Workshop with Festival Ballet: Expression through Movement
I have always been inspired by the connection between dance and music. Growing up my first exposure to live music was seeing Atlanta Ballet productions of the great hits such as Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. I was transfixed by the dancing and the talented musicians in the pit orchestra (including my then-violin teacher). Still today ballet music is some of my favorite music of all time, and though I’m not a dancer myself I have a great appreciation for the many connections and interactions between our two professions. As you can imagine I was very excited for Community MusicWorks students to witness and learn more about this connection up close and personal this past Tuesday evening. Students and teachers braved the rainy evening and gathered in the lobby of the Holy Ghost School for a workshop with the dancers of Festival Ballet Providence. They presented three dances from their upcoming performance “Up Close On Hope” (Nov. 13th-22nd), accompanied by CMW Resident Musician Adrienne Taylor and CMW Fellow Hannah Ross. Our students made very keen observations about the dances, picking up emotions from the gestures and asking poignant questions about the choreographing process and the life of a dancer.
Then the real fun began! Dividing into two groups, half of our students learned an 8-beat dance, while the other half learned to play an 8-beat melody on their instruments. The workshop culminated in a performance of the music with the dancers, during which a relentlessly quickening tempo eventually dissolved into joyous laughter from everyone! Throughout the evening I was thrilled to see so many students smiling, engaged, and seeing their musicianship in a whole new light. Many thanks to Festival Ballet for this valuable experience! –Lisa Barksdale, Resident Musician Photos by Stephanie Ewens – Click here to see more! Watch a short clip from the grand finale of our workshop here: |
