friendly studios.

For Students: How To Do a Proper “Crunch” — Activating Your Core

For Teachers: Approaching Choreography for Musical Theatre

For Parents: Appraising the Value of Praise (a post for parents and teachers)

May was a time of rebirth for DA with lots of info.

For Students: Backstage Bliss — 11 Rules of Thumb for Students in a Dance Recital

For Teachers: Mustering their Motivation — Strategies for Engaging and Inspiring Students

For Parents: A Celebration of Dance Moms (special Mother’s Day post)

Honorable mention: Teachers, May’s posts on curriculum and lesson planning were also a hit!

June was just busting with articles on music and more.

For Students: Strategies for Remembering Choreography

For Teachers: Five Favorites: Music for Children’s Classes

For Parents: Why and How to Encourage Students to See Concert Dance

July had a little bit of everything.

For Students: How NOT to Ask a Question in Dance Class

For Teachers: Top 10 Reasons Teachers Should Continue Their Education (psst! Check the bottom of this post to get some ideas about where to continue!

For Parents: Accentuate the Positive — How to encourage and reinforce the positive aspects of competitive dance

Whew! Take 5… 678

August had me sweating as I blogged from the road on our family vacay

For Students: How and Why to Strengthen the Inner Thigh

For Teachers: Back to School — Props and Classroom Aids

For Parents: Parents, Which Type of Helicopter Are You?

September spotlighted the professional dance world.

For Students: Gracing the Stage — My Interview with Houston Ballet’s Joseph Walsh

For Teachers: Biographies You Can Sink Your Teeth Into (Teachers, relax with a good book, you deserve it!)

For Parents: Guest Post: The Professional Dancer’s Survival Kit (Parents need to know what it takes too)

October fell together as we welcomed fall.

For Students: Lifting Your Leg from Underneath and Other Impossible Feats

For Teachers: Introducing the Iliopsoas (a nice brush-up for instructors)

For Parents: Help! My Child Doesn’t Listen to the Dance Teacher! Part I (Be sure to navigate to Part II!)

November’s posts were already warming up for December.

For Students: Stretching Safely for Splits

For Teachers: Keeping Rhythm Fascinatin’ – How to Make Tap Dance Come Alive (an excellent start by new Tapography columnist, Sarah Mason)

For Parents: Sweet Exchange with a Sugar Plum Fairy

December included a big giveaway but a few things to think about as well.

For Students: Oversplits — Overdoing It?

For Teachers: Guest Post: Confessions of a Busy Dance Mom

For Parents: This Dancer’s Response to World AIDS Day In the spirit of the season, I encourage you to assist dancers and performers in need of financial assistance due to AIDS and other diseases – help me raise just $300.

Too much to read at once? Bookmark it!

Where do we go from here? I have some plans for 2010 but you will have a hand in what Dance Advantage becomes.

If you want to be the first to know when big things happen or just be sure that you don’t miss new posts when they arrive, subscribe to the blog. If you want to get to know me a bit better, Twitter is a good start. I happy to give tips to newbies – just say hello!

Have a healthy, joyous, and successful 2010! Thanks for reading.

Backstage Bliss: 11 Rules of Thumb for Students in a Dance Recital

Whether it is your first recital or your fourteenth, it never hurts to be reminded about proper backstage etiquette and behavior. Your studio owners and teachers may have specific regulations and procedures for you to follow. Adhering to these rules helps the performance to run smoothly for you and the others around you. Recitals can be hectic and stressful for those trying to make the day/evening go off without a hitch. I know your teachers will appreciate not having to remind you or your friends of these basics on recital day.

1. Don’t mess with other people’s props or costumes

This is a top directive of any backstage situation. Playing with or moving someone else’s props or costume pieces always results in one of the following: A) items will not be in the correct place when they are needed, stalling the show or leaving someone without, B) items get broken, torn, damaged, stalling the show or leaving someone without, C) someone being rather upset with you. If the prop or costume is not yours, don’t touch it! Even if you think it’s in the wrong place and are trying to help, you should just tell the person to whom it belongs or an appropriate adult.

2. Stay in your designated area

I know it can be annoying to be restricted as to where, when, or how you can go somewhere, especially when you are quite familiar with the building or backstage area. It can also be tempting to want to move from your green room (or waiting area) if your friends are required to be in another location. However, it is important to stay where you are supposed to be throughout the recital process. Why? Teachers and recital helpers have a lot of kids to keep track of during a performance. When their requests are ignored, you stand the chance of missing your entrances or causing someone else to miss theirs. Even worse, is that no one knows where to look for you should something unfortunate occur.

3. Bring something to do

Recital performances almost always involve a lot of waiting either during dress rehearsal or on show days or both. Even if you think you’ll be busy, it’s always a good idea to bring something quiet to do backstage as you wait (in your designated area). Some possibilities include a book, a simple card game, pens and paper, coloring books and crayons, puzzle books, even a hand-held video game if the sound can be turned off. It is alright to play games with friends as long as you can keep the noise levels down. Just make sure you are ready and in your next costume before engaging in an activity, and that you can drop what you’re doing immediately when asked to go.

4. Always stay one step ahead

Be on top of things and be responsible for yourself. Don’t rely on others to know what’s next, know where you are supposed to be, or what you have to do – not if you don’t have to or are old enough to do it yourself, anyway. This involves laying out your costumes ahead of time and knowing what order they go on, keeping track of where your dances are in the performance (and what’s before them), knowing what hair or makeup changes are made and when, being sure about which side of the stage you enter from, double checking that you have all you need before you leave the house.

5. Keep socializing to a minimum

There’s a lot of energy in the atmosphere at a performance. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement with your friends backstage, allowing noise levels to escalate and/or creating a distracting environment for yourself or others. To have the best show possible it is important that everyone stay calm and focused. After a successful show is the appropriate time to party. During the show choose calm activities (see #3) to occupy yourself and your friends and reserve your energy for your performance onstage.

6. Stay quiet in the wings

The immediate backstage area is not the place to go over choreography, have a conversation, or ask a question. Sound from backstage can carry surprisingly well to the “house,” or audience. If you are prepared, calm, and focused there should be no reason for talking in the wings. If a peer asks you a question, nod (if the answer is yes or no), and/or calmly remind them to be quiet with the universal symbol at left. Making noise in order to quiet others is not only unhelpful, it doesn’t make much sense! Which leads me to…

7. Be responsible for you and you alone

Unless you are specifically put in charge of a person or group, allow a teacher or someone in authority to take care of any disorderly students. If you know that someone missed being given an important direction, for example, when it is time to line up, calmly let them know and then move along yourself. Don’t waste time helping those who are not helping themselves because your only job is to be responsible for you. When you occupy yourself with what others are or are not doing, you risk missing your own cues, entrances, costume changes, etc.

8. Stay warm, stay safe

It is important to stay safe and free of injury backstage. If you know you have some downtime between numbers, wear a warm-up and/or legwarmers over your next costume (just remember to take them off!), staying active and mobile with full-body movements like noiseless jumping jacks or body swings, and doing some stretching to keep your body warm and limber while you wait. Other safety measures include not wearing soft shoes or bare feet in areas that have not been swept clear (especially in the immediate backstage area where often there can be shards of wood or glass, or things lying about from other performances). Your teachers will let you know if an area is safe to be barefoot but wear shoes/flip-flops if you are going to be moving about backstage in zones that may not have been cleared.

9. Be conscious of bleeding light

This is one that even those helping at a recital sometimes forget. If you’ve ever stood in a dark room when someone opens the door to a room that is lit, you understand that light has a way of “bleeding” into the darkness. This is why it is kept dark in the backstage area with only blue or other filtered lights illuminating the area. Being conscious of this means waiting until someone from the inside (who knows when it is “safe”) opens a door to the backstage area, or listening for the appropriate time yourself. Typically when you know that the dancers onstage are performing and being lit, it is safe to enter but do so quickly, quietly, and close the door behind you. Any light from backstage can affect the lighting design onstage.

10. Be conscious of sight lines

This is another one of which novices to the stage may not be aware. Sight lines are imaginary lines that distinguish what is visible to the audience and what is not. A good rule of thumb is that if you can see an audience member, they can see you. However, you must be aware of your whole body, not just your eyes. When waiting in the wings, it is a good idea to stand close to the curtain (without moving it) and back from the very edge. Some studio owners will place a line of tape for students to stand within or behind when waiting backstage. Though it can be tempting to try to see everything happening onstage, stay out of the audience’s line of sight. If your cue for entering cannot be seen from where you are waiting, dress rehearsal is the time to figure out a new cue!

11. Don’t argue

Last but not least, it is important to be courteous and respectful toward others, especially during a performance. This includes the teachers, parents, and others who are helping backstage at a recital. By showtime you should know (by face, name, or by an identifying badge or button) teh people who have been designated as helpers and what role they play in helping the performance to run smoothly. If you are instructed to do something or go somewhere, asked to quiet down, or are otherwise asked to respond to a request – just do it! Don’t question, don’t argue, don’t grumble.

If you happen to be absolutely positive that you are being misdirected, ask nicely to check the facts – “I am sure that I am to be in Room C, not Room A right now. Can we double check, just to be sure, please?” People’s patience can run thin during a high-stress situation like a performance. If your respectful response is not appreciated, don’t react. Simply do your best to comply with the direction given.

For those of you who still have recitals ahead, I hope that this list will come in handy. Remember that everyone backstage at a performance wants the same thing – a great show that runs smoothly and is fun for the audience and participants. Though the show’s organization may not be something you can control, you still have the power to make sure you are fulfilling your role to the best of your ability. Following these eleven rules of thumb will help to ensure that. Have a great performance!

What are some other things students should do or remember when they are backstage?

What are some things your studio does to keep things running smoothly at a performance?