Tag Archives: babcock

Have you ever watched a flock of birds fly together? With each twist and turn, the massive group of birds fluently shift and alter positions within the flock as they continue to glide across the sky. They make it seem so effortless, so natural. As humans, we do not have this innate tendency to travel together in large groups. In fact, at times we are so disconnected from each other and completely absorbed in our own lives that it seems we could never work together in such a manner as birds do on a regular basis.

This week in my modern dance class, we worked on the technique of flocking. Exactly as the birds move in the sky, we try to move as a small group of dancers. Standing in a relatively tight clump, one person begins moving however they feel with the rest of the group imitating their exact movements. As the person changes direction, the leader also changes. Whoever is in the front of the pack when the direction shifts becomes the new leader. It may sound somewhat confusing, but after some time practicing it becomes more natural and more enjoyable. As each new person takes the lead, the formation slowly morphs into something new with the different movements from each person driving these changes. At first, it was necessary to say the person’s name out loud who would take the lead next in order to confuse any confusion or collisions. But as time progressed, the verbal cues became less necessary, and a sort of unspoken understanding evolved within the group. The “flock” of dancers move in and out of each other just as a flock of birds would.

The technique teaches individual improvisational skills as well as the important skill of communicating with others through dance. I found the exercise to be extremely interesting and beneficial, and it helped me to realize that there is always something new to be discovered through dance.

Glamorous, timeless, legendary– all words often used to describe the infamous Radio City Rockettes. Every little girl who dances and has seen the Radio City Rockettes perform has dreamed about becoming a Rockette at some point in her life. These beautiful women celebrating the holiday season on the enormous Radio City Music Hall stage have been mesmerizing audiences for decades, and I hope to one day step on the stage as a Rockette myself becoming a part of the long standing New York City tradition.

Two years ago, I heard from one of my dance teachers about the Rockette Summer Intensive which takes place in New York City in the rehearsal halls of Radio City Music Hall. Dancers ages 14 and up receive the experience of a lifetime as they dance alongside two Rockettes as their teachers, learning real Rockette choreography and living the life of a professional dancer with rehearsals from 9 to 5 for six days which culminate in a final show on the seventh day. I thought I would audition in Pittsburgh just to see if there was any way I would be accepted. After a few months I heard back that I was accepted into the program, and in July I flew to New York City to spend the week there.

I completely fell in love– with the choreography, precision, attention to every minute detail, and the joy and maturity that radiated from every Rockette that I saw perform or had as a teacher. I have been hooked since that one week, glued to my computer screen watching YouTube videos of their performances as often as I can. Last summer I auditioned again for the program, except in hopes that I would be accepted into the Invitational Week. The Invitational Week is the same basic layout but consists of much more difficult choreography and more intense rehearsals. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of this special event, and to say that it was challenging is an understatement. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained with blisters covering my feet, every muscle in my body aching, and counts continually running through my mind. But, I loved every second of it. The hard work always pays off the moment you step on a stage and the lights hit you as you do what you love: dance.

Becoming a Rockette is a rigorous task, requiring a dancer to be in excellent physical shape as well as possess impeccable dance technique in ballet, jazz, and tap. Thousands of women audition to become a part of the famous dance precision company each year, and it is almost like winning the lottery if you are chosen. I plan on continuing my dance and physical training so that I can one day audition for the Radio City Rockettes. For an industrial engineering student attending Penn State this may seem like a far-fetched goal, but it is a special dream that I strive to achieve in my lifetime.

Professional dancers are known for their youth and energy. Many dancers reach the peak of their careers in their early 20’s and may be finished with their dancing careers by their late 30’s. If any dancer above the age of 40 is still dancing professionally, he or she had to have taken great care of his or her body throughout life or simply has good genes. The amount of physical and emotional stress dance puts on the human body causes a person to reach a point where their body simply can no longer dance. Once a young man or woman reaches an older age, it is more important to maintain a healthy lifestyle than continue dancing and causing possible harm to the body.

In high school, when girls from my studio would come back to visit on breaks every single one always complained about how much dancing ability they had lost. Whether it was a fact of not dancing as frequently and intensely or because in college there aren’t as many strong authority figures to push you, I was never sure. But, prior to this year I was very worried about losing some of the skills that I have worked so hard to attain throughout my life. Coming to Penn State, I knew I wanted to continue pursuing dance and I have done so through through Orchesis Dance Company as well as working towards a dance minor. However, this past week in particular I have noticed that I am losing a little bit of my technique. For the dance company that I’m involved in, we produce a Fall and Spring showcase with the Spring show coming up next weekend. Our opening number is a dance that we adapted from the dance we performed at THON. Some of the changes are technically very difficult and at rehearsal I definitely was not completing the tricks like I know I can. The studio I attended growing up was very involved in regional and national competitions, so turns, jumps, and leaps were drilled in almost every rehearsal.

Although I am older than I was in high school, I hope I’m not reaching the end of my time dancing! The dance world does have a very different norm for what is considered “young” and “old”, but I know that age 19 is a far stretch from being old even as a dancer. I am just going to have to work twice as hard with dance in college to reach my fullest potential. This year my schedule is jam packed, so keeping up with dance has not been an easy task between getting adjusted to dorm life, academic classes, clubs and everything else freshman year throws at you; however, throughout college I hope to maintain a mindset that motivates me to keep dancing so that I can sustain my abilities to continue with dance even after college.

Why are ballerinas so incredibly in shape? The answer is pretty simple: the ballet barre. Exercises performed at the barre are ultimately what mold ballet dancers into the perfect technicians that you see performing on stage. A barre warm up usually lasts about an hour to an hour and a half, and consists of a series of exercises always performed in the same order—from plies to grand battements. As barre progresses, the exercises get increasingly more difficult and intense ranging from those in the first minutes of class which are meant to simply warm up the body to those which involve a complete and full range of motion. Obviously, the extensive amount of time ballet dancers spend exercising in addition to their restricted diets both contribute to their extremely slim and muscular bodies; however, the work done at the barre every single class allows dancers to grow and push themselves to new limits throughout the entirety of their dancing careers.

With women constantly looking for new and exciting workouts, it is no surprise that many try to discover what dancers do in order to maintain their shapes. In 2001 dancer, choreographer, and fitness guru Carrie Rezabek Dorr created a company called Pure Barre. Her first studio was opened in the basement of an office building with just a few regular clients; however, the company has grown exponentially since then and has become an extremely popular workout for women throughout the U.S. Why? Because Pure Barre classes consist of a series of small isometric exercises performed at the ballet barre which can quickly and effectively change the shape of the body. The workout is also very good on joints and muscles by delivering a tough workout without extreme impact; this fact alone causes this new and trendy workout to appeal to women of all ages as well as physical abilities. The classes are set to upbeat and motivating music as women work to tone thighs, abs, and arms as well as burn fat in a record breaking amount of time.

I have yet to take a Pure Barre class myself, but with a studio set to open in my hometown this summer I cannot wait to go and take a class with a few friends. I love the idea of combining dance and muscle conditioning exercises into one fun and challenging workout. The ballet barre, although just a simple piece of wood, can be the tool to completely change your body; I think Pure Barre is becoming so successful because of the discovery of the ballet barre as a way to help all different types of people reach their physical goals in a safe and healthy way.

Athletes, students, and teachers– everyone has those days when you just feel a little off. Whether you aren’t performing to the best of your abilities, you can’t focus, or you really are just not feeling motivated, it happens to most of us as we go about our daily lives. With dance, I am usually able to stay relatively motivated because I love dancing so much and it serves as my main source of stress relief after a long day of classes. However, every once in awhile I can’t help but have a day when my body simply does not want to perform the tasks that my brain is telling it to. Tonight, definitely was one of those days.

Like every other Tuesday and Thursday, I attended rehearsal for my dance company tonight for about two hours. I was very excited because tonight was my turn to teach the class, and I had prepared a short combination to a song which I have wanted to choreograph to for a long time. Since Orchesis Dance Company is a student run organization, the officers organize a class schedule which girls can sign up to teach for on certain days. It works out very well, and it is a lot of fun to have a different teacher each week as well as experience a new style of dance and new perspective. Teaching the combination to my fellow company members went very well, but for some reason I was just not dancing as well as I know I can. It made matters even worse when I watched myself on the recording that one of the girls took of the combination, and I was not happy with the way I looked performing the combination.

After I returned to my dorm room tonight feeling a little gloomy, I had to consider why I dance and why I have chosen to continue pursuing dance throughout college. The answer is simple: because it makes me happy. I am not planning on pursuing dance as a career for the rest of my life; I am here at Penn State in order to receive a degree in industrial engineering. I am sure that I will have more nights like tonight when my dancing isn’t perfect, but it’s fine to not look perfect performing every single step in a dance combination. For me, dance is a personal experience, and I need to keep reminding myself that dance makes me feel great about myself even if there are days when I may not “look” great.