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JANUA RY 2016
PICTURE PERFECT 12 Featured Photo: 2015 Red Bull
BC One World Finals in Rome, Italy
61 Grand Finale
Showstopper
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IN EVERY ISSUE 14 Publisher’s Page 16 The Must List 19 The Hot List 21 New + Noteworthy 23 Travis Talk 45 NEW! Noelle’s Notes:
Presented by Power Pak
BRAX Fundraising
46 Inside Dance Ambassadors 51 DailyDancerDiet 53 Dance Fitness 59 Industry Insider: Sponsored by
26 ACT
KYLE ROBINSON - CLASS
BY CHRISTOPHER KOROTKY
Kyle Robinson is one of the most humble dancers in the biz. Inside Dance’s cover star takes us on his journey that just happens to include monumental moments such as Juilliard, West Side Story, Shaping Sound and oh yes… being mentored by the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov!
32 COMPETITION SEASON! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…HAPPY
BY RYAN SPANICH
The competitive year has begun for some, and is just beginning for others, and with it are new challenges and opportunities. How do we as directors, teachers and dancers make this season the best one ever?
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EDDIE STRACHAN: RADIX
Radix Owner and Director, Eddie Strachan, opens up to Inside Dance about his history as an educator and choreographer, and how he now plans to bring a new convention to the world of dance in 2016.
38 CONTEMPORARY BALLET COMPLEXIONS
TURNS 21 BY CHRISTY SANDMAIER
Artistic Director, Desmond Richardson, speaks with Inside Dance’s own Christy Sandmaier about the company’s move to Atlanta, their growth over the past 21 years and the impact they will continue to make worldwide.
42 DANCE CONVENTION AND COMPANY SPOTLIGHT: 3D
TEACHER WORKSHOP
54 CENTER
T4T: TARA CLUCK DANCE
Attracting 300 students in just three years, Tara Cluck Dance Center, of Lafayette, Colo. is a “hometown studio” grown from the national and international learning and teaching experiences of its founder, Tara Cluck. Learn the lessons she’s experienced and her advice to other teachers aspiring to launch their own studios!
57 E. TAYLOR HIGH SCHOOL
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: JAMES
PACESETTER DANCE TEAM DIRECTOR: DARBY BOYD
In this issue of Inside Dance, we turn the spotlight on Texas’ own Pacesetter Dance Team. Showcasing not only their national titles, but also their unique program that rotates its goals, focus and style from year to year.
Check out Minneapolis’ unique workshop that offers up to 11 different genres of dance classes for students and teachers!
On The Cover: Kyle Robinson of Shaping Sound Co.
Pictured Here: Tercell Waters of Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Photo by: Aaron Felske
Photo by: Jae Man Joo
JANUARY 2016
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Chris Reilly
KYLE
FEATURE
ROBIN
Juilliard. West Side Story. Shaping Sound. Kyle Robinson’s experiences in the world of dance have taken him on a journey that can truly be classified as ‘living the dream.’ And only a select few can count being mentored by the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov to their credit. With textbook technique that delivers polished perfection, Robinson is among the greatest dancers of his generation and in high demand. Yet, despite his impressive résumé and his elite status, Robinson has remained one of the most likable and approachable dancers on the scene today.
During a break from his Shaping Sound rehearsals, I had the chance to catch up with Robinson, who proved to be eloquent, personable and extremely generous with his time and the sharing of his experiences…
INSIDE DANCE: TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GROWING UP THROUGH THE WORLD OF DANCE, INCLUDING AT THE GOLD SCHOOL IN MASSACHUSETTS... Kyle: I started in musical theater when I was in elementary school. I had a love for singing and acting! Eventually, I added dance. Because my sister was already dancing at a competition studio, my mom recommended I go to their dance summer camp. Because I always went along and was already waiting around for her to finish, I agreed…. I fell in love with tap initially because I could hear it. I didn’t have to know any ballet terminology. I didn’t need to know any French! To me, it was easy to focus on just the sounds, and how to move my feet. From there, I continued training at that studio and eventually joined the competitive team. Around the age of 15, I fell in love with contemporary and lyrical dance when I had my first contemporary solo. I just really connected with the movement and expressiveness of it. It was just a new outlet for me. When I graduated from high school, I had to go to college. [My] mom wouldn’t have it any other way.
TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS…
SON CLASS ACT
BY CHRISTOPHER KOROTKY
I put in audition notices everywhere and got some calls from Fordham Ailey program, NYU and Juilliard. In the winter of my senior year of high school, I went off to do the NFAA (National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts) that puts on an arts scholarship talent search, and if you’re a finalist, they fly you down. So I flew down, and they were awarding Baryshnikov a Lifetime Achievement Award. [He] ended up taking a liking to me. He told me to call him when I got to New York, when I went to audition for Fordham Ailey. I called him and he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to join a modern company, my passion. He told me he thought I could and suggested I train at Juilliard. I told him, ‘Well, everyone wants to train at Juilliard.’ And he said ‘Well, I’ll tell Larry (Rhodes) to keep an eye out for you.’ I went in for my audition, and the first part of the audition was a ballet class. Alphonse Poulin was teaching, and he happened to be the partner of my ballet teacher back home in Massachusetts when they both danced at Boston Ballet. His class was almost identical to hers. So all of a sudden, I felt really, really comfortable in class. Everything was going my way. Modern audition went great. Solo went phenomenally. I had a great interview…I remember Sarah Adriance (formerly the administrative director of the Dance Division, and now the director of the Juilliard Summer Dance Intensive) called and let me know I’d been accepted. I thanked her and was totally trying to keep my cool. As soon as I hung up the phone, I was doing karate in the living room - I was so excited! Next thing I know, I was in Juilliard and dancing! I attended Juilliard for four years, graduated with my B.F.A. in 2009. During that time, I also worked with Baryshnikov on two of his Hell’s Kitchen dance tours - the summer of 2006 and 2007. So that was pretty cool. I got to dance with Baryshnikov on stage, which is wild!
JANUARY 2016
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proper
ABS By Gina Pongetti MPT In the dance world, you hear “tighten your abs,” “use your core,” or “find your center,” but how and why? Clearly abs help dancers stay centered in turns, provide strength in leaps and landing leaps, and stabilize overall posture and control. Let’s take a look at how to strengthen these muscles...
HOLLOW POSITIONING is one of the most powerful tools for teaching strength and stability. In the first image, you see the proper position. In the second image, you can see how her back is arching up, her shoulders are flexed, the head is not aligned and the hip flexors are overworking. If you cannot hold properly, then bend your knees (shown in the third image), which will take stress off of the hip flexors.
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HOW DO WE STRENGTHEN? THE PLANK is possibly the most bang for your buck with stabilization. It works your abs, spine, hips, shoulders, scapulae, triceps, hip flexors, glutes, quads and more! The front plank (image 1) can be held solid for max hold, or you can increase the difficulty by extending your arm, leg or opposite arm and leg together. SIDE PLANKS (image 2) are a great move to help increase balance. To work active muscles, you can do hip taps, or your can lift the top leg up and tap it in front of the body, then back and repeat.
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THE BACK PLANK (image 3) is the most difficult. This exercise is great for spine injury prevention and works the muscles you don’t use as often, such as your lower spine, back of your shoulders, hamstrings and glutes. To hold, open your ribs up, pull your breastbone toward the sky and keep your glutes held high! Just holding this move is hard enough, but if you want more of a challenge, try lifting one leg at a time and switching, or repeating a single leg raise.
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THE THROW DOWN is very common in ab work. In order to perform properly, the standing partner must gently push down on the legs of their partner. If the partner lying on the floor needs to bend his or her knees, arch the back or lift the head up, then the force is too much (seen in the first image). The main goal is for the spine to stay in contact with the ground at all times, for the legs to stay straight and for the ribs to rotate forward so the breastbone sinks down toward the ground (seen in the second image).
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Enjoy your new power, harness the energy for phenomenal performance results and know that you are one major step closer to being spine and hip injury free!
dance fitness
JANUARY 2016
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