Hi Colin,
I was wondering if any foot in particular makes for better pointe work.
For example, does toe length or high arches give any advantage in ballet? Lucinda, age 10
Dear Lucinda,
A dancer en pointe stands on the entire stretched forefoot so that the dancer’s weight is evenly distributed on and around the metatarsal area and over the sole. This is why it is so important to have your first pair of shoes fitted by a professional. There are hundreds of different fittings and styles so most dancers’ feet can be accommodated comfortably.
High arches, although lovely to look at, are frequently on weak feet. What makes a foot beautiful is the way it is used. At ten years of age you can gain the most advantage in pointe work by carefully preparing yourself before you commence. Ask your teacher to show you some safe exercises to strengthen your feet and to increase their flexibility so that you gain what every dancer dreams of – lovely footwork.
Happy dancing,
Colin
You can email your ballet questions to Colin at hello@behindballet.com
An exotic temple dancer, a magical firebird and a love-sick puppet — what do they have in common? They are among the many colourful characters associated with Sergei Diaghilev’s legendary company, the Ballets Russes. Coinciding with the Ballets Russes’ centenary, the Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes exhibition now showing at the Arts Centre highlights the contribution of the company to Australia’s artistic landscape.
Keep an eye out for the ‘Ballets Russes’ memorabilia display. Though Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes never visited Australia, Colonel de Basil’s version of the company made three visits in the 1930s. Posters, sketches and photographs such as those in the exhibition were an important part of the company’s glamorous image, and impart a sense of the troupe’s appeal. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sleeping Beauty is a perfect example of how ballet, despite its centuries-long history, has experienced countless rebirths. Companies worldwide have performed this fairytale since the late 1800s, and it’s still adored by contemporary audiences. It all began in the dining room of Marius Petipa. Here Tchaikovsky and Petipa shared ideas, furiously took notes and watched their ballet about a sleeping princess grow. Petipa’s ballet won hearts, Tchaikovsky’s score won musical minds and the role of Aurora became a dream for ballerinas all over.
The brain behind the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev, was 18 years old when he saw his first ballet performance. It was Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty. His love for the ballet was unwavering and years later – in 1921 – Diaghilev rounded up his creative legion to stage the ballet himself. But Diaghilev’s interpretation was not just an homage, it was the most influential disaster in ballet history. Read the rest of this entry »
Opening night of The Australian Ballet’s Concord was of course a glamorous champagne-fluted affair. By first interval I already had the urge to take off my Louboutin heels and slide around the plush red carpet of the Arts Centre to make room for the excitement pulsing through my veins.
First up were the mysterious velvet tones of Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero (For thee I die). This Spanish Renaissance-inspired work uses light and shade, tragic poetry, and Spanish and Catalonian music from the 15th and 16th centuries to unveil the conflict of love and emotions trapped in a renaissance world. Duato’s sensuous choreography conveyed the timeless gestures of ancient masks in a darkened amphitheatre, while the cast delighted the audience with intricate modern ballet routines influenced by courtly traditions. Rich glossy silk dresses caught the moody lighting in shades of silver, midnight green and ultraviolet, adding brightness to the ballerinas’ tranquil yet troubled personas. Read the rest of this entry »
The six Dyad 1929 ballerinas emerge slowly and silently from the shadowy wings, preparing for their state of flight as the stage is flooded in a powerful wash of yellow. They stand casually and chat in their costumes: two-tone flesh and black leotards, white leotards and a full-length leotard whose bold black lines and points remind me of a lost nautical chart.
Steve Reich’s Double Sextet rises from the orchestra pit and increasingly frantic clarinet and piano notes race rhythmically over the stage. The combined energies of the ballerinas and the composition convey the miraculous pulse of nature.
After a week of rehearsals with Michael Gordon’s commissioned piece, Wayne McGregor discovered the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet was actually the perfect match for Dyad 1929. Steve Reich is a highly revered composer and his work has influenced many musicians in a variety of genres. The Guardian doesn’t apply quotes like this to anyone: “There’s just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them.” Read the rest of this entry »
When Concordphoto blogger Teagan stepped inside the domain of The Australian Ballet’s set and costume masterminds, she discovered a world of manneqins, fabric rolls and countless sketches of visionary promise. In the lead up to Concord, designers stitched, snipped, glued and assembled, adding colour, light and shade to three stunning works.
“The movement is the message”, Wayne McGregor says of his brand-new work for The Australian Ballet. Dyad 1929 unpicks the themes of exploration, discovery and invention with a bold new choreographic language. These rehearsal photos of McGregor with dancers Danielle Rowe and Adam Bull were shot in The Australian Ballet Centre studios by our Concord blogger Teagan Glenane.
Dyad 1929 opens in Melbourne tomorrow night as part of the Concord season, alongside Alexei Ratmansky’s Scuola di ballo and Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero. It then plays in Sydney from 11 – 30 November.
A glimpse inside the studios of The Australian Ballet where Random Dance’s Wayne McGregor is creating a brand-new work on the company, called Dyad 1929.
Video by The Apiary (Lily Coates & Gavin Youngs), with additional sound design and music by Matt Ridgway. A glimpse inside the studios of The Australian Ballet where Random Dance’s Wayne McGregor is creating a brand-new work on the company, called Dyad 1929. Video by The Apiary (Lily Coates & Gavin Youngs), with additional sound design and music by Matt Ridgway.
The task: to get to a Dancers Company media call in a remote outback location in Central Australia. In the car: Associate Artistic Director Danilo Radojevic, Australian Ballet guest dancers Reiko Hombo and Jia Yin Du, and physiotherapist (and keen photographer) Sophie Emery.
I was behind the wheel, trying in vain to follow a little faxed map out to the Red Centre sand dune where we were meeting a journalist and photographer …
As we searched for the road that matched the one on our map, we circled around and around the outskirts of Alice Springs, eventually spying an unsealed, 4WD-friendly road. Was it the one? We didn’t know … and may have ended up in Adelaide without Danny’s handy phone GPS (genius)! With confirmation that we were heading in the right direction we set out on the dusty red road, rattling along with a cloud of dust following our little hire car. For a while it seemed like we might never find the location, until were lucky to rumble past a truck with a friendly local inside. “Further down the road and past the next cattle grate, you can’t miss it!” was the answer we got, so a quick “Thanks, mate!” and we were on the road again.
Five minutes later, the Red Centre sand dune loomed to our left, stark red sand against a clear blue sky. Breathtaking! Sun hats in hand, and braving sandy wind, we ran up to the dune towards two smiling faces that were waiting for us, and in moments Reiko and Jia Yin were in their rehearsal gear, doing lifts in the sunshine with the cameras clicking away.
Success!
As for the passers-by who got bogged in the dune … well, that’s another story.
By Jasmine Moseley, The Australian Ballet’s Assistant Company Manager
The Dancers Company performs the final show of its 2009 tour at the Darwin Entertainment Centre tonight
Behind Ballet is the blog of The Australian
Ballet. Looking at dance through the prism of
fashion, music, art and literature, we unravel
the stories behind our productions and mine
ballet’s juicy past to find the new in the old and
the old in the new.
Hi Colin,
The Sleeping Beauty
The six Dyad 1929 ballerinas emerge slowly and silently from the shadowy wings, preparing for their state of flight as the stage is flooded in a powerful wash of yellow. They stand casually and chat in their costumes: two-tone flesh and black leotards, white leotards and a full-length leotard whose bold black lines and points remind me of a lost nautical chart.
