Week 5

Yi Qi Cheng with some crazy dancers!!!!!!!!!!!

Gary Flannery is here teaching the dancers some Fosse.  This is Gary at the New York Public Library showing of the Great American Revue dancing Mr. Bo Jangles by Bob Fosse.

Also preparing for the show this Friday night at 7:00 pm at Peery’s Egyptain Theater.  For tickets call 801-689-8700.  $7.50 till Thursday tickets go up on August 10 to $10.00.

Week 4

The week ends today. . . I had a wonderful time teaching the girls (and a boy here and there too!) at Imagine Ballet!! The work ethic here is phenomenal, and the girls are so open to receiving and APPLYING corrections! A sure sign of a great dancer indeed . . . It’s been such a fun experience for me, coming back to teach at IBT every summer. I have known some of these girls for years, and seeing them grow up in not only age but also ability has been a true joy! Well done ladies! And well done with a beautiful school Ray! xoxo~ Allynne Noelle

We begin week 4 of our Summer Intensive with Allynne Noelle; a Principal Dancer with Los Angeles Ballet, and Former Soloist of Miami City Ballet.

Allynne as “Odette” in Swan Lake at Los Angeles Ballet.

 Week 3  Is coming to an end we have seen the first drafts of the dancers Choreography.  There are several piece with power and emotion embodied in the work. Some that need work and some in the middle.  Now two weeks to the show and things will shift and become.  I hope that you will join us for an exciting evening of dance on August 10th, at 7:00 pm at Peery’s Egyptian Theater cost is only $7.50 before August 9th to help cover the theater costs. Day of Show the cost will be $10.00.  So get in and get your tickets now.

Christie Freebairn Perry former Ballet West Dancer has been teaching this week along with Yi Qi Cheng a former dancer National Ballet of China and Former Ballet West Company teacher.

Christie as Lily in The Secret Garden

Dancing

Forever Dance

Dance is not a movement

Dance is not a thought

It’s more like an emotion

Something that is taught

Years and years of practice

Weeks and weeks of pain

But in the end it’s true

We all forget the strain

The stage is where is happens

It’s where we all belong

After so much practice

We are forever strong

We all know the truth

Of every little girl

They dream and wish upon a star

To let their hearts unfurl

To us it is amazing

That dance we seem to do

It is almost a religion

As we try our first pointe shoe

Down the supermart isle

And up the brightened street

Dance is in our bodies

Our hearts, they keep the beat

By Danielle Dreis

Week 2

Laurie Sefton comes this week to work on a piece of Choreography.  She is one of the winners of the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival and will be working with the dancers in the Summer intensive on a piece about “Bullying”.

Performance Day

By Abby Hardin

Inhale slow,

eyes closed.

Jittery sweat fills the air,

and I’m greeted by the aroma,

the smell of work,

of determination.

For years my body has suffered,

achieving perfection;

Enduring blisters,

bruises,

aches,

and pain.

Broken body wrapped in a glittering costume.

Nervous face caked with a deceiving smile.

Exhale slow,

eyes open.

One,

two,

three steps out.

Instantly,

I am transformed.

Convincing even myself I am not what I was.

A creature glides across the stage,

floating,

turning,

dancing,

filled with an unspeakable joy only then attained

yet never forgotten.

One,

two,

three steps back.

Broken body aches,

sweat steeped air is torn through the lungs,

but deceiving smiles now ring with truth,

for I am human again

but forever changed.

Week 2 comes to an end the dancers have focused, danced, ached and thought about dance on many levels.  Now time to thank Laurie Sefton and have a donut.

Week 1 has begun, as always we all have a few sore muscles, which is pretty normal when you try new things.  Ballet, Pointe, Pilates, Yoga, Modern and Choreography all flying around in our heads.  Here are two poems written by Phoebe Rust:

Different sizes,
Different shoes.
Different races,
Different moves.
Differences don’t matter
Upon the stage.
Our minds connect
Despite our age.
United, we dance.
Same hopes,
Same vision.
Same dreams,
Same decision.
Similarities bind us
Under the blinding lights.
We speak the same language,
We see the same sights.
United, we dance.

Now my heart is bewildered,
My mind a melted mess.
Now my body aches,
I welcome the feeling.
Now my eyes are alive,
Yet my soul is lost.
Now my ears are open,
But I hear nothing.
Now I am truly me.

I have asked the dancers participating in this years summer intensive to determine their top 5 choices for University programs that offer dance programs along with other fields of study that they are interested in.  Here are their Top 5 Picks.

Number 1: University of Utah: For Many of the dancers it is because it is close to home, They offer both Ballet and Modern degrees, Emphasis on performing

Web: http://www.ballet.utah.edu/

Number 2: Julliard: Located in New York City the Heart of the Dance world, Excellent training

http://www.juilliard.edu

Number 3: Duke University: They offer programs that travel with the dance program, They also have a first class Science department.

http://danceprogram.duke.edu/

Number 4: Florida State University: They offer a fall semester in New York City and travel abroad to Spain and France.

dance.fsu.edu/Academic-Programs/BFA

Number 5: Brigham Young University:  They offer a wide variety of dance with  a focus on Ballet, Close to home, and for Religious reasons.

http://cfacweb.byu.edu/departments/dance