Learning New Dance Genres at Your Summer Intensive? Here’s How to Have an Open Mind
American Repertory Ballet dancer Emily Cordies-Maso remembers feeling self-conscious during hip-hop class at her first summer intensive. “I was very shy, and I didn’t want to do it,” she says. The instructor would teach a combination and then turn on the music, asking them to improvise until it was time for the choreography to start. “We’d be in small groups, so everyone could see you. It was very intimidating.”
But eventually, Cordies-Maso started to feel more confident, “even though I’m not the best hip-hop dancer,” she says. Now, she sees how that experience helped her become more versatile. “At ARB, we have so many choreographers who come in. When you’re exposed to different styles, you get used to adapting to whatever the choreographer needs.”
A summer intensive may be the first time you’re exposed to a genre beyond ballet. But while you may feel out of your comfort zone, try to absorb what these classes have to offer. “Sometimes the ‘bunhead’ mindset can be very limiting,” says Bill Piner, director of the Ballet Austin Academy. “Supplemental classes are an opportunity to open up and try new things.” In fact, for many dancers, these classes—whether they be modern, contemporary, African, jazz, or something else—can be a real game changer.
It’s All Complementary
Cordies-Maso now sees things from the front of the studio. A lifelong flamenco dancer—she trained in it, alongside ballet, at her mother’s dance studio and then Ballet Hispánico’s pre-professional program—she’s taught flamenco class at Princeton Ballet School’s summer course for the last two years. She tries to impart the genre’s sense of rhythm and passion. “The students who only train in ballet are the ones that have a little bit more trouble adapting,” she says.
Knowing this, Cordies-Maso keeps her classes very structured. “We start with castanet work, then footwork, then across-the-floor movement, and end with a combination,” she says. “It helps them know what to expect.”
Similarly, Jared Hale, a Dallas-based hip-hop teacher who teaches at Ballet Austin’s intensive every year, says the disciplined nature of ballet training can make it hard for some students to open up. He tries to make them feel more comfortable by creating a casual atmosphere. “I’m really laid-back, and I think the dancers appreciate that, because their ballet classes are probably pretty intense.”
Piner says that Ballet Austin’s summer course offers two afternoon classes a day in genres other than ballet. “Everything works towards the same goal, which is to get stronger and more in touch with your whole body and how it works.”
Doing so can help you develop new channels of creativity and, ultimately, improve your ballet dancing. “For instance, with contemporary, finding access to your core,” says Piner. “And then how does that shape what you’re doing [in ballet]? The students can see how it’s all complementary.”
Cordies-Maso says that studying flamenco had a big impact on her ballet training. “Everything has to be done with intent,” she says. “But there’s also the technique: having an open chest, using your back to use your arms, the coordination with the arms and the legs.” She tries to help students cultivate a sense of passion inside them, “so they can take that to whatever they do next.”
While ballet often stresses discipline and conformity, Hale says that hip hop is all about making individual choices. “The main thing that we work on is adding your own style and signature,” he says. “That’s really where your personality is. So getting dancers to hear the musicality and adapt to the textures and bring it into their movement quality.” Hale puts dancers into small groups, and when he sees someone adding their own flavor, he encourages everyone to cheer them on. “It’s a good release.”
New Discoveries
One of the biggest benefits of studying different styles is discovering new things about yourself—and building confidence in the process. “Sometimes, the ones who really excel at classical ballet struggle in these classes,” says Piner. “You have to be willing to put yourself out there and fall down, or at least not be the best. And that’s really challenging, because the perfectionist mindset is very prevalent in this art form. But you may be surprised by what you can do.”
Try to resist the urge to hide in the back of the studio, and take inspiration from your classmates who are really standing out. Piner adds that supplemental courses often give students who are less classically inclined a chance to shine. Cordies-Maso sees this in her flamenco classes, where dancers from jazzier competition studios tend to feel more comfortable digging into the movement and adding flair. “Those students aren’t shy, so having them in class pushes the bunheads to really open up.”
You may also develop new ideas about where you want to take your dancing. A Graham class, for example, may inspire you to consider studying modern at the college level. Or perhaps you now see yourself in a contemporary ballet company instead of a classical one. “These classes may help someone change direction, as far as their next step, and not be so confined to such a narrow idea of what the future holds,” says Piner.
Hale says parents have often told him that his class ended up being their child’s favorite, leading them to sign up for hip-hop classes at home. “It introduced them to another world they maybe wouldn’t have been privy to before.”
While your ultimate focus at a summer intensive may be to improve your ballet training, Piner stresses that every class is valid. Seeing different genres as something extra to “get through” won’t benefit you. “You can’t approach class that way,” Piner says. “You have to understand the value of everything. Learning to put yourself out there and not be so great at it the first time? That is a huge accomplishment.”
