I can't believe it--the Caltech Dance Show is almost two months away!
This year's Dance Show will be held on April 12 and April 13 (plus a mandatory dress rehearsal on April 11) and the Caltech Ballet Club will be putting on a piece choreographed by Corey McCullough, our Contemporary/Modern Ballet instructor. Everyone is welcome to participate, even beginners! If you are interested, I highly encourage each and every one of you to join. Be sure to let one of the instructors or club coordinators know as soon as possible if you want to participate.
Dancing on stage is an experience you're not likely to forget (you'll have so much fun!) but more importantly, it will take your dancing to a whole new level. Just as challenging yourself in class by doing an extra turn or doing barre on releve will make you grow as a dancer, challenging yourself by taking what you've learned in class to the stage will make you grow as an artist--ballet is a performing art after all. A talented dance instructor once told me that performance is something you should always practice--even at the barre. What you learn at the barre must translate in the centre and that what you learn in the centre must in turn carry on to the stage. A seamless transition between them requires muscle memory. Muscle memory is not just limited to doing steps and holding positions--it also applies to how you move your head, your arms, and your shoulders. These are components in movement that add quality and expression without which one will be nothing short of repeating a series of memorizes steps.
So, whether it's a plie exercise at the barre or an adagio combination in the centre, always be telling a story. It will make the transition from class to stage that much easier.
Watch this video of Royal Ballet Principals Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares explaining a scene from Swan Lake:
