FRCBA BLOG
Soul Connection
Performance is the moment when the art of ballet has the opportunity to make connection with the outside world. […] The dimensions of communication from human to human conveyed through art is beyond what we would be capable of without it. Our souls respond with depth to the messages borne through art.
On May 26 and 27, FRCBA dancers of all ages and all levels of training graced the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre stage, telling stories in movement, inviting the audience into the world of a child’s nightmares, dreams and hopes. Moon Beam Rider and Other Works was a resounding success! How wonderful to see the hard work and cooperation of so many people come to fruition!
Performance is the moment when the art of ballet has the opportunity to make connection with the outside world. Dancing in class and in rehearsal can be of great satisfaction – and even necessary to the well-being of an individual. Just as poets, musicians, painters and sculptors undoubtedly feel compelled to create their art and cannot be whole without it, so it is with dancers. But until their creations are seen or heard by the outside world, artists cannot make connection through their art.
Photos courtesy of Bebelliet Studios www.bebellietstudio.com
I have always felt that art is about making connection, although the act of performance is not always something I particularly enjoy. I understand it as a gift and as a necessity. The dimensions of communication from human to human conveyed through art is beyond what we would be capable of without it. Our souls respond with depth to the messages borne through art.
So, I thank all of the artists who were a part of this performance for having the strength and fortitude to persist through the challenges that were faced in a multitude of ways and for gifting this performance to our audiences. I hope that meaningful connections were made and that in the souls of performers and audience alike, the experience will echo for a long time to come.
The Art of Spring
So, let us not feel guilty for taking time away from work, taking time to diversify our experiences, time to gestate. Our own spring seasons will be all the more abundant and inspired as a result
Photo by Kristina Wood Photography
Yet, time and effort it takes in great abundance, adequate conditions, absorption of nutrients, and periods of rest and gestation. As nature has its requirements in order to paint a healthy and rich spring season, so indeed does every artist. Like soil that loses its fertility, the artist’s work can become stagnant and weak if the creator is not nourished with experiences and allowed pause.
Sometimes I feel guilty for taking that time to absorb, to incubate – thinking I ought to be able to visibly work intensely every waking hour of every day. In this United States culture, being busy and working overtime is often highly valued and admired – perhaps a holdover from our Puritan heritage. I am insanely guilty of that attitude myself. I have to remind myself that the effort to become an artist with a meaningful voice requires time away from work. Time that is spent getting to know, appreciate, and experience a vast diversity of the opportunities, people and places on our beautiful Earth is food for human creativity. Breathing time to let all of this sink into the subconscious and become an integral part of one’s soul is the artist’s winter incubation. The flowers and leaves that burst forth from such an artist are bound to be stronger, brighter and more fragrant – full of more life and power than they might otherwise have been.
Spring – nature’s yearly act of artistic creation – a bursting forth of stored energy into flowers and leaves after winter’s incubation. Our world is refreshed with beauty and bird song, new life everywhere we look. It seems effortless. Like watching a well-trained ballerina twirl and fly across the stage. As observers we do not always consider the hundreds of hours spent to achieve that seemingly simple moment of absolute beauty – whether it be ballerina or apple blossom.
Photo by G. Mark Lewis
So, let us not feel guilty for taking time away from work, taking time to diversify our experiences, time to gestate. Our own spring seasons will be all the more abundant and inspired as a result
Improvise!
The value of improvisational skills cannot be overstated – in life and in performance! In the end it can produce the most exciting, beautiful and interesting results. Be not afraid, when a pirouette goes off-course – improvise!
Satyagraha - Spring 2016
Dancers: (back left to right) Abby Walston, Lauren Proffit; (front) Lindsay Beck-Johnson
Photo by Miki Baxter
How well I know that in a performance, things will not all go as planned – that a dancer may fall; performers might forget their choreography in their nervousness, a prop may tumble from a dancer’s hand, a set piece might be in the wrong position. Over the years, I’ve learned to take all this in stride most of the time and have come to realize that it’s simply the nature of the beast. We all work towards the common goal of creating the best performance we can and yet, almost inevitably, something goes wrong. Last year, our professional guest dancer got sick with pneumonia on the day of the performance and had to leave during dress rehearsal just a couple of hours prior to our performance! Talk about an “ACK!” moment! Yet, Lindsay, one of our most experienced dancers who had previously decided she’d best not perform this time due to an injury, jumped into the part at this last moment’s notice and the show went on. Those who didn’t know the situation would never have guessed we were dealing with a performance crisis - thanks to Lindsay’s presence of mind and willingness to “go-with-the-flow” and the adaptability of all the dancers involved.
Life is no kinder in this regard – no matter how well planned and prepared we try to be, the unexpected event tends to rear its frightening visage in the most inopportune moments. Flexibility, adaptability, acknowledgement of the newly arisen situation and presence of mind are our keys to management in life just as they are in performance. Somehow, in real life situations it seems harder to accept the unforeseen challenges and not get thrown off course mentally and emotionally for a time before being able to regain equilibrium and proceed ahead productively. There are always forces we cannot control and forces we do not know are at work. I find I have to remind myself at times that, as in performance situations, the sooner we accept the inevitability of this reality and not get mired down in the whys and wherefores of the situation, the sooner we can move ahead to find a creative solution. The value of improvisational skills cannot be overstated – in life and in performance! In the end it can produce the most exciting, beautiful and interesting results. Be not afraid, when a pirouette goes off-course – improvise!
Satyagraha - Spring 2016
Dancers: Lindsay Beck-Johnson, Kim Tsao, Danelle Malget
Photo by Miki Baxter
The Calling of Dance
The arts are a calling of sorts… perhaps not unlike the calling to be a priest or a nun… It seems to be something some of us simply have to heed - despite all, we must answer the call.
Photo credit to G. Mark Lewis
The arts are a calling of sorts… perhaps not unlike the calling to be a priest or a nun… It seems to be something some of us simply have to heed - despite all, we must answer the call.
Sometimes it is the calm and the intensity of the ballet class that saves me from myself and the world… There is a meditative quality that ensues when one is concentrating deeply on how one’s muscles are working to correctly hold a position or to execute a movement – nothing else can enter that mental space because it requires such focus. After class, one can re-enter the world refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of life again.
The arts of choreography and performance are communication – expression of the soul through movement in an attempt to reach the souls of others and make connection. Who are we without such communication, without that touch that stretches across space and time? Music and poetry speak to us from many generations past, linking human to human through hundreds of years. Dance, more ephemeral in many ways, is a little like the sand paintings of Buddhist monks – each performance a gift to the audience and to the heavens, as well as to the performers themselves – a holding of invisible hands as we navigate the challenges of life – letting each other know we are not alone.
Photo credit to G. Mark Lewis
And thus, we dance.
This spring offers FRCBA dancers many exciting new ventures – a new studio that is in the works, hopefully to be ready for classes and rehearsals in April (If you can help with any of the many needs to bring this dream to fruition, please contact Jayme at 970-231-1948 or jayme8704@gmail.com), our Moon Beam Rider production to be performed at the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre on May 26 & 27, an expanded children’s program to be offered starting in April… And on the heels of all that, summer comes our way with new Teacher Training offerings, Summer Dance Intensive Workshops, as well as a continuation of our usual program of classes! Be sure to fulfill your artistic, intellectual, meditative and physical training needs by engaging in these many opportunities!
Moon Beam Rider
Throughout the night, while he sleeps, his hands play nocturnes. Music spun from dreams, stretching from his fingers, light then shadow, moonbeams dancing in the branches of trees. […] Their undulations swim toward her and silver the dark, like those tiny bells the moon rings over ripples on a lake.
From Nocturnes, by Charles Levendosky
The moon… seems magical sometimes, doesn’t it? We have been graced recently with the Super Blue Blood moon, a rare and awe-inspiring sight, but even just the regular moon induces a sense of wonder. That bright orb in a dark sky can be a source of comfort with its light pouring into a child’s room at night… works its way into youthful dreams of becoming a Moon Beam Rider. How lucky I was to grow up as the daughter of a poet who spun original bedtime stories almost nightly for my sister and I when we were young! Sadly, although he talked about it, my father never did write these stories down and my sister’s and my memories of them have faded to general outlines over these decades since. I have often thought of trying to bring them back to life in a ballet, and this spring FRCBA will be doing just that! All ages and levels will find their place in this ballet, so come join the fun and audition on Feb. 11! Rehearsals will begin in March for the performances on May 26 & 27 at the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre. Details can be found here.
"Throughout the night, while he sleeps, his hands play nocturnes. Music spun from dreams, stretching from his fingers, light then shadow, moonbeams dancing in the branches of trees. […] Their undulations swim toward her and silver the dark, like those tiny bells the moon rings over ripples on a lake."
-From Nocturnes, by Charles Levendosky
In the midst of cold days and nights, it can be difficult to think ahead to summer, but already many of us are making our plans. I am looking forward to devoting my summer months this year to the studio, and not splitting my attentions between FRCBA and the Forest Service as I have done in the past. I will be offering a regular schedule of classes, summer intensive workshops (for ages 10 through adult – advanced beginners through advanced dancers) as well as teacher training courses. Please look soon for all this information to appear on the FRCBA website.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, FRCBA is offering our usual Pas de Deux (“Step of Two” – ballet partnering) class on Saturday Feb. 10. Don’t miss out! It is not necessary to bring your own partner, but if you can and want to, so much the better!
Looking forward to sharing these busy and creative months ahead with all of you beautiful dancers!
