Tag: technique and artistry

Curtain Up! Helping Students Transition Rehearsal to Performance

It’s performance time. The prop table is set to a tee, the lights are perfectly calibrated, the costume changes are lined up and ready to go, and your stage manager is poised to open the curtain. Are your students ready for this crucial moment, when they have to take everything they have learned in rehearsal […]

Dexterous Digits: How to Teach Hand and Finger Articulation and Expressivity

In flamenco, the hands and fingers play many different roles. Clapping, snapping, body percussion, slower movements that complement fast footwork, and even playing an instrument are all tools of the trade, says Xianix Barrera, a Bessie-nominated flamenco dancer and the founder of Xianix Barrera Flamenco Company. Flamenco dancers also use their hands and fingers to […]

Heels Over Head: How to Get Your Students Comfortable With Being Upside Down

There’s a reason Gus Solomons jr used to begin his semesters at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a “handstand day” for his contemporary students. “You’re training your body to do all it can do, upside down is just another possibility,” he says. “When you get there, you see the world differently, […]