(Break the Floor Productions) If you’re a convention kid, surely you know Ray Leeper. As executive director of NUVO Dance Convention and co-director of The Dance Awards, Leeper is immediately recognizable for his awesomely spiky hair and his fabulous year-round tan. But he’s more than just a good-looking guy: Leeper is a sought-after choreographer and […]
1. Tendu your right foot forward, then bring it through coupé and up to retiré. 2. Développé your right leg as high as you can, keeping your shoulders lifted. 3. Holding your right leg in the air, release your upper body and head to the left, dropping toward the ground.Ashi says: “For this move, you […]
Prepare in a wide fourth-position plié. Battement your leg forward toward your face—keeping it perfectly straight, with your foot pointed—and grab your ankle and lower calf with both hands as you begin your inside turn in forced arch. Zoey says: “Really hold your core as you pull your leg toward you and push into […]
JAKOB SAYS: “The key to the perfect layout is timing. Your head and leg need to hit the final position at the same time, so your développé shouldn’t start to move past attitude until your head is already on its way back. It’s like firing a slingshot.” Prepare… …Développé… …BAM! Photography by Joe Toreno
All my dance nerds: Get thee to dancemedia.com right now, because there are two pretty great video contests currently underway! First up: We’re in the second month of the Joffrey Ballet School scholarship competition. You could win a full tuition scholarship to one of the JBS’s prestigious summer programs—just enter a clip of your best […]
Few things wow an audience like an explosive side leap. But before you bust out this move in your next jazz routine, make sure you’re doing it correctly! Tracie Stanfield, who teaches the “Leaps & Turns” class at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, suggests these exercises to ensure you have the proper placement and strength […]
Of course you do! DanceMedia has teamed up with NYC’s Joffrey Ballet School to offer a contest with pretty sweet prizes: full-tuition scholarships to one of the JBS summer programs. How can you get in on it? Easy: Just submit your 1-3 minute ballet, jazz or contemporary clip here. The DanceMedia editors and JBS faculty […]