The performing arts aim to express the performer’s emotions or ideas by the use of bodies, voices or inanimate objects. A dancer uses their body as an instrument to tell a story to an audience, but sometimes dancers get trapped in a tunnel vision, focusing more on technical perfection rather than the characterization aspect of dancing. Let’s take a look ...
Is Youtube a good place to learn ballet?
Have you ever been tempted by a Youtube ballet tutorial, or decided to learn a solo online? Unless you are a technically advanced dancer and are confident in your ability to perform the steps correctly, think again. It isn’t advisable to learn ballet technique from YouTube in the initial years of training. Just like any classical dance form, you need ...
Nirupama Gives Us The Scoop
The Student Scoop Series: We want to provide a platform to encourage our dancers to share their individual growth, experiences and insights as they bloom as dancers in our community. This is Nirupama Ganesh (Grade 3 + JDC) sharing with us her experience on attending our 2018 Summer Intensive, 'Adventures in Neverland'. "Get out of the house more often!" This was what I heard all summer. I sighed as I looked at my unfinished to-do list of summer activities. ...
Dance Moms – Shilpa Paralkar
Shilpa is one of the dance moms of TLFCB who began attending ballet classes years after her daughter started dancing with us. Suffering from a knee injury in 2015, she decided to come to Callanetics to get back on her feet last spring. That is where her own journey with ballet began. Here is Shilpa Paralkar: - Give us ...
Your Guide to the 2018 Summer Intensive
School’s out for the summer and there’s no better way to spend your time than dancing! Joining an intensive usually means longer hours in the studio than you’re used to, so here are a few things to consider as you transition into summer intensive mode. Summer Intensive 2017 WHAT TO EXPECT *You’ll be spending a lot more time in the ...
Why We Love The TLFCB Summer Intensives
Every year, we hold a Summer Intensive during the holidays in April and May, and every year, the final show at the end of the two weeks is a beautiful presentation of the fun we have had, and the growth of the students who have participated. We always have a wide spectrum of ages and technical levels taking part, but ...
Premier Event : Choreography Competition
The Big Day On the day of the Finals of the TLFCB 2018 Choreography Competition, as I walked up to the studio, I could feel the excitement and tension of the participants warming up, waiting to impress the judges and audience with their performances. I could sense the support and anticipation of proud parents and patrons who sat expectantly awaiting ...
Dancing with the Elite: Prix de Lausanne
It’s that time of the year when the ballet world is buzzing with the terms ‘Prix de Lausanne’ and ‘prize winners’. As ballet students, many of us may know that this refers to perhaps the most prestigious ballet competition in the world. Started in 1973 by dance enthusiasts, it is held in Lausanne, Switzerland, every year. The competition is open ...
The Whole Pointe: My experiences with pointe shoes
Pointe shoes have always been the most widely recognized symbol of ballet, but for young dancers, they are much more than a symbol. Getting your first pair of pointe shoes is almost like a rite of passage within the dance form, distinguishing between a mature student and a less experienced one. When I was younger, I would look at pointe ...
Muscle Memory – why is it so important in dance and sports?
Ballet is an intricate and demanding dance form. The artistic vocabulary is initiated by basic movement sequences and muscular patterning that enables us to choreograph a visual interpretation of the music. We begin with these basic movement that evolves through the grades to more complex muscular patterning that later translates into an artistic vocabulary. These become the vocational levels or ...