Inside Pointe Live Classes & Conversations: Philadelphia Edition
Last weekend, we hosted our very first Philadelphia-based Pointe Live Classes & Conversations, sponsored by Laurel Springs School—and we still haven’t stopped talking about it! Dancers from around the city’s metro area and beyond joined us at Philadelphia Ballet’s brand-new (and beautiful!) Center for Dance on July 12 for an inspiring day of master classes, networking, and discussion. And we’re especially grateful to our guest teachers, BalletX dancer Minori Sakita and Philadelphia Ballet rehearsal director Charles Askegard, for the lessons they imparted.
The dancers, split into two age groups, rotated between our two guest teachers, getting a mix of classical and contemporary takeaways. Askegard taught technique class, with a focus on musicality and proper alignment. He gave students lots of individual attention, thoughtfully adjusting their form and facings. “I know I’m going slow,” he acknowledged at one point, stressing that he wanted the dancers to absorb the details of his corrections. “If I say ‘croisé,’ I’m asking you to do more, not less,” he instructed during a tendu exercise. Askegard guided the advanced students to uncover the musicality of the Balanchine style. “You want to have energy. Use the ‘and’ count,” he said as dancers stepped into sous-sus. “And one. Clear, concise, using musicality.”
Sakita led the older students through a slow, mindful barre that incorporated contemporary movement, like flexed feet and swirling torsos. She set the tone by saying, “Technique isn’t the focus today. It’s what feels good in your body.” She urged them not to judge or compare themselves to others. She then taught an excerpt from Noelle Kayser’s Scales on the Wings of a Butterfly, highlighting the work’s precise, blade-like handwork and clean slicing motions. In her second class, with the younger dancers, Sakita led students through an excerpt from Stephanie Martinez’s kiss. Assigning sound effects to two different movements, she playfully challenged students to try each movement with a different texture, asking, “What if [this kick] was ‘zoom’ instead of ‘shhh?’ ”
Afterwards, the dancers and many parents gathered for a discussion session with our guest teachers, led by Pointe editor in chief Amy Brandt. Topics ranged from battling perfectionism to unlocking potential to staying open-minded when learning new movement styles. Sakita, for example, shared that her perspective on perfection has changed over the course of her career, especially since she’s started focusing more on contemporary dance. “Mistakes aren’t good or bad—they’re information for next time,” she says. “It’s more about discovery. Now, I think it can be kind of exciting to mess up.”
As for unlocking your potential? Askegard noted that one of the best ways to do that is through hard work. “I know it’s not cool to say, but it really does matter,” he said. “And when you step onstage, you don’t want to try to be like somebody else–you want to be the best version of yourself. Find the most authentic you, and let that shine.”
Students and parents then had a chance to ask questions of their own, ranging from what a typical rehearsal day is like at a professional company to what dancers need to do to keep their bodies healthy. We’re so grateful to our guests teachers and to all of the dancers for sharing their day with us, and we look forward to our Classes & Conversations event in Chicago on July 25!
