Back to Work.

Even though work technically started last Tuesday, work really started for me today. Due to Swan Lake relying so heavy on the ladies, some of us men have either had very little rehearsal, or none at all; I fall into the later category. So, finally getting to rehearse something today felt wonderful! It so great to finally be back in the studio learning and working on choreography after almost 3 months of only taking class.

It’s such a different mentality and focus between taking class and learning a ballet. In class we have to memorize combinations quickly, but we’re also allowed to forget them fairly soon after. In rehearsal you have to try and learn quickly, but also retain the choreography, spacing, and the corrections you get for at least 7 weeks. Granted, there are lots of rehearsals for the ballet, but no one wants to go back over material that has already been taught more than 2 or 3 times. It’s our responsibility to go home and go over what we’ve learned that day, and try to get it cemented in our memory (I once heard that you’ll have the greatest chance of retaining something if you go over it within 24 hours of learning it).

As rehearsals progress I’ll probably post more blogs, hopefully with some pictures of the rehearsal process, and maybe a video or two. Adrian and I have been talking about trying to put together some behind-the-scenes videos for all of you, but I’m not sure what that will look like yet, or when it will happen. Soon hopefully!

~Steven