4dancers

Today we have 10 Questions with Jacqueline Moscicke from the Joffrey…

1. How did you become involved with dance?

When I was little I would jump off furniture trying to imitate Baryshnikov and ended up in the emergency room a few times. That’s when my parents decided to take me to a ballet class. 

Jacqueline Moscicke, Photo by Richard Brodzeller

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I joined The Joffrey Ballet in July.

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

One of my favorite moments was being featured in Margo Sappington’s, Common people.  The ballet turned into a film documentary called Gonzo Ballet with William Shatner. Another great ballet experience was being Clara in the Nutcracker, it will always hold a magical spot in my heart.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

The best advice I received was from my Grandpa, he said “write it all down before you forget all these special moments”.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

I would have to say there’s a company for everyone, you just have to search for where you feel comfortable and fit best.

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

Injuries are the worst!  I had loads of doubts and insecurities when I had ankle surgery. I missed all the other dancers, felt left out, and wondered if I’d ever catch up again. 

Jacqueline Moscicke, Photo by Richard Brodzeller

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

It’s hard to explain my love for ballet, I just feel most at peace when I’m on stage.

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

I definitely am superstitious.  I can’t go up on stage too much before the show starts or I’ll get nervous, and I keep good luck charms with me in my dressing room.

9. Where you do think dance is headed?

Hopefully rock ballets continue to become more popular they’re great fun to do!

10. What is next for you?

I’ll be taking in all the wonderful new things I’m discovering in Chicago, with The Joffrey Ballet.

BIO: Originally from Sussex Wisconsin Jacqueline Moscicke received her formal training at Milwaukee Ballet School on full scholarship. In 2003, she received honorable mention in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts competition. In 2006 and 2008, Ms. Moscicke was featured as Clara in Milwaukee Ballet’s the Nutcracker. Other roles she has enjoyed performing are George Balachine’s Agon, variations from Marius Petipia’s Raymonda, appearing as the Songbird Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty,  and Margo Sappinton’s Common People which is featured in William Schatner’s Gonzo Ballet Documentary. She spent seven years with Milwaukee ballet Company and is thrilled to be joining The Joffrey Ballet.

Property of Ballet Quad Cities, Photo by Joe Maciejko

1. How did you become involved with dance?

My mother took me to see a performance when I was five years old and I said to her “I want to be a ballet dancer when I grow up”. I always thought it a bit funny because who really believes it when their five year old makes a statement like that, but my mother did. I could never really thank her enough for believing in me from such a young age.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am currently employed by Ballet Quad Cities and have been dancing with the company professionally for seven years. I grew up in this community so it is great to be able to give back through performances and the interactive educational programs we take into the schools. Last year we touched over 10,000 students with our art form.

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

The opportunity to perform in New York city with BQC as part of Ballet Builders 2010 was something I didn’t expect to do in my career and I was definitely nervous. When we finished our piece “Ash to Glass” and the audience started clapping I was overwhelmed with pride for the company and myself. What a great feeling! I also can’t forget all of the great people that I have been fortunate to work with. Deanna Carter, BQC’s resident choreographer, has pushed me to do more than I ever thought possible through her coaching and her belief in me as an artist.  

Property of Ballet Quad Cities, Photo by Joe Maciejko

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

There really isn’t just one. There seems to be this data bank full of all of the ideas my teachers have given to me over the years that have laid dormant until someone else has said the same thing to me years later. The one that I have had on my mind is how to work smarter not harder. I love that piece of advice because so often I would push myself so hard all I would do is end up more frustrated and tired than need be. I would just muscle through things to make things happen. Taking a step back though has helped me to step forward and grow into a more of a thinking dancer.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

Be humble. I think without humility one loses the ability to grow and learn. I am definitely not saying to lack in confidence but check your ego at the door and be open to whomever may come in no matter how crazy you think their theories may be. You will never know until you try. I have seen dancers be so resistant to teachers and choreographers simply because they didn’t “agree” and they end up fading into the background. Just work hard and be ready to learn.

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

I think my own self image has hindered me more than anything. Not letting you get the better of you is a daily struggle. When judging yourself so harshly on a daily basis it is hard to keep things in perspective. Injuries seem to be unavoidable but I have found that dealing with the physical side of dance is easier to manage than the mental challenges that come with the job.

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

Pointe shoes. But, in all seriousness, if it weren’t for them I would have been a modern or contemporary dancer. I think there is a sort of romanticism about pointe shoes that a young girl has when she sees someone floating across the stage en pointe. I don’t think I ever got over that fantasy. I also love the way ballet in general can fuse such great athleticism and pure artistry. The challenge of how to make those things work together is what really drives me to keep doing what I am doing.

Property of Ballet Quad Cities, Photo by Joe Maciejko

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

My routines always seem to change but there are a few things that I never do! First I have to stand at the same place at the barre once we get into the theater. Secondly I have to put on and take off my pointe shoes because they never seem to feel quite right the first time around. I also can’t have my hair feel loose. If it does it’s time to start over and there has to be tons of hairspray. I am not really a superstitious person I just need to feel ready. One has enough things to think about when performing without thinking about hair or shoe malfunctions.

9. Where you do think dance is headed?

Dance could go in so many directions. With dancers doing more and more physically each year choreography has the challenge to keep up while maintaining the balance of virtuosity and artistry. I also sincerely hope that ballet companies keep the classics like Giselle and Swan Lake even though it is difficult for many companies to stage such productions today.

10. What is next for you?

I am really looking forward to the upcoming season. Our first performance will be “I Vampire”. It will be based on a book written by a local author, Michael Romkey. I have just finished reading it and can’t wait to see how his book comes to life through dance.

Bio: Heidi Dunn began her ballet training at City Center School of the Arts, now Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance. She also trained with Ballet Conservatory of St. Louis with Nathalie Levine. In 1999, she was invited to become an apprentice with Cassandra Manning Ballet Theater under the direction of Johanne Jakhelln. Since becoming a full company member in 2003 she has worked with Dominic Walsh in “Die Hochzeit” and was featured as Clara in his 2008 version of the “Nutcracker”. She has worked with Deanna Carter in “Dracula” as Lucy, “Ash to Glass”, and as Carmen in ”Carmen”. While working with the company she has also had the pleasure of working with Domingo Rubio, Cleo Mack, Simone Ferro, and L.D. Kidd. This will be Ms. Dunn’s 8th season with Ballet Quad Cities.

In Part II of our series, we are following up on the interview with Risa Kaplowitz and talking today with Susan Jaffe, who was recently named Ballet Mistress for American Ballet Theatre…

I also have to point out this wonderful interview Susan did with Charlie Rose in 2002. Don’t miss it.

1.  What is your teaching philosophy and who has it been influenced by?

This is a question one can write entire book on, but below is snap shot of my philosophy. Also, I have had many great teachers in my life including books, artists from other professions, and life’s circumstances (good and bad), but here is a list of people from my professional ballet life that have mostly influenced my teaching: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Irina Kolpakova, Elena Tchernichova, Christina Bernal, Nancy Bielski and Julio Horvath-who created Gyrotonics.

Susan Jaffe

I am very much focused, when teaching a ballet class, on correct placement, correct use of turn out, breadth, coordination of the arms and head and legs, using the oppositional forces within a step, i.e. every force has an equal and opposite force going in the opposite direction within the body. For example, to releve´ the dancer must push down into the floor through the legs to rise up to pointe. Secondly, it is important that the dancer takes all of these skills and transforms them into a movement quality with the understanding of the use of dynamic, musicality, amplitude, and of course, the heart, which is the source that allows a dancer freedom and genuine expression.

At the beginning a dancer needs to understand how to stand up correctly. This includes not only the proper placement of the torso, arms, feet, head and legs, the correct use of turn out, and the correct coordination, but also where to direct ones energy and focus while executing a step. This is a very sophisticated understanding of the body and requires much will and focus to acquire. Then as the dancer progresses, those same ideas apply when s/he is moving through space, which requires added strength, skill and application of those same principals.

I try to teach all of this within the appropriate stages and levels of maturity of a young dancer’s training. Each level can be taken to higher levels of understanding and sophistication that equals their abilities. I also try to be as honest, but as positive and reassuring as I can. It is important for a dancer to know what they need to work on, but it is equally important how a dancer approaches their work and how they feel about themselves while they work. If they are implementing their corrections with the joy and curiosity of learning, then they will improve much faster than if they go into habits of self-flagellation. My quest is to empower the dancer with their-own confidence, curiosity, self- exploration and passion to learn and improve.

2. What is your best advice for a dancer who wants to become a professional?

To become educated about your art whether it is in or out of class. It is important to know dance history, see the greats (past and present) in the profession in videos or movies, go to museums, listen to great music, and read literature. It is also important to get to know yourself on a deep level and understand what is beautiful and horrible about humanity. Never stop trying to learn as much as you can about you, and it. Then you will have the possibility to become a professional that can transform pure movement into genuine inspiration. You should not aim to be a technical machine; a true dancer is guided by their heart and soul to speak a language that is deep, informed, and inspired. That is where the real art of ballet lies. Aim for that.     

Susan Jaffe rehearsing "Lilac Garden", Photo: Paul B. Goode

3.  How has your dance career informed and impacted your teaching?

Everything that I have done in my life has impacted my teaching. It takes many, many years to understand this art form and what makes it come alive. But, while I was dancing I reinvented my approach to technique several times throughout my career. That has informed me a great deal about how long it takes to change a habit or to implement a new idea. It takes tremendous patience and perseverance and I am able to support a dancer through a change because I lived it myself.

4. What was it like to leave the stage and start teaching in the classroom?

When I left the stage, I was ready to go, so teaching was a nice way to give back to the art form that I have loved all my life. That is the way dance continues on, and it seemed like the most natural thing to do for me.

5. What will you miss about teaching at Princeton Dance & Theater Studio and what are you looking forward to in your new role as ballet mistress at ABT?

The thing I will miss most from my school is my students and the lovely families that came together as a result of opening the school.

What I am looking forward to in working at ABT is being able to share what I have learned on a more sophisticated level (now we are getting into roles and dramaturgy. Yeah!) to the dancers that are going out there and performing those roles. I already started working with them last spring and it has been a real joy. I look forward to more of it.

Susan Jaffe

BIO: Declared by the New York Times as “America’s Quintessential American Ballerina” Susan Jaffe danced as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre for 20 years. Prominent in the international dance scene as well, her European engagements included performances with The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Munich State Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet in Milan, The Vienna State Opera Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, and The English National Ballet.

Ms. Jaffe’s versatility as a dancer allowed her to tackle a large range of choreographic works. This not only included her acclaimed interpretations of the classics like Swan Lake but also the dramatic works of John Cranko, Anthony Tudor, Agnes DeMille and Kenneth MacMillian. She also worked with and danced the works of many prominent choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Lar Lubovitch, Nacho Duato and Roland, Petit, David Parsons, Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham, Ronald Hynd, Frederick Ashton, Ulysses Dove and Lynn Taylor Corbett.

In 2003, one year after her retirement from the stage, Ms. Jaffe co-founded the Princeton Dance & Theatre Studio in Princeton, New Jersey where she enjoys passing on the wealth of her knowledge to her dance students. Along with teaching for American Ballet Theatre and giving corporate lectures for Duke Corporate Education, Ms. Jaffe has expanded into choreography. Her choreographic achievements to date include “The Nutcracker” “Pop Sonata” “Velez Pas de Deux” “Sleeping Beauty Act lll” “Raymonda Divertessments” “Novem Pas de Deux” “Ballet Studies”, “Tarantella”, “Royenne”, “UnCaged” and the “Cancan.” She also wrote a children’s book, “Becoming a Ballerina” for children ages 7-13.

Ms. Jaffe has recently been named Ballet Mistress at American Ballet Theatre; a position she will fulfill in October of 2010.

Over the next two days we will feature two people on 4dancers–with 5 questions each. Risa Kaplowitz and Susan Jaffe worked together to found Princeton Dance & Theater Studio, so we thought we’d reach out to them both and talk about their experiences with teaching and dance. Part I features Risa Kaplowitz…tune in tomorrow for Part II with Susan Jaffe…

Risa Gary Kaplowitz

1. Can you tell readers a bit about how Princeton Dance & Theater
Studio came about and why you and Ms. Jaffe decided to collaborate together?

Susan and I were very good friends while studying at Maryland Youth Ballet (MYB). We fell out of touch during our individual careers, but at our ballet teacher, Tensia Fonseca’s 80th birthday party, we reconnected. Susan told some of us in confidence that she was going to be announcing her retirement soon. I had been working on a business plan for a studio in Princeton, and I probably had the first little idea at that party that maybe, just maybe, Susan would want to open it with me. My daughter was 4 at the time and I couldn’t find a local studio that offered what I wanted for her. I realized I wanted to open a place that had the essence—the great training plus the nurture—of MYB (which was the first training ground for many renowned ballet dancers including Julie Kent.)

During the reception of Susan’s final performance as Giselle at the Met, she put her arm around me and said, “Who knows, maybe one day you and I will open a school together.” That was all I needed to hear to be tenacious in getting everything in order so that she would finally say, “Okay, I’ll open it with you”. 

2. Would you describe your philosophy when it comes to teaching ballet and how it was formed over time?

My teaching is probably most reflective of Maggie Black and Marjorie Mussman. While I definitely have certain elements of Mrs. Fonseca’s and Lupe Serrano’s (whom I had while at the School of PA Ballet) “fire-in-the-belly” type of passion in the classroom, Maggie and Marjorie were instrumental in helping me to understand the physicality of ballet. Everything in my career changed after I began studying with them in NYC, and I want my students to have that type of knowledge sooner rather than later.

Although I teach their philosophy, I’ve developed my own language and imagery to communicate the concepts I first received from them.  I stress proper placement as the starting point of all work, which for me includes engaging the inner-thigh on the supporting leg and having an “inner” energy on the sides of the pelvis and an “outer” energy in the upper back. I call it the “Superman” look or suggest they think of it like a hydraulic—a force in on the sides of the hips, which comes out through the sides of the back like a fountain. This translates into a very strong and secure base while having a broad and expressive upper back without jutting the ribs out.

Maggie and Marjorie worked with many modern dancers as well as ballet dancers (in class with me at Maggie’s were such diverse dancers as ballet stars Martine Van Hamel, Kevin McKenzie, Robert Hill, Gary Christ, and Gelsey Kirkland to modern inventors such as Elisa Monte and Twyla Tharp’s company dancers). Maggie and Marjorie (who was ballet mistress/teacher for Mark Morris until her death last year) taught a very unaffected and grounded technique. It provided the necessary foundation for all styles of dance. I have modified this approach in my ballet classes to use more épaulement and port de bras focus than they did.

I have also been exposed to the ABT National Dance Curriculum, in which Susan became certified last year. I particularly like the port de bras co-ordination, and I will be going to their training sessions myself this summer. I’m certain that my ballet training philosophy will continue to evolve for the rest of my life, which is what makes teaching so interesting for me. 

Risa Kaplowitz, Teaching Students

3. What has been the most satisfying aspect of this portion of your dance career?

Seeing all of our students become empowered through authentic ballet training is priceless to me. We have several students who did not have the facility to be ballet dancers who have gone on to get into the finest summer intensives, and several others who are in premier training companies, such as HBII. We are always told that our dancers stand out in auditions because of their clean, strong technique. While we’ll certainly rejoice loudly when one of our students gets a contract to a major company, we rejoice daily at the incremental advances any student makes.

4. What is your best advice for those who want to improve their teaching ability in the classroom?

My advice is to bring in master teachers, watch great dancers, and teach, teach, teach. One of the great perks of having Susan as a business partner has not only been having Susan in the studios but also the many guest teachers whom she has brought in over the years such as Cynthia Gregory, Desmond Richardson, Robert Hill, Martine Van Hamel, Irina Dvorovenko, Maxim Beloserkovsky, Sascha Radetsky, Ethan Stiefel, and Stephanie Saland. This week we had Julie Kent at our SI. The experience of watching these talents so closely has informed my teaching and so has going to see great ballet performances as much as possible. Susan and I were fortunate enough to have watched several Paris Opera Ballet school classes in their studios in France.

Ironically, I learn the most from my students. I feel their work viscerally, which is important for my understanding of each individual dancer. After so many years of teaching, just recently am I able to say, “Oh I remember feeling this way with a student or seeing this with so and so, and this is what worked for them.” There are so many individual issues, which either can be exasperated or minimized with the right training, that it is important to provide as many individual corrections as possible as opposed to blanket general correction. As with anything, the more a teacher experiences and teaches, the more she has to offer.

5. What is it like to work with Ms. Jaffe, and how would you describe her?

This is a hard question because it is like asking me to describe a member of my family. The lines between our work relationship and long-term friendship are too blurred to comment simply. What I can say is that Susan has bridged beautifully her life on the stage to her life in the studio as a teacher, choreographer and coach. She is extremely detailed in her teaching and coaching and has been an extraordinary role model to our students.

As you may have heard, she was recently named a ballet mistress at ABT—a position for which her experiences over the past seven years at PDT has helped prepare her. While she will not be at PDT as regularly as before, she will come to teach whenever possible. Our students are like our children, and she wants to keep working with PDT as much as possible. I’ll miss seeing her every week, but her presence will always be felt in the school we built.

BIO: 

Risa Kaplowitz, a former principal ballerina with Dayton Ballet, drew critical acclaim for her portrayals of Giselle, Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Additionally, she was a member of Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and Manhattan Ballet.

Ms. Kaplowitz originally trained at Maryland Youth Ballet and went on to study with Maggie Black, Marjorie Mussman, Stuart Sebastian, Ben Stevenson, and Lupe Serrano. She has performed the repertoire of many choreographers including Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, Ben Stevenson, Stuart Sebastian, Dermot Burke, and Marjorie Mussman.

Ms. Kaplowitz first experienced the thrill of teaching ballet at the request of Josephine Schwartz, founder of Dayton Ballet. After her performing career, she became a regular teacher at Theater Dance Studio in NYC, assisted choreographers at The Julliard School and taught master classes for major dance conventions and competitions. After leaving the dance world for several years to grow a family and experience a “real world” business career as the New Jersey sales representative for Mikasa, Ms. Kaplowitz found her true calling when, in 2003, she co-founded Princeton Dance and Theater Studio (PDT) with former ABT ballerina, Susan Jaffe.

In addition to her duties at PDT, Ms. Kaplowitz is the Artistic director of DanceVision Inc. and founded D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education), an outreach program that brings dance to New Jersey schools. She has choreographed more than twenty works, and her choreography has been seen at New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Family Concerts at NJPAC. Ms. Kaplowitz’s original full-length ballet, The Secret Garden, based on the classic book by Francis Hodgson Burnett, premiered with DanceVision Youth Ensemble in 2008.

This week on “10 Questions With…” we welcome Tye Love from Oklahoma City Ballet…

1. How did you become involved with dance?

I went to a performance of The Nutcracker when I was four years old. I believe I just fell in love with the Prince and Mouse King fighting with swords, but I kept begging my Mom to let me do that! So she told me if I wanted to be in the performance I would have to take ballet, and I waited til that summer to start. She figured I would just forget about it, but when summer was about to start I asked her “Are you going to go sign me up for ballet?” I’ve been doing it ever since.

Tye Love

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I currently am a Professional dancer with the Oklahoma City Ballet for the 2010-2011 season. This past season I freelanced across Texas and Missouri.

3. Can you share a moment from your career that is especially memorable?

I’ll never forget performing in Shanghai, China. I traveled to China with the University of Oklahoma dance department. We performed four shows in five days. I was dancing an opening heavy partnering pas de deux, into the full Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, into a heavy Gershwin piece, and closing as a soloist in Les Patineurs. Toughest performance of my life!

4. What’s the best advice about dancing that you have ever heard?

I really think the best advice I’ve had is from my mentor John Magnus. He has constantly told me to just relax and go for it in every step. Ballet can be so frustrating and so precise but if you don’t relax and just dance you will never get anywhere.

5. Do you have any advice specifically for men in dance?

I would think the two most important aspects for men in dance are elegance and partnering. Most men like to focus on jumps, turns and tricks, but if you cannot stand on stage with elegance and look beautiful doing absolutely nothing you aren’t a great dancer. As for partnering, it is a whole different technique in itself, and it requires so much focus and strength.

6. If you could share the stage with one dancer, who would it be and why?

I would love to partner Sarah Lane from ABT in Giselle. Her artistry is incredible and her dancing is so clean and spectacular.

7. How do you prepare for your roles on stage? Do you have a pre-performance routine?

I don’t have a whole lot of superstitions or pre-preformance routines that I repeat. I just simply need some coffee day of the performance, I also never do my hair and makeup before warm up class even if I am in the first piece. Class is time for my body to get ready to perform and I use the quick time while I am putting on my makeup to think about what role I am playing and get into character.

8. How does dance help you in your day-to-day life?

I think the focus in dance helps you in any other job you would work. The dedication and determination you put into ballet can transfer into any work field. I just feel that all dancers are more passionate people in general.

9. What is the most difficult thing about being a dancer?

The grind. Every sport has its down time its off season, but in dance we have no off season. If I take two weeks off I feel it, I feel as if I have lost something. A career in ballet is definitely a marathon, no stops.

10. What is next for you?

Next month I begin my career in a professional company with Oklahoma City Ballet. We have a great season planned with great choreography from Balanchine, Arpino and Jessica Lang. I can’t wait to get started!

And today on “10 Questions With…” the lovely Carolyn Judson…

1. What was the road to becoming a dancer like for you?

The road to becoming a dancer for me was pretty usual, I think. I began by dancing as a child, just enjoying my after-school hobby.  During high school, I began going to summer programs and learning that I could potentially dance as a profession!  I decided to leave home during my senior year of high school to train with the Houston Ballet Academy in hopes of deciding for sure if this was the path I wanted to take in my life. I had the most amazing year in Houston and I learned that dancing ballet was really what I wanted to do “when I grew up” and, thanks to my supportive family, I deferred acceptance to college and continued to pursue a ballet career. 

After another year in Houston, I fell in love with the Houston Ballet, the company that their director, Ben Stevenson, had created.  When Ben announced his resignation as the director of the Houston Ballet and informed us that he would be moving to direct a company in Fort Worth, I decided to audition for that company.  I got accepted as a corps member with his company, Texas Ballet Theater, and have been dancing happily there for 7 years now.   

2. What are you currently doing in dance?

Carolyn Judson

Because I am in Ben Stevenson’s company, I get the privilage to dance his amazing choreography.  I dance in many of his classical story ballets and neoclassical ballets.  This season, Texas Ballet Theater is performing Ben’s Cinderella and his Four Last Songs, two of my all-time favorites of his work.  I’m very excited about that! 

3. Do you have any advice for those who want to dance professionally?

My advice would be to stay true to yourself.  If you want to pursue a professional dance career, you already know that you love it.  Don’t forget that.  Don’t be afraid to pour your heart into it, because if you really enjoy what you’re doing, it will come across on stage and, ultimately, be so fullfilling. 

 4. For you, how does the music fit into dancing?

 For me, it is all about the music.  The music is what I use to communicate with people and what I use to convey a message or tell a story.  It tells me how to move, how to react with other people, and how to feel.  The music is my favorite part about dancing.

5. Would you share a special moment from your career thus far?

I have had some really special moments on stage, some that only last for a second, but I’ll never forget them.  Usually, moments are special when I have a really natural connection with a person on stage.  A moment when I am really “in it.”  Those are the moments that I live for on stage because it means that I’ve given my whole self to the character.  I often will go back and watch the video of the special show or of the special moment, but it’s never the same.  I just have to keep those moments in my memory! 

6. What has been your favorite role to date, and why?

My favorite role to dance is the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. One reason is that the music in the ballet is more than beautiful. I can’t even think of words to describe it that would do it justice.  The other reason is that it is so amazing to create such a strong connection with someone else on stage. It is so thrilling to be Juliet, following her heart and loving someone so completely. I have danced the role twice now, and I hope there will be more opportunities to be Juliet in my future!

7. Do you think that dance has helped you in your personal life? If so, how?

Whenever I had a bad day at school or I felt stressed out about something, I could always depend on dance class to lift my spirits when I was younger.  I loved that I could forget about whatever else was happening and I could just focus on my dancing.  I still love that.  Whether I am in a dance studio or on stage, dancing has given me a place where I’ve always felt comfortable and a place where I can be myself.  I’m never as comfortable in my own skin as I am when I’m dancing. 

8. What do you think the future of dance holds?

I think that the future of dance is very bright.  It’s always so interesting and inspiring to see all of the new choreography that is being created.  Also, there has been such a huge developement in the popularity of dance, largely because of TV shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars.  It is so great that the awarness of dance is being spread.  While dancers take enormous amounts of joy from dancing for ourselves, a huge part of this profession is dancing for other people.  If we didnt have the interest, where would dance be?

9. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

I think that my biggest challenge in dance is the fact that I don’t always believe in myself.  I set very high standards for myself, which I think is important to some degree, but sometimes those standards are so high that I doubt myself and my abilities.  I’m so afraid of not being great and of what people think of me that it is easy for me to miss out on opportunities and great new experiences.  I’m still working on that!

10. What is next for you?

Next for me is another great season with Texas Ballet Theater!  As I mentioned before, I am excited about dancing in Cinderella and Four Last Songs, which we will be performing in our upcoming 2010-2011 season.  We are also going to be performing Don Quixote and I am excited about that as well becuase I have never been in it before!  Besides ballet, though, the next thing I’ll be doing is getting married next summer!  I can’t wait for that day!

Bio: Carolyn Judson moved from Sacramento, California to Houston, Texas in 2001 to train with Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. She joined Texas Ballet Theater in 2003 where she has been featured in the title roles in Ben Stevenson’s Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, and Cleopatra. At the end of the 2008-2009 season, Carolyn received the Ben Stevenson Award. This is her eighth season with Texas Ballet Theater.

Today’s “10 Questions With…” features Avichai Scher…dancer and choreographer…

1. Can you tell me about how you came to be a choreographer?

I was always choreographing and making little dances in my living room. At age 16 I got my first chance to make a short piece for the SAB choreography workshop, and I was hooked, I knew I had to continue. 

Avichai Scher, Photo by by Matthew Murphy

2. Would you comment on the process? How do you come up with the movements you create?

I am inspired by music and dancers. So, I’ll be grabbed by a piece of music and then a specific dancer will appear in my head and I’ll imagine how that dancer would move to the music. When I get in to the studio, I have an outline of the piece, but the movements tend to come to me on the spot and I develop it with who’s in front of me, hopefully that same dancer I originally imagined. 

3. What are some of your “career highlights” thus far?

A big highlight was working with ABT Studio Company when I was 18. That was a major learning experience and a big honor for me at a young age. Recently, working with Marcelo Gomes for the debut season of my company was a dream come true. 

4. You still dance as well as choreograph. How is the feeling different when you perform someone else’s work?

Dancing in works by other choreographers is a great learning experience for my own choreography. I get to physicalize and internalize different points of view and (good or bad) they filter into my own work. 

5. When you were chosen by DANCE Magazine as on of the “Top 25 To Watch” in choreography—what was your reaction?

I was shocked and ecstatic, to put it mildly. I had felt like I would be a good candidate for that, choreographing at such a young age, but didn’t actually think it would actually happen anytime soon. 

6. What are some of the things that inform and inspire your work?

I go to see A LOT of dance. I take full advantage of what there is to see in NYC. It always surprises me what sticks in my head, sometimes I hated a whole show but there was one gesture that stayed with me forever. 

7. What other choreographers do you especially admire and why?

Of course Balanchine and Robbins are my biggest influences as I grew up at SAB, I’ve seen basically all of their works several times. For new works, I’ve been inspired lately by Alexei Ratmansky’s large scale classicism and Anabelle Lopez Ochoa’s dance-theater style. 

8. Is there a piece of music that you just find completely compelling?

I like many different types of music so it’s hard to choose just one piece. Right now I’m hooked on the music of Elena Kats-Chernin, a contemporary composer who’s music I hope to use soon. 

Avichai Scher, Photo by Matthew Murphy

9. Do you have any advice for up-and-coming choreographers?

My advice to an up and coming choreographer is to be pro-active about your career. You have to find and create opportunities all the time and you have to be your own biggest fan to keep the motivation.  

10. What is next for you?

My company is performing at Jacob’s Pillow July 23, I’m creating a new work for Ballet West and Ballet West II, and another Avi Scher & Dancers NYC season is in the works.

Bio: Avichai Scher, 26, was born in NYC and raised in Israel. He returned to New York to study on scholarship at the School of American Ballet for eight years. There he had the opportunity to perform Fritz and the Nutcracker Prince with New York City Ballet in The Nutcracker for four seasons. A desire to work with many different companies and choreographers took him on a journey, dancing with ten different companies in six years: Sacramento Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Joffrey Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, European Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Carolina Ballet and Ballet X. Some standout roles have included: Puck in Ashton’s The Dream, working with Sir Anthony Dowell, “Red-Man” in Elemental Brubeck, choreographed and staged by Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris’s A Garden, Michael Smuin’s Shinju, Matthew Neenan’s Steelworks, and Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. Scher always had the desire to be a choreographer and his first professional commissions came at age 18, creating Jouons for American Ballet Theater Studio Company and The Perilous Night for Miami City Ballet. Since then his work has works at: Miami City Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School’s annual showcases, Usdan Center for the Arts, Washington Ballet Studio Company, Harvard University, Festival Ballet Providence, Manhattan Youth Ballet, West Wave Dance Festival, Ballet Builders, Sacramento Ballet, and Shut Up & Dance: Dancers of Pennsylvania Ballet. Dance Magazine recognized his choreography by naming him one of the “Top 25 To Watch,” and he is the recipient of the Strassler excellence Award from Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. In 2009 his company Avi Scher & Dancers debuted at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and danced its first NYC season at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in April 2010. He has created 6 works for the company and the performances have included several guest principal dancers from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater and Boston Ballet.

This week on “10 Questions With…” we have Philip Elson, a dancer and student at Columbia College in Chicago…

1. Can you tell readers how you came to be involved with dance? 

My parents put me in dance and gymnastics when I was three years old.  Both of my sisters started dance classes before me.  When I was eight years old I decided that I liked dance more than gymnastics and spent more of my time training in Ballet, Jazz, and Tap.  I participated in a lot in competitions and conventions with my local studio in Fort Worth, Texas.  It wasn’t until I went to college that I began to learn and experience more about contemporary forms of dance and find the path that I am on now. 

2. What has your experience been like at Columbia College?

Philip Elson, Photo by Andreas E.G. Larsson

Columbia has provided me with so much rich information!  When I came to Columbia I already possessed a lot of technical training in various forms.  When I was looking for dance programs I wanted one that would help me refine my technique, but inform me more about the world of dance.  I felt like I didn’t know a lot about dance, and that’s where Columbia came into play.  The staff and faculty at The Dance Center have vast scholastic, performance, and choreographic experience that molds into what I think of as an extremely high level of dance education in the collegiate realm.  Columbia was not only able to help me answer those questions of why I dance, or what is it about dance that actually captivates me, but it has helped me to expand on my creative abilities to enhance  values that I admire so much in my work. 

3. What are you currently doing with dance? 

Currently I am dancing with The Seldoms, about to begin my third season.  I am also co-producing a show called Under Construction: Socio-Analytical Perspectives on Gender Culture Through Dance, which will take place in August at Links Hall.  In July I will be showing my work Mode of Duration at The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010: Chicagofor a chance to win $10,000 amongst other Chicago choreographers.  I have also begun to work behind the scenes and partake in videography for dance performances including making DVD’s and reels for other dance artists, and doing technical work for various dance performances.   

4. What was the best dance advice you have ever received?

Never stop asking questions.  Never stop asking yourself, and never stop asking others.  If you do stop, then you won’t grow or learn anything more that will help you develop your work, or develop yourself as a human being. 

5. Do you have any favorite dancers?

What makes a dancer one of my favorites is having the ability to either dance with them or learn more about why they dance including what is behind their movement that makes it so stunning.  I have always admired Carrie Hanson, even before becoming a member of The Seldoms.  Her movement is so pure and captivating to my eye.  Darrell Jones is a man who loves to move in various ways.  I have seen him work with ballet technique, vogue technique, and post-modern based techniques.  This man does so much and I see him completely lose sight of reality when he dances, it is all about what his body and mind are doing at any given moment.  It is truly amazing to watch him.  These two dancers and choreographers have shown a kind of freedom in the way that they move.  There is technicality underlying their dancing, but it only enhances what their body is capable of doing and expressing.  I see so many other dancers restricted by technique and get too caught up in the technical principles of moving.  These two dancers know that the technique is there and let it work for them so they can dance and move.  That is what creates the visceral experience that I have while watching them.  That’s why we call it dancing, not technical trickery. 

6. Can you give some advice to male dancers?

Photo by William Frederking

The best piece of advice I can give to male dancers is never take for granted the fact that you are a male and that getting a job might be easier for you.  I have seen many men not work as hard, simply because they don’t think they have to.  So many women have to work their butts off day after day to just get noticed by a choreographer, teacher, or other dancers and there is no reason why men should not have to work that hard.  I spend a lot of time taking class and continuing to develop my abilities to continually make myself better, not for personal gain, but for the gain of this art form and the potential audiences that haven’t been exposed to it yet.  In simple terms, nobody wants to work with a d*#k, so put your game face on and get some good work done. 

7. If you could ask one question of someone in the dance world, who would it be and what is the question?

I would love to sit down one day with Mikhail Baryshnikov and talk with him about his transformation with dance throughout his lifetime.  He is a man that has accomplished many things, but had the opportunity to encounter vastly different experiences in the dance world.  I would ask him what he found most fulfilling in dance and how that has helped to shape his identity as a human being.  

8. Would you share a moment from your dance career that is special to you in some way?

When I was teaching in Russia this last April with The Seldoms, a young dancer approached me after my class and thanked me for teaching her something she had never experienced before.  This completely changed my outlook on teaching and performing.  After sharing so much with these students in class I continued to feel the need to share more with them, and I was able to do this through our performance of Marchland at the Isadora International Contemporary Dance Festival.  As I performed I did not feel the need to impress anyone in the audience, but I felt compelled to share with them something about myself, about my culture, and about my love for dance. 

9. How does being a dancer prepare you for life?

I think being a dancer has instilled a great work ethic in my life.  It taught me that practice might not always make perfect, but it makes everything better.  I have also learned that failure is a great thing!  When I make mistakes I learn from them and move on so I don’t make similar mistakes again.  Dance taught me not to give up or quit, but to push though obstacles.  When I can get to the other side of the bumpy road, I can always look back and find strength in what I was able to accomplish.  Dance has also taught something very important about the way I keep an open mind and listen to those who have experience.  It has taught me the importance of sharing my life experiences with others around me.  Dance really has prepared me for the best and the worst.  It has gotten me through some of the best and worst times in my life. 

10. What’s next for you?

Graduation!  In May of 2011 I will graduate with my BFA in Dancemaking and a Minor in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago.  My work with The Seldoms will continue to develop in this next year and I will hopefully grow and be able to make more work independently as well.  In the next few years I hope to be able to travel internationally and spend time performing and making work in Europe.  There may be an MFA in Dance and an MBA in Arts Administration somewhere in my future to expand on my abilities to spread dance.  Ultimately I would like to come back to Chicago and expand on my experiences by building my own work, mentoring young and emerging artists, and exposing as many people as possible to contemporary dance.

Bio: PHILIP ELSON is a Chicago-based dance artist engaging with various arenas of dance research and performance including live performance, dance for camera, site-specific work, and experimental collaboration.  Currently he is co-producing and choreographing Under Construction: Socio-Analytical Perspectives on Gender Culture Through Dance, a production exploring socio-economic issues surrounding gender in American culture, which will take place in August at Links Hall.  Recently, Elson produced The Gender Bender Ball, a variety hour of dance, comedy improvisation, and theater, satirically commenting on gender status and identity.  His choreography has been showcased in Chicago as part of The Open Space Project, Poonie’s Cabaret, and exhibited at The Loyola University Museum of Art with The Seldoms.  In July, Elson’s work Mode of Duration will be presented as a Semi-Finalist in The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010: Chicago.  Elson has also choreographed for In It For Life Productions, Muscle Memory Dance Theater, the American College Dance Festival, and various dance studios across the country. In the last year Elson began exploring Dance for Camera and showed two dance films, Calamitous Ego and Meeting of the Minds, at the 2010 Chicago Fringe Artist Networking Night.  In the spring of this year Elson traveled to Krasnoyarsk, Russia to teach and perform at The Isadora International Contemporary Dance Festival. Currently he is pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and entering his third season as a dancer with The Seldoms. Philip has performed for companies and artists such as Carrie Hanson/The Seldoms, Jonathan Meyer/Khecari Dance Theater, Paige Cunningham, Liz Burritt, Matthew Hollis, Jyl Fehrenkamp, Laboratory Dancers, Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, and Collin County Ballet Theatre.

Today for our “10 Questions With…” series we have Matthew Powell; choreographer, teacher and dancer…

1. How did you become involved with dance?

Like many male dancers, I entered the world of ballet because my sister was already taking lessons. She was put into ballet classes when she was little to correct a hip alignment issue she was born with.  Every week, I would go with my parents to the studio to wait for her to finish.  Since I was hanging around so much, the director invited me to come in and take class. Luckily, I had a wonderful teacher who loved to choreograph. Our days in the studio were filled with rehearsals of her ballets.  I think if my time were spent doing only plies and tendus in class, I would easily have become bored. The intricacies of learning choreography, feeling the musicality, and finding ways to put a piece of myself into my dancing are what kept me coming back.  I stayed at that little studio for ten years, until I left for the School of American Ballet. I am so grateful for my time there, because it taught me at an early age the importance of being an artist rather than just a dancer executing steps.    

Matthew Powell Photo by Gavin Thomas

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am happy to say that I am very busy!  This summer, I am teaching ballet classes at Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, Brooklyn Ballet, Petrov Ballet, and substitute teaching at Ballet Academy East.  Later in the summer, I will be heading to Martha’s Vineyard to work as Ballet Master with Morphoses during their residency at the Vineyard Arts Project.  While there, choreographers Jessica Lang and Pontus Lidberg will be creating new works to music by David Lang. These will be performed at the Works & Process series at the Guggenheim on October 3^rd and 4^th.  Every aspect of this project excites and inspires me. To have the opportunity to be in the studio for five weeks with some of the world’s best dancers and choreographers is truly a gift. Morphoses is overflowing with artistic energy and positive vibes as the company grows into its new curatorial model, and I am so happy to be a part of it all.

3. You are a choreographer as well. What have you done, and how did you wind up going this direction?

Choreographing gives me the opportunity to create something physical out of the fantastic (and sometimes crazy) sensory episodes that whirl around in my mind when I hear a piece of music that I love.  Some of my favorite nights have been spent plugged into an ipod, dancing around the apartment by myself with a glass of wine and a good piece of brie. It’s a very personal experience for me, and for this reason, it can sometimes be difficult to muster the self-confidence needed to move forward with a piece. I love being in the studio and the process of creating, but once my work hits the stage, it becomes business and a part of my livelihood! Still, I enjoy the artistic challenges choreographing provides, so I continue. My first work was performed at a choreographic workshop at the Kansas City Ballet. Over the next two years, my Artistic Director, William Whitener invited me to create new works for the company’s summer residency in Colorado. He then nominated me for a fellowship from the New York Choreographic Institute, which I received in 2006. That work, Resonant Dances, was then performed as part of Kansas City Ballet’s 50^th Anniversary season. 

4. Can you talk a bit about how you come up with the movements you select to go with the music? What is the process…

It’s hard to pin down any specific process that has worked best for me. I really go on a case-by-case scenario.  Sometimes I create work on dancers I have known for years, so I have a good understanding of the way their bodies move best. Other times I am meeting the dancers for the first time the day we begin. When working with professionals, I like dancers to feel that the choreography I create for them meshes well with their strengths. This enables them to focus more on musicality and the overall feel of the piece. When I work with students, I often purposely create works that play on their weaknesses so they can use the piece as a means to become stronger dancers. Otherwise, my choreographic process is anyone’s guess!

5. What was the Crossroads Ballet Festival, and how were you involved with it?

Photo by Gavin Thomas

The Crossroads Ballet Festival was an incredible labor of love, and one of the most satisfying experiences of my career. Though I was the Founder and Artistic Director, it was only made possible thanks to the collaboration of some really wonderful friends in the arts community. The festival combined the talents of dancers from nine different ballet companies for two evenings of classical ballet favorites, three newly commissioned works, and George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes Pas de Deux. Dancers who participated in the festival came from New York City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Florida, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Kansas City Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet. Because the festival was presented in the middle of the summer, I was able to provide dancers with good employment, and balletomanes with incredible performances at a time of year when ballet companies are typically on hiatus.  We had budgeted for houses at 70% capacity, but ended up completely selling out, and had incredible audience response after each show. We took the small surplus we accrued and donated it to dance organizations in need.  My hope is to someday take the festival on the road every summer and perform in cities that do not have (or no longer have) a professional ballet company. Classical ballet needs more exposure in order to survive, and by bringing professional dancers to these communities, I feel this festival could help show just how wonderful and important the art is. One can dream.

6. Would you share one of your career highlights?

I wore a vest for Allegro Brillante that had a shoestring-type front to it. I had done a lift with my partner and was sliding her down my chest. En route, her costume hook latched onto my vest…we were trapped. She next had to run across the stage in one of Balanchine’s signature winding patterns. Not realizing what had happened, she began to take me with her! Even worse was the fact that my vest was now drawn so tight it was restricting airflow. Frantic costume ripping ensued, and finally we were freed from each other. We still laugh about the fiasco to this day. Perhaps not a career highlight, but it was definitely a performance I will never forget.

7.  What do you think are the most important qualities for a dancer to have?

Given the complexity and depth of artistry in today’s choreography, I think it’s important for dancers to be as versatile as possible. They should also be willing to drop inhibitions and take risks that may be out of their comfort zone. And, of course, they should have brilliant technique!

8.  Is there any advice you can give specifically to men in ballet?

Thankfully, the social stigmas surrounding men in ballet have slowly become less of an issue over the years.  However, it still can be tough, especially for younger male dancers. The best advice I can give is to work hard, be nice, and be patient – things will fall into place.

9.  What is it that you love so much about dance?

I love dancing because it is an art that so perfectly combines the physical and emotional aspects of human nature. Even better is the fact that this marriage is mutually beneficial for both the audience member and the dancer. Throughout my career, I have tried to become as well rounded as possible so I could continue in this incredible field beyond my dancing years. Thankfully, I have been given some wonderful opportunities to do so. Yet, had these never presented themselves, I’d still find someway to stay with the art – I’d dance for nickels in the subway stations of New York if that’s what it took.

10.  What is next for you?

I am excited about the prospects of working with such a pioneering company like Morphoses. I hope to continue to grow with them and contribute in any way I can.  Along with that, I will be joining the summer faculty at the Rock School in Philadelphia, and traveling a bit for some other guest-teachings. I am in talks with a few places to choreograph new works as well. I’d also love to continue exploring the possibility of taking the Crossroads Ballet Festival on the road in the summers. This is the first time in my life I’ve worked solely as a freelance artist. It’s a little intimidating, but very exciting. I’m happy, healthy, and working in the field I love. What more could I ask for?

Photo by Jordan Matter

As a teacher, Matthew was a faculty member with the Kansas City Ballet School, and has taught classes at institutions such as the Universities of Iowa and Alabama, Marymount Manhattan, and Ballet Academy East. He has taught company class for Kansas City Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre while on tour. Additionally, Matthew served as the company ballet teacher for the West Side Story International Tour. He is currently teaching ballet at Broadway Dance Center and Peridance.

Matthew’s choreography received a fellowship from the New York Choreographic Institute in 2006. In 2008, he founded and directed the Crossroads Ballet Festival, a celebration of classical ballet performed by dancers from some of the world’s most renowned companies. He also worked as Assistant Director to Dorothy Danner for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production of Pirates of Penzance. Most recently, Matthew has been working with Morphoses as Ballet Master, and will be guest teaching this summer at the Rock School in Philadelphia.  http://matthewpowell.net

Today’s “10 Questions With…” features Gelsey Kirkland & Michael Chernov; the Artistic Directors of the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. The two of them were kind enough to take some time to talk about the school here with us and expound on some of the highlights…

1. What were the events that transpired leading to the creation of the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet?

We believe that dancers should be actors first and foremost.  We created GKACB to provide comprehensive classical ballet training with the goal of developing well-rounded artists.  Our approach to training is unique in that the curriculum we offer is not available anywhere else in this country. 

Gelsey Kirkland & Michael Chernov

2. What does each Artistic Director bring to this project?

Gelsey brings a ballet background with some theatre; Misha brings a theatre background with some ballet.  Gelsey brings detail; Misha brings ideas and broad strokes.  Our shared vision is to merge our backgrounds, knowledge and strengths to enhance the training our students receive and to give direction to the studio company.

3. You advocate a return to the story ballet. Can you explain a bit about how you will be working toward this ideal?

We believe that the future of ballet lies in dramatic storytelling. Stories help people to understand themselves and life. To work towards this, we will offer residencies to emerging choreographers, dance companies, designers and musicians, providing them with space to create new works in a collaborative environment. Our plan is to draw on in-house workshops to develop new, innovative dramatic ballets.  At the same time, we will build a repertoire of traditional, classical works. 

4. What will the training at the Academy be like-and how will it prepare and inspire students?

We take a specialized, multidisciplinary approach to training our students.  At the base of our training is core dynamics, which includes dynamic alignment exercises, Pilates reformer and practical anatomy classes.  This foundation work is built into the curriculum on a daily basis.  Our ballet training includes daily technique classes, which draw from the Russian, Danish, and French traditions, with an overall kinesthetic approach. Classical character, historical dance, pantomime, acting, history, music, and critical analysis make up the remainder of the training.

Dramatic development is a key element of our training program.  Students will learn how to build a character through physical and psychological gesture and how to communicate with the audience using the Michael Chekhov technique, as well as learning the art of pantomime and period movement.

5. Can you talk a bit about the Studio Company?

Our hope is to develop an ensemble studio company capable of realizing diverse and compelling theatrical ideas. We will build repertoire based on established classical works and new works by collaborating and bringing together actors, mimes, directors, dancers, musicians, choreographers, and production designers.  We are building on established ideas; there have been many times in history that people have tried to achieve a synthesis of many disciplines to create a single work of art.  We believe that only a small organization these days may be able to achieve this due to restrictions of unions, budgets, and critical expectations.  The ability to experiment in large companies is very limited due to economic restrictions.

6. Your “Teacher Training” program appears to offer a unique synthesis of traditional methods and techniques. Can you share with readers some of the basic principles and why you chose them?

Our teacher training program will provide a systematic approach to teaching ballet:  focusing on what to teach, how to teach, when to teach and for how long at any given level. It includes hands-on training by masters in the field of ballet pedagogy.  The methods and techniques we have chosen reflect our desire to develop and train the dancer from the inside out and to provide them with the tools they need to develop into well-rounded artists.  Teachers in training learn how to construct lessons that develop kinesthetic awareness, coordination, strength and flexibility.  This goes hand in hand with the training that our students receive. Music training and understanding of musicality, time signatures and rhythms are integral parts of the training for teachers. Graduates will be recognized as certified teachers in the syllabus in the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet.

7. You will be offering a summer intensive. Can you tell us a little about that?

Our summer intensive is a rigorous program (three weeks’ duration) that incorporates key elements of our year-round program.  We have truly great teachers for our inaugural summer intensive.  Our faculty includes master teachers David Howard, Nina Osipyan, Irina Kolpakova and Vlad Semenov; men’s class, variations and pas de deux teacher, Mikhail Ilyin; mime teacher, Pilar Garcia; Bournonville specialist, Karina Elver; character teachers, Larisa Calero and Nadejda Loujine; drama teacher, Lenard Petit; and nutrition/wellness specialist and physical therapist, Suzette Madson.

8. As you launch this endeavor, what do you most want the dance community to understand about GKACB?

Our vision is about fostering creativity.  It isn’t simply about image-making; the emphasis is on the spirit, not the shape.   The focus is on finding the creative spirit, wedding form and content.

9. How have you gone about the process of selecting your faculty?

We have brought together people who have a common vision.  These teachers are specialists in their respective areas, and even though some are teaching different disciplines, their approach is in line with our vision for GKACB.

10. Are there any opportunities for sponsorship?

Absolutely, we accept monetary donations, as well as donations in kind (all tax-deductible).  We welcome corporate sponsorship, as well as sponsorship for projects by individuals.

Bio: GELSEY KIRKLAND

Gelsey Kirkland received her early training at the School of American Ballet, gaining early stage experience dancing children’s roles in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Harlequinade.  She graduated to the New York City Ballet in 1968, was promoted to soloist in 1970 and principal dancer in 1972.  While in the New York City Ballet she performed a variety of leading roles in their repertory, including Concerto Barocco, The Cage, Irish Fantasy, Symphony in C, La Source, Theme and Variations, Tarantella, Harlequinade, The Nutcracker and Dances at a Gathering.

Her desire to master roles in full-length works coincided with Baryshnikov’s defection and invitation to dance with him at American Ballet Theatre, which she joined in 1974 as principal dancer.  Teachers most influential in her development as a classical artist include Stanley Williams, Maggie Black, David Howard, actress and mime Pilar Garcia and dramaturge Greg Lawrence.

Miss Kirkland received worldwide acclaim for her performances in the classical repertory:  the title role in Giselle, Kitri in Don Quixote, Clara in The Nutcracker, Swanhilda in Coppélia, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the sylph in La Sylphide, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardée, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Nikiya in The Kingdom of the Shades, the Mazurka and pas de deux in Les Sylphides, and the sleepwalker in La Sonnambula. 

Major choreographers have been inspired to create new works for her; namely, a production of Firebird by George Balanchine when she was seventeen, several ballets by Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor’s The Leaves are Fading and The Tiller in the Fields. 

Miss Kirkland’s guest appearances with leading companies are notably the critically acclaimed performances of The Sleeping Beauty and MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet with The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, and in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet with The Stuttgart Ballet.  On the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s 60th Birthday Gala at Covent Garden she performed the balcony pas de deux with Anthony Dowell.

Her appearances on American and British television include Live from Lincoln Center and the film version of Baryshnikov’s The Nutcracker.

Published works by Miss Kirkland include three books co-written with Greg Lawrence: “Dancing on My Grave” (1986), a best selling autobiography published in 5 languages,

“The Shape of Love” (1990), contracted and published as a book on dance education, and a children’s book titled “The Little Ballerina and her Dancing Horse” (1993).

Miss Kirkland has been honored at the White House by First Lady Nancy Reagan, and has been the recipient of awards that include the Victory of the Spirit Award at the Kennedy Center and the Gerald Manley Hopkins Theatre

Award.  She was appointed to the Board of Directors for Sight Savers International, named National Chairwoman for USA International Ballet Competition, Jackson, Mississippi, and was an honored alumnus at the 50th Anniversary Gala for American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Retirement from the stage in 1986 marked Miss Kirkland’s transition into teaching and coaching in institutions such as American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet, and The Australian Ballet.  In the 1990’s she was Professor of Dance at Adelphi University in New York.  In 2002-5 she taught at the Victorian College of the Arts and was director of the ballet program at Danceworld 301.

In 2006-8 she collaborated with Kevin McKenzie and Michael Chernov in the staging and additional choreography for The Sleeping Beauty for American Ballet Theatre, as well as appearing as the Fairy Carabosse in that production.

Currently, Miss Kirkland teaches at the Metropolitan Opera, Steps on Broadway and privately.

Bio: MICHAEL CHERNOV

Michael Chernov received his early ballet and theatre training at the National Ballet and Theatre School in Melbourne, Australia.  In the 1970-80’s he worked with the Sydney City Ballet and Sydney Festival Ballet in Australia and toured with Alexander Goudonov and Eva Evdokimova and The Israel Classical Ballet at the Athens Festival.

In 1995 Mr. Chernov choreographed The Nutcracker for the Philippines Ballet Theatre and in 1995-96 taught dance for Adelphi University where he choreographed Spring Sonata and Polish Suite.

In 2003 Mr. Chernov received his Graduate Ballet Teacher’s Diploma (Vaganova Method) at the Victorian College of the Arts, and in 2006 completed a Master of Arts Administration at the University RMIT, Melbourne Australia.

 He taught classical ballet at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2004 and 2005, and at Danceworld in Melbourne, Australia where he was co-director of the ballet program together with his wife Gelsey Kirkland.

He has taught at Steps on Broadway, Peridance Studios and Ballet Hispanico in New York and in summer programs throughout the U.S.

From 2006-7 Mr. Chernov worked in collaboration with Gelsey Kirkland and Kevin McKenzie on the staging and choreography for The Sleeping Beauty at American Ballet Theatre.  The Sleeping Beauty played at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York in 2007 and 2008 and also toured the USA. It is due to be performed again at the Met in June 2010.

From 1987 to 1994 Mr. Chernov worked as an actor performing Off–Broadway and in regional theatre with the Hartford Stage Company, Connecticut, and the Alonso Theatre Company, Florida in plays by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Shaw and Coward, working under the direction of Tony Award winning directors Vivian Matalon and Brian Murray.

In 1992 he studied theatre directing at T. Schreiber Studios in New York and has directed plays by Anton Chekov and Horton Foote, including directing the actor Leonid Satinovsky from Russia’s prestigious Moscow Arts Theatre in Chekov’s The Bear.