Pavan Thimmaiah casually hovers in a freeze, his weight between his head and hands on the floor, legs extending out on an upward diagonal. From this topsy-turvy position, he encourages his students to try this breaking staple. “Take a picture and make it your Facebook profile,” he jokes. Self-taught Thimmaiah founded PMT Dance Studio in […]
Tammi Shamblin works magic with the boys of Ballet Tech in New York City. Here, she uses imagery to teach rond de jambe.
Derek Mitchell is on street jazz and contemporary faculty at Broadway Dance Center, where he grew up training under legends Frank Hatchett and Sheila Barker. Here, he teaches a street jazz pivot turn combination focusing on the importance of foot placement and spinal movement. Your […]
Your browser does not support the video tag. Juan Carlos Peñuela is the ballet master of Ballet Hispanico. Here, he teaches entrechat trois, emphasizing the beating of the legs en l’air by beginning in second position.
How I teach Cunningham technique The young students at the Complexions Contemporary Ballet summer intensive exchange uncomfortable glances when Banu Ogan walks into what, for most, is their first-ever class in Cunningham technique. “Please take off your ballet shoes,” she says, after eyeing their feet. As the group—a mix of comp kids and bunheads—begins pliés […]
How I Teach Ballet There is a black plastic folding chair sitting at the head of the studio, but it remains empty during most of Michael Vernon’s hour-and-a-half advanced class at Manhattan Youth Ballet. He’s walking among barres lined with dancers in black leotards, poking, nudging and calling out musical accents and corrections, only returning […]
How I teach pas de deux Charles Askegard coaching Ballet Academy East students Marisa Trapani and Alexandros Pappajohn The hall cutting through Ballet Academy East on a late Thursday afternoon is hectic. Students sprawl out in straddles, hovering over math homework, and parents peek through the windows to get a good look at their tots. […]
How I teach pre-tap Courtney Runft and American Tap Dance Foundation student Julia Freer (age 5) demonstrate a maxi ford. Forty-five minutes of 3 1/2-year-olds in tap shoes may sound like a recipe for a throbbing headache, but Courtney Runft manages to keep the noise under control. That’s because for the first few months of […]
How I teach ballroom dance On a gray Sunday afternoon, about 30 teenagers from all five New York City boroughs pile into a midtown Manhattan dance studio. Adele’s “Rumor Has It” plays from speakers, and with students clad in dresses, suits and clip-on ties, the scene reads like a high school dance with better posture. […]
Common problems and how to correct them Boston Ballet in variations from “The Sleeping Beauty” prologue You have a student with nice facility and solid technique. She has a natural presence and can jump and turn, but something prevents her from looking polished—her hands. Instead of having long arms from shoulders to fingertips, giant claws […]