Hi, folks --
I could use some stage grace. I took ballet for a couple of years when I was young, and quit a few months after I got on pointe ("ouch" was the operative word there). I'm thinking of going back to it.
I am, at this stage in my life, VERY unflexible, have forgotten all the moves and any sense of coordination or elegance, and am about 5 pounds overweight (that's 10 pounds in ballet language). Who here dances? What kind of progress can I expect to see (in terms of singing benefits or in terms of looking good technically dancing and stretching), and how will it help my operatic training? I vaguely remember some sort of "suck in the stomach and breathe up into the shoulders" thing from the dredges of my memory; will it hurt my singing?
I'm planning to take two classes (1.5 hours each) a week for a few months, working up to four classes a week, and possibly five in a couple of years. (No, I never do anything halfway.) My current singing schedule is 3 hours of lessons a week, a coaching every two weeks, and language lessons three times a week. I'm also about to go get an MA in Italian. My voice teacher has sugggested that dance study will round out all this training nicely.
Two questions: One, talk to me about ballet dancing. Two, am I missing anything from my schedule? A workshop or other performing opportunity would be nice, but what else am I missing? I have a BA (not in music) from university, so never got all that conservatory-type training when I had the chance. Alexander Technique? Or Pilates or Felden-whatever? An acting class? Fencing? Basket-weaving? Tragic Gestures 101?
Opinionate at will. :)
Isabelle B.
===== Isabelle Bracamonte San Francisco, CA ibracamonte@y...
__________________________________________________ Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online!
|