An Introduction

When you meet someone new, how do you introduce yourself? Say your name, what you do, where you’re from, a bit of your history. Well, I’m new to blogging, this is the first I’ve written, so I guess I should introduce myself. Hi, my name is Jessica Houghton. I am currently in my fourth year at York University in the BFA Honours Dance Program. I am 21 years old, living and dancing in Toronto, and am proud to say that I am a part of that special community that is Pegasus Studios.

The Pegasus graduating class of 2008
Photo credit: Katherine Aczel

Growing up with a dance studio as your next door neighbour is something that few people can lay claim to, and I am one of those lucky few. I never used to get away with being late for class. What could I say? “The traffic on the sidewalk was terrible!” But who would want to be late anyway? Dance class was always the best part of my day. Starting dance classes at the age of three meant that as I grew up, my love of dance grew with me. It was nurtured by supportive teachers and family, tested during times of hardship, burnt out almost completely by broken dreams and injuries, and rekindled over and over by that undying desire to move and express. That is true love, a love that has lasted my whole life and a love that will never die. I would have never found that love without Pegasus.

Jessica Houghton - age 5
Photo credit: Katherine Aczel

At Pegasus there was never a question or a doubt about whether or not you would be accepted. Everyone was welcome and everyone felt they belonged there, and it is still the same today. The teachers are more than just teachers, they are friends and mentors. The students become a part of the family as well, knowing that they can turn to any family member in times of need and find solace. Everyone contributes to making the studio what it is, a home.

Jessica Houghton - age 20
Photo credit: Jay Crews

Since leaving Pegasus, I have spent the past three and a half years at York University, studying under amazing and inspiring teachers and learning as much as possible from them. I have performed and choreographed at York and have been performing with a community theatre company for three seasons. I have been accepted into the National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, and will be starting there in the fall of 2012. No matter where I go though, I am always drawn back to my first dance home. I have choreographed for Pegasus’ Benefit Concert, Dances of Offering, for the past three years, and am choreographing another piece this year. I am also taking a more active role in the planning this year by organizing the social media aspects of the show. Moving forward, I know that wherever life takes me, Pegasus will always be a part of me, and I am glad to finally be able to give back and contribute to making this year’s Dances of Offering the best one yet. I look forward to sharing more with you in the future, goodbye for now!

Holiday Dance and Theatre Traditions in Toronto

Toronto’s winter holiday season brings a basket full of fun dance and theatre shows that are perfect for the whole family. Some of our favourite traditions are:

Bed and Breakfast by the PuppetMongers – this year the story of the Princess and the Pea at the Tarragon Theatre, Dec. 17, 18, 26-Jan. 1

Ross Petty Pantomime – this year, The Wizard of Oz, at the Elgin Theatre, running until Jan. 6

The National Ballet’s Nutcracker – at the Four Seasons Centre, running until Jan. 3

Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement’s Nutcracker – Dec. 15-18 at Lismer Hall in the Humberside Collegiate Institute

Wishing you a happy and safe winter break!

Pegasus Studios will be closed from Dec. 18^th to Jan. 8^th. Classes resume Jan. 9^th.

Romeo and Juliet

On Friday I attended the National Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet... in the standing section! What an experience!  

But I promised to talk about theatre/literature and the ballet. This season the National Ballet has two Shakespeare plays and a Chekov play. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Seagull are all being adapted into ballets. This is an interesting thing for a dance company to do, especially since these three plays are considered classics in the theatre world and are often taught in high school english classes. The great part about seeing these stories in this format is that the story is distilled to it's basic plot and emotional content. No "to be or not to be" to contend with here! Language in classics like these can often be a big hurdle, especially if the story is a new one, which is why seeing the ballets can really help understanding. By getting simply the plot and an exagerated emotional portrayal the plays quickly open up to new readers and difficult language becomes a lesser issue.

Student Post - "The Studio"

Last month our student blogger, Dryden, went to see The Studio at the Young People's Theatre. This was an interesting show that used a contemporary dance style to explore the visual arts, inspired by the work of artists such as Jackson Pollock and Jean Dubuffet. The show used a variety of mediums, from traditionally structured dance pieces to pieces that intergrated puppetry and video technology to literally and figuratively paint a picture. Here is what Dryden had to say about the show:

I recommend “The Studio” with four stars for sure! It was an incredible performance! I absolutely loved it!
The show was mostly about dances that were completely based on pieces of art work! In the whole show there were only four dancers.
It was a great show, and I love how the choreographer combined dance and art to come up with this great show. It was incredible! I overly recommend it!
 
 
After seeing the show, Dryden and I discussed the use of Ballet technique that we saw in the dancers, even though it was not a strict Ballet show, the use of space they used - including the backstage space and the use of video to show different perspectives - and how nice it was to see a cast with boy dancers as opposed to all girl dancers.
 
YPT has some great shows this season, including Seusical starting next week.
 
Check back later in November for more discussion of using dance to explore and learn about other art forms. We will be talking about the National Ballet's new Romeo and Juliet.

Alumni Post - Molly

Hello there Pegasus!

Let me count the ways…

When I started dancing at Pegasus in 1993 my 9 year-old self realized it loved to dance and it decided never to look back. I’m pretty proud of my 9 year-old self and I owe this wonderful place called Pegasus a lot for providing me with such an inspiring, warm and encouraging environment to move and grow in. I can easily say that I loved every minute of the time I spent being part of the Pegasus community and it definitely shaped the person I am today.

Now I am 27 years old and I work in arts education. I am a theatre artist and a teacher. I work at Soulpepper Theatre Company as their Education Coordinator where I support the running of all the theatre’s educational and outreach programming for youth. I love what I do because I see the value in providing opportunities for young people to freely explore and express themselves creatively. See how the Pegasus philosophy might have rubbed off? 


And just between you and me, I can’t seem to stop dancing… I take my tap shoes wherever I go! In 2008 I taught English in Japan and I incorporated tap dancing into all of my elementary school classes. It ended up being a pretty big hit and all of the students ended up tap dancing on the local news channel! It was great. This year I pulled out my tap shoes again and explored choreography with the youth in Soulpepper’s Summer programs.

So, thank you Pegasus, for encouraging and instilling a life-long love of dance in me and so many others. You’re a gem! Keep dancing all!

Molly

Free to be you and me

The dance world can be an intense place full of judgment and high physical and mental demands on youth. The pressures to have “the dancers body” or to be a “beautiful ballerina” are all over the place and can be quite hard for some young dancers to deal with… and rightly so.  

So what can be done to promote positive feelings and positive dancers?

Pegasus has long been on a mission to promote the healthy dancer. The healthy dancer respects and takes care of their body. We encourage our students to connect to their own body and to embrace the differences that make us all unique. Each of us can bring a different quality to our dancing because of these unique attributes and it is our goal at Pegasus to make sure students learn to cherish themselves for whom they are.

We should all feel free to be ourselves whether we are in the dance studio, in the dance school or out in the world! 

When to ditch the warm up gear

Ok, your dance uniform may not be the most exciting thing to wear. Plain leotard and tights, or black jazz pants. Warm up gear provides a fashionable variety… but dance teachers are not always one hundred percent behind it and inevitably they tell you to take it off long before the warm up is over. What’s the deal? When should it really come off and what kind of gear will teachers accept?

1)   If you are really using the warm up to it’s fullest potential (wink, wink) you should be almost sweating by the end of your plies! I know it sounds like you would have to do killer plies but it’s true. During a plie exercise practically every muscle in your body has to work, so if you put energy and focus into your plies it will warm up your muscles fast and furiously.

2)   That being said… sometimes dance studios are really cold, especially in winter, so it’s best to choose some warm up gear that teachers will accept. The main factor to look for is does it allow the teacher to clearly see what’s going on? The scary thing is that if a teacher cannot see what your muscles are doing you might be doing something that can cause serious harm to your body. So, choose gear that emulates your dance uniform only in heavier or knitted materials. Some classic options are below and often come in fun colours… however; most of your teachers will prefer a colour that matches your uniform.