The real story

Do you think you know the story of The Nutcracker?  Clara is given a nutcracker on Christmas, and it comes alive, leading her as her prince through a magical kingdom of living snowflakes, flowers, and dancing treats.  You might be surprised to learn, however, that this is not the full story.

As occurred with the fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm, The Nutcracker became somewhat watered down and less frightening as time went on; it actually started out as a bit of a creepy tale, very unlike the story that now entrances adults and children alike.  The article that I found about this is called, "No Sugar Plums Here: The Dark, Romantic Roots of 'The Nutcracker.'"  Naturally, I couldn't resist an article with that title.

The article gives the real author of The Nutcracker, a man by the name of E.T.A. Hoffmann: remember, Tchaikovsky only wrote the score (the music) for the ballet, not the actual story itself.  Hoffmann, similar to his fictional character Drosselmeier, seemed very interested in the animation of the inanimate, and the interview even reveals that one of his stories was the vague basis for another ballet, Coppelia, which is about a man who falls in love with an automaton girl.  Hoffman's original story was called, "The Nutcracker and Mouse King," and it followed the small adventure of a girl named Marie who, concerned for a broken nutcracker toy, is amazed when it comes to life and battles an army of mice with its toys.  The dark aspect of this story, though, is that the events take place, "...in what is either the child's delirious nightmare, or perhaps another reality into which she wanders."  Creepy, right?  I never thought of the ballet like that; it always seemed a beautiful dream or childhood adventure that Clara/Marie wandered into.  Now that I think about it more, though, even that is a bit odd...

Here's one of the most interesting sections of the article, though:

"Hoffmann, Zipes adds, wanted to make sure his readers knew that Marie was aware of the contrast between her life with the rule-bound Stahlbaums, and the dream world of The Nutcracker, 'a world of imagination, a world of her choice, where she can also make decisions that are more in accord with her own imagination.'"

This dynamic of power within the family is intriguing and suggests that Marie escaped into her imagination (perhaps a euphemism for going crazy) in order to free herself from her family's strict regulations.  The article points out that her family's name, "Stahlbaum," means "steel tree," so this perhaps is an indicator of the steel structure present in the house that forces Marie's childish insanity.

Although I like the modern versions of The Nutcracker, the original just can't be beat.  It's dark and thought-provoking in a more intellectual way than the ballet is today, and I like that.  Would I want children to see it?  I'm not sure about that, but I think they should know the real story before making a choice.

"Dance-ish"

This is what Kenichi Ebina dubs his performance.  A bit of dance, a bit of martial arts, a bit of everything, he says.  The following video has garnered over 22 million views since its posting by America's Got Talent in June of this year.  If you're not one of the 22 million (as I was a few days ago), are you ready to join the ranks?

First off, I would like to call the judges out on their behavior: a classic example of criticizing before Ebina even had a chance to perform.  I could see the doubt in all their faces when he described his act as "dance-ish," and I'm so happy that he blew their minds with his performance!  That'll teach them to judge a book by its cover.

I still can't figure out how he did that head drop (it's been driving me crazy since I saw the video...anybody who has an idea, please leave a comment!), so it's safe to say that Ebina's performance really impressed me.  A dancer needs complete control over every minute muscle in his body to be able to perform the way Ebina does, and that level of control is astounding.  He imitates a robot so convincingly in the first section that he could have passed for an automaton.  My favorite section was the Matrix-style moves; they've always had a soft spot in my heart, even though I've never seen the movie.  Everyone can do that move to a greater or lesser degree, but I've not seen anyone do it like Ebina.  I would say that he well deserves all the views he got!

Spelbound

So are you "Spelbound?"  I certainly was.  This gymnastics group is unlike I've ever seen before in my entire life.  I can't even begin to imagine how much training these kids must do in order to do such amazing stunts.  What truly amazes me is that their artistry is always present, no matter how challenging the trick.

What you might be wondering, though, is why I would include a gymnastics routine on a blog about dance.  Anyone out there wonder that?  If the thought crossed your mind, I'm glad, because this does not seem like a logical post from the beginning.  Allow me to explain!

If you watch almost any video of competition dance, you'll see handstands, front walkovers, round-off back handsprings, and cartwheels.  While I wouldn't have thought of these moves as dance (they obviously belong to the gymnastics genre), they have increasingly integrated themselves with many forms.  And why not?  Dance and gymnastics connect well together and give a dancer a greater range of options when constructing a number.  Much of the athleticism required for dance is also required for gymnastics.  I've often wondered about dancers and gymnasts: that is, could a dancer (easily) become a gymnast and could a gymnast (easily) become a dancer?  My conclusion is that it's traditionally been easier for gymnasts to become dancers because gymnasts' already have all the obvious muscle while dancers usually have less-obvious muscle tone and different body types.  However, competition dance is blurring that distinction quite ferociously by the inclusion of gymnastics into dance routines.  Perhaps the two disciplines will merge in the future.

Riverdance

A few days ago, I wrote a post on Irish dance and now want to come back to the topic briefly because I neglected any discussion of Riverdance.  Riverdance is an internationally-acclaimed Irish dance group that is, to put it frankly, incredible.  I'm not sure how to put into words their skill, so I invite you to watch this video of their performance before I try to explain myself.

Pretty amazing, right?  I am impressed by how quickly and clearly their feet move in those shoes, which almost look like tap shoes (which I'd imagine to be decently heavy).  They also dance for quite a long time.  Can you imagine the amount of energy and stamina these dancers must have?  They show their strength admirably especially by not allowing their torso or upper body to move much at all: this performance is all about footwork, and they do not allow any stray movement to disrupt the magic of their feet.  They hold their composure until the very end of the performance and don't even breathe obviously at the end, which I find incredible.  The hardest part of any dance is the very end, when all the dancer wants to do is leave the stage to finally freely but must remain composed and effortless on stage while taking a bow.  

Above: breaking the world record for longest line on 7/21/2013

1,693 dancers from 44 countries danced continuously for five minutes to break the record

A different kind of Nutcracker

It's that time of year when Christmas music plays in every shop and restaurant and radio station.  If you listen carefully, a good deal of the quieter music is from Tchaikovsky's legend of a ballet, The Nutcracker.  Although I'd like to be able to give you a clear summary of the ballet, one simply does not exist.  Every company has it's own version with slightly different plot threads or names for the characters.

In this post, rather than give you the traditional ballet version, I think the animated Tom and Jerry version deserves some appreciation.  Tom and Jerry is the classic cartoon of a cat (Tom) trying to catch a much-wiser mouse (Jerry).  I grew up watching these cartoons, and I've always loved them.  Here's a clip of the movie, and, if you listen to the background music, it's "Dance of the Mirlitons" (or "Dance of the Reed Flutes" or the marzipan-shepherdess variation, depending on who you ask)!

Okay, so this isn't the ballet version of The Nutcracker, but it is the music, which is a huge part of the heart and soul of the performance.  The basis of the story is that Tom and Jerry stumble onto a theater's stage and are magically transported to a land of living toys, much as Clara is in the ballet.  Jerry falls in love with a toy ballerina, but Tom and his band of cats threaten to disrupt the peace of the toy kingdom.  After several mandatory misadventures accompanied by Tchaikovsky's music, Jerry and his ballerina manage to throw out the cats and enjoy peace together.  As the curtain is lowered down on the stage, Santa Claus and a real-life ballerina watch and applaud the adventure.

A bit different, but still a beautiful way to involve children in The Nutcracker story.  The cartoon incorporates so much of the ballet's score and intertwines the ballet's story with the kid-friendly cartoon seamlessly.  I think it's adorable!  

It's time...

I think it's time for a little Nutcracker, don't you?  Let's start off with the "snowflakes" dance.

Dynamic duo

Also known as Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev.  Powerful, expressive, and still seemingly-effortless dancing.  A friend of mine shared the Flames of Paris pas de deux with me last night, and that video basically writes this post for me.  I'd recommend watching before reading what I have to say!

...amazing, right?  I'm pretty sure I was gasping right along with the audience!  I can't get over how high they both (but especially Vasiliev) can jump; it practically seems like they're flying through the air.  Osipova is gorgeous as always in this (textbook lines, perfectly arched feet, innumerable turns en pointe), but I think Vasiliev is the one who really brings the fire and intensity to the dance.  His solo took my breath away.  Every time I thought he couldn't do something more spectacular, he added in another pirouette or rotation in his big jumps.  I'm sure there's speculation that he's the next Baryshnikov; I'd certainly rank him right up there with the best of the best.  He and Osipova complement each other excellently, and I think they made a phenomenal pair.

Here's a video of another of one their pas de deux; this one is from Le Corsaire.  Although I prefer the Flames of Paris pas, Vasiliev's jumps and Osipova's turns are incredible here as well.

A too-mature dance

Now, I'm not one of those classically-trained dancers who gets upset about competition-style dance; I think competitions are great ways for kids to have fun and learn how to be on stage.  I do, however, have a problem with dances that are inappropriate for the dancers' age.  Take a look at this video from the studio Dance Precisions:

Things that (deeply) disturb me about this performance:

1. They're EIGHT.  I repeat: EIGHT!
2. The fact that the music has to be cut out because it contains profanity.  If you have to alter the music to take out cursing, I don't think it's suitable for little kids to listen or dance to.
3. Costumes.  Combined with the music and the moves, the girls just look, well, like they're a lot older (and not in a good way). 
4. The moves.  Hip-gyrating, open mouths, and hair-whip circles.  It's just too sexy for eight-year-olds.

Something tells me that this song is meant to be empowering in some way towards women, but I don't see any of that reflected in the dance moves.  If anything, the dance reinforces the stereotypes that women are slutty, sexual objects.  When that message is delivered by eight-year-olds, it's infinitely more scary.

But please notice how I said the dance reinforces these stereotypes.  I don't fault the girls for this; they didn't choreograph the piece.  They're pretty good dancers, but they shouldn't be doing these types of moves so young.  That's the fault of the choreographer, and it disgusts me that the judges rewarded this behavior with a "first-overall" award.

Artistry, precision, and strength

First watch: http://vitaminl.tv/video/1028

If you look carefully, even the tough details are synchronized: heads change focus in harmony, legs are extended at the same angle, handstands are held for the exact same amount of time.  Just think about how difficult this routine would be for one person to execute, then multiply that six.  Their spacing completely blows me away; all those tumble-runs and floor rolls, and they still end up in a textbook perfect formation.  Their precision is not only aesthetic: one hair out of place would mean serious injury, especially in the section where they flip and somersault over and under one another.

I wonder how many times you have to do something wrong in that kind of routine before it becomes perfect and clean.  The time and effort they must have put into conditioning, practice, and more practice is staggering.  As someone who's terrified of tumbling (I can't even do a cartwheel...too scared of falling), this routine is incomprehensible and beautiful.  To me, it looks like they defy gravity and just fly through the air: if dancing has taught me anything, though, it's that nothing is effortless.  These dancers (and gymnasts!) have a formidable strength reserve and still maintain their artistry.  I wonder if they compete in gymnastics, too?  One of them landed perfectly in a huge tumble run: this means big points in competitions!

Let yourself "be great"

These are the words dancer Juliet Doherty, age fifteen at the time, delivers to her audience at a TED Talk in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Take a moment to read this introductory paragraph to her talk:

"Fifteen-year-old Juliet Doherty has performed at Radio City Music Hall and New York City Center. She appears with the Radio City Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular, and, just this year, was awarded the Gold Medal in the Junior Women's division of the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the world's most revered ballet competitions. You can find her in the award winning Documentary FIRST POSITION: A Ballet Documentary which follows the competitive pathways of the ballet world. Doherty's passion and accessibility as a performer is inspiring young girls and others worldwide."

One section that I want to point out is the following:

Juliet says, "One day before the regional semi-finals a couple of years ago, I was being really hard on myself.  My parents said, 'It's time for you to stop competing.'  I was a little surprised.  The regionals were coming up and I was looking forward to competing.  But they said, 'That's it; no more.  Now it's time for you to just dance.'  To just perform, to just enjoy yourself."

With these words, Juliet touches on one of the most, in my opinion, controversial aspects of competitive dance.  At what point are you dancing only for the judges, having lost the joy of dancing for yourself?  At what point do you forget why you began dancing to begin with?  Her parents' response to the appearance of this issue in their daughter's dance career is overwhelmingly kind, thoughtful, and strong.  At first, I was as confused with the "stop competing" aspect of their advice as Juliet, but, upon thinking about it further, I realized how important this idea was.

So, to all you dancers (and athletes and artists and business-people), as Juliet so wisely says, dance for you.  Dance for you even when you compete because then and only then will the judges see your passion and your fire: if your craft comes from you, it's impossible for it not to be recognized.  I think this is why I find Juliet's dancing so captivating: she does what she loves, and she gives that love a voice through her every movement.

Here are the links to the two dances Juliet performed to win the Youth America Grand Prix:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B12I6RwlEzY (Variation from La Fille Mal Gardee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvnQ3IYIPqQ ("I Wanna Dance with Somebody")

And, lastly, my favorite performance of hers.  It's called "Vida," which means "life" in Spanish.  I love it for its accents, strong music, and flawless execution.  I also love it for Juliet's passion, which just explodes out of her with every step she takes.

The Bolshoi

For an indication of just how hard it is to make it to the top in ballet, take a look at the famous Bolshoi Ballet of Russia.  This company has 18 principal dancers (10 women, 8 men), and these are the dancers who receive the lead roles in the productions.  After that, there are 9 "leading soloists," 9 "firsts soloists," 23 "soloists,"  10 dancers "working under contract," a whopping 156 in the "corps de ballet."  Those are some incredible odds for a dancer looking to make it to the top.

The following video is from the Bolshoi Ballet's performance entitled "Class Concert" in 2011.  I recommend watching it to get a better handle on just how intense the training must be for these dancers, at such a young age, to be at the level they are.  I think it's absolutely hysterical that the male dancers' legs basically blur out because they're moving so quickly!  If you only choose to watch one section (because the video is long), I suggest the section at 12:30; just look at how high he can jump!  (And in the section before that, how coordinated the female dancers are in their leaps...who am I kidding, just watch the whole video!)

Have you heard the name "Joy Womack" before?  I hadn't until the other day when I was looking through material for this post.  Joy is ballerina from the United States but made history by becoming the first American to train with Russian students at the prestigious Bolshoi Academy.  The New York Times does a quick, comprehensive video segment on her which I find fascinating.  She was only fifteen when she left her family to study in Russia, so she must have incredible fortitude.  This segment was filmed in 2010, so it will be interesting to follow up on her now and in the years to come.

La Esmeralda

Picking up where I left last with YAGP, I wanted to discuss a variation often performed at the competition; this is the La Esmeralda variation, and it is supremely popular among young dancers.  Before getting to the actual dance, though, it's useful to understand the story of the ballet itself and how the character of Esmeralda, a young gypsy woman, must influence the way the dancer presents herself to the audience.

Pointe Magazine articulates the difficulty of capturing the essence of Esmeralda by acknowledging that, "...most young dancers aren't as familiar with the role as they are with Aurora [Sleeping Beauty] or Kitri [Don Quixote]."  However, the articles notes that, "...the female variation from La Esmeralda's Act II pas de deux is a competition staple -- despite the ballet's virtual disappearance from today's repertoires."  The variation is packed with complicated steps, which explains its utility in a competition setting: with only a few moments on stage to impress the judges, a dancer can show her flexibility, characterization skills, turning capability, and leaps all in one number.  A pretty smart choice, except for the fact that, because of this, the variation is overused.  To stand out among all the Esmeraldas at the competition, the dancer must bring something special to the performance.  What is that something special?  Well, that's up to the dancer.  It can be five turns instead of four, a perfectly-articulated facial expression, the integration of a new emotion into the  well-worn steps.  Whatever it is, though, it needs to be spot on.

I've collected two performances of this variation that show different elements of the dance; each dancer adds something different.

Following from last night's post, the first video is of Miko Fogarty (age 16) this year at Moscow's International Ballet Competition (IBC), where she won a gold medal.  What I love about Miko's performance is how sustained her movements are.  Dance teachers often talk about resistance in motion, encouraging their students to pretend the air is a thick substance such as molasses to teach how not to drop one's leg as if it were a sack of potatoes.  The movement needs to be upward, sustained, almost resistant to coming back down to the ground.  Basically, the dancer needs to create her own resistance to give an illusion.  Miko does this excellently in the first section, lowering her leg into passe in a way that convinces the audience that the action is effortless (it's not, trust me).  My main criticism of this performance is her little bounce before taking off into the pirouettes.  If you watch carefully, she settles her feet into fifth, straightens up a bit, then bobs back down before turning.  Not a big deal, but distracting.  Also, someone commented that her music must have started early.  Watch the other variations, and you'll see that it's so, which makes her performance even more remarkable: she didn't visibly freak out, even though she had to modify her steps with absolutely no notice.

The second video is from Juliet Doherty (age 13) at the 2011 YAGP; she won the Grand Prix award that year.  For me, Juliet brings the fire and intensity that is somewhat muted in Miko's performance; her eyes just pulled me in immediately, and she actually made it impossible for me to look away.  Now that's exceptional audience engagement.  Her tambourine work is also impressive: she's spot on with the music and gives it just the right amount of sound to enhance (but not detract from) her performance.  Pointe Magazine highlights the importance of the tambourine to Esmeralda's character, writing that, "As a gypsy, Emeralda's tambourine is a vital aspect of her performance and, therefore, her livelihood...[when performing] 'You must be completely comfortable with the instrument -- it should look like a natural part of your dancing.'"  Juliet dances in character the entire time, in perfect harmony with the tambourine.  What truly blows me away, though, is the consistent number of turns she does: four, en pointe, without a single wobble.  WOW.

Update to last post ("Miko Fogarty")

I found another competition where Miko performed her Kitri variation.  In this one, her characterization is much deeper, but (lest you think I gush praise indiscriminately) she does need to work on getting her heel down in the series of pirouettes.  That's a little detail that could cause a big injury, and it's also something that would make her dancing much better.  That said, it's not an easy correction because such a large part of ballet is habit, and habits take time to correct.  Good dancers distinguish themselves by taking corrections in stride and continually improving their craft.  I do believe that Miko has a very bright future and will be much sought-after if she decides to look for a company to dance with.  Correcting the minutia now will no doubt help her in this endeavor.

Miko Fogarty

Last time, I mentioned the name "Miko Fogarty" in passing, with a promise to return with to her a bit later with a more complete blog entry.  Well, here I am to fulfill that promise!

As I wrote in yesterday's post, Miko was featured in the documentary First Position, and she was only twelve during filming.  Something she says in her introduction really struck me the first time I heard it, and it still does; she says, "There's people that say I've missed out on childhood.  I think I've just had the right amount of childhood and the right amount of ballet.  So far."  I find that to be a pretty deep statement from such a little girl.  For me, this indicates a certain wisdom and maturity-beyond-her-years, especially since she already knows ballet is her calling.  Of course, children often change their ideas about what they want to be (I rotated through a number of career options when I was her age!), but there's something different with Miko.  Ballet requires a commitment almost from infancy, and she has clearly already made that choice to continue and train hard.  Not all twelve-year-olds are ready for that choice, but Miko's talent and obvious passion make it a logical one.

In these next two videos, Miko performs Kitri's variation from the ballet Don Quixote, once at age twelve and the other at age thirteen.  I've chosen these two because you can clearly see how she progresses from one year to the next.

What differences do you see?  I notice that her right leg is much more flexible in the second video and that she has better control over her long arms.  A more subtle point is at the point (pun intended) in the dance where she begins to execute a sequence of turns from what is known as fifth position.  In the first video, her right foot never really closes into fifth position from passe to prepare for the next turn, which is a technical correction.  She fixes this when she performs this variation again, and I immediately noticed how her foot closed nicely into fifth with her heel down (not touching one's heel to the ground puts a greater amount of stress on the body, since there is no "cushion" to protect the dancer's muscles and ligaments from the shock with the ground; by doing this, she avoids an injury that could alter her career).  Perhaps the biggest difference from twelve to thirteen?  A gold medal instead of a bronze one, a result of her further development as a dancer.

Miko is even better again at sixteen at Moscow's International Ballet Competition (IBC).  Here she performs a variation from Paquita.

Note how her lines and positions are much smoother in this performance.  I would credit that to the fact that she's a young girl only just growing into her body.  She has greater control over all her limbs, and the result is exquisite.  I chose this performance because it shows her control over her movements in a slow variation, unlike the fast-paced Kitri variation above.  It takes just as much skill if not more to perform a slow variation well: every single mistake shows because the audience (and judges) has time to notice all the minute imperfections.  Hats off to Miko; she did a fantastic job and earned herself a gold medal.

YAGP

If you are a young, pre-professional dancer intent on earning a contract from a company, the Youth America Grand Prix (or YAGP, as it's often referred to in video tags) is the place for you.

YAGP is "the world's largest student ballet scholarship competition" and a truly extraordinary event.  Dancers come from all over the world to compete, and the subsequent competition is fierce.  What makes YAGP so valuable for young dancers is that it offers valuable scholarship money to prestigious dance academies and the possibility of a contract with a professional company; the offer of a contract means paid employment which, for many dancers, signifies the ability to keep dancing as a career and allow them to continue to pursue their passion.

Although this article is from 2011, it offers an interesting review of several of the dances from that competition.  As its author Roslyn Sulcas mentions, the competition draws over 5,000 students from across the globe, and only 300 make it to the semifinals in New York.  That's not even the finals, and yet 94% of the competition has already been eliminated.  That really tells you something about the level of these dancers.  Even making it to the semifinals is an extraordinary accomplishment.  Actually receiving a medal or winning?  These dancers have invested their whole lives, countless hours of training and practicing and stretching, just for the opportunity of maybe possibly getting close to the awards.

I've added two of the dances referenced by Sulcas ("Cartoon Girl" danced by Gaya Bommer Yemini and "Variation from Don Quixote" danced by Aran Bell) into this post because they're worth a look.

Above: "Cartoon Girl"

Above: "Variation from Don Quixote," at 2:32

(Aran won the competition with this performance)

Both Gaya and Aran were featured in the documentary First Position, released in 2011, that followed several young dancers in their pursuit of the YAGP competition title.  Although I've yet to personally see the documentary, I highly recommend watching it for greater insight into the competition.  Its website gives a good overview of the film's goals, and you can read about each of the dancers.  I'll do a post about one of the dancers, Miko Fogarty, soon because I find her dancing absolutely incredible.

In the meantime, take a look at the trailer for the documentary.  Even the music makes me excited!