A morning at the Ballet..

In earlier blogs and videos, you got to experience a Romeo & Juliet pas de deux through Romeo's eyes. Stefan expertly strapped Keith's mini camera tightly onto his head/face to give you a very intimate view, Lauren researched the interesting history of R & J music and wrote of the composer, Sergei Prokofiev, you heard from a student of Sac Ballet school, MacKenzie, and you read a note of passion and energy from our dear friend and professional photographer Keith Sutter. Here is just a mini view of a start to our day at the Sac Ballet studios.

Technique/warm-up class is given each morning before we work on our choreography to warm up all our muscles and work on our ballet technique, which is the base for all the ballets and works that we perform. Company class is taught by Ron, Carinne, Nolan, or sometimes Lynlee for anywhere from 1hr15 to 2hrs long. There is typically a 15 break for everyone before our rehearsals start.

I sit myself in the studio for the first rehearsal with Stefan, Chris, and Oliver as the Maskers in Act I Scene 3 before they attend, uninvited, to the Capulet's Ball.
Chris as Mercutio plays his character well while gracefully executing all his choreography, smiling and sniggering around Romeo and Benvolio, Stefan and Oliver, respectively.
Carinne is here correcting the boys' arms - a question of whether to go through first or second position with the arms before a saute' arabesque - then a discussion of counts; it works out to plie for the pirouette on 7,8 finish the turn and jump to a turned-in coupe position on the next phrase 7,8 - then a discussion on the number of pirouettes; Stefan was pulling out three, and everyone else two, so they collectively decide on the latter. Carinne and Ron both are here for the run-throughs and each correct or add comments about the dance and the individual dancing.

Immediately afterward, the second cast of boys who were marking in the back and paying attention to corrections, do a run-through. Rick, Roberto, and Richie do a good run. Though, Carinne sees a discrepancy between these boys and the earlier boys; the timing and accent on the brise' landing and "how you assembled into the chasse turn." After this is worked out, the rehearsal is finished and the dancers move onto their next rehearsal in the second studio.

It's so fun to see all these men developing their characters! The steps become second nature and you start seeing a little attitude, a little secret smile in character to a Montague friend, or plainly just seeing more of the storyline of the young and tragic yet desperately passionate ballet of Romeo and his Juliet.

~Isha