Dance Like An Artist

For the past two weeks, our Intermediate/Advanced Ballet class has been learning a variation from Act I of the ballet Raymonda, choreographed by Marius Petipa. At this year's Grand Prix de Lausanne 2012, an extremely talented young woman named Madoka Sugai from Japan performed this variation and won the grand prize! Click on the video to watch her performance.

One of the most difficult things to achieve as a dancer is to not only be technically precise but also be able to perform--after all, dance is still an art form. It sounds simple enough, but in reality it takes a tremendous about of courage and vulnerability to be able to express oneself and share his/her experiences with the audience. Whether you can personally relate to a character or not, there is always an experience that you can draw from your life to connect yourself to a particular movement or to the nuances in the music. To draw this connection and to convey it purely through movement is what makes a dancer a true artist.