Developing a Dancer’s Toolbox: Find a Fork

Guest Writer: Jaclyn Youngblood, Academy Intern

“Food is fuel,” says Dr. Roberta Anding. “Food helps you meet your goals.” And for the 260 dancers taking nutrition classes with Anding at the Summer Intensive, that goal is to dance and perform at the highest level of excellence.

Students in levels 5-8 take a nutrition course once a week. Anding, who specializes in pediatrics and sports medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said she has been part of the nutrition program at Houston Ballet for 10 years, though she thinks the nutrition program this summer is the best it has ever been.

With the help of ARAMARK (who provides the food at the University of St. Thomas dorms), the nutritional science that is being taught in the classroom is translated to the plate at the students’ dorms. Anding said there’s often a disconnect between what students learn about nutrition and how they subsequently engage nutrition. That makes for a healthy partnership between Anding’s class and the food being served to dancers who live in the dorms.

Anding stressed Houston Ballet’s commitment to giving dancers life-long tools and foundational knowledge, which certainly extends to the realm of health and wellness. In class, she helps students focus on hydration, how food works in their bodies, and what “healthy eating” really is. Anding said she believes it has more than one definition: it means encouraging consumption of “everything you might think” such as whole grains and vitamins, while taking into account personal preferences, cultural or religious restrictions, and realistic attitudes toward less nutritious options like desserts and fried foods.

Another portion of class is devoted to a question-and-answer session of mythbusters about nutrition and the media. Anding said she aims to educate “savvy nutrition consumers” who will take the contextual knowledge they’ve learned at the Summer Intensive and apply it throughout the year, and throughout their lives.

Brigit (OR) is a level 7 student who is taking Anding’s nutrition class. She said the class is interesting and helpful, and because of it, she is becoming more pro-active about the food she is eating. The novelty of the class is another highlight. “I’ve never taken a class like this at an intensive program,” Brigit said. “I’ve learned so much already.”

Anding said one of her goals for the class is to do a better job talking about natural body types of athletes. “Every single sport has a preferred body type,” she said. Anding drew an analogy to basketball: while a professional women’s basketball player might be in the best physical condition for her sport, she probably wouldn’t make it in the dance world. Through nutrition education, she tries to help people see where they fit along the body type continuum and then help mold their bodies to the best of their personal range.

Another key emphasis Anding pointed to was the difference between lean and skinny. “The former comes from doing Pilates training, focusing on strength and grace; skinniness is a result of restrictive dieting,” she said. Performing takes muscles and stamina and through the nutrition class, she works to create sophisticated dancers who understand that.

“Dancers across the board know that how they use their fork can extend their career,” she said.

Summer Intensive Q&A

Guest Writer: Melissa Rosko, Public Relations Intern

Melissa Rosko recently sat down with Academy Associate Director Shelly Power to find out her thoughts on the first summer intensive in Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance. Here’s what she had to say.

Shelly Power teaches class at Houston Ballet's Academy.

1. As the program’s director, what are you most looking forward to during summer intensive?

Seeing as this is our first year in our gorgeous new building, I am thrilled to be able to use the Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab for this year’s program. Such a versatile and convenient performance space will really help the students grow this summer. Beyond the new building, I am excited that we will be hosting our biggest program yet with over 300 students from across the country, as well as from multiple countries such as Romania, Brazil and Japan. It is wonderful that we are able to reach so many new dancers with our summer intensive. This summer will not only be a very significant artistic experience for the students, but it will also very much be a cultural experience that will expand the minds of both the students and the staff.

2. How do you think such a challenging collaboration between the dancers and musicians will help shape the students’ artistic growth?

I think that putting the students on the other side of a performance will give them a whole new perspective not only on choreography, but everything else that goes into making a performance possible. This opportunity will teach them time management, working under pressure, leadership, and how to bring creativity into form. All of these things will bring them a greater appreciation for new jobs in the dance world.

3. How important is it for the program to introduce its students to career paths within the dance world other than just performance?

It is important for the students to know that most people who work behind the scenes of a dance performance have previously had a dance career. I think that a multifaceted program will plant the seeds for growth so that they can start to understand and explore new career options with which to fulfill their love of dance. Also, having knowledge and skill for what goes on behind the scenes gives the dancers a better understanding of the craft itself, making them more well-rounded artists.

4. How does the rigorous 9 hour schedule affect the dancers during their six weeks in the intensive?

While the dancers are with us for 9 hours per day, they are not necessarily dancing for the entirety of the time. We have strategically planned breaks for them throughout the day so that they can rest their bodies, but still enjoy great learning experiences that will build their strength and knowledge. For example, after the students take pointe class, we have scheduled a modern dance class to follow, so that the barefoot dancing will massage the students’ aching feet. We also have a wide variety of classes such as nutrition, ballet hairstyling, role-coaching, and Pilates among other things that will continue to help them grow. However, such a rigorous and busy program is important for the dancers so that they can experience the training, learning and performing that makes up the everyday schedule of being a professional dancer.

5. What do you think is the most important thing a dancer can take away from their experience with Houston Ballet’s unique program?

It will be important for the students to really absorb what Houston Ballet is all about. They will be learning repertory and technique that have a style unique to our company, and it will be important for the students to pick up on our differences so that they can apply them in their future training and become more versatile dancers. I also think it will be important for them to learn everything they can about our company’s history and mission as well as the city that houses it. Above and beyond these things, I think that a program like this is designed for the students to make immense progress, and that is something that they should accomplish as well.

No Interview, No Problem: A Candid Update from Our Summer Bloggers

Guest Writer: Jaclyn Youngblood, Academy Intern

This week, I gave the reins to Allie and Lauren to let them freestyle their blog posts. No scripts. No interviews. Just the girls and their thoughts from the past two weeks at the Summer Intensive.

Allie takes us on a verbal tour of things she has encountered in the new Center For Dance building, like the shoe room and the spacious studios.

Lauren gives us a journal-style peek into two days in her life as a Level 7 dancer, from technique class in the morning to letting her hair down for jazz in the evening.

Check in with the girls on July 22 for their final thoughts and farewell blog posts.

Developing a Dancer’s Toolbox: The World of Wardrobe

Guest Writer: Jaclyn Youngblood, Academy Intern

Many dancers look stunning and move flawlessly in costumes, but not all of them understand the decisions that go into costuming a full ballet. Thanks to one of two career studies courses offered at the Houston Ballet Academy Summer Intensive Program, Wardrobe and Costume Design, some of the Level 8 (the highest level at the Summer Intensive) students will be able to explore the world of Wardobe. [The other career studies course is Set Design and Production; look for an update on that class July 20.]

Barb Dolney, a member of Houston Ballet’s wardrobe team for over 16 years, has been teaching the course since 2006. This year, there are 21 Level 8 students enrolled in the course, which takes students from initial concept to final design.

Students in the wardrobe class sharpen their sketching skills, focusing on body proportionality and silhouettes.

 

The students are paired up (with one team of three) for the final project: a minimum of six, complete color designs, three of costumes and three of hair, make-up and accessories. Dolney assigns each team to a ballet—this year’s selections are Giselle or A Midsummer Night’s Dream—and the teams decide for which period they’d like to design, such as Baroque (1715-1740), Art Nouveau (1910-1920), or Empire (1790-1815). Each team will present their designs on the final day of class, and some of the top teams will be selected to present their designs during the lower school’s final performance on July 29.
A typical class consists of going over the assigned reading, a brief lecture on the day’s topic, and an opportunity to practice drawing and work on their sketches.

Eado (Israel) works on one of his costume sketches for Giselle in the Depression era. His sketch emphasizes clean lines, structured beauty, and simplicity.

 

Eado (Israel) is designing for Giselle in the Depression era. He said learning about color, texture, fabric, and lighting decisions is helpful to him as a dancer because it adds to how he understands characters and plot. Dolney said she reminds students to make reasoned decisions, understanding why they are designing in a certain color or with a certain fabric, because it affects the audience’s perception.
To encourage students to engage the period they’ve selected, Dolney organizes a research day. Typically, the students meet at one of the branches of the Houston Public Library, scouring the stacks for art history books on sculpture, painting, and fashion. Due to scheduling conflicts, research day went paperless this year. Students used their laptops to research online articles and search for images to gain inspiration for their projects. Eado said he enjoyed studying about the Depression era because it gave him context in which to understand his contemporary perspective on the period.

It’s not only about the period, though. This summer, there is an extra element for students to keep in mind while they design: they’ll be designing in the style of renowned American choreographer (and Artistic Director of the Hamburg Ballet) John Neumeier. Dolney said Neumeier designs are typically sleek and restrained, with clean lines, regardless of the time period in which he is designing. Why is there an essence of John Neumeier in the Career Studies courses this year? Neumeier will be visiting the Houston Ballet in the fall; Associate Director of the Academy Shelly Power, Dolney, and Director of Production Tom Boyd (who is teaching the Set Design and Production class) thought it would be a relevant tie-in for students to focus their studies on Neumeier’s style.

Dolney said the students take away more than an artistic portfolio from the class. They learn what goes into creating a ballet. “It’s not just the dancers, but hundreds of others that contribute to get the production on stage,” she said.

What’s in Your Dance Bag?

Guest Writer: Jaclyn Youngblood, Academy intern

What’s a Thera-Band? Why do dancers need to “roll their feet” sometimes? This week, I sat down with some of our Summer Intensive students to find out the answers to these questions and learn a bit more about the secret world inside a dancer’s dance bag.