Being a Ballerina

Being a Ballerina PDF Author: Gavin Larsen
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 081306595X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Finalist, the Arts Club of Washington Marfield Prize A look inside a dancer’s world Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, Being a Ballerina is a firsthand look at the realities of life as a professional ballet dancer. Through episodes from her own career, Gavin Larsen describes the forces that drive a person to study dance; the daily balance that dancers navigate between hardship and joy; and the dancer’s continual quest to discover who they are as a person and as an artist. Starting with her arrival as a young beginner at a class too advanced for her, Larsen tells how the embarrassing mistake ended up helping her learn quickly and advance rapidly. In other stories of her early teachers, training, and auditions, she explains how she gradually came to understand and achieve what she and her body were capable of. Larsen then re-creates scenes from her experiences in dance companies, from unglamorous roles to exhilarating performances. Working as a ballerina was shocking and scary at first, she says, recalling unexpected injuries, leaps of faith, and her constant struggle to operate at the level she wanted—but full of enormously rewarding moments. Larsen also reflects candidly on her difficult decision to retire at age 35. An ideal read for aspiring dancers, Larsen’s memoir will also delight experienced dance professionals and fascinate anyone who wonders what it takes to live a life dedicated to the perfection of the art form.

Being a Ballerina

Being a Ballerina PDF Author: Gavin Larsen
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 081306595X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description
Finalist, the Arts Club of Washington Marfield Prize A look inside a dancer’s world Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, Being a Ballerina is a firsthand look at the realities of life as a professional ballet dancer. Through episodes from her own career, Gavin Larsen describes the forces that drive a person to study dance; the daily balance that dancers navigate between hardship and joy; and the dancer’s continual quest to discover who they are as a person and as an artist. Starting with her arrival as a young beginner at a class too advanced for her, Larsen tells how the embarrassing mistake ended up helping her learn quickly and advance rapidly. In other stories of her early teachers, training, and auditions, she explains how she gradually came to understand and achieve what she and her body were capable of. Larsen then re-creates scenes from her experiences in dance companies, from unglamorous roles to exhilarating performances. Working as a ballerina was shocking and scary at first, she says, recalling unexpected injuries, leaps of faith, and her constant struggle to operate at the level she wanted—but full of enormously rewarding moments. Larsen also reflects candidly on her difficult decision to retire at age 35. An ideal read for aspiring dancers, Larsen’s memoir will also delight experienced dance professionals and fascinate anyone who wonders what it takes to live a life dedicated to the perfection of the art form.

A Dancer's Manual

A Dancer's Manual PDF Author: Bobby Boling
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780963786494
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Called the Anthony Robbins of dance, Bobby Boling has a unique way of inspiring and motivating dancers by sharing stories of adversity and how he and other dancers overcame the obstacles of professional dance. This inspiring book offers tips, tricks, experience, wisdom and personal stories with advice on exercise and health.A Dancer's Manual teaches young dancers how to take class more effectively, how to avoid and treat injuries and how to perform and rehearse more effectively. Professionals will learn how to audition and how to use exercise and weights to enhance their ability. Bobby Boling also offers advice to young dancers and old on alternative careers in the industry if they can no longer dance.A Dancer's Manual will appeal to any young person interested in dance, adults and teachers of studios and parents of dancers interested in helping to guide young people.

Inspired to Dance

Inspired to Dance PDF Author: Mande Dagenais
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781450201841
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
So you want to be a dancer? In Inspired to Dance, author Mande Dagenais details the entire process of how to become a dancer. Based on more than thirty years of experience in the performing arts as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, director, and producer, Dagenais shares her vast knowledge and experience. Using personal anecdotes and dispensing practical advice, this definitive and comprehensive guide teaches the ins and outs of show business: How to find the right teachers Audition dos and don'ts Where and how to find work How to create longevity in your career What it really takes to get in the business, be in the business, and survive in the business Inspired by some of today's biggest television shows, dance is back with a vengeance and the public's imagination has been fired up. Everyone is dancing-from two to ninety-two. Why not you? Let your journey begin. Travel the hoofer's lifecycle from dream to goal to commitment; from audition to rehearsals to opening night; from fantasy to reality, and the incredible moments that take your breath away. Take the next step in your career and break a leg!

The Ballet Companion

The Ballet Companion PDF Author: Eliza Gaynor Minden
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416595716
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
A New Classic for Today's Dancer The Ballet Companion is a fresh, comprehensive, and thoroughly up-to-date reference book for the dancer. With 150 stunning photographs of ballet stars Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Millepied demonstrating perfect execution of positions and steps, this elegant volume brims with everything today's dance student needs, including: Practical advice for getting started, such as selecting a school, making the most of class, and studio etiquette Explanations of ballet fundamentals and major training systems An illustrated guide through ballet class -- warm-up, barre, and center floor Guidelines for safe, healthy dancing through a sensible diet, injury prevention, and cross-training with yoga and Pilates Descriptions of must-see ballets and glossaries of dance, music, and theater terms Along the way you'll find technique secrets from stars of American Ballet Theatre, lavishly illustrated sidebars on ballet history, and tips on everything from styling a ballet bun to stage makeup to performing the perfect pirouette. Whether a budding ballerina, serious student, or adult returning to ballet, dancers will find a lively mix of ballet's time-honored traditions and essential new information.

The Healthy Dancer

The Healthy Dancer PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615227795
Category : Ballet
Languages : en
Pages : 119

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Book Description


The Dancers' Body Book

The Dancers' Body Book PDF Author: Allegra Kent
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006195179X
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Ballet dancers have the strongest, most beautiful, probably the most envied bodies in the world. How do they stay slender and willowy while maintaining the extraordinary energy it takes to perform night after night? Can a nondancer or an amateur attain a dancer's figure and a dancer's vitality? And keep it? Here, in The Dancers' Body Book, the legendary ballerina Allegra Kent discloses the health, weight-watching, and relaxation secrets of some of the world's greatest ballet dancers -- from Suzanne Farrell and Fernando Bujones to Darci Kistler and Madame Alexandra Danilova. Combining them with two well-balanced diets -- one to lose weight by and one to live by -- and an exercise regimen that can be tailored to the individual, she provides a fabulous fitness program for everyone who longs to be slimmer, healthier, and more energetic. Fourteen varied menus incorporate delicious recipes from the dancers themselves (such as Jacques D'Amboise's Wonderful Dinner Salad and Dierdre Carberry's Almond Meringue Kisses), along with calorie guides and advice on how to create additional menus using your own favorite dishes. Helpful discussions on sports and exercise systems -- ranging from jogging and swimming to the sophisticated "Pilates" workout -- are also included, and in a special chapter entitled "A Healthy Outlook," the dancers talk candidly on such issues as smoking, anorexia, vitamins, doctors, massage, junk foods, fad diets, and injuries. Dancers take meticulous care of all their equipment because training and performance depend on it. Of course, the most essential piece of equipment, the body, needs the most care of all, and that is what this book is about: how to take care of the world's greatest machine. Allegra Kent joined the New York City Ballet at the age of fifteen and was a principal dancer with the company for thirty years, during which time she created a number of starring roles in ballets by Balanchine and Robbins. The mother of two daughters and a son, she is also the author of Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book.

To a Young Dancer

To a Young Dancer PDF Author: Agnes De Mille
Publisher: Boston : Little, Brown
ISBN:
Category : Ballet dancing
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description


How To Be a Professional Dancer

How To Be a Professional Dancer PDF Author: HowExpert
Publisher: HowExpert
ISBN: 1647587999
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
This book is a general How-to about becoming a professional dancer. The term “Professional Dancer” is an all-encompassing term, used to describe individuals who are currently using dance training and dance performance to make a living. Professional dancers perform in Musical theater, on television shows, on cruise ships, in ballet companies, and many other venues of performing arts! The dance industry is a small and challenging segment of the entertainment industry, and it can be hard to navigate at times. It is our hope that this e-book gives you a glimpse into the necessary steps dancers take to perfect their art and acquire jobs! We walk through the steps of acquiring training, reaching outside of your comfort zone, preparing for an audition, and booking a job. When reading this book, remember that there are no sure paths to success. It will take hard work, and many trials and errors. Everyone’s journey to achievement is unique, but these general guidelines will give you a rough outline or how to reach your dreams. About the Expert Elly Sarfert is a professional dancer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After many years of dance training at In Motion Dance Center, under the direction of Michelle Nicholson, she went on to study contemporary at The University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance from Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. At Point Park Elly majored in jazz dance and minored in Psychology. Currently she is pursuing a dance career all over the country, while also teaching at many dance studios throughout the North-East area. HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.

Making It Werk

Making It Werk PDF Author: Michelle Loucadoux
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781542583848
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
In this start-to-finish guide to the business side of dance, professional dancer Michelle Loucadoux and world-renowned dance agent Shelli Margheritis offer invaluable tips and tricks of the trade from both sides of the audition table. From starting a career in dance through transitioning out of the business, this book discusses the details of training, finding representation, working on set, dance unions, networking, auditioning, branding, and creating a sustainable career as a professional dancer. This is an absolute must read for current or aspiring dance professionals working in any facet of the dance industry.

The Everyday Dancer

The Everyday Dancer PDF Author: Deborah Bull
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571260942
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The Everyday Dancer is a new and honest account of the business of dancing from a writer with first hand experience of the profession. Structured around the daily schedule, The Everyday Dancer goes behind the velvet curtain, the gilt and the glamour to uncover the everyday realities of a career in dance. Starting out with the obligatory daily 'class', the book progresses through the repetition of rehearsals, the excitement of creating new work, the nervous tension of the half hour call, the pressures of performance and the anti-climax of curtain down. Through this vivid portrait of a dancer's every day, Deborah Bull reveals the arc of a dancer's life: from the seven-year-old's very first ballet class, through training, to company life, up through the ranks from corps de ballet to principal and then, not thirty years after it all began, to retirement and the inevitable sense of loss that comes with saying goodbye to your childhood dreams.