When I was eight I had a Russian ballet teacher who thought nothing of whapping me and my classmates in our tummies in ballet class. The message was clear, if unrefined: flatten the belly. He could have said it, of course. Despite his accent he was still understandable and I'd probably have internalized this as a verbal correction. But … Continue reading All That Glitters: Making Effort Look Effortless
Teaching
Postscript: A Fire in Her Belly
Yesterday I posted about my former students at Knoxville Ballet School who worked like crazy to achieve high marks on their American Ballet Theatre Affiliate exams, and three of them who went on to attend the Young Dancer Summer Workshop at ABT in August 2012 after a successful video audition. I wanted to share images … Continue reading Postscript: A Fire in Her Belly
A Fire in the Belly
Three tired Knoxville Ballet School monkeys after a <successful> video audition for American Ballet Theatre's Young Dancer Summer Workshop in 2012 The same three monkeys at ABT in NYC later that summer, with their idol, one Catherine Hurlin Last week during a discussion at a writers' workshop I attended over in Cambridge, NY, I listened … Continue reading A Fire in the Belly