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DavidW

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Sond great :) nervous though, not sure I'll get in as I want to do extra classes like this to improve (and because I love ballet!) so not sure I'll be at the right standard already for them to accept me - but I hope so!

What's Russian ballet like compared to RAD? I've never done it before. What sort of RAD grade do you think most people there would be working at? Just wondering if I'll be hugely behind or not :)

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No worries about the question PointyToes22!

 

First off, it didn't feel like an audition at all - the two teachers are lovely! That being said the class was definitely serious - we were there to work and there was no doubting it! Make sure you arrive a bit early too to warm up (at the latest be in the studio ready to warm up by 1:15) as they expect you to be warm before class starts (and you definitely want to be warm!).

 

Yes there is quite a difference to RAD in that there is an emphasis on 'line' and things are a bit 'sharper' if that makes any sense. Things are a little more angular (i.e. preparation for pirouettes are done with straight arms) and I certainly felt the difference when I woke up all ache-y this morning :) I can't think of too many specifics and didn't find it too hard to adjust my RAD-style to theirs. Oh, also frappes are done from a pointed coupe not a flexed one (that tripped me up... almost literally!)

 

I don't know much about RAD grades but it certainly was harder than my Intermediate RAD class. The barre was a bit tricky at times and included things like pirouettes at the barre and those flick-grand-ronde-de-jambe-jete-y things (don't know their proper name but they're done in ronde de jambe and you fondu in coupe, developpe to a high a la seconde then land in an arc... can't think of the name). Centre work was also a step up from intermediate finishing with work en manege, fouettes for the girls and grande pirouettes for the guys - lots of fun!

 

There was a reasonable range of abilities there so I wouldn't worry too much. Just go and try to enjoy it - that's what I did! The teachers have a real talent for getting the best out of people and slant everything towards performance (even at the barre I was told to 'perform') which I really enjoyed.

 

Best of luck!

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Always DANCE your barre! :)

 

Very true! I always 'dance' it but don't normally think of a specific audience (if that makes sense). A lot of my comments were along the lines of "make sure the audience can see your face" etc whilst at the barre...

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You can actually have some fun with this.

 

Imagine a specific audience....

 

There's the lady who is writing in the dark - the critic - for her you want to be memorable.

 

The gentleman who has brought his Juliet to the theatre - be romantic for her.

 

The woman who has brought her protesting husband - some wonderful bravura might capture his attention.

 

A little girl - leave her with a dream.

 

The ballet teacher - he/she will appreciate the way you execute that difficult allegro sequence - with ease and flair..

 

A dance historian - be sure to show the nuanced difference between the various romantic and neo-romantic styles.

 

The "knows nothing but loves it" member of the audience......give all of your heart.

 

See all these people in the mirror of your studio. I assure you they are there!

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Wow - that's a great way to treat the mirror in the studio! I never thought of the 'audience' as containing different members... I think when I imagine an audience I imagine myself in there and what I would want to see but this post made me remember that people see different things when watching a ballet. I particularly like the "little girl" (although I'll change it to "little boy" I think ;) ) - giving them a dream encompasses everything I want my dancing to be!

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I loved your post Anjuli and I have been thinking about it a lot since reading it yesterday. It is interesting, I hadn't thought about performance as meeting the different needs of the audience or of course about the emotion they bring to watching a performance. We could almost start a new thread with contributions of differing characters!

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This is like a rollercoaster...

 

Just had a phone call from the dance school to say that the RAD Intermediate class (that starts in 70 minutes time) will actually be a rehearsal today and that I cannot go after all. To be honest, I'm absolutely fuming! After first telling me I could come back (the day after term had started) and then to tell me so last-minute before the next class is just a bit ridiculous and unprofessional. So that's it for my RAD classes at the moment. Looks like my hard work won't be going towards an exam anytime soon. It sounds really stupid but I was really looking forward to taking the exam - it felt like it would be a bit of validation of my work for these last two years.

 

When I asked about the show the receptionist said that the ballet class was learning a dance but it was very "girly girly" and that she would also be telling the two other boys in that class (one of which is in the advanced class also) to 'take a break' from the ballet classes too. I don't know if this was true or not (it seemed a bit of a last-minute thought to her) but if so it just makes me even more annoyed! Argh!

 

Sorry. That's my rant over... I'm trying to concentrate instead on how lucky I am to now be in three performance groups - it's just frustrating that I won't have these "proper" lessons (in two of the groups the class is simply a warm up for repertoire and so there isn't an emphasis on correction) each week. Oh, well... Time to head onwards and (grand jetéing) upwards!

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PointyToes22 - there was maybe 15 of us in total: 3 guys and 12 girls? I was the only one having an 'audition class' but there was another girl who had never been before and auditioned during the summer. Don't know how often they accept people to join (I think they mentioned something about auditions in November?) but I think there was a few people absent (with it being the first class and people possibly not back to school?).

 

Tulip - thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately I can't really afford to travel into London at the weekend (9-12 hours of ballet a week isn;t that cheap...!) but will keep it in mind in case I find myself in London for a period of time (as a PhD student there's sometimes opportunities to work with other researchers at other institutes for periods of time).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry - just saw these messages! It's a shame you couldn't make it PointyToes :( I had to drive over from Oxford (and drive back there after the rehearsal) and the roads were pretty horrible: took much longer than normal and rather tiring before 4.5hrs of ballet! Class/Rehearsal was great though - hope you can make next class! We've been learning Swan Lake Act II - the guys have done two Van Rothbart variations and the girls have done the entrance and first soloist part for the swans. They also started learning the cygnets which, as we didn't have anything else to do, the guys had a go at too - never realised just how hard it is to do all that whilst not tripping over someone else in the quartet! ;)

 

Fiz - glad you've found another class! Hope the day time class gets sorted soon :)

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  • 2 months later...

Okay, it's been a little while since I last posted here but just thought I'd give you all an update...

 

It's pretty much all been good news! Firstly, I auditioned for my University Dance Society in September and on Saturday we competed at a competition at Royal Holloway... And we won the ballet category! I was the only guy in the ballet groups (surprise surprise...) and our group did Waltz of the Flowers from Nutcracker (with me as the Nutcracker!). It was a lot of fun and whilst there's been quite a bit of drama along the way (incl people refusing to speak during rehearsals etc) picking up the trophy made it all seem worth it. I'm not dancing with them next term due to work commitments and the fact I don't want to spend my time involved in "Drama'z" during rehearsals but I'm glad I competed with them this term. :)

 

Next, my rehearsals with the Russian Youth Ballet Company have been going great. Recently the guys have learnt Basilio's variation from Don Q and the male variation from the Pas d'Esclave in Corsaire - both really tricky and knackering but so much fun. Then this week I found out I've been cast as Rothbart in Swan Lake for our show in April! We're doing a cut down version (mainly concentrating on Act II) but I've got two(!) variations alongside various mime and smaller sections. Time to start practising! The people running the YBC have also invited me to take their advanced classes at their school which I'm going to do twice a week. Their school are doing the dances for Act I and III of the Swan lake and they want me to dance in those too! I'm so pleased I found them - they both seem to realise I want to take ballet seriously (despite being a little older) and are constantly pushing me. Just yesterday they had me attempting another new move: it was like a cross between a pas de ciseaux and a cabriole devant - you do a cabriole devant but instead of beating you scissor your legs through and then back open! So much fun!

 

Work is limiting how much ballet I'll be able to do, but I'm certainly keeping up the Russian classes and YBC - can't wait to perform in April! (I'm even going to let some of my friends come...)

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Thanks Julie and Aileen!

 

Aileen - I'm quite happy just keeping up my ballet recreationally - perhaps if I'd started a bit younger I'd consider a career but I don't think I'm anywhere near talented enough to start late. I'm hoping to keep getting more and more involved with ballet though - maybe once I've past my performing 'prime' I could look at something like getting a teaching qualification... Need lots more experience first though!

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Glad its all going well for you. Don't write yourself off as a professional. Keep an open mind. Don't know if I saw you after the show last summer when you were my DDs partner for pas de deux but her teacher was in the audience watching. She said afterwards that you were an excellent pas deux partner as you were so attentive and supportive to your partner and she kept her eye on you after as she thought you showed great potential and was interested in watching you dance.

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Hi 2dancersmum!

I don't think I caught you after the performance - I think I had to dash to move out of the accommodation and get the train back home... That's very kind words from your DD's teacher (although I think part of it was that your DD was very easy to partner - she seemed to trust me which meant I was fighting against her movement but working with it instead). I always enjoy partnering and I aim to try and be as attentive as possible so it means a lot to hear that. It's also really nice to hear the other comments - I'm just enjoying myself when dancing! Is your DD going to do Ballet Cymru SI again? I'm hoping to but it depends when it is (and I'll be attending the SI with the Russian YBC I dance with too..). Hope you DD is well!

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Hi, Dave, I may give up the class nearer to me in the summer and just do the two classes in Harlow instead. I still have to drive there anyway, but I may be doing three classes a week next year! *Faints with joy*

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  • 2 weeks later...

A few weeks ago a photographer came to one of my (adult) classes to take some promotional pictures for the teacher. Whilst there he filmed us doing the adage exercise and, seeing as I've been sharing my journey with you all, I thought I'd share the video:

 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/5FQJZCjONEU

 

I'm the (only) guy in the front in the green top - any tips or pointers are definitely welcome!

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