Jan. 01, 2013 11:55AM EST
Claire, McAdams, courtesy Houston Ballet
Former Houston Ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan has always been destined for New York City Ballet.
While competing at Prix de Lausanne in 2010, he was offered summer program scholarships at both the School of American Ballet and Houston Ballet. However, because two of the competition's winners that year were Houston Ballet's Aaron Sharratt and Liao Xiang, dancers Chan idolized, he turned down SAB. He joined Houston Ballet II in 2010, the main company's corps de ballet in 2012, and was promoted to principal in 2017. Oozing confidence and technical prowess, Chan was a Houston favorite, and even landed himself a spot on Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch."
In 2019, NYCB came calling: Resident choreographer Justin Peck visited Houston Ballet to set a new work titled Reflections. Peck immediately took to Chan and passed his praises on to NYCB artistic director Jonathan Stafford. Chan was invited to take class with NYCB for three days in January 2020, and shortly thereafter was offered a soloist contract.
The plan was to announce his hiring in the spring for the fall season that typically begins in September, but, of course, coronavirus postponed the opportunity to next year. Chan is currently riding out the pandemic in Huizhou, Guangdong, China, where he was born and trained at the Guangzhou Art School.
We talked to Chan about his training journey—and the teachers, corrections and experiences that got him to NYCB.
On the most helpful correction he's ever gotten:
"Work smart, then work hard to keep your body healthy. Most of us get injuries when we're tired. When I first joined Houston Ballet, I was pushing myself 100 percent every day, at every show, rehearsal and class. That's when I got injured [a torn thumb ligament, tendinitis and a sprained ankle.] At that time, my director taught me that we all have to work hard, memorize the steps and take corrections, but it's better to think first because your energy is limited."
How it's benefited his career since:
"It's the secret to me getting promoted to principal very quickly. When other dancers were injured or couldn't perform, I was healthy and could step up to fill a higher role than my position. I still get small injuries, but I know how to take care of them now, and when it's OK to gamble a little."
Chun Wai Chan with Jessica Collado. Photo by Amitava Sarkar, courtesy Houston Ballet
On his most influential teacher:
"Claudio Muñoz, from Houston Ballet Academy. The first summer intensive there I couldn't even lift the lightest girls. A month later, my pas de deux skills improved so much. I never imagined I could lift a girl so many times. A year later I could do all the tricky pas tricks. That's all because of Claudio. He also taught me how to dance in contemporary, and act all kinds of characters."
How he gained strength for partnering:
"I did a lot of push-ups. Claudio recommended dancers go to the gym. We don't have those kinds of traditions in China, but after Houston Ballet, going to the gym has become a habit."
On his YouTube channel:
"I started a YouTube channel, where I could give ballet tutorials. Many male students only have female teachers, and they are missing out on the guy's perspective on jumps and partnering. I give those tips online because they are what I would have wanted. My goal is to help students have strong technique so they are able to enjoy the stage as much as they can."
Mary Malleney, courtesy Osato
In most classes, dancers are encouraged to count the music, and dance with it—emphasizing accents and letting the rhythm of a song guide them.
But Marissa Osato likes to give her students an unexpected challenge: to resist hitting the beats.
In her contemporary class at EDGE Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles (which is now closed, until they find a new space), she would often play heavy trap music. She'd encourage her students to find the contrast by moving in slow, fluid, circular patterns, daring them to explore the unobvious interpretation of the steady rhythms.
"I like to give dancers a phrase of music and choreography and have them reinterpret it," she says, "to be thinkers and creators and not just replicators."
Osato learned this approach—avoiding the natural temptation of the music always being the leader—while earning her MFA in choreography at California Institute of the Arts. "When I was collaborating with a composer for my thesis, he mentioned, 'You always count in eights. Why?'"
This forced Osato out of her creative comfort zone. "The choices I made, my use of music, and its correlation to the movement were put under a microscope," she says. "I learned to not always make the music the driving motive of my work," a habit she attributes to her competition studio training as a young dancer.
While an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, Osato first encountered modern dance. That discovery, along with her experience dancing in Boogiezone Inc.'s off-campus hip-hop company, BREED, co-founded by Elm Pizarro, inspired her own, blended style, combining modern and hip hop with jazz. While still in college, she began working with fellow UCI student Will Johnston, and co-founded the Boogiezone Contemporary Class with Pizarro, an affordable series of classes that brought top choreographers from Los Angeles to Orange County.
"We were trying to bring the hip-hop and contemporary communities together and keep creating work for our friends," says Osato, who has taught for West Coast Dance Explosion and choreographed for studios across the country.
In 2009, Osato, Johnston and Pizarro launched Entity Contemporary Dance, which she and Johnston direct. The company, now based in Los Angeles, won the 2017 Capezio A.C.E. Awards, and, in 2019, Osato was chosen for two choreographic residencies (Joffrey Ballet's Winning Works and the USC Kaufman New Movement Residency), and became a full-time associate professor of dance at Santa Monica College.
At SMC, Osato challenges her students—and herself—by incorporating a live percussionist, a luxury that's been on pause during the pandemic. She finds that live music brings a heightened sense of awareness to the room. "I didn't realize what I didn't have until I had it," Osato says. "Live music helps dancers embody weight and heaviness, being grounded into the floor." Instead of the music dictating the movement, they're a part of it.
Osato uses the musician as a collaborator who helps stir her creativity, in real time. "I'll say 'Give me something that's airy and ambient,' and the sounds inspire me," says Osato. She loves playing with tension and release dynamics, fall and recovery, and how those can enhance and digress from the sound.
"I can't wait to get back to the studio and have that again," she says.
Osato made Dance Teacher a Spotify playlist with some of her favorite songs for class—and told us about why she loves some of them.
"Get It Together," by India.Arie
"Her voice and lyrics hit my soul and ground me every time. Dream artist. My go-to recorded music in class is soul R&B. There's simplicity about it that I really connect with."
"Turn Your Lights Down Low," by Bob Marley + The Wailers, Lauryn Hill
"A classic. This song embodies that all-encompassing love and gets the whole room groovin'."
"Diamonds," by Johnnyswim
"This song's uplifting energy and drive is infectious! So much vulnerability, honesty and joy in their voices and instrumentation."
"There Will Be Time," by Mumford & Sons, Baaba Maal
"Mumford & Sons' music has always struck a deep chord within me. Their songs are simultaneously stripped-down and complex and feel transcendent."
"With The Love In My Heart," by Jacob Collier, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
"Other than it being insanely energizing and cinematic, I love how challenging the irregular meter is!"
Darrell Grand Moultrie teaches at a past Jacob's Pillow summer intensive. Photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob's Pillow
In the past 10 months, we've grown accustomed to helping our dancers navigate virtual school, classes and performances. And while brighter, more in-person days may be around the corner—or at least on the horizon—parents may be facing yet another hurdle to help our dancers through: virtual summer-intensive auditions.
In 2020, we learned that there are some unique advantages of virtual summer programs: the lack of travel (and therefore the reduced cost) and the increased access to classes led by top artists and teachers among them. And while summer 2021 may end up looking more familiar with in-person intensives, audition season will likely remain remote and over Zoom.
Of course, summer 2021 may not be back to in-person, and that uncertainty can be a hard pill to swallow. Here, Kate Linsley, a mom and academy principal of Nashville Ballet, as well as "J.R." Glover, The Dan & Carole Burack Director of The School at Jacob's Pillow, share their advice for this complicated process.
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Pre-audition planning
<p>In normal seasons, dancers are often limited to auditioning for programs that are nearby or those that tour to nearby cities. With virtual auditions, however, your dancer may be faced with an abundance of options, which could prove overwhelming.</p><p>To help ground your teen, set some boundaries. For instance, if it's an in-person faraway summer intensive, will you be comfortable with your dancer traveling that distance? When deciding how many programs to allow your dancer to audition for, remember that even virtual and video auditions usually charge fees, ranging from around $25 to $55.</p><p>To create the list of programs for which to audition, "dancers should think about what they want to get out of the program, just like in years past," says School of Nashville Ballet's Linsley. Do research about the program's mission and faculty—don't only look at the biggest-name intensives or those that friends are interested in. Instead, consider your teen's career aspirations and make sure the intensives she's choosing to audition for align. Linsley also advises parents to look at a program's faculty and the exposure to company directors or artistic staff it may offer.</p><p>If your dancer is at home this summer, it could be tempting to overload a daily or weekly schedule. But summer intensives are, well, intense. Long hours during the day should be paired with constructive rest in the evening, not more training. "At Jacob's Pillow, in addition to the studio classes, rehearsals and discussion sessions, we expect dancers at home to put in an additional two hours of their own time," says Glover. "That's at least six hours a day. How much more can a dancer feasibly do, especially if she's taking up the living room?" Augmenting a virtual intensive with a completely different style or focus can be beneficial—but make sure to strategize with your dancer and home studio teachers to create a schedule that is age and level appropriate.</p><p>Similarly, Linsley recommends students (who have this option) attend one program for more weeks instead of signing up for two-week sessions here and there. "The goal is to develop relationships with the teachers, so they know you and know how you move," she says. "It takes time to get the nuances of what the teachers are saying, and even six weeks is a short time. The longer you're able to spend at a program, the more you'll get out of it."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ0OTM2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDAzNTMxMn0.YDJNhIif-Sv4iqfPIApbZpD-t3VFheMok6riO8dw2HA/img.jpg?width=980" id="706ea" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2f62ba844ad1780bc944a66b634e70e6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Michelle Dorrance, wearing silver tap shoes, black leggings and shirt and large hoop earrings, teaches a tap class of dozens of teenagers in a light-filled barn studio" data-width="3000" data-height="2000" />
Michelle Dorrance teaching at a past Jacob's Pillow intensive. Photo Grace Kathryn Landefeld, courtesy Jacob's Pillow
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Auditions gone digital
<p>While School of Nashville Ballet is currently planning for an in-person summer intensive—but may include an option for admitted dancers to participate remotely, depending on the circumstances—the program's auditions will be held virtually, via Zoom. If it's safe and feasible, some dancers may consider asking to rent dance studio space where they can take their live auditions or create a video application. But that could be cost-prohibitive, and, as Linsley says, not necessary, as teachers will modify audition classes to fit dancers' surroundings.</p><p>If your dancer is taking a live audition from home, "dedicate an hour and a half to it, and allow your dancer to have a quiet space," Linsley advises. "Our teachers are accustomed to seeing a cat wandering through the video on a daily basis. But for an audition, it helps the dancer feel really good and focused if she knows she's the sole sibling who gets to use the internet or the good computer or iPad."</p><p>It's also a good idea to do a run-through beforehand to make sure your dancer's full body is in view of the camera, the volume works, and your dancer doesn't have to worry about any tech logistics in the moment. Pro tip: Ask a dance teacher to join a Zoom tech-rehearsal of sorts to double-check the set-up if you're not sure.</p><p>Your room's interior design isn't going to make or break an audition, says Glover, but it's still a smart idea to remove knickknacks and move furniture to create a clear space. She also stresses that fancy video equipment isn't necessary: A smartphone will suffice to film a video audition, and a computer will work for a live Zoom audition. What is necessary is enough lighting. "You might need to grab some lights from other parts of the house and set them up in front of your dancer to make sure they're really illuminated," says Glover.</p><div id="a095d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e6ff17968133d4da2bb830c73efef1a7"><blockquote class="instagram-media"
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Bracing for change
<p>Summer intensives are big investments of time and money. And while your dancer may have her sights set on a summer program away from home, there is a reality in which plans will change, perhaps due to a surge in COVID-19 cases or a positive test result. It's also important to realize that in-person class sizes will be limited, and some dancers who audition for an in-person intensive may end up being accepted to the school's virtual program if there's a hybrid model. Make sure your dancer is on board for any scenario.</p><p>If they're not posted on the website, ask a school about its protocols—and what happens if in-person classes need to pivot online. At Nashville Ballet, for instance, students who are required to quarantine or who miss classes due to illness will be given access to virtual content but will not be given a refund. For classes that move online due to government closure (like a stay-at-home order), the school will offer prorated refunds of classes. Money aside, it's smart to ask about COVID protocols to be sure the school is keeping dancers safe and has organized plans for any possible situation.</p><p>"As a parent myself, I know the commitment it takes to support our students, whether academically or for extracurricular activities," says Linsley. "This may not be the summer to try dance camp and soccer camp and cheer camp if you're just trying everything on for size. But at Nashville Ballet, we'll move mountains to help dancers find a space to train and grow and be part of this community."</p><div class="htl-ad"
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