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How To Make Corrections Work For You!

By TurnedOutPointeOfView on Monday, September 30, 2019

Corrections! Ahhhhh! There are days where you long to hear even just one and other days you wish they would stop telling you all your corrections.

When I was quite young, taking ballet class, I couldn’t handle being corrected. I didn’t understand that corrections are given to help you improve. I only thought of them as failure. I was disappointing my teacher. I wasn’t good enough.

Corrections are for your benefit. 100%. Don’t be like silly, little me crying because my foot wasn’t pointed enough. I wasted a lot of time being very hard on myself. I encourage you, if you feel like this, to find your inner grit and be confident. Everyone wants the best for you.

When corrections are given, whether they are to you or to someone else in the class, always listen. Knowledge is power. Maybe you did the step correctly that time but one day, possibly, it will stop working for you and having a bigger knowledge to tap in to will only help you.

My Notebooks.

My biggest TIP to make sure that corrections really make a difference for you, is to use a notebook. At the end of the day write down all the corrections you remember. Take the time to go back through the class in your head, remembering what was said. Your brain has to recall what you were just told. This can be easier said then done. It’s normal to hear your corrections in class and then walk away and not remember them or not remember them until you are doing the step wrong again. Write. Force your brain to stay on top of your ballet technique.

You can scribble! You are the only person who needs to understand what it says. Spelling goes out the window. This is just about getting as many thoughts down as possible.

My corrections from when I played Alice in December 2018.

If you are playing a character in a ballet, I would also encourage you to write down all the emotions the character goes through. Write down lines as if you could speak. What would your character be saying in those moments on stage if they could.

Notes for the Queen of Hearts.

Read your notes over and over and over again. Before you go to class, before you go on stage, before a rehearsal, before you go to bed, whenever you can. The more you think about it, the more automatic the corrections will be and the thoughts will become a part of you.

Before I entered the stage as Odette in Swan Lake, I had my notebook in the wings with me so I could read my thoughts helping me be completely in the moment. To be Odette. Feel as she feels.

Me pictured as Odette with Jonathan Chmelensky.

If you are thinking, “Ok Holly, sure, but I can only think about so many things at once and sometimes I need my entire focus just to pick up the combination.” I get it! I totally get it. Been there. Some days you’ll be better then others. Some days really are just class, warm-up and go kind of days. 😉

If you are feeling overwhelmed by trying to remember everything then narrow it down to only one or two corrections and try to apply them to every combination. Then the next day, try two different ones. Preferably without losing the corrections you worked on yesterday.

If you want to improve at the fastest rate possible buy a notebook and start writing. Make your thoughts support your movements.

Notebook. It’s a secret weapon. I swear by it.

xoxo
-Hol

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Have You Ever Forgotten Your Steps Onstage!?

By turnedoutpointeofview on Friday, August 30, 2019

Yup. Yes, I have. Luckily, this doesn’t occur often, but we are human, like everyone else. For me, I fell victim to exhaustion, and my brain lost focus, for less than a second, but still leaving me in a state of panic. I forgot my steps while I was performing in Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Side note- This ballet is absolutely fantastic!). The company did 21 shows in 3 weeks! No small feat. It’s a huge, magical production.

‘Alice i Eventyrland’ ballet på det Kongelige Teater. Portræt af Holly Dorger, 27 år, der danser Alice i balletten.

I was very fortunate to have been cast as the role of Alice and as the role of the Queen of Hearts. It was amazing to play such different characters. It also came along with a big responsibility.

The character of Alice is on stage for almost the entire ballet. She is only off stage for one quick costume change. She has many steps. SO MANY steps! The Queen of Hearts is often on stage at the same time as Alice. It was crucial to remember who I was playing everyday. I constantly switched back and forth. Everyday before the show, I would go through the scenes that the characters shared as the character, I was on that day.

Usually, if you dance as Alice then the next day you have off. For me, due to scheduling, I did four shows as Alice or the Queen, twice in a row! The first time I had four in a row, I alternated each show between the characters. The second time I did four in a row, they were the final four shows of the run. I played Alice for three of them and then switched to Queen for the very last show. In that last show, while I was dancing the Queen’s variation, is where I had my blank out.

It was minor. If you didn’t know her correct steps you wouldn’t have seen it. Luckily, I was dancing by myself, so a ripple effect wasn’t created for any of the other dancers. I knew right away that something was off. I did a step that didn’t feel quite right or normal. Thank goodness dancers have such good muscle memory. A tool that we use everyday. Before my brain knew something was off my body did. My body kept dancing through. Once my brain caught up, I remember feeling a moment of panic, and then a realization of, “Well, I’m still going.” The song that Dori sings from, Finding Nemo, would be a great theme song for anyone who suffers from a black out. “Just keep swimming… Just keep dancing…”.

When I got back into the wings, I was fully aware that I definitely needed to catch up on some sleep. My brain was tired from constantly switching and trying to stay on top of such a big, and complicated ballet for two characters ( I was also rehearsing up to 6 hours for our upcoming production of Cinderella as Cinderella and the step sister. Again switching between two characters.). To say my head was fully loaded would have been an understatement. As busy as I was, I loved every second of it!
xoxo
-Hol

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Do We Get Help Changing Costumes During A Show?

By TurnedOutPointeOfView on Monday, August 26, 2019

Photo: Kasper Nybo

In fact, we do! And thank goodness! We have the most lovely colleagues that specifically help us with our costumes during a show and full costume rehearsals. We call them, Dressers. There are two dressers for every floor of dressing rooms. Approximately 12 dressers are in the house on a performance night.

Help backstage. Water and a pat down. Photo: Kasper Nybo

If you are the lead female and male dancer of the evening, you have your very own dresser. They help you with any costume changes, or anything that you could possible need throughout the night. It’s like having a guardian angel, helping you bring your best to the stage. They even bring you a glass of water in the wings. Which is totally going above and beyond their job but very much appreciated.

A dresser arrives to the theater around 6:30pm/7pm. They check the casting for the night and then put everyone’s costume in to their personal dressing room, including hair pieces and accessories. Then, they sit in the hallway waiting patiently for us to come out of our rooms to help us get dressed. All strings must be tucked away and all accessories on before we head down to the stage.

Swan Lake Hair Pieces

The dressers stay for the entire performance. Sometimes they are needed during the show for quick costume changes. For example, during Alice In Wonderland many people were playing several different characters in one show which required quick changes. In this scenario, the dressers are back stage with us. Otherwise, they sit by our dressing rooms waiting for us to come up from the stage and to help us get out of our costumes.

Swan Lake Costumes Ready for the Evenings Show

It is a complete luxury to have such lovely colleagues helping us getting dressed and undressed. They deserve a huge round of applause for all that they do for us behind the scenes.

xoxo
-Hol

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Do We Have To Pay For All Our Stage Makeup?

By TurnedOutPointeOfView on Monday, August 19, 2019

Thank You for the Question Gitte!

Well…. a little yes and a little no. The Royal Danish Ballet is sponsored by MAC make-up. We receive a 20% discount if we buy their products. Some years we are even given a little goodie bag filled with foundation, eye-shadows, eyeliner and lipsticks! Although, we can’t depend on it. We can be lucky and receive a goodie bag one year but not necessarily the next.

I am a big fan of BareMineral makeup so I end up buying almost all of my stage makeup (and everyday makeup) with them. My primer, my foundation, my lotion, my under eye concealer, my lip liner and my eye pencils. Bareminerals feels healthier on my skin and it isn’t as thick as MAC foundation which I prefer. If the foundation is too heavy then you’ll sweat like crazy under those stage lights!

BareMinerals

I am happy to use the free eye-shadows from MAC that came in a goodie bag a few years back. I’m not that fussy over what type of eye shadow I use, just the color. They work great! Luckily, eye shadows last a long time. The only color that I sometimes need to re-stock is the white.

MAC

I am also happy to use the free lipsticks from MAC. Over the years I have collected quite a variety of colors.

About once or twice a year the theater will give all the girls a specific free lipstick so everyone has the same color for a certain production.

Examples of this would be:
–Spar Dame we were given a purple lipstick specifically for the third act.
–Alice In Wonderland the black cards were given a black lipstick.
– The Golden Cockerel we were given a plum lipstick.

We once received a free pair of false eye lashes in one of the MAC goodie bags, but other than that, we buy our own false eye lashes as well. I go through about 7 or 8 pairs of those a year! If I go back to the states in the summer I’ll just buy a bunch at once. I can almost always stumble across a buy two get one free kind of deal. 🙂

Napoli Team: Jonathan Chmelensky, Sorella Englund, Ryan Tomash (as Golfo) & Holly Dorger. (Me)

The only big exception is if you are playing a character such as Golfo from Napoli, or any of the animals from the Alice In Wonderland race scene. In order to become those characters it requires a makeup artist. The theater pays for all of that makeup. This also includes the white body makeup we use when dancing Swan lake.

Photo: Costin Radu

Overall we mostly pay for the makeup ourselves. Some take advantage of the MAC discount more than others. We are always happy to receive little gifts from time to time. 🙂
xoxo
-Hol

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What Are Pointe Shoes Made Out Of?

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Ballet

What Are Pointe Shoes Made Out Of?

Awww the beautiful, little slipper that ballerinas wear. Think again! Pointe shoes, from afar look silky, smooth, and light. Up close, knock on the box and many people would guess that they must have metal inside of them. Ouch!

The outisde of the pointe shoe is made from satin, making a feminine, ballerina look. The box, (where the ballerina stands on her toes) is made up of densely packed layers of fabric with cardboard or paper, and lots of glue. The shank, (the inside part of the shoe, running along the bottom part of the dancers foot vertically giving support) is typically made out of layers of cardboard. The shank can be custom ordered and replaced with leather (my personal favorite), plastic, cardstock or even layers of hardened burlap with glue. The sole of the shoe (the backside of the pointe shoe) is made out of a thin layer of leather.

Satin, cardboard, leather, and glue is all there is to make up the shoes that allow ballerinas to create that infamous illusion of whimsical beauty.
xoxo
-Hol

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How Do Ballet Dancers Remember All Those Steps?

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You’ve just spent two and a half or three hours in your seat watching a beautiful ballet. Have you ever had the thought, “How do they remember all those steps!?”

Photo: Kasper Nybo

Ballet dancers have two major tricks up their sleeves.

1. MUSIC. The music does absolute wonders for dancers. Once the music becomes familiar, the steps are 100 times easier to remember. Even if you haven’t performed a role for several years, if you hear the music, usually the steps just start coming back to you.

Photo: Kasper Nybo

2. MUSCLE MEMORY. Ballet dancers have a tool that they’ve been training from the very first day that they took a ballet class. Our muscle memory is highly tuned. When we are preparing for a premiere, we practice the steps for 4-6 weeks. Our muscles get familiar with the sequences, until they are so familiar that we don’t even have to think about the steps anymore. Eventually, after hours of practice, the steps just come and we get the luxury to finally let go and perform.

xoxo
–Hol