FROM THE BARRE JULY 2014
R OC KL A N D SC HOOL OF BA LLET
Rockland School of Ballet Founder & Director
Emily Jenks
Images Jacob Gerritsen Jessica McMahon Xara Sunne
Founded in 1998 to promote artistic, creative and healthy activity for the body, mind and spirit while providing a fun-filled dance experience in a safe, positive, educational and nurturing environment. www.rocklandballet.com missemily@rocklandballet.com 207-542-3556
Contents: Featured: Studio NoteA note from Rockland School of Ballet.
L OU I SI A NA LOUISIANA? YES! MISS EMILY AND MISS JESSICA ARE HEADED TO A LEAP N’ LEARN WORKSHOP WITH CREATOR BEVERLY SPELL!
GREAT DANCERS ARE NOT GREAT BECAUSE OF THEIR TECHNIQUE. THEY ARE GREAT BECAUSE OF THEIR PASSION. -MARTHA GRAHAM Highlights:
O P EN H O US E
Ballet Club-
OPEN HOUSE! COME TO
Rockland School of Ballet’s new
ROCKLAND SCHOOL OF
Ballet Clubs are underway. More
BALLET TO REGISTER FOR
details inside.
THE 2014/2015 SEASON!
Martha GrahamA beloved American dancer.
Summer SolsticeSummer solstice in downtown Rockland was a huge success! Thank
E T I QU E T T E
you to all RSB participants. MISS EMILY’S ETIQUETTE AND MODELING INSTITUTE WILL BE OFFERING CLASSES SOON!
ROCKLAND
SCHOOL OF BALLET From the Studio Summer is here, and Don Quixote Ballet Camp is underway. Life has been busy at Rockland School of Ballet. In addition to organizing, planning and preparing for Ballet Camp (It’s not too late to sign up! Contact Miss Emily today, there’s still space), we have been planning many new and exciting things for Rockland School of Ballet. Some of this excitement includes a trip to Louisiana in August for Miss Emily and Miss Jessica where they will take part in a Leap n’ Learn workshop
with Miss Beverly Spell. Not to mention that Rockland School of Ballet is now an official licensed member of the Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy™ and will be teaching dance camps and fun filled classes based on new material provided by this program. Rockland School of Ballet is now offering a Ballet Club for children and adults. We meet once a month to take a class, talk about dance and have a healthy snack. Spread the word, bring a friend, and find
more information on Facebook or our website! Last, but certainly not least, we have been hard at work planning the fall open house. For information, read more in this issue. We are looking forward to the new season and seeing our students (old and new) back in the studio! We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer, enjoying some sunshine (when it appears!) and finding some time to dance! ~Rockland School of Ballet
Open House RO C K L A N D S C H O O L OF BALLET
This August, Rockland School of Ballet will be hosting its annual open house registration for the 2014/2015 season. All interested dancers and their families are invited to stop by the studio to meet Miss Emily and Miss Jessica, get outfitted for the season and see the studio.
L E OTA R D S
The open house will be held on three consecutive days to accommodate busy schedules. If you cannot come to Open House on one of the dates listed below, please contact Miss Emily directly to make other arrangements to register your dancer: missemily@rocklandballet.com or 207-542-3556.
Thursday: August 21, 2014 1:00-4:00pm Friday: August 22, 2014 4:00-7:00pm SHO ES
Saturday: August 23, 2014 10:00am-1:00pm Each day of the Open House, in addition to registering for classes, visiting the studio, meeting other families and instructors; there will be a 50/50 raffle, a chance to win a $25 Rockland School of Ballet gift card and a special prize for the first 10 dancers who register with Rockland School of Ballet.
REGISTRATION
So stop by to Rockland School of Ballet’s open house. We look forward to meeting new dancers as well as welcoming back some familiar faces.
C LASSES
Leap n’ Learn in Louisana It is now official! Rockland School of Ballet is now fully licensed with Leap ‘n Learn™ and Angelina Ballerina™!
Rockland School of Ballet is excited and proud to offer the licensed Leap ‘n Learn program as well as the official Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy, beginning in September, to all of our early childhood students. To start things off, there will be an official Angelina Ballerina Dance Camp in mid-August. Miss Emily has been using the Leap ‘n Learn early childhood
IF YOU DANCE WITH YOUR HEART, YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW...- MIA MICHAELS
program since 1998, and Leap ‘n Learn is now licensing their partner studios for better support. This excellent program for ages 3 – 7, and the elementary program for ages 8 – 12, builds strong foundations in dance and movement by focusing on the basic elements of locomotor and non-locomotor movements, physical space and how we relate to it, individually and in groups, elementary ballet positions and movements, opposites, directions and pathways, as well as the intellectual concepts of selfawareness, creative expression, imagination, body and health awareness, and teamwork.
All content is based on ageappropriate developmental skills. New to RSB is the Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy™. Angelina Ballerina has been a favorite of Miss Emily’s ever since Miss Hanna (Miss Emily’s daughter, now 22) was 3 years old. When Miss Emily learned that there are now Angelina Ballerina Dance Academies™ in North America, she began working toward becoming an official licensed member studio. Having Angelina at the ballet studio is a natural fit – especially as the program was created by Leap ‘n Learn!
MISS EMILY
MISS JESSIC A
To be better prepared, Miss Emily and Miss Jessica will spend 6 funfilled days in early August at ‘The Ballet Studio’ in Lafayette, Louisiana for new in-depth training in the Leap ‘n Learn and Angelina Ballerina program. Win a prize when you register for these and our other fantastic classes during Open House in mid-August! Students who attend the first ever Angelina Ballerina Dance Camp in mid-August will receive 5% off the September tuition when they register for the Angelina Ballerina program at the Open House.
LEAP N’LEARN
ANG EL INA B AL L ERINA DANCE AC ADEMY ™
Miss Emily’s Etiquette & Modeling Institute
Etiquette classes coming soon at Rockland School of Ballet Stay tuned for more information in the next issue of From the Barre Images by: Jessica McMahon
Martha Graham A
beloved American modern dancer and
choreographer, some refer to her as the “mother of modern dance,” Martha Graham was born on May 11, 1894 in Alleghney, PA (now more commonly known as Pittsburgh). Her father, George Graham, was a Doctor of psychiatry who believed in the use of movement to remedy nervous disorders. Her mother Jane Beers, was a second generation American and a very strict Presbyterian. It was her father’s early influence that piqued Martha’s interest in and love of movement. In the early 1900’s, Martha Graham’s family moved from Pennsylvania to California. At the age of seventeen Martha went to a performance where she saw Ruth St. Denis perform. Martha fell in love with movement and begged her parents to allow her to dance. Being strict Presbyterians, Martha’s parents forbid her to dance, and thus Martha enrolled in an arts oriented junior college. After her father’s passing, Martha followed her dream and began to pursue her dancing and teaching career. She joined the Denishawn School of Dancing, founded by Ruth St. Denis and her husband Ted Shawn. Martha spent eight years with the Dennishawn company. Most of this time was spent improving her technique
while dancing with Ted Shawn. She eventually began to dance professionally with Denishawn, and Shawn choreographed a special number just for her: “Xochitl,” a piece about an attacked Aztec maiden. Graham performed this critically acclaimed role with wild emotion and beauty. In 1923 Graham left the Denishawn company and went to Greenwich Village Follies. After spending two years there she left and took up two teaching jobs to make ends meet; one with Eastman School of Music and Theater in Rochester NY, the other with the John Murray Anderson School in NYC. In 1926 Martha Graham founded the Martha Graham
Dance Company. She illustrated bold visions with jarring movements and believed that the physical expression of dance gave an outlet to spiritual and emotional undercurrents. She choreographed famous works such as “Frontier,” “Appalachian Spring,” “Seraphia Dialogue,” and “Lamentation.” On April 18, 1926 the Martha Graham Dance Company debut its first independent concert; eighteen short solos and trios choreographed by Martha Graham. Graham admitted that her works were most definitely influenced by Denishawn. Regardless, the event was a huge success and over the years to come Graham continued to teach,
Graham cont’d
dance and pave the way for modern dance in America. Thirty-two years after her first debut performance as the Martha Graham Dance Company, Martha announced and premiered a ballet choreographed and performed by her company. Though a huge undertaking, the event was a gigantic success and major accomplishment for Graham and the company. All dances, in fact, all of Martha Graham’s
choreographic works made huge advances in the world of dance and had an important impact in American cultural History.
choreographed until the day she died. There is no doubt Martha Graham changed the world of dance and helped make it what it is today.
Martha Graham was the first dancer to ever preform at the White House, to travel as the Cultural Ambassador, and to receive the highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Martha Graham passed away on April 1,1991 leaving behind a legacy and forever changing the world of dance.
Martha Graham had many successes in her life as a dancer and choreographer. She danced well into her sixties and is said to have
Rockland School of Ballet
Open House Thursday: August 21, 2014 1:00-4:00pm Friday: August 22, 2014 4:00-7:00pm Saturday: August 23, 2014 10:00am-1:00pm
Come to Rockland School of Ballet’s annual open house! Sign up for the 2014/2015 season, get fitted for shoes, leotards and tights. Meet the instructors and fellow students, see the studio! We look forward to seeing you there!
Rockland School of Ballet
Adult Classes Adults of all ages are welcome to join Rockland School of Ballet for adult ballet classes.
Monday: 5:30- 6:30 PM Wednesday: 5:30-6:30 PM Classes are designed for both the beginning and experienced dancer to explore the wold of movement dance. Starting with stretching and basic barre movements this class will also work in center and on across the floor combinations.
ROCKLAND LOCAL FITNESS GET FIT, STAY LOCAL! Move it! Mondays Kick off the week with a fat blasting cardio combo of tabatta, phometrics and interval training. Perfect way to recover from the weekend and begin your workday strong! Mondays 6am (45min) Boot Camp Circuit & Obstacle Training Agility ladders, sandbags , and burpees.... Oh my!Move your way through stations and obstacles designed to elevate your heart rate, boost those muscles, and give you the added strength your body’s looking for. More muscles = more calorie burning! Wednesdays 6am (45min -1 Hour) Booty Camp & the CORE Connection Time to tighten up those buns, hips, and thighs in this booty blasting core workout! Fridays 6am (45min) $10 Individual Class $100 4 Week All Access Pass To sign up today contact: Brystle Noble at insanityfit207@gmail.com
Rockland Summer Solstice 2014 on June 21, 2014 Rockland School of Ballet dancers gathered on Main Street in Rockland to perform at the Rockland Summer Solstice. Performing this year and gathering the crowd around to kick off the show with ‘What Does the Fox Say,’ were Miss Erin Corcoran, Miss Grace Young and Miss Emily. The adorable tiny foxes, Miss Gemma Amundsen, Miss Myah Young and Miss Sophie Nelson appeared for their number ‘The Fox,’ and got the crowd cheering just in time to welcome the ‘Pink Flamingos’ Miss Peyden Sanders and Miss Olivia Labranche.
DANCE IS MUSIC MADE VISIBLE -
Miss Erin Corcoran, Miss Grace Young and Miss Isis Murray were welcomed to perform the ‘Siamese Cat Dance’ followed by a moving performance of ‘Memory’ by Miss Erin Corcoran and Miss Grace Young. These beautiful young ladies did a wonderful job dancing and performing. Their support and presence was much appreciated by Miss Emily and Rockland School of Ballet.
T H E DA N C E R S
B ABY DANCERS
Rockland Summer Solstice was abuzz with people, performers, food, music and laughter. Rockland School of Ballet looks forward to performing at next year’s Summer Solstice! B ALL ET IV
B ALL ET IV
PRIMARY DANCERS
From the Barre Ballet Club From The Barre
Rockland School of Ballet is pleased to introduce ‘From The Barre’ Ballet Club. Meeting on the third Thursday of each month, Rockland School of Ballet invites adults of all ages to join us from 6:30-8:30pm. Together we will explore the world of ballet with a class and simple routine led by a Rockland School of Ballet instructor. $12/person .................................. 6:30-8:30pm Rockland School of Ballet 8 Lindsey Street Rockland Maine 04841
www.rocklandballet.com missemily@rocklandballet.com
In the studio Introducing the new Ballet Club for children ages 5 to 18. Come bring children to the Rockland School of Ballet studio on the second Monday of each month from 4:00-6:00 pm for an afternoon of education and dance. At the ‘In the Studio’ Ballet Club class will be led by a Rockland School of Ballet instructor, and members will learn technique at the barre and routines in center floor. $10/person ........................................... 4:00-6:00 pm Rockland School of Ballet 8 Lindsey Street Rockland Maine 04841
Images by: Jessica McMahon
Rockland School of Ballet www.rocklandballet.com Zfrogprincess Press 2014