Guest alliecat93 Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 I have trouble remembering combinations at the barre unless I mark it while the teacher is giving it. I have tried to just think really hard and remember it, but unless I mark it at the time, I mess it up. I am attending an audition very soon and I was wondering if that would be acceptable to do. Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted July 9, 2003 Administrators Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 That should not be a problem, allie, as long as you are still focused on the teacher while you are doing it. I don't like it when the students try to actually "do" the combination while I am demonstrating, and then they don't actually see what I am doing! Quote Link to comment
Guest alliecat93 Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 Okay, thanks! Quote Link to comment
Dolphingirl Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 Interesting...at my school, especially in the lower levels, the teachers prefer that students do the exercise full out (especially at the barre). When I was taking my sister's classes, she would always give me "looks" when I would be marking an exercise and stretching out a calf, or something very inconspicuous. Our teachers have always taught us that it's impolite to mark. Either you should do it full out or you shouldn't do it at all. Especially the accompanying port de bras -- they always want us to do that full out. In fact, my mom was commenting the other day on how nice it was that there was one girl in the pointe class we watched that always did marks full out, when others were not. Quote Link to comment
Guest dancer04 Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 That is how it is where I dance as well. One teacher doesn't care how we get the combination, either marking, watching and stretching, or doing it full out. He just wants us to get the combination. Our other teacher makes us do the combination full out with her. She always says, "Don't mark with me!" Interesting to hear everyone's different ways. Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 I only recall one of my teachers who didn't like marking in her classes. In fact, she expected everyone to take fifth position and listen intently to her - you had to, as her Ukrainian accent was nearly impenetrable, and she yelled a lot. She was pretty tough in an already tough world, and after a few classes, I decided that she was full of something other than teaching ability, and she wasn't my teacher after that. Unfortunately, she inspired more than a few copycats, and the classrooms around America grew more stressful than they needed to be for a few years. Quote Link to comment
Guest Tia5678 Posted July 16, 2003 Report Share Posted July 16, 2003 All the classes I've taken, they allow marking. But my teachers usually don't like when you mark your arms, because their easier to do wrong. But marking your legs and feet has always been fine. Quote Link to comment
Guest dancinbabie514 Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 i think it would be more rude to not mark it and get the combination wrong.....because if you mark it you will be less apt to mess up and the teacher will recodnize that you were paying attention... Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted July 19, 2003 Administrators Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 One must learn to mark and still be very carefully watching the teacher. I get very upset when students are busy doing and not watching, as they never learn the whole thing with port de bras, head, etc. This happens with younger students when they mark the barre, especially. More advanced students seem to learn how to do the most minimal amount of marking and still be watching the teacher and listening very carefully. Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Anybody ever notice that when people mark, almost everybody looks like they're sitting up and begging? It's a trip the first time you look behind you in a mirror and see a whole bunch of puppiedogs. Quote Link to comment
Guest Ozzie Oz Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 At a majors course, the Tutor went ballistic because all the students were squished up together in the corner like a herd of frightened cattle. One girl was even leaning on the barre. The tutor was wondering why they were all standing there gawking when they should be marking. After his tantrum they did the exercise and many of them got it wrong which fuelled his next outburst "that is exactly why you should be marking...." I am similar to Victoria in my approach to marking, in that I like the students to be looking at me when I'm demonstrating otherwise what are they learning/seeing? In fact I find it rather rude for students to perform an exercise/combination and get it wrong - especially when it has just been discussed and demonstrated to the students. Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Time for another Miami story. Once, Thomas Armour was demonstrating a combination by marking it with his hands, but in total silence. I had learned to read his marking, and was behind him, following along, when suddenly he turned on me, and said with an arched eyebrow, "You got it?" I nodded my head vigorously, realizing that no matter if I did the combination correctly, I was still dead meat if anything were the slightest amiss. "Do it," he commanded, and took his seat at the front of the class! I took my fifth position and the pianist started. I then proceeded to duplicate exactly his hand marking; I can still remember how it began, "demi-contretemps, pas de bourrée, temps de cuisse...." The class erupted in laughter, and even Mr. Armour, after a thunderstruck moment , joined in, slapping his knee with mirth. "Well, that's one on me," he said. "Now back to work!" Quote Link to comment
balletstar811 Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Mr. Johnson, if you performed the combination correctly, then why was everyone laughing? I think marking is good to do, yet sometimes I'll mark a combination yet be thinking about something completely different, and then when we actually have to do it, I'm like "Uh-oh!". I have this one teacher who always has us do very long complicated barre combinations, and they are practically impossible to remember, marking or not. I think that's because when she goes over it again, she forgets what she did and she has us show her those parts, then she ALWAYS changes something, maybe even more than once- she's so confusing! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Read carefully - I didn't do the combination, I did the marking (but very well!). Quote Link to comment
balletstar811 Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 AHHH!!!!! I see, wow I'm dumb! Quote Link to comment
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