A Ballet Education Book Collection The Guide to Variations | Page 4

INTRODUCTION

Introduction.

God. Another introduction. These are so awful to write/ dictate to Siri.

To be honest, I am driving right now to work in Los Angeles, and stuck in traffic. Between
work, preparing for fashion week, opening Redlands Dance Theatre, and the carousel from hell
of dating… I really haven’t had much time to think about ballet, yet alone write an entire guide.
Last month I saw Symphony in C, which is one of Balanchine’s glorious, showstopping,
breathtaking ballets. Then I was thinking, wow, there isn’t a specific format or variation
sequence in Symphony in C. Then I was like, hmmm there isn’t a specific format to variations in
most Balanchine Ballets. This lead me to think about how boring classical variations are, which
in turn somehow turned into the variations that I actually like. This lead me to believe that
most variations for females are ridiculously random, and have no correlation to the full-length
ballet. For example, do we really need peasant pas de deux in Giselle? Or do we really have
to sit through Swan Lake’s pas de trois? This lead me to think that ballet would be much better
if we cut out most of the fluff in full-length story ballets… Then I realized ballet would be better
if we cut out all of the mime, and random drawn-out storylines, which then brought me back to
how much I prefer Balanchine Ballets. So, I took you in a big circle so that you can understand
this upcoming contradiction. The variations I like most for students at ballet competitions are
the fluff variations. They don’t have a point, they don’t need incredible emotion, and they
don’t carry and entire storyline or ballet.
Which makes these variations the ideal for
competitive ballet dancers.
So, why should I write an entire guide to variations and charge for it? Well, first I don’t know
what else to write about because all of my inspiration is being channeled into my collection for
fashion week. Secondly, variations are the key turning point for a ballet student. Variations
class, or preparing for a ballet competition shows if a student is going to have what it takes to
be ballet a dancer. For those students who are gearing up for the ballet competition season,
or Nutcracker, this is for you, so you can understand the thought process it takes to dance a
variation. And finally, with all this hoopla about ballet competitions, I am tired of seeing
students set up to fail by their teachers, coaches, and parents. Yes, mom and dad… You are
probably going about this all wrong. There is nothing wrong with being an overprotective
parent, I mean, in this day in age, it is needed. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t be insisting that
your daughter takes Odette’s white swan variation, simply because you want to see your 13year-old daughter do Swan Lake. So, I am helping you out by guiding you through the process
of variations and understanding what it means to take on a variation.
Lastly in this introduction, I would like to take the time and thank my first ballet coach. I
recently took class from her and was transported back to when I was fifteen, and the horrifying
moments of coaching. It was glorious. It was in the same studio, with the same pianist, with
her same voice yelling at me to do better, and pushing me. This same voice is a clear
articulated voice with a French/Spanish accent, that draws you in and pulls the artist out of you.
Meaning, this entire book is dedicated to you.

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