December: Juwan Alston

Dec: If you could ask Santa for something (real or imaginary) that would make your dance life or personal life easier, what would it be?

Christmas for a Dancer Well, if I could ask Santa Claus for anything, I would probably ask him for more flexible ankles. I just feel that would make things slightly easier in truly taking my lines to the next level! I do feel like, as a dancer, we spend all day in front of a mirror, so we search for flaws in ourselves. Or things that we want to change, especially because we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. So many times we get into the mindset of, “If only I was as flexible as Lauren,” or “I wish I could turn like Josh.” But where ever we go, there is going to be someone that can do something better than us. So even if we were to recieve this “gift” from Santa, we would never be truly satisfied and constantly want something more. So instead of focusing on what we could use to make our lives better, let's focus on the things that we already do well while acknowledging what we are looking to make stronger. Merry Christmas to everyone!

December: Heather Hardesty

Dec: If you could ask Santa for something (real or imaginary) that would make your dance life or personal life easier, what would it be?

If I could ask Santa for something that would make my dance life easier it would to be able to take a yearly sabbatical for just 4 weeks so I could study, write lesson plans and complete all choreography for an entire year all at once.  I would love to go to a private island with my cottage on the beach, with wi-fi of course, and just be inspired by the ocean and beautiful surroundings.  My life would be so much easier if I started the first of the year with lesson plans for all every week I taught.  A girl can dream right?

If I could ask Santa for something that would make my personal life easier, it would be to have a personal chef that cooked all of our meals.  This way we would have the most time available to spend with one another as a family and we would always have really good food.  This would also help because I’m not the best cook. 

Happy New Year and may 2016 be your best year yet!

November: Heather Hardesty

Nov: Who in your dance/professional life are you most thankful for and why?

I am so blessed to have so many people throughout my life personal and professional that I’m thankful for.  I would say that there is one person in particular that I will never forget – Ms. Jeannie.  She was my very first dance teacher when I started dancing in Garland, TX at Calico Kids.  I have never been the typical dancer and when I was young, it was no different.  Ms. Jeannie never cared about what I looked like, she cared about how I danced.  I was always a quick learner, a great performer and always remembered the steps.  It was because of these things she always put me in front.  I at a very early age dealt with other mothers and students complain to Ms. Jeannie “why did they put the fat girl in front”.  Ms. Jeannie would reply that the best dancer was put in front and that is why I was in front.  She stood up for me and I will never forget that.  I firmly believe had I not had her in my life, I would not do what I’m doing today.  If I didn’t have her stand up for me, I probably would have quit because of the negativity.  Ms. Jeannie has had such an impact on me in my dance journey and because of her I make sure that every child regardless of size and ability feels special.   She inspired me to be the kind of teacher that I am today.   I will not ever take for granted what an important job I have as a dance educator.

November: Juwan Alston

NOV: Who in your dance/professional life are you most thankful for and why?

As a dancer we encounter so many different people that pour something into us. I have had so many people inspire me and help me get to where I am. I am truly thankful for everyone in my life. And I am ever so thankful for Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux.

Jean-Pierre is the Artistic Director of Charlotte Ballet, or in other words my boss. He is such a wonderful person and coach. I am thankful for Jean-Pierre and I really look up to him. He can just say one little thing for me to think about as a correction and it makes the biggest difference in the way that I approach my work. He is constantly pouring knowledge and wisdom into me. I am so thankful that he believes in me and reminds me to believe in myself just as he does. Due to this man, I have grown so much in the past few months. I will forever be thankful for Jean-Pierre.

October: Leslie Garcia

October: Choose one class/project that you are teaching/taking on this year and give us an inside glance at what is going to go on?

Every year I put together a production Hip Hop and every year I try to be outside the box and make it even better than the year before. This year I am putting together the longest piece I have ever done and on top of that I am performing with my Hip Hop company for the first time in 8 years.

My process is a long one. I start thinking of the next year’s production before we even finish competition season of the current year. Once I know what I want to do, I then research music for a good month or two before I decide what songs and parts I want that will go along with my story line. Once I have mixed the music the way I see the story going I then break my team into group and sections and go from there. After each group has learned their section, I start piecing it together and filling in the gaps as we go along. It usually takes me a good 2-3 months to put it all together from top to bottom the way I want it to look.

We always get great reviews on our productions every year but none as awesome as the actual artist themselves seeing our performance and making it go viral. It was the highlight of my year and my career last year. So let’s see what we can make happen this year!

October: Heather Hardesty

OCT: choose one class/project that you are teaching/taking on this year and give us an inside glance at what is going to go on?

Happy Fall Y’all! It’s hard to fathom that we are almost done with October. Where did the time go?!! I’m knee deep in projects right now and couldn’t be happier. Once project in particular is my work with the Reflections program through my daughter’s school (Callison Elementary) in Round Rock. For those that don’t know what the Reflections program is here’s a brief description:

Started in 1969 by the Colorado PTA President Mary Lou Anderson, Reflections has encouraged millions of students to express themselves by giving positive recognition for their artistic efforts. Students in preschool through grade 12 may create and submit works of art in six categories: dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and visual arts.

This year I volunteered to be the chairperson of this committee. My daughter’s school has had very low participation in the past year’s so my goal was to do what was needed to increase the number of children submitting projects. I started by getting the teacher’s involved before the children started school. Our goal this year is have 100 kids submit projects. When you share your goal with others, there’s more that will be invested in helping you reach your goal.

My committee and I set up a table at Open House and educated parents and students on Reflections and signed up children that wanted to participate. We shared with them that this year there would be a workshop series for children after school on Wednesday afternoons. This would provide an environment for children who want to work on their projects. We provide the equipment that some children might not have access to: video camera, camera, recording equipment, paint supplies, canvases and music.

Our first workshop was on October 7 and we have since had two others (October 14 and 21). We had 20 in the first one, 25 in the second one and 27 in the third one. Children were split into groups based on the category they wanted to enter and then a volunteer was assigned to their group to help them form their ideas and visions. Over the weeks, we have had students take pictures, paint pictures, record original songs, play an instrument, film a short skit and make up dances.

Projections for our school’s submissions so far is somewhere between 40 and 50 entries. There is still work to be done and we are making a final push for participation in these next two weeks and our last workshop on November 4th. It makes my insides smile to see so many children get passionate about the arts.

October: Juwan Alston

OCT: choose one class/project that you are teaching/taking on this year and give us an inside glance at what is going to go on?

An Inside Look at Fall Works with Charlotte Ballet

My very first performance with Charlotte Ballet was unlike any other experience I have ever had. It was slightly nerve wracking performing in front of a new audience, with challenging choreography and exciting costumes and quick changes. But the moment I stepped out on that stage all of the nerves left me, and I felt completely at home. The stage is a place where I get to abandon everything that is happening outside good/bad and just focus on the task before me. With the ballets being so different, I did find a nice challenge going in-between all of the different styles.

We opened with Jiri Kylian’s “Forgotten Land”. This is probably one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen in person. When the company first ran the ballet in its entirety, I was moved to tears seeing the synchronization of the white rehearsal skirts as they soared through the air. I found Kylians choreography to be incredibly musical. Sinfonia de Requiem is a very powerful piece, and the music itself takes you on a journey. Fiona Lummis, a former dancer with Netherlands Dance Theatre, coached the company and gave insight on all of the little moments within the ballet. Hearing everything that she had to say, corrections that she gave, and even some things that Jiri Kylian told her, was just so rich and very eye opening. The fact that I had the opportunity to learn and understudy various roles was something that I will forever remember and I definitely hope to perform Kylian in the future.

The next ballet that we performed was Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s “Shindig”. In my eyes, a simple way to describe the style of this ballet is, Balanchine goes to Texas. Shindig was performed with a live Bluegrass band called “The Greasy Beans.” The experience of having the band on stage with us was absolutely incredible. With everyone feeding off of the energy in the atmosphere, it caused the audience to become very excited which then allowed the dancers to really push themselves to the limits to keep the audience on that level. I loved how interactive that ballet was, I did not feel as if there was a separation between everyone on the room. Even though the audience was in their seats, I had the feeling of being at one giant party. Things got to be very interesting when I was told that I would be stepping in for another dancer last minute. I had to really trust myself and just step out onto the sage, not thinking, but truly performing, leaving everything that I had on the floor.

The ballet that closed the evening was the premier of Sasha Janes’ “The Four Seasons.” The overall process of learning that ballet was so much fun. Being a part of a creation is a very unique experience. You are able to play around with the choreographer trying new things, not only playing to your strengths but challenging your weaknesses. I loved the opportunity to move in a way that I have never moved before and being able to learn from all of the more experienced dancers. “The Four Seasons” was very appealing to the eye with the scenic backgrounds that complimented the choreography, truly making each movement very symbolic to its own season. The best way to describe this ballet aside from challenging, is fierce. The audience felt the same way,as we were applauded with a standing ovation at the end of every show. The Charlotte Ballet is a very strong, versatile company that I am truly honored to be a part of.