My Jewish Son Opens as the Prince in the Nutcracker Tomorrow!

Oy! My nice Jewish boy appears tomorrow on the big stage–the San Jose Center for Performing Arts–as the one and only prince in the classic Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. Well…we are not so religious to care really, but it makes for a good joke anyway!

And yes,tomorrow evening is the opening show of San Jose Dance Theater’s Nutcracker, performed on the same stage used by Ballet San Jose, who will occupy it just after they are done. (Come watch on December 4, 5, or 6! Tickets are available at www.sjdt.org or at the box office.) It’s wonderful that the kids get to perform at one of the best venues in San Jose. Julian is very familiar with it, having performed there several times while with Ballet San Jose School. He was asked to be in several professional productions with Ballet San Jose. In fact, three of Ballet San Jose’s company members will perform with the kids, including Ramon Moreno, who is definitely worth buying a ticket to watch. (Not that Julian isn’t…but he is mostly doing partnering with the exception of a double tour or two and a few turns. The rest of the time he sits on a very uncomfortable chair, he tells me, and watches the countries perform.)

Anyway, it’s all very exciting, although, I’m not sure Julian is excited by the white tights he has to wear. (By the way, it’s M.Stevens all the way on those as well. The Danskin tights were like girl’s leotards.) This is his first time performing in white. I am also not so sure he’s excited about what the huge soldier head does to his hair, but hey…what can you do? I got him a haircut, so maybe that will help.

Anyway, we’ll be there watching on Friday night and Saturday night. I hope if any of you local readers show up, you’ll seek me out and say hello! And to all the other boys performing in the Nutcracker this season, break a leg! (Not literally, of course.)

How to Inspire Your Son to Dance

If you want to inspire your son to dance, take him to see other men dance. In particular, take him to see really great men dancing like real men.

We drove two and a half hours on Friday night to see Rasta Thomas’ Bad Boys of Dance perform in Santa Rosa, CA. We ‘ve been waiting for this chance for a long time, and it was well worth five hours in the car for the performance itself, the chance to meet him (yes, we did) and for the inspiration it provided for Julian. Seeing Rasta, one of the most fabulous male dancers I’ve seen–not just for his ballet technique but all around, dance on that stage, and the other young men perform made Julian want to go home and work all the harder at his dancing. It also made him want to overcome his biggest weakness: lack of flexibility. He’s been doing extra stretching ever since!

This show really is phenomenal. If you live in New York, you can catch the “boys” at the Joyce Theater, a great venue, for three weeks in December. It’s filled with great dancing, humor and lots of testosterone. If you want to see guys doing guys stuff on the dance floor, this show is the one to see. (Actually, Julian said, “They’re doing all the stuff I never get to do.” Sad, but true.)

A little estrogen is throw in as well, as Rasta’s wife, Adrienne Canterna-Thomas dances with the boys and actually choreographed all but one number…a very funny piece where the boys partner with blow-up dolls. (Makes lifts very easy!) It’s amazing how she choreographs for the men and makes them dance like men. We spoke about it, and she said she also has them dress like men–mostly in jeans with no shirts! (Their last encore was the song “I’m Too Sexy for My Shirt…”)

On a serious note, it really is important to show our dancing boys great male dancers in an up-close and personal setting. Julian not only got to watch these great dancers (from the second row), he got to meet them. In fact, we met two of the boys in New York this summer at the NYCDA nationals. They are only a few years older than he is… He shook hands with Rasta, got to talk with  Kameron Bink, who was a SYTYCD top-10 finalist and also spoke with Rasta’s wife. It’s so important for boys to feel they are surrounded by other male dancers who are actually successful as professional dancers–who can be role models for them. That’s what Rasta is for Julian–a great and inspirational role mode. The other “boys” are, too, but he really aspires to dance like Rasta (and to one day be one of the “boys”).

By the way, these male dancers all had great technique–not surprisingly. Of course, Rasta studied at the Kirov Academy and made dance competition history with honors including the Special Jury Prize for the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition, the Gold Medal in the Junior Men’s Division from the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Senior Men’s Division from the Jackson, MS USA-IBC. He has danced with the Le Jeune Ballet de France, the Hartford Ballet, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as being the first American to become a member of the Kirov Ballet in Russia. That said, I enjoyed watching all of their feet and ballet moves, which were beautifully done.

It’s worth mentioning that Adrienne shows off almost flawless (at least to my untrained eye) technique as well. She’s an utterly gorgeous dancer. While at first I found having a woman on stage a bit distracting, as my husband said, “Sometimes you need that estrogen to get the testosterone going.” She did add to the “story, and I’m sure she inspired many of the girls in the audience, and she was lovely to watch. Plus, the fact that she and her husband have made a life for themselves together on the road performing is inspiring as well. I know they have a child — a daughter, I think, and it’s nice for the (straight) boys to see that a dancing husband and wife can create a life and make a living performing together.

For a peak at the show, take a look at these videos:

A four-minute trailer (not to the correct music–The first half of the show is danced to Black Eyed Peas, Maria Callas, Lenny Kravitz, Dave Mathews Band, Journey, Coldplay Jacques Brel, and U2; the second half of the show is set exclusively to music by Queen, Prince and Michael Jackson.)

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Imagine this one with the correct music by Queen, Prince and Michael Jackson…

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Speeding Towards Nutcracker Performances

OMG! I can’t keep up with everything. November notoriously is a terribly busy month for me and for Julian. I have another blog that I must handle every day (see www.writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com) and Julian has Nutcracker rehearsals on Saturday after TDC rehearsals  and all day on Sunday.  Not to mention that I was editing two books and going to physical therapy twice a week for my knee (post ACL surgery).

We are speeding along towards the Nutcracker performances, which take place the first weekend in December. Unlike many other Nutcracker’s, which have performances close to Christmas, this one–put on by San Jose Dance Theater–is held early (Dec. 4-6), which is actually kind of nice.  However, the rehearsal were just on Sunday mornings, but now they are taking up a lot of Saturday afternoon and most of  Sunday as well.

However, on top of this, Julian also has decided to try and put together a piece with a young dancer friend for Y0uth American Grand Prix this year. (Like he doesn’t have enough on his plate.) He also hopes to adapt the student choreography piece he has created at TDC into a solo he can perform there as well. So, he is attending ballet classes on his day off from TDC on Wednesday’s (most often he goes and takes jazz class on this day) at Los Gatos Ballet and then having a YAGP lesson. He has another lesson on Sunday after Nutcracker rehearsal.

If you are wondering when he has time for his homework…well…he seems to get most of it done. We have had less trouble this year with missed assignments (Notice I said “less.” ), but his grades are not a whole lot better. That said, he really does seem to have the time to do the work; he just is more focused on dance and…girls. His social life these days has gotten the best of him. He has a girlfriend, and when he isn’t with her, he has other social activities, in particular his BBYO group.

As for the YAGP competition, he’s been told that this year will be an “experience” year; he and his partner probably stand little chance of winning anything, especially since they started rehearsing late. If they choose to compete again next year, maybe they stand a chance.

If you are wondering why he is focusing so much on ballet–if he has decided to become a ballet dancer, the answer remains the same: He simply wants to be a great technical dancer. Additionally, working on a pas de deux for YAGP allows Julian to do more partnering–something he doesn’t get to do normally during the year. He is also getting quiet a bit of partnering experience this year as the Prince in the Nutcracker. He feels this will help him as a dancer overall; in particular, it will help him as a ballet dancer. Also, this will give him experience he felt he lacked when it came to American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive, which he plans to attend again, and the skills the other boys brought to the table from their ballet programs. (Julian is not in a full ballet program.)

Last, I’d like to report that his piece of choreography at TDC seems to be going very well. Choreography appears to come quite naturally to him, and his teachers seem quite pleased with his work. The girls like the piece, too. I can’t wait to see it. I haven’t had a chance to watch it being performed at all. I’m hoping maybe tomorrow…

Last…I have not forgotten about the Denise Wall piece. It is on my to-do list (still) and I will…I promise…get it posted very soon!

Oh…by the way…Julian’s girlfriend’s sister dances at a studio where they have a photo of him on the wall along with several posts from My Son Can Dance. How cool is that!

ABT Summer Intensive Ends with Awesome Performance

The six weeks of American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive ended with a bang! The final performance was awesome with the advanced students, in particular, offering up some really amazing and pretty professional-looking dancing.

In particular, the violet level choreographed one number themselves (with the help of their instructor), and it was a stand out by far! There was another number featuring choreography by Twyla Tharp, and one or two others that were totally memorable. The upper level ballet pieces were all beautifully danced, as were the intermediate pieces as well.

Julian’s first piece, Fakir, was well danced, too, but, as he said, he didn’t really get to show off the ballet technique he learned during the summer. His second piece, E.J., set to several Elton John songs, was phenomenal. The dancing was good as was the choreography, and I thought Julian looked good…but I am his mother.

I never did get to talk to any of the boys about their experiences at ABT or as young male dancers. I really wanted to talk to them about the latter, but it seems most of them haven’t had the struggles Julian has had with teasing and such. That’s an interesting subject in and of itself. It seems that the majority of the boys Julian encountered either are home schooled or in performing arts schools; thus, they avoid the majority of the issues that most boys who choose to dance come across, such as being called weird or gay and being ostracized. These boys are choosing to be educated alternatively — either outside of normal school systems or within a school system where they are accepted as “normal,” because they aren’t the only boys dancing or interested in the arts.

I must add that one of the reasons many of the boys are home schooled has to do with their level of commitment to dance. They want to dance  more hours per day than they possibly could if they were in a typical school, such as the school Julian attends. Or they want to complete high school early so they can begin a professional career at an earlier age.

Julian has chosen not to do either; he was ostracized and teased for three years of middle school (longer really), and now that he feels he fits in and has friends, even though he still gets teased by some kids in his school, he doesn’t want to leave his new-found social life. He also wants to be a “normal” kid. That said, if he was offered the chance to dance in a company or in a show, he’d give it up in a second…with some regrets but without much hesitation.

I was at Broadway Dance Center and began speaking to the mother of a girl in Julian’s tap class. She was a teacher, as was her husband. She said the kids she has taught who were home schooled and then came to a public school lacked — well…how can I say this nicely? — social graces. They didn’t have the ability to get along or to solve some basic problems that occurred in social situations or in situations involving “authority figures.” She told me she believed having children complete “normal” middle and high school provided a much better life preparation. She felt children who come out of a typical school have necessary life skills that can’t be gained from home schooling.

As for schools for the arts, I think they are lovely. The kids who attend get to be with like minded children. They are nurtured and allowed to pursue their interests at a young age, and they get all that social education as well as the interaction with authority figures. However, this type of environment also fails to provide a real-life experience. Then when they get out into the world an are called “gay” or pushed around for being different, they may not know what to do.

Anyway, back to the subject of ABT: I was totally, totally, impressed with the boys, especially level blue and up. The higher level boys were something to behold!

Julian is sad that the program is over and plans, at this moment at least, to audition and come back next year. He’s made friends. He’s enjoyed himself. He’s improved immensely.

As a parent, I can say that the experience was well worth the money for him. For me…well, that’s another subject and story.

One more week in NYC. I’ll keep you posted if I can on our escapades at the New York Dance Studios. Tomorrow we aren’t doing much: one jazz class with Sue Samuels and then off to see Pilobolus. We pick up again on Monday late afternoon or evening after a trip to my see my mother once more before going home. (We travel there by bus on Sunday late morning.) More at that time.

One last note: I thought the people at ABT did a pretty superb job with the program and the performance overall. My only complaints as a parent: the fact that we were never allowed into the ABT “inner sanctum” until the last week (although I can understand that they might not want daily visits from parents), no activities for the group of attendees at all and no final group activity or anything. Not even a word at the end of the performance, which made it a little strange. I thought they should have at least come up when it was over and said something. (The directors did say something at the beginning.) But overall, well done, ABT.

ABT Summer Intensive Update and Info on Picking Ballet Classes

Half way through the fourth week of the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive and things are looking up. Julian’s foot isn’t hurting at all, although he plans to see the physical therapist on Thursday. He is drinking lots of things with electrolytes, so he isn’t dehydrated. He is no longer so muscle sore either. I have seen some kids limping out of the building, though, or wearing knee braces and such. He says everyone has some sort of ache or pain, but they are all just toughing it out.

Tap classes right now are the only extra  classes we’ve added into the mix. I’m a bit fearful of adding in much more ballet or even jazz; seems to me that it could be too much use of the same muscles. We are looking for Julian to possibly take a hip hop class sometime soon, and he will be taking Sue Samuels’ jazz class in the next few weeks. We made it to Michelle Dorrance’s tap class on Monday night, and Julian had a blast. Man, can that lady tap and teach! It was fast as all get out and Julian had to really work to keep up, but he had so much fun and learned a ton. I think he learned more in that one class than he has learned in any of the tap classes he’s had so far.

He’s really loving his “jazz” choreography piece at ABT, but I really think it’s more of a contemporary number. It’s set to four pieces of Elton John’s music. He doesn’t like his ballet choreography, because the boys really don’t do much and the choreography doesn’t even give them the opportunity to show off their classical ballet ability. He says they don’t get to “dance” much at all. That’s a shame…come all the way to New York to spend six weeks at ABT and then not even get to perform a good ballet piece for the performance.  Ah, well…he likes contemporary better anyway.

We saw Hair last night for Julian’s 15th birthday. It was a blast! What great, classic songs, great acting, superb singing, and tons of fun. Of course, there were a fair amount of swear words, references to drugs (and even a scene where they smoke pot), a brief scene in which they actors all strip off their clothes (but the lights are dim) and stand their naked, and more simulated sex acts than I can remember. I thought they looked like dogs in heat. Julian thought it was like a Viagra commercial gone bad — you know, like the caution about getting an erection that lasts more than four hours! Despite that, it was fun…and funny. We managed to get to the Olive Garden, his favorite restaurant, for three bowls of salad before hand, so, all in all, it was a great day.

Plus, he got to take a modern class with the violet level (two above his level) at ABT, and he went out to lunch with some friends. He got a bunch of money for his birthday to spend in NYC, so I think he had a pretty good birthday. I had fun, too!

I noticed a really nice article on the Boys and Ballet website about how to choose ballet classes for boys. It’s worth a read if your son is just starting out or you are looking to enroll your son in a more serious ballet program. It’s called, “How to Choose a Ballet School for Your Son” or “There are Special Considerations When Your Son has Ballet Dreams.” Search for it by one of those titles if you no longer find it on the first page of the site. (It’s written by C.A. Bates.)

The only thing I’d mention is that the author talks about ballet examinations. I’m no expert here, but Julian has never taken an examination. I believe these are required for certain types of ballet programs. He was in a Danish Bourneville program at Ballet San Jose School, and that did not require examinations.

The rest of the information is very good. I’d add, however, that the cost of a good and serious ballet program can get quite high, and not all schools offer boys great scholarships (although I think they should). Also, many of the programs I’ve encountered do not offer anything but ballet (she discusses programs that offer other styles of dance as well); they might have a modern class. We found that pursuing other dance disciplines was actually frowned upon by ballet schools in general. This seems odd when the trend in most classical ballet companies is towards inclusion of contemporary and modern choreography as well. Some are even branching out into more creative ventures, such as Ballet San Jose’s “Blue Suede Shoes,” a ballet written to the music of Elvis Presley.

I’ve been told over and over again in the last year that a male dancer who can do more than just ballet will find himself more of an asset to a ballet company — or any company for that matter — than a strict ballet dancer. While we were told that tap dancing and hip hop, as well as jazz, would not help his ballet training (and might actually hurt it), we are now being told to pursue all of these styles of dance if he wants to be more employable than the next man.

Now, would someone at ABT tell us that? I’m not so sure, but the male professional dancers I speak with do tell me that. Will you find that sort of well-rounded training in a ballet program? Not likely. If you find a serious ballet program offering all types dance, let me know!

ABT Summer Intensive Half Over: Feeling Good and Wishing for More Time

Last week went off without a hitch — yes, even without Mom around to make sure Julian remained healthy. Of course, he was with a mom who makes sure her son goes to bed early and eats well and takes all his vitamins and supplements and such, so I knew Julian was in good hands.

The two boys only ended up going to tap class at Broadway Dance Center one night last week, and Julian loved the class he took. ABT actually had two late start days, which meant they only danced six hours, rather than seven, those days. And, on top of that, they had Friday off for the 4th of July. The boys were going to go to Steps on Broadway for a ballet class that day, but after walking six miles earlier in the day they were too tired! (I would have been, too…)

It seems that the third week of a summer dance intensive really is a turn-around week. The kids who have struggled the first two weeks start feeling better and getting used to the rigour of the schedule. Of  course, many of the kids who are at a ballet intensive like this one are home schooled and dance five or six hours a day already; they don’t find the intensive that much harder than what they already do. Many of the kids who are  in very intensive ballet programs at home also handle the program better than Julian has as well. His program at Teen Dance Company only requires that he dance three or three and a half hours a day four days a week. He usually throws in an extra couple of hours one day a week, and rehearsals add in extra hours on the weekends as well (which means he dances about 18 hours a week — sometimes more), but he isn’t dancing six or seven hours a day during the school year by any stretch of the imagination. That explains why he was so tired and sore the first week, and was still suffering from exhaustion the second week.

The physical therapist taped his foot last week, which helped that issue. She gave him stretches as well. He’ll see her again tomorrow. Thus, his foot is bothering him less. He drank a lot of water and fluids with electrolytes also. All in all, he seems to be doing better at this point.

Julian and I had a nice reunion when I picked him up on Friday…he even hugged me and told me he missed me. We went out for a nice Italian dinner, had Pinkberry yogurt and then came back and watched a two-week-old episode of So You Think You Can Dance on the computer (thanks to my mom, who sent us the recorded DVDs). We still have no television… (Julian bought the third book in the Eragon series yesterday, so I’m happy to say we will be spending some nights reading.)

We had a super Saturday: First, off to Broadway Dance Center, where Julian tapped with his old teacher and former (and current) Tap Dog Anthony LoCascio. Then we rushed off to the Metropolitan Opera House to see ABT perform in Sylvia. Then home and then out for a calzone and off to the West Side Highway to sit in “pens” on the highway itself and watch the fireworks over the Hudson River — along with about 2 million other people. The fireworks were awesome, but sitting there on the hard ground and having something wet get all over our towel and us was not so nice…nor was trying to get back by subway. That said, we had a really nice day and night.

Today, Monday, Julian was happy to get back to dance class at ABT and to see all his friends. He is very aware that the program is half over and time is running short. He wishes it would last longer, especially now that he is feeling good. He and three of the boys and one or two girls are the first in line each day (there about 45 minutes before they are allowed into the building to begin the trek up four flights of stairs — they aren’t allowed to take the elevator).

We are considering going to Michelle Dorrance’s tap class tonight. We hate to do a hard class early in the week, but we feel the pressure of our time here coming to an end. I wrote an article about Michelle and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and Chloe Arnold for Dance Spirit magazine a while ago; they are all in Jason Samuels Smith’s “Charlie’s Angel’s” show. Jason considers these three female tappers the best out there…better even than some of the men. I’d love to have Julian tap with her and to meet her face to face. I’m trying to set up a private with her as well… She’s not on the road with Stomp anymore but performing right here in NYC — in fact just about five blocks away from where we are staying. So, I think Julian and I will go see the show, even though we’ve seen it before. (I wonder if she can get us good tickets…or get Julian backstage to meet the cast?)

Tomorrow is Julian’s 15th birthday! I got two for one tickets to Hair…yes, Hair. What a birthday present…full frontal nudity, references to drugs, profanity, and implied sexual acts. Ah, well, it’s all about the education, right? If he wants to be on Broadway one day, he’ll have to know that he, too, might have to get up in front of an audience baring it all (meaning sans dance belt). Even Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame, bared all in his role in Equus. Plus, we have tickets to see Pilobolus, the Connecticut-based company that is known to perform at least half naked. So…call me a bad mom. Maybe I am. I’m probably not showing him anything he hasn’t seen before — or won’t see behind the scenes at a ballet or other dance production anyway (if not on the stage itself).

And with that, I’ll sign off for now. I have a ton of editing and writing work to do, which is making it possible right now for us to see these show! I need to get us tickets to West Side Story next…the only other big dance production other than Billy Elliot, which we see at the end of the month.

(Oh, Julian texted me last week to say he’d had his best day ever at ABT: great jazz class, super partnering class, and 20 minutes in the studio after class messing around with David Alvarez, aka Tony Award-winning “Billy Elliot” himself! Now the ABT summer intensive girls are texting Julian asking for introductions since he is David’s “friend.”)

More in a few days…

Strengthen a Boy’s (or a Girl’s) Feet for Summer Dance Intensives

Since I have yet to find an expert to write a post  on how to prepare for a summer intensive like the one Julian will be attending at American Ballet Theatre this summer, I thought I’d share the information I gathered when researching two articles for Dance Teacher magazine on keeping dancers’ feet healthy. Some of you may not actually read that magazine, so you may have missed it.

First, you can access my article on tappers’ feet here and the information on exercises for tappers’ feet here. The doming exercise is pretty much the same one described below, but some different points are made. Julian is using this one every night to build up some extra cushion in his feet. We figure this will help prevent broken bones and, possibly, shin splints. The extra muscle in his feet will give him extra cushion. It surely can’t hurt!

Second, here are all the exercises that were offered to me by the experts I interviewed for the general article I wrote on keeping a dancer’s feet healthy. Julian is doing some, but not all of them. I plan to print this post out, though, and give it to him tonight!

Exercises for Developing Strong, Healthy Feet In and Out of Dance Class

When it comes to helping dance students develop strong, healthy feet in and out of class, the experts suggest a few exercises that provide the most bang for the buck in terms of developing muscles in the foot itself, ankle stability and strength and foot and leg awareness. 

The Flamingo

Once students have learned good abdominal and pelvic alignment, which means good posture, so the nerves that go to the feet are not compromised in any way, Marika Molnar, a physical therapist and president of Westside Dance Physical Therapy in New York, NY, suggest they stand on one leg in parallel. The other leg is raised off the floor and doesn’t touch the body. The foot and ankle ligaments and tendons should be working hard to keep the body over the base of support. The bottom of the foot should share the support among the heel, ball of first and ball of fifth toe so dancers have a tripod beneath them.

Students should try this exercise for 10 seconds at first with about six repetitions and build up to 60 seconds. Once dancers can accomplish it for 30 seconds on one leg, they should switch to the other leg.

“This is a great exercise to increase the awareness of where you are in space,” she explains, adding one caution. “Make sure that the alignment of the leg is healthy without the knee hyper-extending beyond five degrees.”

The next part is more challenging: Have the students close their eyes and repeat the exercise. “Most dancers cannot do it at first, because they use their eyes for centering themselves. Closing their eyes forces them to rely on their intrinsic messengers: the information from the ligaments, tendons, muscles, etc. to the brain,” Molnar says.

The Foot Crunch

To perform a foot crunch, students simply pick up a towel (or a theraband or a pencil) with their toes. “This is a good general exercise to strengthen the muscles of the foot and the muscles that support the arch of the foot,” reports Dr. Chris E. Chung, M.D. a sports medicine specialist at South bay Sport & Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc., in San Jose, CA.  “Building muscles in the foot provides shock absorption. In the long run, increased muscle in the foot helps prevent injury to bone, to muscle and to joint.” Doing 15 crunches on each foot for two repetitions per foot provides a good daily workout.

Foot Doming 

In a similar fashion, Kim Gardner, a former professional ballet dancer who now working as a rehab trained, certified Pilates instructor and the lead dance medicine specialist at South Bay Sports and Preventive Medicine Associates in San Jose, CA, suggests dancers practice “doming” their foot over a tennis ball to strengthen intrinsic arch muscles. This involves simply holding the arch over the ball for five seconds at a time for up to 15 repetitions per day. Dancers should perform this exercise with one foot, and then switch to the other foot. This exercise can be done without a ball as well.

Pushing Sand

Another good exercise, especially for pre-point students, involves strengthening the arch of the foot and the muscles along both side of ankle and calf to create ankle stability. Gardner explains that these muscles “attach under the foot like stirrups, but you don’t want one pulling up tighter than another. The inner stirrup muscles help avoid pronation while the outer stirrup muscles help avoid supination.”

Doming over the tennis ball helps strengthen the stirrup muscles to some extent, but imagining standing in wet sand scooping the sand to one side or the other with the sole of the foot does a better job. While sitting, students should be instructed to move the inside of foot toward midline and to imagine they are scooping sand towards the center or their body and then pushing it away from their center and towards the outside or their body. “This can be done with a Theraband as well,” says Gardner. 

Do A New York City Ballet Workout at Home!

Anyone found this yet? On YouTube you can access a whole series of videos produced by the New York City Ballet. I found only the New York City Ballet Workout 2. That means there must be a New York City Ballet Workout 1. Now there is no excuse for our boys to slack off when they don’t have ballet class. And you know how they love to be in front of the computer screen. Now they can stand, not sit, in front of the computer screen and do a ballet workout! Technology at it’s best.

I couldn’t seem to put the video in the blog for you to watch, but you can access it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUJOh6rcoQI

I also found a variety of videos on how to increase flexibility. Simply plug in those search words; you’ll find a woman from ExpertVillage.com who slowly goes through a variety of stretches. (Again, couldn’t post the video itself, find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha6P16sMVCA

I’m sure your boys will enjoy surfing YouTube for videos as much as mine. And maybe they’ll actually use some of what they learn from the videos. It’s got to be better than just watching music videos…unless they start choreographing to the music!

ABT Summer Ballet Intensive: What’s a Boy to Do?

We thought Julian had his summer all planned out: Back to Jewish camp for four weeks, something he had his heart set on, especially after missing almost half of his session last year when he came down with what was later diagnosed as Relapsing Fever. This was to be his last summer not spent focusing on dance. He’d keep taking dance classes after that at Teen Dance Company and participate in their summer intensive.

Right.

But we, his parents, couldn’t leave well enough alone. We kept thinking, “He should be dancing,” and we decided he should at least audition for some summer programs so he could (1) see what the auditions were like, and (2) see how he fared against the other dancers — in particular the boys. So, we planned on taking him to two auditions, one for Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, a contemporary company with which he’d really like to get involved, and American Ballet Theatre, which offers programs in several places around the country, including Irving, CA (where we thought he might get in even though it was for “advanced” students) and New York City (their premier program that includes classes specifically for boys).

Well, we couldn’t get to the Lines audition, because Julian had rehearsals that day for his upcoming Second Stage show at Teen Dance Company. We had to reschedule for next month. We did make it to the ABT audition, though, along with four other boys and about 86 girls. A week later, we got an email: Julian had been accepted into the NYC program and awarded a 25% merit scholarship. We couldn’t believe it. We didn’t know if he’d even get into Irvine, but he’d also put NYC down as his first choice on the application. Ultimately, ABT makes the decision about where you are placed, however.

Now our world has turned upside down. To go to camp or to NYC, that is the question.

In a very mature fashion — and with fellow ballet dancers telling him they’ll “kill him if he doesn’t go,” Julian says he thinks he will pass on camp and take advantage of this opportunity. Camp is just a fleeting four weeks never to be repeated again. ABT summer intensive will make him a better dancer for life. But…we have to figure out if we can afford it (Even with the scholarship it is expensive, and we have to add in airline tickets, housing — not provided, food, etc.), where we will stay, how he will be chaperoned, if my daughter can do without me for six weeks (since I’ll be chaperoning), if my daughter can get her driver’s license by then (since she will need to get to her summer internship every day), and, oh, so many more logistics. Not to mention that my husband could be without a job at that point…

Well, it’s all very exciting and nerve wracking. And we are so surprised, and Julian feels very fortunate. His ballet teacher, Mark Foehringer, says that this is exactly what he needs, because it is a formal program (which does seem to have classes in a variety of dance styles, by the way, including yoga and how to prevent injury) and offers him a chance to be in a boys’ class with at least 35 other excellent male dancers. This will push him, I’m sure, to be better. Boys thrive on being with other boys and competing with them. Julian has never been in a class with more than three other boys at a time, I don’t think.

You might wonder why he has chosen a ballet program, when he has said he doesn’t want to be a ballet dancer. He knows that ballet remains the foundation of all the types of dance he wants to do, and contemporary is high on his list. Plus, he says that if he can’t get a job in another style of dance, he’d like to be able to apply for a job in a ballet company. Not a bad strategy, I don’t think. I’m not sure if it’s possible to take that route, but I guess we’ll find out.

All that said, poor Julian is again faced with another choice to make. We keep telling him choices are a good thing, but to him it’s always about giving up one thing he wants for another thing he wants, which means missing out on something. In this case, giving up camp means giving up being with the group of friends that has always accepted him. He’s always felt comfortable with them and like he could be himself — even though he was a dancer. He’s never had that anywhere else. He has it with a few friends now in high school, but camp was always his safe haven from the turmoil of social life at school.

However, as a mother I can say that when I see him with other dancers, such as at the ABT audition, that’s when he’s really in his element and most comfortable. That’s when he’s “Julian” through and through.  Not surprising really.

We have to decide soon what he will do. I”ll keep you posted. And take my advice, leave well enough alone unless you are willing to deal with the ramifications!

Check here for my next blog post on Julian’s adventures wearing bootie shorts — his worst nightmare becomes a reality!

No One Likes to Change, Least of All Boys

If you thought I disappeared into the Internet ethers, you’re wrong. I was tied to my keyboard by another writing project. I was asked last minute and given three days to write a cover piece for Movmnt magazine on magician Criss Angel’s newest collaboration with Cirque du Soleil and choreographer Wade Robson. It’s an amazing show called Believe in Las Vegas. (If anyone wants to donate some tickets to me, I’ll take them. After this I could use a Vegas vacation with my family, and my daughter wants to see the Vegas Cirque water show, too.)  You might have seen a preview of Believe on So You Think You Can Dance last summer. If not, you still can by watching this Youtube video of the number I think is called “Homage.” It’s classic Robson…

And that’s where I’ve been until 2 a.m. two nights in a row leaving only to become a chauffeur to my son. My daughter is busy at school being the personal costume attendant to Cyrano in the school’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac – also responsible for putting his nose on and off – and also head costume designer/attendant. She only needs pick up at 11:30 p.m., and my husband has been doing that after picking up Julian at 8 p.m. or later.

If you don’t know Movmnt magazine, you might want to check it out. It’s the creation of international journalist David Benaym and Danny Tidwell (of SYTYCD fame). It’s full of interesting articles on all sorts of things related to pop culture, including the most up and coming dancers and choreographers. The next time you visit the Movmnt website, you’ll find the cover featuring the Believestory I wrote! And inside, I can tell you (Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone you heard it hear…) you’ll also find a piece on a former Billy Elliot from the musical - if you want to read about a young male dancer/singer who made it.

By the way, the current issue of Dance Spirit has an article on the boys of Billy Elliot. Julian auditioned…made it through to the last audition and was kept for two hours instead of 30 minutes. We were sure he had gotten the part. But he sure doesn’t look like those kids…he’s got peach fuzz on his lip and his voice is changing. We figure that’s why he wasn’t chosen. They did a time line on these kids and figured out when they’d begin to not look like kids. Julian doesn’t look like a kid. Well, that’s our rationalization on him not being selected anyway. (Couldn’t be that he wasn’t good enough – although his singing could have used some help!)

Be sure to click on the link for Dance Spirit; there’s a great video there of Alex Wong dancing to a piece called “Capture of the Tiger.” (I can’t say Julian looks that good yet…but he wants to look that good.)

Which brings me to my point: He’s over his “thing” about not wanting to change how he was taught to do ballet. (See my last post on October 18 and the great comment posted by Nichelle Strzepek. Check out her website and blog at http://danceadvantage.wordpress.com/. She posted one about my blog here.) I guess he just needed to moan and groan and complain and be stuck for a while.

We all do that to some extent. No one really likes to change. And, after all, he worked hard for three years to get his hands to do that thing they do when they move from  one position to another and to get his head to tilt like that. Of course, he’s going to balk at first about being told to change. Boys do tend to be a bit more stubborn than some other kids…at least Julian is more stubborn an ornery than his sister, Ariel, by far.

But we’ve heard it from more than one person that we’ve asked by now that these really are just “stylistic” aspects of ballet. Many schools of ballet exists with different “styles,” and it’s good to learn all of them. In fact, we were told that the style he learned, Bournonville, is one of the hardest and could be called the “Irish dancing of ballet.” We also heard it called “ballet in a box.” That’s nice… He was told, “Now that you know how to do it, put it on a shelf and learn something else. Take it down if you ever need it again.” Lovely. Glad I spent all that money and he spent three years of his time and effort learning that method.

The fact of the matter is, Julian actually does have good ballet technique. Everyone says so. He has a some things to work on, but for a 14-year old, he looks pretty good. And, now that he’s over his fit of loyalty to his past teachers and his stubbornness over not wanting to change, he can move on.

I guess that’s a sign of maturity. It goes with that fuzz on his lips and the deepening voice if not the lousy grades and tears that come so easily still. He’s a boy in an ever-more manly body. Change…it happens to the best of us even when we aren’t looking and when we are. It happens when it’s forced upon us or when we choose it willingly. It just happens.