“Your body does change,” confirms Sara, “and my fear was that I wouldn’t be able to look or dance the way I did before pregnancy and birth.” It was a fear that Toni shared. When asked what concerns she had about pregnancy, Toni answers, “That my body would never be the same. Its true, my body has never been the same. So what.” However, Toni concedes, “Like most dancers, I am hard on my body image, and that got worse after having a baby.”
Interviews
Pas de Deux: Two Career Dancers On Pregnancy
Balancing any career with motherhood has its challenges but mother/dancers certainly face some unique concerns and questions. To produce a picture of what it is like for mothers who are also professional dancers, I spoke with two dancing moms, one a ballet dancer, one a contemporary dance artist and choreographer. In this first installment, we discuss pregnancy and what it is like to dance and perform while expecting.
Interview With Roslyn Bazzelle, Creator Of PIYOLET
Roslyn Bazzelle is a singer, songwriter, and practicing attorney. She is also a fitness instructor and creator of PIYOLET. PI – for Pilates. YO – for Yoga. LET as in Ballet. PIYOLET is a low impact fitness regimen for all ages, designed to diversify and keep the mind, body and soul refreshed and fit. Roz talks about PIYOLET, her DVD series, and gives away her product to three DA readers.
Unifying Women and Mothers Through Dance
I knew also that she was employed as a dance teacher in Scotland, doing a job very much the same yet also very different from that of many dance instructors. She will tell you more about this work in her own words but I feel it speaks to the affect dance and movement can have on the soul and on a group of people. Occasionally, I like to step away from the technical, instructional, business, and material side of dance to remind myself and those reading of the unifying and universal power of dance. As Camille will reiterate, I hope this reminder will encourage those of us who hold keys to find their own unique ways of unlocking this potential in dance.
Profile of an American Icon: A Few Words With Paul Taylor
I feel very honored that Mr. Taylor took the time to answer a few questions about his life and work in an email interview. Paul Taylor is one of the most prominent and influential choreographers of our time. Yet, in the late 1940’s he was studying painting and swimming on scholarship at Syracuse University when amidst a series of seemingly unrelated dance experiences he was struck by a revelation or, as he describes it in his autobiography Private Domain a “flash of recognition… an unignorable hunch” that he was to become a dancer.
First of All — A Chat with Prix de Lausanne Winner Emanuel Amuchastegui
At the Prix de Lausanne, he performed a classical variation from August Bournonville’s La Sylphide and a contemporary solo, Caliban, from Cathy Marston’s The Tempest. In addition to winning PDL’s top prize, Amuchasetgui also brought home the “Audience Favorite” award. In the wake of his win, Amachastegui was kind enough to answer a few questions about his experience at the prestigious competition, his training, and his life outside of dance.
