“I once took six months off from ballet when I was 14. My school commitments were growing and it was becoming seriously difficult to juggle everything. It reaffirmed for me, however, that ballet was my one love and out of everything what I should have been doing.”
Archives for August 2010
Sunday Snapshot: Ballet Zaida
According to Oliver Endahl, the photographer, the purpose of the Ballet Zaida photography project is to “educate and expose the public to ballet, as well as inspire the world through pictures.” A former ballet dancer himself, his work is definitely inspiring as well as inspired, featuring incredibly talented dancers in stunning locations. And there is just gallery after gallery of images – a visual feast.
How Do You Define “Dolly Dinkle” Dance Instruction?
Most of you have an idea about what it means to be a “Dolly Dinkle” (or Dolly Dingle) dance instructor or dance school. Weigh in with your definition of insufficient dance education.
Lightbulb Moments: Pas De Chat
Every jump in ballet is preceded by a counter-movement, namely, a plie, and this is exceedingly effective in getting more height out of a jump (try jumping from straight legs and see what happens), not to mention protecting the achilles tendon from injury. In fact, people have studied jump height and found that maximum vertical height in a jump is higher using a counter movement than not (3). So it makes sense that we bend our knees before jumping.
Sunday Snapshot: Searching For Perfect Balance
Pablo, our featured photographer, claims to be the worst dancer in the world. He has some friends, however, who dance in a local academy. One of them asked him to shoot this performance. He remembers feeling very surprised when the photographed dancer, Karina, began the show in her red shoes. Pablos spent the entire dance in pursuit of her feet, searching for the perfect balance. He shot at 800 ISO with a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 at 200 mm (400 mm for a 4/3 camera).
