barre
Review: Dancing Keys 2 by Gill Civil
I recently reviewed Gill Civil’s “Dancing Keys” CD for this site, and I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the next album she compiled–”Dancing Keys 2″.
Civil’s work is truly unique in that the tracks don’t sound familiar–they sound fresh. Some ballet class music can have a “typical” feel to it that just doesn’t add anything to the barre or centre exercises. This is not in that category.
The music here taps into emotion and feeling–something I think the good ballet music composers understand as necessary for it to be something dancers will want to move to. Teachers too find this type of music inspiring, and it can add a measure of creativity to the class environment overall to have such beautiful music.
The CD has a simple barre (10 tracks) and centre music (port de bras, adage, pirouettes, allegro, etc.) and a number of bonus tracks as well. You can listen to samples on her website.
As always, I appreciate the amount of effort that goes into creating original music for ballet class. Civil does it well, and this CD is a great one to own if you teach ballet.
If you’d like to own it, or listen to her other CD, visit her website.
Teaching Tip: When Students Are Late
Being late to dance class is actually kind of a big deal. Since warm-up exercises are designed to help the dancer’s muscles (and tendons/ligaments) prepare for the demands of class, late students should know what you expect of them when they arrive in the classroom so that they are not risking injury.
How you handle being tardy is up to you. Perhaps you just tell the student to do some plies and tendus before joining the class if it isn’t too far into the barre. If the student is more than a few minutes late, many teachers ask that they just sit and watch the class instead of trying to catch up.
If you have students who are late on a regular basis, it may be helpful to speak with the parents. As for deciding on make-up classes, it’s really a matter of what you are comfortable with. Do students just lose that class if they are too late to join? Or can they come to another class and substitute it for the one they miss? The important thing is to have a policy that you consistently enforce so that everyone gets the same treatement.
What are your rules? How do you handle a student coming late to class? I’d love to hear what various teachers are doing out there…
Review: Behind Barres, Volume 1 (Revised)
The CD: Behind Barres, Volume 1 (Revised)
The Details: Over an hour of ballet class music, 25 tracks. This revised CD has doubled the length of nine of the musical selections for the centre work.
The Review: The excellent pairing of Judy Rice and Paul Lewis team up again for another wonderful ballet class CD featuring selections by Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Minkus and various others. The tracks are infused with emotion and Lewis once again delivers a top-notch performance; although one would expect nothing less from this accomplished ballet accompanist.
The 25-track listing includes a full barre that is suitable for any level class. Centre music is varied and offers petit, medium and grand allegro as well as an adage and pirourette selections. Sample tracks can be heard on the website, including tendu and a medium allegro. It’s a good sampling of what the album has, so if you are interested, be sure and have a listen.
This CD is a good investment since it can be used for all levels and the track lengths are long enough to used in advanced classes. If you are looking for dramatic arrangements, this is also a great pick–many of the selections are very moving. (For something lighter, take a look at Under The Palms.)
Review: Musique Pour Le Cours De Danse Classique IV (Music for Ballet Class IV)
The CD: Musique Pour Le Cours De Danse Classique IV (Music for Ballet Class IV)
The Details: Piano Composition & Interpretation : Ellina Akimova (Bolchoï Dance Academy 1990-1995)
Exercises & Instructions : Franciska-Elisabeth de Mikhnevitch (Opéra of Paris 1960-1984)
Sold by: Mediaphorie
The Review: I have listened to this CD now over 30 times and am currently using it for my adult ballet class. I have found it to be very refreshing–the compositions are original and extremely well-played by Ms. Ellina Akimova. There is music here for an entire ballet class, and the barre tracks are all repeated for the convenience of the instructor.
Although the music is clear and measured, this is not a CD I would use for a beginning class. It is probably too complex for new students who do better when phrases are repeated often and the music is simple. For more advanced students, however, I found the tracks to be quite inspirational–especially those for the center work. The barre music is also a departure from the typical ballet class fare.
One of the best features of this CD is the fact that the tracks are lengthy. Some ballet class CDs have short tracks that necessitate pausing the exercise to re-start the music. This is extremely distracting to the students and teacher alike. More advanced classes have longer exercises both in the barre and the center, and this CD allows plenty of time for longer combinations.
There is also a nice mixture of music here so that you can get a lot of use out of the CD. There are tracks for pirouettes, petite variation, tours en l’air and adagio, among many others. This will allow you to mix and match exercises and create several different classes while still utilizing the same CD.
Ms. Akimova’s skill is considerable, and all of the music is completely measured and steady. I’ve always appreciated the difficulty that goes with playing ballet music for students. In order to do it well, you have to be able to play flawlessly, yet infuse some emotion into the pieces you are interpreting. This is no easy task, but it is done extraordinarly well here. The tracks for small jumps and tendus have a sprightly feel to them and the slower ones have an ebb and flow that encourage artistry.
I have not heard the other CDs in this series (I, II, III), but based on my experience with this one, I would definitely say they would be worth investigating. I’ve been very pleased with this one and recommend it without hesitation.
My students enjoy it too.
Teaching Tip: For The Barre
It’s so easy for bad habits to develop at the barre if you are not careful. Left unchecked, these little problems will eventually unfold into major issues when you take your technique to the center. The good news is that certain things can be prevented if you know how to deal with them ahead of time.
I wrote an article for Dance Spirit on this subject that you can check out for tips on everything from how to avoid using the barre for leverage to how to know if you are at the right distance from it. I talked to a few great teachers and got some terrific advice.
The more you can perfect your work at the barre, the better you will be as a dancer. Use that time to your advantage and don’t be tempted to “cheat” and do things that will ultimately have a poor impact on how you develop your strength and technique. Do it right–and you will reap the rewards!
