Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux Girl Variation

[ArucariaBallerina]

So I have been invited to dance a solo at my schools presentation evening, and wanted to do the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux girl variation which I learned at Easter school (I have no Balanchine training, but I do love it!) the only problem is, the only music I can find to download is either extremely fast (47 seconds) or painfully slow (59 seconds). Which would be better?

 

Also, is it a good idea to perform en Pointe? The only thing I would have to adapt if en Pointe would be the 'lame ducks' (posé turns en dehors)... I'm not confident with them being doubles if en Pointe. It is in the school main hall, which isn't sprung but neither is it particularly slippy. (It is also not very big... Might have to turn the turns into a manège!) 

 

Please help! ?

[drdance]

You can use a free program such as Audacity to speed up or slow down music fairly easily now. 

 

I would suggest you choose to perform in the manner that you are most comfortable. If you're more comfortable in flat shoes, do it on flat. If you feel confident enough to perform en pointe, then go for that option. I'm sure it will be fabulous either way, and your schoolmates, teachers etc will be impressed just as much if you're in flatties.

[taxi4ballet]

Have you actually tried to dance on pointe on that floor yet? It could be too slippery or uneven for pointe work. My dd has been asked to do a few things like this in the past, and some floors are fine, others seem ok until you try it out in pointe shoes (she says). 

Edited July 3, 2017 by taxi4ballet

[Pups_mum]

I would be very wary about doing this dance on pointe if it's not how you learned it, especially on an unfamiliar floor that is not a "proper" dance floor. You are still a very young and relatively inexperienced on pointe (if I recall rightly from your previous posts) so I would caution against taking any unnecessary risks.

It's lovely to be asked to perform in events like this and it's only natural to want to demonstrate your skills, but without wanting to belittle the event, it's not that important for you in the great scheme of things. Any injury picked up during the performance however, could prove very important and have lasting effects. I would suggest that you do a solo that you are confident and comfortable with, even if it's not as technically challenging. That way you will be relaxed and able to perform without worrying, which will make the event more enjoyable for you and also your audience. Most of all, have fun.

[Colman]

Almost no one in the audience is going to know the difference, so you're probably better off, especially on an unknown and very possibly unsuitable floor, doing it the way you were taught. Go for expressiveness rather than technical wow - a non-ballet audience won't be looking at your feet anyway.

[Pointetoes]

If you were my DD I would definitely be saying do it in flats. As has already been said most of the audience won't know the difference, the floor isn't ideal etc. This is a wonderful opportunity to shine, I know being en pointe is very important but in this case it's about the performance. Make sure you have a beautiful costume and enjoy the whole experience. Doing it the way you were taught will help you with your nerves because you will be nervous, it's only natural, which will ultimately help you to wow your audience. Enjoy the moment. 

[ArucariaBallerina]

Thank you so much everybody - flats it is! I have the perfect costume for it too (a beautiful pale pink 'floaty' dancing dress). I will try to edit the music slightly to make it more comfortable. I think everybody else is doing acrobatics/lyrical so I do hope the audience is not ballet-hating! (I don't quite understand how it is possible to hate as perfect a thing as ballet)