ABA has finally started summer intensives, and we’ve been learning so much already, while also trying to get back in shape! During the past few weeks, we have learned variations and group dances of many styles including, ballet and mime, musical theater, and character. Some of the dances are Gulnara from Le Corsaire, 2 Esmeraldas, Fandango, Gypsies, Gatsby Girls, Lollipops, Coppelia Mime, and the Swan Lake pas de trois. All of them were so much fun to learn and improve!

One variation taught during the last few weeks was the Gulnara variation from the ballet Le Corsaire. This variation is from the first act of the ballet and the pas de deux, Pas d’Esclave. In this pas, Gulnara, one of the slaves, and Lankendem dance together, to enchant Pasha. Another variation that we learned was the Swan Lake pas de trois variation. This variation is from the first act of the ballet Swan Lake, and is the 1st variation of the pas de trois. Besides those pieces, there are the 2 Esmeraldas. This piece, usually with two dancers, is a variation from the Grand Pas des Fleurs. Additionally, we have been doing a section from the ballet Coppelia. During this dance, we are mostly acting and portraying a specific role while also dancing too. This is at the beginning of Act 2, when the friends sneak into Dr. Coppélius’ shop, containing many life size dolls, to hopefully discover Coppelia. Also, we’ve been learning a few musical theater pieces, one of them is called Gatsby Girls, which has been done many times, but is still so fun and exciting to do. This group dance is also done with the charleston and many other enjoyable moves. Lollipops is the other musical theater piece taught. This dance was taught during ABA’s Cape Cod summer intensive a few years ago, and was done ever since! There were also two character dances including Fandango and Gypsies. Fandango is a spanish styled piece from the ballet Don Quixote, while Gypsies shows a lot of character with two contrasting kinds of music, one is slow and sorrowful, and the other is happy and upbeat. After some time at home, it was nice to finally come out to the studio to learn something with my teachers, even if it meant that we needed to wear a mask and keep a distance.


Publish Date: 07/27/2020