When Espen Giljane teaches rond de jambe en dehors, the accent is always in second position, not to the front—and it’s the same for en dedans. For the double rond de jambe on count 4, he describes the movement as two half-size circles around second position. “It’s like whisking an egg with your leg,” he […]
This sequence takes dancers through several foundational poses of the Giordano jazz technique. These positions aren’t stagnant—they flow together with continuous energy. Nan Giordano stresses that the dancer’s powerful gaze is quintessential to authentic technique. “That’s my dad’s look—the Giordano eyes,” she says. “All the intensity comes through the eyes, focusing and imagining, but not […]
Because the chassé is often neglected during the execution of this traveling step, Judy Rice asks her students to do a minimum of a six-inch chassé before transitioning into the pas de bourrée. She encourages dancers to pay close attention to their shoulders and hips in effacé, too. “Kids tend to open it up. They […]
In garba, be-thali (pronounced “beh-tahlee”) is the basic step used to travel around the circle counterclockwise and clockwise. Be-thali translates to “two clap.” (The phrase in its entirety is a daudiyu, which loosely translates to “running step.”It includes multiple steps, like two-clap, three-clap, pivots and turns that are linked as the dancer travels around the […]
The twist-o-flex is a standard popping move in which you divide your body into three sections and turn each section individually. Although you can rotate in any order, Ms. Vee’s variation of twist-o-flex rotates the lower body (hips and feet) first, then the head and finally the upper body (shoulders, ribs and arms). “It’s kind […]
Every studio has a story. And when two or more are gathered in a 15-mile radius, behind-the-scenes drama and regional rivalries often figure prominently in their histories. In a small town in northeastern Massachusetts, however, the story is quite different. Instead of a tale of stolen students or cutthroat competition, it’s a story of love: […]
Donna Salgado knew she wanted to be a choreographer as early as her preteen days in the Nutcracker snow corps. “I’d be standing there, in B-plus, thinking about how it might be better if the teacher put us in a circle here,” she says. After eking out a career as a freelance dancer in New […]
The lateral T is a hallmark of Horton technique. When executed correctly, the body resembles the letter T: The torso tilts to 90 degrees, and the opposite leg extends for counterbalance. For a more advanced version of this staple movement, Karen Arceneaux has students continue tilting past 90 degrees to create a low lateral T […]
Miss Kim leads class at Kelli Wilkins’ Club Dance studio in Phoenix.”Whether I’m in a room of 40 or 400 kids, I’m going to find a way to make a difference in some way, shape, or form,” says Kim McSwain about the inspirational, upbeat teaching style that’s become her calling card with students and teachers […]
When Martine van Hamel burst onto the New York dance scene in the 1970s as a ballerina with American Ballet Theatre, she was a bit of an anomaly. At 5′ 7″, she was taller than most ballerinas at the time, but what really made her shine—in a company already filled with stars like Gelsey Kirkland […]
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