Preparing for Going Solo Performance and Copellia

Things are gearing up again. Julian has been practicing an old routine of his from a few years ago called “Hats” for solo studio performance on Thursday. We didn’t realize that he could actually perform in this event, so he didn’t prepare a solo. (We’ll know for next year.) So, he pulled out his very-successful piece, choreographed by ReMinD, otherwise known as Aristan Rinpoyla. When Julian competed this number, he won lots of awards for the unique choreography which is a bit like the movie “Mask;” each time he puts on a new hat, he dances a different type of hip hop.

While those who make the decisions about who performs what at the studio weren’t too keen on Julian doing a hip hop routine, they actually found the choreography “entertaining,” and allowed it into the show. Another point for ReMinD!  Julian has since been trying to get the piece back up to performance level. I’m not sure it will be quite there with just 2 weeks of sporadic rehearsals, but it will be okay.

Tomorrow, he begins rehearsals for Copellia with Los Gatos Ballet. Since tech rehearsals for this productin were in close conflict with Teen Dance Company’s concert tech week, we were afraid he wouldn’t get to do the performance. However, he’s been allowed to do it with the caveat that if his school work starts affecting attendance at TDC, he has to drop out of Copellia.

His grades are getting a bit better, I’m happy to say, and he’s only missed one assignment in 3 weeks or so. However, his honors English grade is in the basement (and that’s putting it really nicely). We’re hoping he brings it up so he doesn’t have to attend summer school. If that happens, he can kiss his ABT summer intensive scholarship and experience goodbye. That would be a shame.

This weekend he is off to The Pulse to dance with the choreographers of So You Think You Can Dance. He’s excited about that. Although he does get to work with Mandy Moore occasionally, and she isn’t with The Pulse, he hasn’t worked with Tyce Diorio, Mia Michaels, Shane Sparks, Brian Friedman, or Wade Robson before.

I’m hoping to get to the convention to watch as well, since I’d like to see these people operate myself. However, my daughter has a synchronized swimming meet on Sunday…Can’t ever be on a different day, can it?…so I’m going to miss a few of these choreographers in action. I’m sure Julian will have a blast, though.

Conventions and Sore Ankles

This past weekend Julian and the rest of the Teen Dance Company dancers went to the Nuvo dance convention. Julian had a blast hanging with his buddies from TDC and seeing some old friends from other studios. He also saw some friends from school or from the Nutcracker performance he was in last December.  Additionally, he got to observe and talk with two other male dancer he has met previously

The TDC dancers had recently had an hour-long class involving instruction on how to work with choreographers. The gist of the class, according to what Julian told me, was to “copy” the movements and not to change the movements to make them “your own” unless told to do so by the instructor. Julian noticed another male dancer doing what he deemed “just the opposite” — in his eyes — and making it his own to a great extent. And this boy was rewarded by being put on stage. He was upset. And maybe Julianwas just jealous…who’s to know. Or maybe he was just confused given that he was told to do something, which received no recognition, while someone else did the opposite and did receive recognition.

Anyway, the kids had a blast at the convention, and they were given the opportunity to compete simply for the sake of “performing” and giving the company a bit of publicity. That turned out quite well, as they came in first and got high honors in every category in which they competed. Of course, the kids were thrilled. (Who doesn’t like to be a winner, even if it’s not supposed to be about competing and winning.)

However, in one of the numbers Julian was set down a bit harder then usual after a lift and turned his ankle a bit. Between that and his two tap numbers, he has a sore ankle ankle and foot today, so he stayed home from dance to rest it. He has rehearsals gearing up at the end of the week for their spring concert; he wants to be in tip top shape for that.

He got to take class with Travis Wall, an idol of his from So You Think You Can Dance. He loved his choreography and has wanted to dance like him since he saw him on television.

It’s been a year since Julian attended a convention. He has two more to go…

When Rumors Fly about Billy Elliot…and A Little News On Nick Lazzarini

Oh, my! I seem to have created quite a stir with my last post. I’ve had an influx of readers since I speculated on who might be the one leaving Billy Elliot, the Musical, which recently opened on Broadway.  I admitted I was getting my information from Movmnt Magazine, and in the comments to my last post I’ve even (upon request) quoted the magazine saying that “rumors” were floating around Broadway that one of the boys would soon be let go. However, an anonymous source that commented on that post has said that all the boys are assured six months of work and that Kiril isn’t leaving. I’m not sure who this source is (that’s why he/she is anonymous, obviously), so I also don’t know where this information comes from or how accurate it is. So, if someone wants to step forward with real information and credentials (or something) to back up  that information, obviously the readers of this blog would love to hear what he or she has to say.

On a totally different topic, I finally managed to get a hold of Nick Lazzarini, the winner of the first season of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. (Gotta love Facebook…)  And he happened to be home for Christmas and said he’d be happy to grant me a face-to-face interview for my book on how to mentor boys who want to become professional dancers. So, I met with him today. (Interestingly, Julian has danced in some of the same studios as did Nick — Dance Attack and Studio 10. Nick also danced with Mark Foehringer while he was still teaching and directing at Western Ballet in Mountain View, and Mark now teaches Julian ballet at TDC.)

What a lovely man! He was so forthcoming and pleasant and offered nice stories and tips for the boys who might want to follow in his footsteps. Actually, he encouraged boys not to follow in anyone else’s footsteps but rather to find their own path and take their own journey in the dance world.

On the subject of grades and school, since that’s been a hot topic here lately, I’ll mention that Nick was working and performing and was primarily home schooled for the first year of high school. He then chose to continue this track and get his GED, because it relieved the pressure that school placed upon him. This also gave him the freedom to focus on dance and to go to LA and NY for dance classes and such. He actually graduated at the age of 16.

I told him Julian liked the social aspect of school and didn’t want to give that up despite his dislike of studying and homework, and he reiterated what almost everyone I’ve interviewed to date has said: His best friends all came from the dance world and continue to be from the dance world.

He did say that he was a bit sorry he didn’t go on to study dance at the conservatory level but rather began working right away. Of course, conservatories don’t offer academics…but they do offer another path for those boys who aren’t enamored with school.

Julian’s high school does offer an alternative track where you can come in on Monday and get all your work for the week and then hand it in on Friday. Julian doesn’t want to do this. He likes being with the other kids. And I’m not going to home school him, that’s for sure. I’m not cut out for that job. (I dont’ have the patience – or the knowledge! So, I guess he’ll have to deal with the pressures of midterms and finals and tests in general unless he gets too fed up – or gets offered a great part – and has to make another choice. That said, for those boys who don’t want to handle the pressures of school and are satisfied with the social time the get at the dance studio, opting for an alternative route of study in high school or middle school can be a saving grace, I’m told. Nick wouldn’t have done it any other way. The “Billys” are all tutored and I bet many of them have been home schooled before as well (I’m guessing), as have many or most child actors and actresses.

Nick told me so much more, but I have to keep some things for the book, which I will hopefully be proposing to an agent in the New Year.

What Benji Schwimmer Says about Dance Injuries

Boys who have, like my son, suffered time off of dance while they recuperated from dance-related injuries, should know they are not alone. Even the best dancers get injured, and they, too, hate sitting one the side while everyone else jumps and turns and pirouettes across the floor.

Sometimes it helps to hear what someone you respect has to say about the obstacles you face. That’s the premise of the book I’m writing about mentoring boys who want to become professional dancers. So, here are a few words from swing dancing champion Benji Schwimmer, the 2007 winner of So You Think You Can Dance, who told me during a two-hour interview that dancers get lots of injuries along the way to stardom and that these always make them feel depressed and helpless. Despite this fact, there are ways to move through these negative feelings and come out of an injury better than ever.

If your son is injured or has been, share what Benji has to say:

“Probably one of the most difficult times in my life was right after I had won
the United States Swing Dance Championships with my cousin, Heidi (Groskreutz)…I was teaching a class at a college, and I ripped my knee into shreds. I had all these bookings and shows planned throughout the year that I had to cancel. I was depressed beyond recognition. I thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize how fragile the human body is until that moment and how scary it is to be injured.’

That was a tough time. Eventually I had a surgery and had to get back on my feet and reclaim my swing title the next year. But I was out for seven and a half months, and that was definitely a very trying time in my life. I had to get back into shape and do therapy, but I came back like a bat out of hell.”

And you know what? He not only came back he reclaimed his swim champion title as well.

I reminded my son of this story when he was feeling upset up the recital and ballet rehearsals he was missing because of his hurt foot. He was concerned that he might be told my his instructors that he couldn’t perform. I told him that he simply needed to continue stretching and strengthening as much as he could until he could get out on the dance floor again and that he needed to continue going to class and marking the choreography to ensure that he would know the dance when it came time to actually perform it. And I told him he would have to work hard when he could actually dance again to get up to speed and totally in shape. If he did these things, surely he would be on stage with the other dancers when the curtain went up for both events.

It all comes down to how badly these young male dancers want that goal, how hard they are willing to work. (Unfortunately, often their age stops them from working hard enough, which deters them in many ways. But that’s the subject of another post.) If like, Benji, they will do what it takes to get themselves back onto the dance floor in tip top shape, they too can “win” whatever prize they desire. It helps, however, to know that someone understands their frustration.

The director of the ballet school, Lise LaCour, has offered to work with Julian herself, or to have Julian’s male instructor, Peter Brandenhoff, give Julian private lessons (for free) when he returns to dancing to help him get in shape. That will also boost his confidence, improve his mood and help him get back up to speed. I had already suggested paying for a few private lessons at Studio 10 with Keith Banks to get him ready for the recital (even though those lessons are very expensive).

As a parent, we have to do what we have to do to help these boys. They seem so rough and tough, yet they are really very fragile and sensitive.

I’ll keep you posted. One more week and then hopefully the boot comes off.