My Favorite Choreographers/Dance Educators (Part 4)

(In No Particular Order)

You may not know today’s choreographer’s name, but you know his work.  I promise.  He is the KING of commercial dance...

Michael Rooney!

Michael Rooney’s style is fun, classic yet progressive, and (my favorite) shows off the talent of his dancers, a fabulous combination for any choreographer. 

Why I Love Him

I will watch a fun commercial or music video with great dancing and who choreographed it?... Michael Rooney!  His dances are EVERYWHERE!  Target, Old Navy, Pepsi, AT&T, The Muppets, 500 Days of Summer, SYTYCD, to name a small few.

His ability to create dances that embody the director’s vision is what makes him so sought after.  He understands if the dance is promoting a product, featuring a music group, or adding to a story’s progression in a feature film.  He knows how to incorporate dance into the big picture, not a small feat.  

The best way to show you what I mean is to actually show you.  So here is his choreography reel.  Enjoy!

Ok, just one more.  This is my personal favorite music video he has done. 

Mr. Rooney proves that dance, even used commercially, can be great works of art, something we should all strive for.

My Favorite Choreographers/Dance Educators (Part 3)

(In No Particular Order)

Dance can be so much more than pure entertainment.  It can make political statements, illustrate a time in history, stir an audience’s emotions...Dance is art.  Some choreographers embrace this fact and raise dance up to its fullest potential.  This leads me to my next favorite choreographer/dance educator...

Alvin Ailey!

Alvin Ailey was born in Texas in 1931.  As you are probably familiar with American history, 1931 was a time of turmoil, poverty, and segregation, not a great foundation for success.  To find work, Ailey’s mother moved to Los Angeles in 1942.  In school he showed a great interest in the arts, but did not discover dance until his friend brought him to Lester Horton’s dance studio in Los Angeles (another pivotal dance innovator).  (Just a little background, Lester Horton’s school was the first multi-racial studio in the US.)  Ailey joined Horton’s company in 1953 and became the artistic director upon Horton’s death later that year.

In 1954 Ailey appeared in numerous Broadway shows, yet was disappointed in the styles of dance that were offered in NYC.  This inspired him to create his own opportunities by forming the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958.  He used numerous styles of dance and all theatrical elements to create his productions.  The content of his pieces were often derived from his own life and celebrated African American culture, history, strength, and potential.  He sadly passed away in 1989.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is now one of the most well-known and respected dance companies in the world and is a part of the Ailey School, a prestigious dance school in NYC.

Why I Love Him

Need I say more?

His choreography, soul, intellect, and reverence for his culture created some of the most iconic pieces of modern dance of all time.  He also elevated African Americans in the dance world, which mirrored the civil rights activism in America at the time.  He not only revolutionized dance, but changed history.

When taking class at the Ailey School or attending an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance, you can feel his positive energy all around.  There is such respect and admiration for this man; the experience is unlike any other.  At these performances, audiences dress up, pay true respect to the performers, and dance and sing in their seats.  It is truly a spiritual experience attending a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  If you ever have the opportunity, go see a show!

To find out where they are performing, click here. 

My Favorite Choreographers/Dance Educators (Part 2)

(In No Particular Order)

Mia Michaels!

She is a choreographer who cannot be ignored.  I have witnessed her walk out to teach a class and be greeted with a thunderous uproar similar to a musical legend or a movie star.  She revolutionized contemporary dance and helped modern audiences appreciate dance in a new way.  She has even won Emmys for her work on SYTYCD!  However, these things are not what I will be focusing on today...

Why I Love Her

The ability to teach is a God-given gift.  “Those who do can’t always teach.”  (I decided to change the original cliché.)  Just because someone is a wonderful dancer does not make him/her a wonderful teacher and visa versa.  Mia has been given the gift of teaching.

I have had the privilege to take a class or two from the contemporary legend.  You never know what to expect when taking class with such a famous icon.  Some are wonderful and some walk in and tell the dancers how worthless they are...others land somewhere in between.  My experience in Mia’s classes landed her in my “Big 6.”

Mia’s teaching and choreography philosophy is: it is not about her.  She creates movement, gives that movement to a dancer, and expects that movement to evolve into a beautiful piece of art.  She understands that all dancers and bodies are different and celebrates those differences.  She does not stand at the front of the room expecting carbon copies to form behind her.  Her classes are a collaboration.  She also has the ability to recognize weaknesses and strengths in her dancers and pushes her dancers to work on the weaknesses and celebrate the strengths.  She expects nothing less than 100% of each dancer’s mind, body, and soul while teaching, but will give the same right back.

It gives me hope that she has been able to maintain this attitude and philosophy creating her formidable career, which is FAR from over.

If you ever have the opportunity to take class with Mia Michaels, DO IT!   (She is now a part of the JUMP dance convention and for more info, click here.) 

My Favorite Choreographers/Dance Educators (Part 1)

(In No Particular Order)

Out of thousands of choreographers and dance educators throughout history, I have narrowed down my “Top Choreographers/Dance Educators” to six individuals.  In looking at the Big 6, I notice a common thread between them: disruption.  Each was disruptive to the world of dance in wonderful ways.  I admire those who overcome adversity, follow his/her dreams, work tirelessly, and have an all-consuming passion for the art of dance. 

Today’s top choreographer/dance educator...

Agrippina Vaganova!

Agrippina Vaganova in the pas de trois from Paquita. Saint Petersburg (circa 1910) 

The goddess of ballet technique.  Born in 1879, Ms. Vaganova spent her life studying ballet, ballet performance, and proper ballet technique.  Through her studies, she developed the Vaganova Method.  The Vaganova Method takes the best elements of Italian and French ballet, along with her personal Russian education, and combines them to not only give the dancer the best technique possible, but also gives them the strength to prevent much injury creating the ultimate ballet virtuoso.  The Imperial Ballet School became the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and some of its graduates include: George Balanchine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Anna Pavlova...need I say more?

Although accepted into the Imperial Ballet School, ballet did not come easily to her.  She worked tirelessly to perfect her technique taking an academic approach to understanding dance combining how movement looked, felt, how others performed, anatomy, etc.  Her study was a success and lead to her performing as Prima (leading woman) in the Imperial Ballet.  She retired early to focus on her teaching.

Why I Love Her

I admire pretty much anyone who overcomes some form of obstacle/adversity to accomplish his/her dreams, which she did ten times over.  However, Ms. Vaganova, for me, goes beyond that.

I believe dancers, choreographers, and dance educators should have an academic understanding of any technique being studied.  Going to class and performing is paramount, but the home study will give anyone that necessary edge that leads to success.  To read a book about the history of dance, or read about a technique, watch videos, read biographies, etc. can only deepen one’s understanding and enable dancers to become critical thinkers, thus better dancers.

Ms. Vaganova was so exact in her academic understanding of dance that she overcame her lack of natural physical ability. 

To start you on your road to an academic understanding of ballet, I HIGHLY recommend Ms. Vaganova’s book, Basic Principles of Classical Ballet. 

This book, written by Ms. Vaganova, takes you through her technique and would help any dancer refine what they know and create a stronger foundation for his/her dancing.  It is fairly short and is complete with illustrations and “cut-to-the-chase” descriptions.  At times, she will even comment on the laziness of dancers, or the ugliness of another technique.  Very honest, yet very good.   

Needless to say, if you ever take my ballet class, expect Vaganova!

Stay tuned for the remaining five and let me know who your favorite choreographers/dance educators are! :)