Sunday Afternoons of Music
VIDEO of Sunday Afternoon with Miami City Ballet:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PerformnceJournalism
Aside from an annual pilgrimage to see The Nutcracker, most adults would claim that ballet and young children just do not mix – too many pregnant pauses for a pint-sized patron to loudly interject: “Mommy, why aren’t they speaking?” Not enough bathroom breaks or snacks.
And if you think teaching them a cool term like “sotto voce” will silence the sticky-finger, whoop-and-holler set – think again.
Still weren’t ballet dancers and little kids meant to be together? They are, after all, the only segments of our population who on a regular basis gussy themselves up in uncomfortable shoes, spandex, and tulle to parade about, pantomiming universal themes. Doreen Marx, seven professional dancers, and a throng of kids and their parents would most likely agree. On a recent Sunday, Miami City Ballet dancers Deanna Seay, Tricia Albertson, Jeanette Delgado, Andrea Spiridonakos, Didier Bramaz, and Marc Spielberger gathered on a stage festooned with balloons to give children a lecture demonstration from the classic ballet Coppélia.
The performance held at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall was part of Sunday Afternoons of Music, a program of musical concerts for children, founded and directed by Doreen Marx. Designed to expose children to classical music, jazz, folk, and ballet, this was the fifth presentation in a series of six.
MCB soloist Callie Manning charmed and cajoled as the event’s master of ceremony-taskmaster, taking the dancers through a series of barre and center floor exercises and later narrating a brief synopsis of the ballet.
Coppélia, the story of a boy who falls in love with a life-size dancing doll, is an excellent choice for this program and Manning and dancers were smart to explain the pantomime aspect of ballet to the kids before showing an excerpt from the second act. The ballet’s compelling narrative and its expressive gestural vocabulary helped bridge the gap for an audience probably used to dialogue-heavy cartoons and movies.
The 600-seat auditorium was packed and aside from a few colicky babies and capricious nappers, the audience was mesmerized, demonstratively so. Children from preschool age to tweens cheered, applauded, yelled out questions, and when the dancers asked for volunteers, they rushed the stage.
The program put together by Deanna Seay and the dancers manages to reinforce the dreamlike quality of ballet and simultaneously lift the opaque veil. Yes, dance takes years of practice. Yes, dancing on your toes for six hours hurts. It’s great for kids to see the glorious finished product, but prepping them for the performance is even better.
Sunday Afternoons of Music is a priceless program for families. Hopefully, it also serves as an inspiration for parents to take their children to ballets, opera, jazz, and classical concerts. If they can see Barney and Dora, why not Puccini and Balanchine? Almost every professional dancer, musician, or performer can trace the origins of his or her passion to a live performance witnessed as a child. The same is true for audience members – it wouldn’t hurt to inspire a few of those too.
Folk musician, Matthew Sabatella and the Rambling String Band, finish off this season’s Sunday Afternoons of Music series at a special Saturday edition on June 6, 3:00 pm at the Gusman. Go to www.sundaymusicals.org or call 305-271-7150 for more information.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PerformnceJournalism
Aside from an annual pilgrimage to see The Nutcracker, most adults would claim that ballet and young children just do not mix – too many pregnant pauses for a pint-sized patron to loudly interject: “Mommy, why aren’t they speaking?” Not enough bathroom breaks or snacks.
And if you think teaching them a cool term like “sotto voce” will silence the sticky-finger, whoop-and-holler set – think again.
Still weren’t ballet dancers and little kids meant to be together? They are, after all, the only segments of our population who on a regular basis gussy themselves up in uncomfortable shoes, spandex, and tulle to parade about, pantomiming universal themes. Doreen Marx, seven professional dancers, and a throng of kids and their parents would most likely agree. On a recent Sunday, Miami City Ballet dancers Deanna Seay, Tricia Albertson, Jeanette Delgado, Andrea Spiridonakos, Didier Bramaz, and Marc Spielberger gathered on a stage festooned with balloons to give children a lecture demonstration from the classic ballet Coppélia.
The performance held at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall was part of Sunday Afternoons of Music, a program of musical concerts for children, founded and directed by Doreen Marx. Designed to expose children to classical music, jazz, folk, and ballet, this was the fifth presentation in a series of six.
MCB soloist Callie Manning charmed and cajoled as the event’s master of ceremony-taskmaster, taking the dancers through a series of barre and center floor exercises and later narrating a brief synopsis of the ballet.
Coppélia, the story of a boy who falls in love with a life-size dancing doll, is an excellent choice for this program and Manning and dancers were smart to explain the pantomime aspect of ballet to the kids before showing an excerpt from the second act. The ballet’s compelling narrative and its expressive gestural vocabulary helped bridge the gap for an audience probably used to dialogue-heavy cartoons and movies.
The 600-seat auditorium was packed and aside from a few colicky babies and capricious nappers, the audience was mesmerized, demonstratively so. Children from preschool age to tweens cheered, applauded, yelled out questions, and when the dancers asked for volunteers, they rushed the stage.
The program put together by Deanna Seay and the dancers manages to reinforce the dreamlike quality of ballet and simultaneously lift the opaque veil. Yes, dance takes years of practice. Yes, dancing on your toes for six hours hurts. It’s great for kids to see the glorious finished product, but prepping them for the performance is even better.
Sunday Afternoons of Music is a priceless program for families. Hopefully, it also serves as an inspiration for parents to take their children to ballets, opera, jazz, and classical concerts. If they can see Barney and Dora, why not Puccini and Balanchine? Almost every professional dancer, musician, or performer can trace the origins of his or her passion to a live performance witnessed as a child. The same is true for audience members – it wouldn’t hurt to inspire a few of those too.
Folk musician, Matthew Sabatella and the Rambling String Band, finish off this season’s Sunday Afternoons of Music series at a special Saturday edition on June 6, 3:00 pm at the Gusman. Go to www.sundaymusicals.org or call 305-271-7150 for more information.