When Melissa Hough shifted her focus from her competition studio to the demanding Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, she felt she needed more than regular classes to catch up. Newly committed to pursuing a ballet career, she sought private lessons outside of the school, working on fixing bad habits, like her tendency to pronate her feet. “I had been dancing a certain way for so long,” says Hough, now a first soloist with Houston Ballet. “Taking privates enhanced all of the work I was doing on my ballet technique.”
Deciding whether private lessons make sense takes assessing your own training and efforts honestly. If you have been giving classes your all but keep falling short of your goals, you might need to consider getting help from a different teacher. In some cases, you may need to leave your current studio or training program. More often, it’s a matter of getting some one-on-one attention. But navigating the world of private lessons can be tricky, especially if your new teacher has a different approach than your main program. You need to show respect for your program, while getting the extra guidance that will help you improve.
Focus Your Goals
Finding a private teacher starts with looking at your current contacts—guest faculty, former summer intensive connections and notable coaches in your area. Be clear about the problems you want to address. Royal Ballet first artist Meaghan Hinkis, who trained at American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, started taking lessons at age 12 with New York City master teacher Fabrice Herrault. She felt that she had hit a plateau in her training and wanted to polish the small details of her barre and center work. “The simplest things tend to be the most difficult,” she says. “Hearing the same correction said in a different way can be the trigger you need for an idea to sink in.”
When she was a student, ABT corps member Skylar Brandt looked for teachers who were experts in specific styles, like former Bolshoi Ballet dancer Valentina Kozlova, former New York City Ballet soloist Diana White, former ABT principal Susan Jaffe and the French-trained Herrault. “Pursuing different methods and approaches helps create a well-rounded technique,” she says.
Keep in mind, though, that if you want to become truly proficient in one style, adding new teachers to your roster may hinder your purity, which is one reason why many schools discourage it. “Whether you’re 8 or 18, taking classes from other teachers will confuse you,” says Kay Mazzo, co-chairman of faculty at the renowned School of American Ballet. “Then we have to reteach what you’ve already learned and you’re actually taking steps back.” Additionally,if your dream is to join a school’s affiliated company, you don’t want them to think your interests lie elsewhere.
Finding Balance
If you want to seek extra training outside your program, discuss it first with your teachers and school director. While SAB frowns on private lessons, many programs permit students to seek outside help, providing they show real commitment to their core training. “Most of the drama surrounding privates can be prevented if you just don’t go behind your school’s back,” says Brandt. It’s a tough conversation, but don’t try to outsmart your teachers by skirting the issue. Someone who has trained you for years will immediately see if you start approaching the work differently. “Sometimes there were other students taking privates who brought a new habit or arm coordination into a teacher’s classroom and they were not pleased,” says Brandt. “You have to show the faculty you respect what they think and you need to maintain the style of your school’s training.”
Privates can also result in emotional backlash from directors and teachers. They put time and effort into shaping their students’ technique and can feel like a student has turned her back on their approach. “I had to take a lot of flack,” says Hough. She adds, though, that dealing with the conflict helped prepare her for the politics of professional life. Every training program has its priorities; gauge them carefully to determine whether going outside will create a minor or a major issue.
Are You Ready?
Venturing into the world of privates means taking a critical look at where you are in your training. Peter Brandenhoff, who has taught dancers from major programs in California and New York City, reminds young dancers to be patient. (He doesn’t recommend privates for students under 12, though many professional dancers, including Brandt, started taking them as early as age 8.) “The dancer should have a basic foundation in place so that the private teacher can complement that,” he says. Hough agrees that it is important to feel confident and grounded with your work at your own school before sampling other teachers’ methods. “Expose yourself to as much as you can, but always have your consistent teacher. You need a base that you can come back to, and you have to learn the rules before you can break them,” she says.
The work you put into your training lies with you. You don’t want to jeopardize years of effort, but you must be an advocate for your technique—and your own best interests. “We have a finite amount of time in a dance career, so question everything your teachers say—none of us have all the final answers,” says Brandenhoff. “Teachers always say we know what’s best for our students, but, frankly, some students know more about themselves than their teachers.”
Kristin Schwab is an associate editor at Dance Teacher magazine.
Troubleshooting One-on-One
Tailor private lessons to work on any personal training hurdles.
Polish your technique: Royal Ballet first artist Meaghan Hinkis took private lessons to slow class down. She felt she needed a cleaner, more precise technical base. “Fine-tuning was the key,” she says. “My privates would follow a normal class from barre to center, but the combinations were never complicated.”
Push your skill level: When you work one-on-one, there is always time for the 32-fouetté coda. “Privates provided a more intense, individualized version of everything,” says Houston Ballet first soloist Melissa Hough. “There were elements that I couldn’t do at first, but I had the opportunity to ask questions because it was just the two of us.”
Refine your artistry: “In a big class you don’t have the luxury to work on the rep you want,” says American Ballet Theatre corps member Skylar Brandt. Working one-on-one allows you to tailor variations and dive deeper into characters.
Make connections: “They don’t teach you this when you’re young, but networking is important to your career,” says Hough. “Working with someone may lead to opportunities in the future.”
Latest Posts
Jan 20, 2021
Courtesy ABC
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Alicia Mae Holloway Talks About Her Time on ABC's “The Bachelor”
Bunheads tuning in to the season premiere of ABC's "The Bachelor" on January 4 may have recognized a familiar face: Dance Theatre of Harlem's Alicia Mae Holloway, literally bourréeing out of a limousine to greet bachelor Matt James. While Holloway unfortunately didn't get a rose that night, she did thoroughly enjoy being the long-running reality franchise's first professional-ballerina contestant, as she told Pointe in a recent Zoom call.
<p><strong>Have you always been a fan of "The Bachelor"?</strong></p><p>My friends would watch it back when I was a student at the School of American Ballet. I watched one episode and was like, "What is this?! Why would people do this?!" A few years later, I started Colton Underwood's season because I was feeling really left out in my group chats. I binged the whole season and became obsessed.</p><p><strong>How did you get cast?</strong></p><p>One of my best friends (Jacqueline Bologna, of New York City Ballet) told me to apply. I wasn't sure but filled out the online application anyway—and promptly forgot about it. One day, I got a random call from L.A. The voicemail said, "Hey Alicia, this is so-and-so from ABC's 'The Bachelor,' and we're really interested in you." It all happened from there!<strong></strong></p><p><strong>During the audition process, did you emphasize your career and identity as a ballerina?</strong></p><p>Absolutely.</p>
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Alicia Mae Holloway
Renee Choi, Courtesy Holloway
<p><strong>Did you have any misgivings about going on the show, like whether the ballet world would view you differently?</strong></p><p>That was at the forefront of my mind throughout this whole process. I'd read articles about people who lost their jobs and couldn't find another one after coming off the show. That was my main concern, because my career has always been first and is always going to be first. But I felt in my heart that this was something I really wanted to do. I decided that if people don't want to work with me because I did something I wanted to do, that's on them and they're missing out on me.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Were you concerned about taking time off from Dance Theatre of Harlem?</strong></p><p>At DTH we tour 16 to 18 weeks out of the year. Obviously, we can't do that now due to COVID-19, so we've been doing virtual classes and workshops. The company got to go to Kaatsbaan in the fall, which looked amazing—I obviously was not there. Basically, I realized that now was the time to go on "The Bachelor" if I was ever going to do it. We just got back to work in the studio last week, so I think the timing all happened perfectly.</p>
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<p><strong>Did you feel any kind of pressure to represent ballerinas—and ballerinas of color—on national television?</strong></p><p>Arthur Mitchell, who founded DTH, said something once that stuck with me: "Cinderella doesn't walk into the ball. She arrives." What that says to me is, you have to present yourself in the best way possible all the time. You always have to be the best version of yourself and present yourself with the most class and integrity. I do want to be a role model and uphold my reputation, because I never had a professional ballerina who looked like me to look up to when I was young.</p><p><strong>How did you plan to keep up your technique and stamina while on the show?</strong></p><p>Before I left, I made a promise to myself and to my boss that I'd give myself daily ballet class. I wrote down at-home workouts and my favorite pointe exercises, and I brought two pairs of pointe shoes: one newer and a more dead pair for building my strength with.</p>
<p><strong>You got a lot of screen time in the premiere episode (watch it <a href="https://abc.com/shows/the-bachelor/episode-guide/season-25/01-week-1" target="_blank">here</a>), prepping your pointe shoes and dancing around the resort.</strong></p><p>Yeah, I was shocked by how much they ended up showing! I just wanted to showcase my real daily life as a dancer.</p><p><strong>Did you pre-choreograph that (amazing) exit from the limo?</strong></p><p>It literally came to me in the moment. At first I thought I might do a grand jeté, but immediately realized the dress was not made for it!</p><p><strong>How did the other women react when they learned you're a ballet dancer?</strong></p><p>Honestly, they were so kind. Everybody went, "Oh, my gosh, I've never met a real-life ballerina!" There weren't any ignorant or awkward questions. It was validating to get such a positive response.</p>
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<p><strong>Understandably, there were a few tears in your interview after the rose ceremony. What was going through your mind when you realized your "Bachelor" journey was over?</strong></p><p>There were a lot of emotions. To viewers, the night seems short, but it is <em>long</em>—and I'm an emotional person. What got me through was reminding myself that everything happens for a reason. I was very upset that I didn't get to speak to Matt because we have things in common. He went to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, I went to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He lives in New York, I live in New York. He has a white mom and a Black dad, I have a white mom and a Black dad. I was obviously sad when I left, but I do feel like Mrs. James could be in that amazing, intelligent, badass group of women. I left feeling that Matt was in good hands.</p><p><strong>Has the show changed your life at all?</strong></p><p>My Instagram following went up, and I've gotten more offers to do photo shoots and stuff like that. I shot my first music video in December. The reaction from the dance world has honestly been nothing but great. I really thought people would throw shade, but everybody has been so supportive. I've gotten a lot of messages from people who were mad I was voted off. <em>[Laughs]</em></p><p><strong>What have you been up to since the show?</strong></p><p>Life has been great overall, though I didn't get to work with DTH from the end of September until January 4. I was a little bored at first, in part because I couldn't go on social media in case people figured out I got eliminated. So I kept myself busy and created routines, because I thrive when I have a set schedule. I taught at SAB for a week back in the fall, and I taught a lot in Pennsylvania and in West Virginia, where I'm from. I'm now back in New York and ready to return to the studio with DTH.</p><p><strong>What advice do you have for other ballet dancers who are presented with an opportunity like this?</strong></p><p>If your gut is telling you to do it, go for it. Life is short! If you can make it work while keeping your dance career your number-one priority, then I would highly recommend going for an unconventional, once-in-a-lifetime chance.</p>
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Jan 20, 2021
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Ask Amy: How Can I Make the Most of Performance Opportunities in a Pandemic?
My school is connected to a professional company that operates on a show-to-show basis. Students can audition for company performances when they're 15. My 15th birthday is in February, and I think that our directors are choosing people to participate in virtual performances based off of whether they have performed with the company before. This was supposed to be my big first year with the company, but COVID-19 has changed that. How do I make it known that I want to participate? Do you think I should wait until things are more normal? —Lila
<p>There's no question that the coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to make adjustments to their seasons and rosters. But even if your local company is only working with dancers who've performed with them before for their upcoming show, there's no harm in letting them know that you'd love to be considered. You'll be within the age requirements, plus you attend the affiliated school and have a history with the organization. Why not see if it's a possibility?</p><p>Since you are still a student, I would first speak with your teachers. Remind them that you'll be turning 15 and eligible for the company's spring performance. They can best direct you on how to convey your interest to the artistic staff, since they understand the culture and structure of the organization. For instance, they may prefer to speak to artistic staff on your behalf, or they might suggest that you email the company manager (the person who typically filters audition applications for the director). Or, they may tell you to contact a member of the company's artistic staff. An email is probably best if you don't work with the director or ballet masters frequently, but this is a better question for your teachers.</p>
<p>Once you have established what the proper channels are, think about what you want to say. Keep it honest and professional: that you've grown up dancing at the school and watching the company and would love to audition for the spring virtual performance. If you know anything about the choreographer or the work that is being performed, say what you admire about it. Acknowledge that spots might be limited because of COVID-19, and that you would be willing to be an understudy. (Understudying is an important stepping-stone: You can learn so much from being in rehearsals with the company, even virtually, and being prepared to go in for someone will make a strong impression.) You may also want to include a video link of your dancing if the director isn't familiar with it. They may or may not offer you a position, but they'll at least know how you feel and that you're serious enough to make it known.</p>
<p>And if it doesn't work out this year? Take heart—you are still young, and there will be more opportunities once the pandemic passes. If you have ambitions to dance professionally, this will be good practice for preparing cover letters for company auditions in the future.</p><p><em></em><em>Have a question? Send it to </em>Pointe<em> editor and former dancer Amy Brandt at <a href="mailto:askamy@dancemedia.com" target="_blank">askamy@dancemedia.com</a>.</em></p>
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Jan 11, 2021
Jayme Thornton for Pointe
Join Us for a Q&A With ABT's Gabe Stone Shayer on January 21
Gabe Stone Shayer, American Ballet Theatre's newest soloist, has long been a standout onstage. But the 27-year-old dancer—the first African-American male to graduate from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet Academy—is also branching out into choreography and spearheading a flurry of creative projects. Shayer has big ideas for ballet's future. "I want to be the person who facilitates the idea of possibility in this historically exclusive world," he told us in our December/January digital cover story. "And I want to present the possibility of success through my own story."
Now you have a chance to ask Shayer about his training and career, his advice on navigating a path in ballet, his recent work with Alicia Keys, his thoughts on diversity in dance and more. Click here to register for free with your questions. Then tune in for an exclusive conversation and Q&A with Gabe Stone Shayer on Thursday, January 21, at 7 pm Eastern.
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