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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Black Swan Workout by Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman Black Swan Workout

How did you get Natalie Portman ready for her close-up?
I took my program, which combines mat work, cardio, and ballet and created a customized version for her. On the one hand, we wanted her to look the part so that her character was believable—ballerinas have obvious physical markers like long, lean muscle and beautiful posture—but we also wanted to make sure she was able to move and dance like a professional ballerina. Because of this, many of the exercises had a dual purpose. We’d work on her inner thighs to change how her leg was shaped but it’d also help her get a tighter fifth position. Or we’d target her abs to give her greater definition but also build her center of balance.

Did Portman have prior ballet experience?
She took ballet classes until she was about 13 years old. But she had never done point work before. When I first met her we got her fitted for shoes and I showed her how to sew the ribbon and elastic onto them. Getting her on her toes for the first time was a big adjustment—it was very foreign to her at first—so we started with basic relevés in first position and branched off from there.

How long did you work with Portman?
Natalie was very devoted to preparing for this role. She had a body double for some of the harder turning sequences but 90 percent of the dancing you see in Black Swan is her—even the upside-down splits! We started training a year before rehearsals began. We’d meet for five hours a day, six days a week. Even after filming started, we’d squeeze in sessions. Nat would spend 12 to 14 hours on set but we’d train in the morning and evening. It was a very intense time.

Did you include any cross-training in your sessions with Portman?
I did. Ballet can be hard on your joints and when you’re on a movie set doing take after take it can become really repetitive. To give her joints a break, we’d go swimming because it allowed us to work on her endurance and elongate her muscles with zero impact. We swam about a mile each day, doing the front crawl and breast stroke—I had her do these really long, ballet-type movements, reaching ahead in the water as far as she could.

The million-dollar question: Why are ballerina dancers so fabulously lean?
Ballet targets smaller muscles that you don’t often use—instead of working your quads it works the inside and the back of your leg. It also raises your center of gravity—when you’re standing in first position, you’re pulling up through your stomach and opening your shoulders so that you’re working your back and upper body. The inner thighs are engaging and you’re squeezing your butt to make sure you’re perfectly lifted. Everything is basically firing as one—and first position is just a resting point!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Ferdinand’s growth from ballet dancer To England captain

Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand’s past life as a ballet dancer is revealed in a campaign being fronted by the new England football captain.The National Portrait Gallery pictures Rio Ferdinand relaxing in a leather chair as part of the marketing drive.

According to Sky News, this refers to his background as a dancer who attended classes four times a week for four years. Born in Peckham, south London, Ferdinand’s sporting career started at the age of 10 when he was invited to the Queens Park Rangers Football Academy.

However, when he was 11-years-old he also won a scholarship to the Central School of Ballet in London. He traveled by bus from his home to central London to get to the classes. The dance lessons improved his natural balance but eventually he chose a career as a footballer and signed his first professional contract in 1995

The Manchester United defender joins historical figures, such as artist LS Lowry, King Charles II, Lord Nelson, and Mary, Queen of Scots, for the campaign.

Anitra N Keegan will teach Ballet III this semester

Anitra N Keegan will be teaching Ballet III this semester. Anitra began her training at the Academy of Dance Arts in New Jersey, where she received honors in both the Dance Education Syllabus and the Royal Academy of Dance examinations. She continued her training at the Royal Academy of Dance in England, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, and Pennsylvania Ballet School in Philadelphia. After graduating from highschool, she began her professional career with Pennsylvania Ballet Company, Ohio Ballet Company, and American Repertory Ballet Company.

Ms. Keegan then moved to New York and continued her dancing career with DancesPatrelle, Chamber Dance Project, BalletNY, where she was featured as “Desdemona” in John Butler’s Othello. During this time in her career, she was featured in roles choreographed by Alonzo King, Donald Byrd, Laura Dean, Heinz Poll, George Balanchine, Thaddeus Davis, William Soleau, and Stanton Welch. Upon joining BalletX in Philadelphia, she has had the privilege to have worked with choreographers such as Christine Cox, Matthew Neenan, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jodie Gates, Edwaard Liang, Alex Ketley, and Meredith Rainey. Ms. Keegan is also a graduate of Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University.
 
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