There was much contrast between the Fleming master classes and our usual Ballet class. First of all, the class seemed oriented in such a way to serve the dancers of the company. The routines seemed to directly correlate with their on-stage performances. That being said, I can honestly say I gained some things from the two master classes I attended. I found the center combinations to be a helpful tool in building speed and connections between movements (especially with the petite allegro). The pirouette exercises I also found very helpful, especially the second positioning of the arms during pirouettes to "open" the back. It's neat to be taught the routine and then to be shown how a professional would do it.
Our Ballet class, however, is certainly more helpful for me, for it works at building my base strength and technique needed to get to the point of these Fleming dancers. Another difference is the students in our class would likely not deviate much from the barre instruction (adding more beats or turns, etc.) unless instructed to do so. Also, there is a general notion that the Fleming routines may not deviate much from their usual barre and across the floor work (likely due to their class being performance-specific). There's evidence of this from Fleming's weak barre instruction. The dancers are likely used to Fleming's routines. This adds to Fleming's demeanor, for he could have at least seemed less sluggish in instruction while being in the presence of students at our level (which I'm sure he could remember having).
No comments:
Post a Comment