It felt good to plié today. After all the travel and mayhem of the busy holiday season it felt good to finally adjust my posture, pull up, move my shoulders back and down, turn out and enjoy that first plié in my first ballet class of 2012. (Sure, you can stretch and plié and tendu without class, but it’s just not the same, you know that)!
As I went through my first barre of the New Year, I started thinking how grateful I am to New Jersey Ballet where I take class, for being there with a professional class and pianist so close to home. In fact, I am grateful to all of the local schools and institutions who offer quality dance training – those regional ballet companies, university dance programs and dancing schools who nurture and inspire so many, all over this country.
New Jersey Ballet
Hey – we all start local – even the luminaries. Wendy Whelan, NYC Ballet principal, began taking dance class with a local teacher in Louisville, KY and as a child performed as a mouse with the Louisville Ballet in its annual production of The Nutcracker.
Charles Askegard, recently retired principal dancer with NYC Ballet, began his dance training with Minnesota Dance Theatre. David Hallberg, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet, began his formal ballet training at the Arizona Ballet School in Phoenix. And Amanda McKerrow, Répétiteur for the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust and former ABT principal dancer, began her training at the Twinbrook School of Ballet in Rockville, Maryland and later studied at the Washington School of Ballet. And those are just a few.
I love American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet, San Francisco and Miami City Ballet. But let’s not forget all of the smaller companies in the smaller towns; the universities and even the small ballet schools who train and develop our young people, provide quality performance, and of course, offer class to all those who wish to continue dancing throughout their lives.
Please support your local ballet company in 2012 – their role is ever more important. As they say at NJ Ballet, “dance training develops discipline, concentration, alertness and body control, which aids in scholastic endeavors and personal growth. Carriage, body lines, coordination, grace, style, technique, artistry – the benefits that a dance education can bring are unlimited.”
Well said! We would be way less fortunate without our local schools and companies – here’s to them!
Related articles
- Charles Askegard Leaves His Ballerinas At New York City Ballet (huffingtonpost.com)
- A Ballet First: An American to Join the Bolshoi (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
- PHOTOS: Miami City Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ With Edward Villella (huffingtonpost.com)
- New dance center welcomes NYCB principal dancer (timesunion.com)
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