Hello All!

I am happy to say I am back in Los Angeles after a 2-month stint of working with the San Diego Opera! What a tremendous experience it was working with extremely talented dancers and a fantastic choreographer. Samson & Delilah was the first opera and Aida was the opera I just concluded.

 

 

Hello All! It has been a long time since I have blogged, but I am starting up again. I recently finished performing in San Diego Opera's production of Samson & Delilah. What an amazing experience with amazing dancers! I will be performing with San Diego Opera again in April in their production of Aida.

To purchase discounted* tickets for Aida please click here.

 

 

 

 

*Please note that discounted tickets only apply to Tuesday and Friday evening performances.

 

Dear Yogis, Dancers, and Lovers of the Movement Arts,

It is my pleasure to personally extend this invitation to all of you. I have been involved with the City of Angels Ballet for almost two years and what a truly remarkable experience it has been. Since the inception of City of Angels Ballet nearly 20 years ago, Artistic Director Mario Nugara has been providing selected youth from underprivileged communities in Los Angeles with professional level ballet training, shoes, leotards, and tights at no cost to the children's families. I am on the faculty at CAB in addition to being a dancer with the company. After two successful Nutcracker seasons under Mr. Nugara's artistic direction (and under the name California Riverside Ballet) we are hopeful of adding a Spring repertoire. This would provide professionals like myself with a quality repertoire in Los Angeles and allow the children from our school more opportunities to perform.

A SNEAK PEEK INTO THE FACTORY WHERE BUNHEADS ARE MADE!

Hello All! My apologies for the lack of fresh content lately but I have been swamped doing this! Here are some pics... enjoy!

'Tis the season... Experience a holiday classic and see what real ballet looks like! Watch the amazing artists (ehhm ehhhm...) of the California Riverside Ballet dance to the divine sounds of Tchaikovsky's score performed by a live  orchestra. 

All my regularly scheduled classes will be subbed next week. You will find me on the stage performing in the Nutcracker December 9th through December 12th. Get your tickets ASAP as the show will sell out! Click here for tickets and event info! Hope to see you there!

 

It's been a busy fall season with rehearsals for The Nutcracker but I am excited to share with all of you that I added another class to my schedule! Beginning this Sunday November 6th restore your nervous system and prepare for the week ahead with a slow yoga flow, gentle stretching and restorative postures.

A restorative approach to yoga coupled with intentional movement techniques induces relaxation. Relaxing the physical body allows blood vessels to dilate improving circulation, digestion and elimination. Conscious relaxation also allows for mental expansion leaving you open and receptive for the week ahead. We will focus on using yoga props to alleviate sensation from pressure, compression and tension on the physical body to achieve a fully rested state. We will also use pranayama and mediation techniques to dim the infinite fluctuations of our "monkey minds."

WHAT: RESTORATIVE YOGA FLOW CLASS w/Susy Vishmid

WHERE: SHAKTI WELLNESS SANCTUARY 27113 Indian Peak Road Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

WHEN: Every Sunday From 5:00pm-6:15pm

COST: $25

CLICK HERE FOR SUSY VISHMID'S COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES Please take a moment and check out my bio on Shakti Sanctuary's Website!

Shakti Wellness Sanctuary is a peaceful and nurturing environment, which is an ideal setting for a restorative yoga practice. A consistent yoga practice in a safe, clean and sacred space with access to yoga props will undoubtedly change your perspective on "gym yoga." When it does, observe the benefits of your practice fully soaking into every cell of your being. Ditch the gym and give yourself the gift of yoga in the proper setting. Namaste

   

 

As a movement professional I take verbal cues very seriously regardless of whether I am the one giving them or receiving them. The ability to articulate movement to a student is the difference between good instruction and great instruction. I had many ballet teachers in my career yet only two of them were able to articulate their instruction in such a way that I immediately understood what to do with my body to achieve the desired lines. The same clear, concise and most importantly individually tailored verbal cues are necessary to proper yoga instruction. Whether you are an advanced yogi or a beginner or whether you are a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet or a ballet enthusiast, everyone needs a fresh pair of eyes. I call this the "spinach in between your teeth effect." If you have a piece of spinach stuck in between your teeth, wouldn't you want someone to tell you about? If you had your skirt tucked into your underwear in public wouldn't you want to know about it? How about if you had a piece of soiled toilet paper stuck to your shoe at a trendy nightspot, wouldn't you want someone to tell you???

Sometimes as a dancer I get tired of wearing leotards and tights all the time.. I am always on the lookout for cool gear I can rehearse in that's comfortable, breathable and flattering of course! ALO is my new favorite brand of yoga/dancewear. I love what the name ALO stands for: Air, Land, Ocean. ALO's minimal impact on the environment gives me piece of mind so I wear it proudly (and I look pretty damn good in it!)

 A Few Awesome Pieces In Action...Love the material and fit!

Cross Neck Tank in Magenta/Pink Lady, sold at BeeBliss.

Studio Hoodie in Granite/Black (W4091R), sold at Online Shoes and BeeBliss.

The thumb holes in the hoodie are great for cold weather and just looks really cool. Makes your arms longer & leaner

Studio Contrast Waist Pant (W5007R), sold at Online Shoes.

Article first published as Time, A Necessity Or A Luxury on Technorati.

 

I recently watched Did God Create the Universe? the latest episode on the Discovery Channel series Curiosity. The topic was fascinating and prompted the rusty wheels in my brain to start turning. Being the philosophy junkie that I am I researched this esoteric topic further. The discussion of black holes is what really did it for me. Theoretically, black holes are regions in space where the gravitational pull is so extreme that all the particles within it are crushed together so that nothing, not even light can escape. Air, the essential element sustaining all living and breathing creatures on our unique planet cannot exist without space. Space does not exist inside a black hole; therefore neither does movement. The need for perpetual motion is shared by many professional athletes, dancers and yogis alike because movement makes us feel alive. If Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant scientific minds of our century is correct and we are in fact  mere collections of fundamental particles of nature, the same particles that comprise all matter, what makes us so remarkable? The fact that we have come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our universe is incredible! If such impressive strides in the unveiling of the great mysteries of our universe have already been made, can science ultimately piecemeal a theory for Creation or a Divine Creator? If scientific reasoning leads to the discovery of our own creation is it safe to say we are responsible for our own destiny? 

Being a professional ballet dancer means taking class every day to stay in shape. If you are not under contract with a company or if you are in between seasons, it can be very difficult to find an adequate professional level ballet class to take. Living in Los Angeles makes it more difficult since the LA dance scene is more commercially oriented than the classical and theatrical dance scene found in New York City or even San Francisco. Fortunately, there are a few options for the professional/advanced ballet dancer when it comes to taking class in the City of Angels and one of them is Reid Olson's class. Reid Olson, former principal dancer with Los Angeles Ballet and soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet, teaches an amazing advanced level ballet class at Dance Arts Academy in West Los Angeles. Expect to brush elbows with some top-notch professional dancers, but don't be intimidated because many non-professionals also enjoy taking class regularly with Reid. Reid is also a registered yoga instructor and teaches a yoga class on Thursday mornings at 9:30-11:00am before his 11:30am ballet class. Reid often teaches class at City Yoga in Los Angeles. Contact Reid for more information on his yoga schedule.

Check it out! I made the top story on Yoganomics.net!

Exploring the motives behind movement is as relevant, if not more relevant, than simply understanding movement by itself. From a first person perspective, movement is a result of these three categories: pure physical necessity; the desire to entertain; and the desire to transgress (the physical). These categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, when an athlete plays a sport he or she carefully calculates movement out of sheer necessity in order to win the game. However an athlete’s motivation for movement may also result from a conscious or subconscious desire to entertain the spectators. Hence the phrase “spectator sport.” Any performance-based activity dips into the “desire to entertain” category. Yoga is no exception. Indeed yoga is an experimental and personal practice, yet it is also a beautiful form of movement that can and should be enjoyed by the voyeur. Lastly, and the most intriguing motive for movement for me is transgression. When I practice yoga or when I dance I always search for parallels between the two. In ballet, when I lift my arms up in the air to execute a movement it's as if I am transgressing the physical limitations of my own body, which (sadly) is bound by the law of gravity. Similarly when I flow through sun salutations I reach my arms up over my head "saluting" something greater than my physical self; the sun. Is the act of reaching my arms up and beyond myself an instinctual appeal to the Divine? Could the motivation for this particular type of movement signal a desire to transgress my physical limitations bound by the constraints of time and space in exchange for something greater? Surely athletes experience the same desire to transgress their physical bodies when they play sports; however, watching a dancer dance or a yogi practice sun salutations crystallizes a mental image of what movement dictated by the desire to transgress truly looks like.

What happens when you suffer an injury? No, seriously, this is not a rhetorical question. I am curious what all of you out there experience when your body is not well from something as minute as a paper cut or a bruise to something more serious like a broken bone. Something as minor as a paper cut or bruise can become a major annoyance. Don't you find that when you injure yourself you somehow someway always manage to hit, bang or whack the wounded area? What if the injury sustained is more serious than a paper cut? Let's say a dancer or an athlete sustains a pulled muscle or a sprained ankle, wouldn’t you agree that this type of injury is worthy of a personal "meltdown?"

People who are highly active either as a result of their profession or simply because of a lifestyle choice are gluttons for sensation. Just in case you didn’t hear me the first time, athletes and especially dancers are gluttons for sensation! The degree of pain and range of motion are barometers for how much further he or she can push him or herself physically. Whenever I manage to hurt myself (and it happens more often than I’d like to admit in my line of work) my dad always says, "Don't try it! Leave it alone!” Ahhhh... famous last words. My ex-professional volleyball player father should know better than anyone that when something hurts, when something feels off physically you have no choice but to rub it, stand on it, stretch it, tweak it, and test it out to see if it still hurts... yea, of course it still does; however, at least I feel like I am doing something beneficial for my injury by “testing the waters.” Maybe if I stretch it this way, or maybe that way it will hurt less and in order to determine if my brilliant methodology was a success I must test it out first! Duh! Ouch! Crap! Yup, my foot is still there and so is the pain. Time to R.I.C.E.

Apparently to be taken seriously as a professional dancer in LA you need to be able to ice skate and/or rollerblade on top of your refined dancing abilities. I came across an audition notice for the LA Opera’s upcoming production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Initially I was thrilled because LA Opera doesn’t post auditions for dancers too often and because the audition wasn’t until tomorrow, I could still make it! My excitement waned quickly though, in fact I couldn't even believe my eyes once I scanned through the rest of the text on the page, which read: “Dancers must be able to ICE SKATE/ROLLERBLADE.” My eyes bled as I finished reading and my heart sank.

What’s happening to the performing arts in Los Angeles? No, Really?! What's happening? This is an opera. Eugene Onegin was written by the great Russian author Alexander Pushkin depicting Russian aristocracy during the 19th century. This particular opera is a classical work with excerpts that call for professionally trained dancers, not Disney on Ice. This is a total degradation of the performing arts and classical works like Eugene Onegin. Not to mention, what sane professional dancer would jeopardize his or her livelihood by strapping on a pair of rollerblades?! Requesting professional dancers to bring rollerblades to an audition and skate around the stage for a work by the coveted Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky is utter humiliation. Dancers are dancers, acrobats are acrobats, and skaters are skaters. Interchanging these categories with such ease dismisses the years of training and professional experience accomplished by performing artists. My family and I were planning on attending this production, but not anymore. SHAME on LA OPERA!

 

ACTUAL AUDITION NOTICE FROM LA OPERA'S WEBSITE (no longer on the site becuase the audition was June 6, 2011)

*** I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS.***

It’s no wonder that George Balanchine, the father of ballet in America as we know it, was such a stickler for tendus. Balanchine believed that if a dancer could execute a perfect tendu, then no step or combination of steps is unattainable. A battement tendu is a French word meaning to “stretch” or to “extend” and is a fundamental step in the classical ballet vocabulary where the foot is fully stretched so as to continue the line of the extended leg. Every time the foot leaves the ground, it has to be pointed!!! This is the 1st commandment of classical ballet! Otherwise, let's just face it...it's bad ballet. Tendus are the basis of all jumps, turns and all the seemingly effortless footwork seen in ballet. It can take years to perfect the tendu; in fact if you ask most highly trained professional dancers if they consider their tendus to be perfect they will undoubtedly reply: “Far from!”

Tendus are to ballet as tadasana is to yoga. The most fundamental asana in yoga is tadasana a.k.a. Mountain Pose. As the name suggests, the energy of this asana is strong and unbreakable like a mountain. In tadasana the feet are either together or slightly apart, the arms down with the palms at the sides of the body and the chest is lifted. It is important to keep the gaze soft by directing it at the tip of the nose to maintain the undisturbed energy generated by this asana. Tadasana is the blueprint for all postures in yoga because in tadasana the body is at its optimal alignment with the neck positioned over the shoulders, the shoulders stacked over the hips, the hips aligned over the knees and the knees positioned over the ankles. There's even weight distributed between the mounds of the big and little toes and the inner and outer heels. In tadasana the spine is maximally extended and not torqued. When the spine is elongated it allows for prana to flow through the body uninterrupted. When all the anatomical puzzle pieces fit together like this moving freely from one position to the next becomes second nature. The need to push, strain or overexert disappears and the risk for injury greatly diminishes. Additionally, when we successfully find this sense of ease in our yoga practice we can begin to pay less attention to the physicality of our movements and tap into their energetic quality. When this happens, many find it mentally soothing and therefore quite liberating.

Every sport, activity or art has its building blocks; but in my experience the building blocks of yoga often compliment those of ballet and in doing so provide me, “the ballerina,” a more comprehensive understanding of my body and a greater sense of physical awareness and mental clarity.

 

"True human intelligence--what Norbert Weiner called 'the human use of human beings'- will be attained not by transcending the physical self, but only through our full participation with our marvelous physicality."

--The Concise Book of the Moving Body

by Chris Jarmey

RE... SPIRA RESPIRA...BREATHE...

WHY CONFORM? ...  

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of "form follows function." The idea that the design of a structure is a direct result of its intended use is kind of groundbreaking. I look at other dancers and also just regular people and I can energetically sense something about their personalities based on their shape and form. I want to preface that I am not making judgments about people when I do this; it’s merely an observation. For example, if someone has very pronounced lips, and a well developed jaw and neck I assume that this person likes to speak a lot or is perhaps a singer. In terms of ballet, if someone has lean and long limbs it is usually easier for that person to extend his or her legs higher and further to achieve the visual effect of long romanticized movement versus someone shorter and stouter with more developed muscles. The shorter person with more developed muscles might find it easier to turn and execute steps because they won't have to exert as much force as the longer and leaner person. The same is true in painting; consideration is given to what materials are needed to achieve a certain visual effect. Using watercolors will result in something entirely different than if pastels or charcoal are used. In both cases, we’ve got two very different forms for two very different functions. One is not better than the other; however, since art is a subjective topic, it’s important to understand the intention of the artist whether it’s a choreographer or a painter.