Regional Dance America/Pacific

[GretchenStar]

Anyone go to RDA/P last week? Just curious to hear what other people thought.

 

Facilites- really nice (at the Univ. of Arizona). One of the buildings (Stevie Eller(?) Dance Theater) was new and kind of artsy. Really cool looking, esp. with an upstairs studio which had one whole wall that was just glass so you could see outside. Some of the sprung floors were a little hard (but not too hard).

 

Classes-

Ballet (Phil Otto): pretty good. He picked some people to show steps so that made him really popular.

 

Ballet (Wes Chapman): really fun teacher. And he showed a turning combination going across the diagonal that included a double pirouette from fifth to a double fouette (twice). And he did a quad pirouette. All that at over 40 (as he said).

 

Ballet (Daniel C. [forgot his last name]): he was a bit intimidating. Not as much as one of the festival teachers last year, but Daniel was the type of teacher who is very specific about what he wants (w/ arms, positions, etc). He stopped a combination three times because a couple of dancers didn't do the arms the way he wanted to. And he lectured the dancers (not just corrected). If I was younger, I probably would have hated the class. The combinations themselves weren't bad- he was just a bit over the top.

 

Pointe (Melissa Lowe): loved her class, although some other dancers wanted more of a warm up (like plies, tendus, etc). I think, because we already took class in the morning, we worked more on our feet than warming up the whole body. I also liked how she stressed the importance of listening to a combination (as well as watching)- she had said "chasse, releve arabesque" and some were doing "chasse, pique arabesque". It was nitpicking like Daniel C., but she was nicer about it.

 

Performances: the only piece I really liked Pasadena Dance Theatre's piece, Sessions. Most everything else was danced well, but choreographically, they were a bit flat. Or they went on for too long. Or too complicated, with several groups onstage doing different steps at the same time that made it a little hard see.

 

The theater was really nice- big stage, room for large audience, balcony. The only thing was that the air conditioner was turned up a bit high (because it was so hot outside).

 

And I liked how most of our classes were not scheduled to begin until after 10am (except for the honors class and the audition class)- it gave me time to swim laps in the morning (when there weren't any kids splashing around in the pool).

[AmaG520]

(I'm not sure if this is right spot for this)

 

I was jsut wondering if there are a lot of dancers/companies that participate in RDA (Regional Dance America). I belong to the Pacific Region, but I was wondering if it is as popular on the other side of the nation.

[Momof3darlings]

My DD attends SERBA and loves it. I think you can do a search on SERBA and find lots of older threads with info on this coast.

 

vj

[mini cooper]

Our school is part of RDA Southwest Region. A little over a year ago when I began to think about a new school for my dd, I realized that schools with which we had had good experiences in the past were RDA schools. Once I discerned that common thread, I was able to look for such a school that was within driving distance.

 

I know of one other BA poster (dmclure) who's dd is in an RDA school. Their school is hosting our region's Festival this year.

 

mc

[FouetteFanatic]

I'm in the Southwest region too. As a matter of fact I go to the same studio as minicooper's dd. I went to Craft last year and I one of my roomates was from Arizona. She went to BalletYuma I beliveve. Maybe you know her AmaG520.

[Guest dancinabbs]

We go to the Midwest region. It's very fun Someone from our company last year got the Craft of Choreography scholarship Anyways, the answer is yes!

[Mel Johnson]

The Regional Ballet Association movement started in the eastern US, and is doing just fine from what I can tell from here. Places like Dayton, Miami, Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia proved fertile ground for raising dancers. And in the days before there were professional companies in those places, those Regional/Civic companies produced many company-ready dancers for the places that DID have professional companies.

[lillianna]

CPYB is a member of RDA--northeast

[sgmca]

[GretchenStar]

Our company is in Pacific region. We hosted Festival a few years ago (that was a lot of fun).

 

I've also gone to the Craft of Choreography program 3 times. I think it's become more and more popular- the number of dancers attending doubled from 2000 to 2001, but the number of choreographers stayed about the same. I enjoyed Craft a lot...

[AmaG520]

Wow, ya thats crazy! My two freinds went to Craft last year, and one of them knows FouetteFanatic! Its a small dance world after all!

[fendrock]

It's curious, but I don't believe there are any RDA schools in the Boston metro area.

 

The paucity of RDA presence in the Northeast is indicated by the fact that Pennsylvania is included in the Northeast region....

[Mel Johnson]

One of the problems in the northeast is that many of the companies which used to be civics are now professional companies.

[Pattec1]

One of the problems in the northeast is that many of the companies which used to be civics are now professional companies.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My dd was a member of RDA Mid-States for all 4 of her high school years. It was a wonderful opportunity for her. The festivals held each spring expose dancers to new teachers, amazing performances, and a renewed commitment to dance each year. The artists that are brought into these festivals as both teachers and performers give this generation of dancers somthing more to reach for. The dancers make many new friends and are exposed to so many different avenues that dance may take them. My dancer was fortunate in experiencing all of the RDA concept. The RDA company that she was part of was a new formed company her freshman year of high school. They attended festival and were judged in both a class and several performances before they were accepted as an "intern" company. RDA inspires each company to work harder to achieve the next level. The dancers learn so much about being apart of a company and how each person is important to the entire group. Being involved in an RDA company definitely benefited her in every aspect of her dancing 'career". I hope that RDA is around to benefit our young dancers for many years to come.

[Guest Dance_Like_This]

I've had a chance to watch the compition on I'm on the east coast, I dont remember what companies or schools participated except CPYB

Edited January 20, 2005 by Dance_Like_This