Inside Pointe Live Classes & Conversations’ Return to the Windy City
On July 25, we hosted our second annual Chicago edition of Pointe Live Classes & Conversations, sponsored this year by The Joffrey Ballet and Ballet Chicago and held at Joffrey’s sunny studios. Dancers from the city’s metro area and beyond gathered for master classes with Joffrey Ballet artist Edson Barbosa and Milwaukee Ballet leading artist Jennifer Hackbarth, followed by a conversation led by Pointe editor in chief Amy Brandt.
In both his technique and choreography classes, Barbosa focused on the mechanics of pirouettes. His barre incorporated lots of balances in sur le cou-de-pied and retiré, emphasizing placement in both the torso and first-position arms. He invoked some catchy phrases from his own teachers, like “Scoop the coop” when bringing the foot into coupé. After a classical ballet class, Barbosa taught his own movement, which leaned more contemporary and featured sweeping arm gestures and angular positions, while incorporating the technique he had emphasized in his first class.
Hackbarth’s ballet class emphasized dancing with the whole body. At barre, she coached the dancers through a half turn into passé, beginning in a back attitude. “These fingers and these toes connect as we assemble together,” she said. Later, in center, she included a similar movement in adagio, reminding the dancers about the feeling they had at the barre. “Use all of these moments to acknowledge your port de bras,” she said. For her repertoire class, Hackbarth taught the high-energy “Tarantella” from August Bournonville’s Napoli. The choreography had the dancers doing sissonnes in a square with a partner; one lucky dancer got to partner with Hackbarth.
After the workshops, the students came together for a prize raffle by Ballet Chicago and an inspiring Q&A session. The students learned that both teachers made long-distance moves to further their dance careers—Hackbarth from Milwaukee to Germany’s John Cranko Schule, and then to the School of American Ballet in New York City; and Barbosa from Brazil to San Francisco Ballet School, after winning a scholarship at the Prix de Lausanne. They discussed the challenges and rewards of leaving home. Hackbarth, who has danced with four stylistically different companies, noted that she has been able to combine aspects of each in her dancing. “Maybe you take the Balanchine musicality with you to Europe and apply it when you’re dancing a lot of neoclassical and classical,” she said. “Looking back, everything along the way has shaped the dancer and person I am today.”
Barbosa later shared that while training at home during the pandemic shutdown, he learned to focus more on his own improvement and less on comparing himself to others. “That’s when everything started changing for me,” he said. “It’s our job to keep growing and to keep looking inwards.”
When asked what advice they would give to their teenage selves, Barbosa said to listen more to his teachers. Rather than feel defensive or dismissive about feedback, he advised the dancers, “take it in, let it marinate.” Hackbarth wished she had taken more time to enjoy her training years. “It’s so easy to think about the destination—getting into this school, accomplishing that goal.” She reminded the students to relish the journey along the way.
Later, dancers and parents had the chance to ask questions on everything from how to handle mistakes during auditions to managing stage fright. (Barbosa’s advice? Trust all of the work you’ve put into rehearsals. “The stage is your time to enjoy it!”)
We had so much fun with our guest teachers and all of the dancers who joined us, and we look forward to our first-ever Pointe Live Classes & Conversations event for adults (New York City, August 22)!
