This past weekend Julian and the rest of the Teen Dance Company dancers went to the Nuvo dance convention. Julian had a blast hanging with his buddies from TDC and seeing some old friends from other studios. He also saw some friends from school or from the Nutcracker performance he was in last December. Additionally, he got to observe and talk with two other male dancer he has met previously
The TDC dancers had recently had an hour-long class involving instruction on how to work with choreographers. The gist of the class, according to what Julian told me, was to “copy” the movements and not to change the movements to make them “your own” unless told to do so by the instructor. Julian noticed another male dancer doing what he deemed “just the opposite” — in his eyes — and making it his own to a great extent. And this boy was rewarded by being put on stage. He was upset. And maybe Julianwas just jealous…who’s to know. Or maybe he was just confused given that he was told to do something, which received no recognition, while someone else did the opposite and did receive recognition.
Anyway, the kids had a blast at the convention, and they were given the opportunity to compete simply for the sake of “performing” and giving the company a bit of publicity. That turned out quite well, as they came in first and got high honors in every category in which they competed. Of course, the kids were thrilled. (Who doesn’t like to be a winner, even if it’s not supposed to be about competing and winning.)
However, in one of the numbers Julian was set down a bit harder then usual after a lift and turned his ankle a bit. Between that and his two tap numbers, he has a sore ankle ankle and foot today, so he stayed home from dance to rest it. He has rehearsals gearing up at the end of the week for their spring concert; he wants to be in tip top shape for that.
He got to take class with Travis Wall, an idol of his from So You Think You Can Dance. He loved his choreography and has wanted to dance like him since he saw him on television.
It’s been a year since Julian attended a convention. He has two more to go…
I feel somewhat betrayed and disappointed to be reading these blogs, especially the ones that speak of people i am close with and also probably myself.
In the case of not dancing the choreography exactly like it is taught, or “copying” the choreography as you say, here is my opinion. And understand i have worked with many choreographers and the ideas have all been mutually the same. “Choreographers want to work with geniuses”, as said by Alonzo King. They do not want someone who exactly copies the movement, like a lifeless drone. Plus, it is virtually impossible to exactly copy ones movement, since everyone is different, such as different body types, ways of feeling, how one learns, etc. Choreographers want someone who interprets their ideas on their body and makes it work for them. The “copy” aspect you probably are thinking of is not copying, but it is clarity. There needs to always be a balance between feeling or emotions and clarity or technique. Just as yin and yang, two opposites in complete balance. If this dancer was pulled on stage a lot, then maybe copying isn’t the true answer. But who’s to know right?
Travis is an amazing person, a great friend, and on top of that an outstanding visionary choreographer. He has a lot to teach and talk about to help the dancers he is teaching, whom he cares greatly about. And fyi, teachers at conventions rarely come off the stage.
In this post I was just commenting on the fact that the kids at TDC were taught to do the opposite and not make the choreography their own. (PLEASE SEE LATEST COMMENT BY ME ON THIS SUBJECT; IT OFFERS CLARIFICATION.) I’ve posted a new blog on the subject to see what other comments come in. My readers usually have something to say. A few of them are teachers or former dancers.
FYI, Julian has attended lots of conventions. He didn’t attend any last year. He used to do quite well at them and come away with scholarships. He has had many teachers come off the stage, and did experience that at Nuvo as well, which is why he commented on Travis, who was he least favorite teacher at Nuvo…a very disappointing fact to him since has wanted to dance like Travis since he saw him on SYTYCD. He’s been his ‘idol.” In fact, I told Travis that when I interviewed him for the article I wrote about his mother. At that time, I found him quite nice if a bit giddy! He was actually quite humble at the time and gave all the credit for his teaching ability to his mother – said she taught him everything he knows and that his teaching technique is her technique. He was quite pleased to hear that he was Julian’s idol. Maybe it would be good for him to know that he doesn’t give off a persona at conventions that keeps him on that pedestal with his admirers. (It’s often good for all of us — including me — to hear that we aren’t doing our best job so we can do better. Thanks for pointing that out to me.)
Hi Nina,
I think there is confusion in the definition of terms that are being used…
You and Judson and the TDC instruction to the kids before NUVO, are all correct from my view.
My understanding is that the dancer should absolutely learn the choreography as taught. Learning the choreography is the first step. It is like learning your basic dance steps in class, it is the foundation. The choreographer’s expectation and the “genius” that Judson refers to, is the expectation that most choreographers have for advanced dancers to be able to take the choreography learned in the short amount of time provided in a convention class, and bring heart and passion to that choreography.
The key is that you have to have the choreography down, and then you have to posses the technique that gives you the freedom to take the choreography to the next level in that short time frame.
You can’t just freestyle, or fake the choreography, and you can’t just do the exact moves you have to find away to learn the choreography and then translate it so that the viewer can feel something…Most dancers do not have the ability to do that in the short time frame of a convention class. The handful of dancers in a class of hundreds who can, are usually singled out. The choreography may not be exact, but it is probably darn close, and what is sacrificed in the choreography is made up for with the passion of the dancer.
It doesn’t mean that the dancers who possess this gift are the BEST dancers in the room, or that other dancers in the room don’t have talent, it is just that not all dancers can learn choreography very quickly and then also be able to own it and translate with passion and commitment in that short time frame. That is a special gift; just like some kids are born with the gift of genetics that give them perfect technique right out of the box…there are just many gifts that a dancer can be born with or develop.
I think also, that you are comparing apples and oranges with some of your points. You are describing the expectation and learning of chorography for concert pieces and comparing that to learning convention choreography. They are two very different things. In convention classes the dancers are basically learning “combinations” in an hour and each dancer should be getting what they can from that short time with the choreographer. They are not learning a group piece where they should be focused on precision for the goal of synchronicity with a group. I think the bottom line to all of this…and what I have always told my daughter, who is a dancer, is that you are at the convention to grow as a dancer. You should not be at a convention with the goal of winning scholarships, getting pulled on stage, or being singled out. I firmly believe that if you approach all dance opportunities with passion and heart….all of that other stuff tends to come along with it.
I love the comment you made about owning the choreography and translating it with passion and commitment. I definitely saw that this weekend in the kids that stood out for me and for the choreographers. And you are right that performance choreography and convention choreography are two different things. Thanks so much for coming by and for leaving a comment, Paige!
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language 😉
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
I had a conversation today with someone at TDC and got some clarity on this whole issue. It seems I got misinformation from Julian, who misunderstood what he was being told. He was taught what to do when being given CONCERT choreography not CONVENTION choreography. Definintely not apples and oranges, as was pointed out by Paige (above). So, forgive me for believing my son…He took his lesson the wrong way, and I then just propegated the misinformation!