Correcting Classmates

If you work in close proximity to other dancers in class or rehearsal, it's tempting to provide your two cents when classmate is having an issue.  It's great to be helpful, but when you're a student, it's also important to remember your place.  In this post, I'll provide some guidelines to help you know when it's ok to speak up and when it's better to stay silent.

Note:  This post is geared toward student dancers attending class and participating in community dance productions.  While similar etiquette is helpful for professionals, companies have different social climates than schools, and this often leads to different preferred courses of action.

In class, it's always best to focus on your own dancing.  If you see another student make a mistake, don't say anything.  Let the teacher provide corrections.  If you correct other students, it can be seen as bossy, degrading to other students (as if you're saying you're better than them because you know what they did wrong), or rude to the teacher (as if you're saying you think you know more than the teacher).

There are two scenarios where it's ok to correct other students.  One is a specific exercise some teachers give where students break into pairs and "perform" combinations for each other (one student dancing, the other providing feedback).  In this situation, carefully watch your partner and give detailed feedback.  Try to note a couple of things your partner did well and a couple of things your partner could improve.  State all of your feedback in a specific manner, like, "Your toes were pointed very nicely, but you could think about turning out more on your working leg."  Don't say vague things like, "It was good," or "It was messy."  This will give your partner helpful feedback that doesn't feel insulting to receive.

The other situation (common in advanced dancers) is a close friendship where two or more dancers feel comfortable giving each other constructive criticism.  There should be an agreement (spoken or unspoken) that feedback will be kind and aimed at helping improve rather than tearing down.  One friend may say to another, "I saw your double pirouette-it looked like you were leaning to the left.  If you were more on your leg, I bet you could have done a triple."  If you're not good friends with someone, it's not in good taste to give them feedback, even if it's phrased nicely.  It can be construed as a passive-aggressive put-down or an assertion that your technique is better.

In rehearsal situations (when you are working on a piece for a recital, competition, or ballet), you should still focus on your own technique.  However, it is in everyone's best interest for all dancers in the piece to be on track and mistake-free.  In almost all situations, it's best to stay quiet if you see another dancer making an error.

When the group is just learning a piece, some dancers will pick up the steps quicker than others, and this is ok.  The teacher or rehearsal assistant will usually help those lagging behind.  Just as in the class situations above, it's rude to the person in charge if you start helping out too much.

If you've been working on a piece for a while and a dancer keeps on making mistakes, just do your part of the dance and try to ignore that person if you can.  Smoothly step around them if they're in your way, but don't say anything (and try not to give off any frustrated body language either).

If you really want to help out dancers who are having trouble with choreography, the best way is to invite the dancers in the piece (everyone, don't single out one person) to practice outside of scheduled rehearsal time.  Maybe you can all spend a few minutes after technique class or before rehearsal starts to go over the steps.  If a dancer is getting confused or messing up the steps, they are probably aware of it, embarrassed by it, and welcoming of additional time to practice.  During impromptu rehearsals like this, you can reinforce some concepts as you walk through choreography.  Check in with fellow dancers ("Everyone has their downstage leg forward, right?") to ensure everyone understands the choreography, but don't hound anyone about technique or call anyone out by name for messing up.

Overall, it's usually best to stay quiet when you have the opportunity to correct a classmate.  Corrections can be outright or subtly rude to the dancer you're correcting and to the instructor.  In the rare situation when it's ok to provide a correction, always be well-intentioned, specific, and kind in order for the other dancer to benefit from the constructive criticism.

What is a sugar plum?

Wondering why the Sugar Plum Fairy is named as she is?  Does the idea of sugar plums leave you with less-than-desirable images of shriveled prunes?  Well, let the truth be known.

Sugar plums are just hard candies.  The word "plum" refers more to the shape of the sweets (round) than the flavor.  This term dates back to the 1600s, and since at that time hard candies were dipped by hand, such sweets were very expensive and luxurious.  This sort of leads into the connection with holidays and gifts, as such fine sweets were probably only eaten occasionally as part of a celebration. 

The Sugar Plum Fairy is basically just the candy fairy.  She's elegant and pretty, like perfectly formed candies.  She has a sugary personality, and she is the leader of the Kingdom of Sweets.

When you see the Sugar Plum Fairy in the future, try to associate her with elegant brightly colored candies rather than actual plums.  Also--since sugar plum sweets can be any color or flavor, the Sugar Plum Fairy can also be dressed in any color.  She's not wrong or inauthentic if she's a color other than purple.

Snowflake Dancewear Inspiration

This dancewear inspiration series will give you inspiration to style your dance wardrobe after your favorite ballet characters.  Whether you are looking for inspiration in an upcoming rehearsal or you're  just enjoying dressing up, I hope these looks can inspire you to have fun with your look.

Snow is one of the most iconic parts in Nutcracker.  It is one of the most difficult pieces to dance, and nearly all female dancers on a professional track dance it at least once.  Snow is supposed to represent a beautiful icy winter forest, so the dancers wear costumes in shades of white, silver, and pale blue.  This look incorporates the colors of snow as well as some modern warm and wintry elements.

Waltz of the Flowers Dancewear Inspiration

This dancewear inspiration series will give you inspiration to style your dance wardrobe after your favorite ballet characters.  Whether you are looking for inspiration in an upcoming rehearsal or you're  just enjoying dressing up, I hope these looks can inspire you to have fun with your look.

Waltz of the flowers is a beautiful, elegant part of Nutcracker.  It's most dancers' first major corps de ballet part.  Flowers usually wear shades of pink, red, and other warm colors, and floral accents are common.  This look is based on floral inspirations, but keeps things relaxed and not over the top. 

Support your dancer through Nutcracker

Nutcracker is one of the biggest events in the ballet dancer's year.  For young students, it's often the first ballet they get to participate in.  For pros, it's an exhausting time where they must dance in up to 50 performances between Thanksgiving and New Year.  Regardless of your dancer's age or experience, dancing in the Nutcracker is a huge responsibility.  There are almost always numerous performances, and each show's audience is full of people fulfilling their holiday traditions.  There's an expectation to provide a top-quality performance that exceeds expectations since many of the audience members have seen the ballet before.  This can lead to dancers feeling more stressed and less joyous than they do when performing other ballets.  Families and friends can do a lot to support dancers through this tough season.

Dancers, especially those doing intense choreography like snow scene, need to care for their bodies.  It's common for dancers in these positions to get small injuries (bruised toenails, etc.) and lose weight during the performance run.  Parents and roommates can help a lot by keeping the cabinets stocked with Band-Aids, muscle rub, and healthy snacks.

Many dancers get tired of the Nutcracker long before the performance run is over (and sometimes even before it starts-rehearsals often begin months beforehand).  Some veterans who have performed in the production for years vehemently dislike the music.  Don't play Nutcracker music at home, and be aware that your dancer might express irritation at the Tchaikovsky suite playing in public places like the mall.

Plan non-ballet activities, but be conscious of the ballet schedule.  Most dancers relish opportunities to attend a Christmas part or take a shopping trip with family and friends.  When setting up these things, be aware of the time it takes to get ready and un-ready for performances.  Most dancers need a minimum of 2 hours before shows to warm up and do hair, makeup, and costumes.  It takes about an hour to completely decompress from a show, clean up, and change clothes.  If fun events are too close to show times, they lose their fun and become stressful.

Every ballet is different: there is no right or wrong

The other day, I overheard a conversation about the Nutcracker Ballet.  One woman was telling her friend to get tickets to the Nutcracker put on by company X.  She claimed that company X's Nutcracker was much better than company Y's because company Y got the story all wrong.  She said it was creepy that company Y portrayed Clara as a little girl when everyone knows that Clara and the Nutcracker are lovers.

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with having opinions and preferences, I want to take a moment to advise caution and preach open-mindedness.  Just like fairy tale ballets are rarely similar to their Disney counterparts, different versions of shows (put on by different companies, in different geographic areas, etc.) are often quite dissimilar.

Using just The Nutcracker as an example, there are thousands of different ways the story can go.  Sometimes it's set in the 1800s.  Sometimes it's set in the present.  Sometimes it's set in Germany, or Russia, or the United States.  Sometimes Clara is a little girl.  Sometimes she's a teenager or young adult.  Sometimes the Nutcracker Prince is a little boy.  Sometimes he's a man.  Sometimes the Nutcracker and Clara fall in love (or are set up to fall in love when they grow up), and sometimes the Nutcracker is married to the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Sometimes Clara actually is the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Sometimes there's no romance in the ballet at all.  Sometimes the variations are very traditional and portray their countries of origin, and sometimes they show something else entirely, like decades.  There are numerous possible endings to the ballet, and none of them are right or wrong.

Every single story ballet can go in any of many directions.  In Swan Lake, Odette sometimes dies at the end.  In other interpretations, she and her prince live happily ever after.  Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty all have similar varied possibilities.  Sometimes the main character has siblings or magical companions, and sometimes not.  There might be humorous moments, or the ballet might be more serious.  Whatever it turns out to be, there is no wrong representation.

Most companies must consider their audience and staff of dancers before settling on a story for a ballet.  Companies that usually have a lot of children in the audience tend to shy away from sad or scary stories.  Odette is more likely to live happily ever after in Swan Lake, and you may not see Romeo and Juliet at all.  Local and regional companies with a small number of dancers may choose versions with fewer characters.  Companies that are not affiliated with dance schools often do versions of ballets that do not have child characters.  Local companies that depend heavily on youth dancers often have a different makeup from year to year (such as more high school seniors one year and more elementary schoolers the next), and this may cause them to use different versions of ballets based on what dancers they have available.  Such a company may have a Nutcracker ballet with a teenage Clara one year, and a Nutcracker with a little girl Clara the next.

One thing that is consistent across fairytale story ballets is that emotions and relationships portrayed are obvious and clean.  Teens and adults fall in love with other teens and other adults.  If a character looks like he's the dad of another character, he's almost certainly the dad (and not the boyfriend or rival or evil pirate).  If a character is moping or crying, she's sad.  If she's laughing or smiling, she's happy.  Big story ballets do not contain deep, confusing plot twists or sexual elements.  (Note: There are ballets that contain these things such as Spartacus [the dramatized story of the historical character] and Swimmer, [a re-telling of Lolita].  However, these are usually shorter ballets with small casts, and they are generally not advertised as family friendly.  Trust me, you will know the difference.)

Also, nearly all companies print summaries of the ballet's story in the program.  This short overview should provide titles and relationships for most of the characters so you can enjoy the ballet without confusion.  For The Nutcracker, the program may describe Clara as a "girl" or a "young woman."  It may say that the Nutcracker Prince takes Clara on a journey to the land of sweets to "show his love for her," or he may do so to "thank her for saving his life..."  You get the idea.  These programs don't lie.  If it says the Nutcracker Prince took little Clara on a magical trip as a thank-you, he did it as a thank-you, not because he's a pedophile.

Overall, remember that even though versions of ballets differ from place to place, company to company, and year to year, no version is wrong in regards to story.  Each version is the unique vision of the artistic director of the company putting it on.  Remembering that family friendly story ballets portray obvious emotions and do not use nefarious sexual elements can help you enjoy every show with an open mind.