Masterclasses on how to improve your acting skills in dance & movement

 

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Ballet Broadway & Beyond is an initiative by Mary Ann Lamb, Elizabeth Parkinson and Sigrid Van Coillie.

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After a masterclass series in NYC in 2016 Mary Ann Lamb and Elizabeth Parkinson were invited to Amsterdam to collaborate on a Jerome Robbins project. During these collaborations Mary Ann Lamb, Elizabeth Parkinson and Sigrid Van Coillie not only became friends but found out they had the same views on musical theatre dance. They are convinced that acting is the link between all theater disciplines. Their vision comes from a strong belief that acting should get more attention in learning (and teaching) musical theatre choreography. A true Triple Threat performer is someone who puts the storytelling first in all three disciplines.  Therefore Mary Ann Lamb, Elizabeth Parkinson and Sigrid Van Coillie combined forces and established Ballet Broadway and Beyond. The three of them have been working in the musical theater industry extensively, in a lot of different styles and with many great choreographers, directors and artists like Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon, Ann Reinking, Rob Marshall, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Kathleen Marshal, Susan Stroman, JoAnn Hunter and so on. That means they have firsthand information about the creation of a lot of their works. (A more in-depth look at their artistic lives is to be found at the end of this writing in their personal biographies.)

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The masterclasses are a combination of character based movement and pure dance technique based on classic Broadway repertoire. All choreography and dance technique classes can be adjusted to any level depending on experience and dancing skills. Ballet Broadway & Beyond offers special programs for actors/singers and for dancers. All programs are customized and especially designed to meet the needs of the students/participants.

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In musical theatre dance there’s a large variety of styles and techniques. A musical theater dancer/performer has to be able to switch between ballet and jazz in a split second.  It is important to be able to master all these different styles well in order to create a unique performance and tell the story behind the steps. During the masterclasses the emphasis will be on how to create a credible character by asking questions like: “How does my character move?” And even more important: “Whát moves my character?”

 

A lot of actors/singers are worried when they have to dance and are often too concerned about the steps. That is where they lose the story and as a result the audience only sees a performer who is afraid to falter in a step or two. That is why during the masterclasses there will be a lot of attention for character based movement from an actors point of view. To find out how a certain character moves implies that an actor knows his/her own (dis)abilities. It needs a certain level of body awareness to create a character through movement. Body awareness, placement and basic technique will therefore be a fixed part of the masterclasses, especially those designed for actors/singers. Students/participants who have more background in dance will learn to use and rely on their acting skills more while dancing.

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Because of their extensive training, dancers are prone to physical posing and are oftentimes preoccupied with the technical side of dancing. They want to perform the steps as best they can and forget along the way that the story is the most important thing. Mostly dancers start working on a choreography by learning the steps and mastering them technically. In musical theatre the story and the character and the relationships between characters should always be the starting point to get a hold of the scene. In order to work on different characters and storytelling on a professional level as seen in the musical theatre work field, these masterclasses will use relevant choreographies and styles from well known choreographers like Bob Fosse, Rob Marshal, Twyla Tharp, Jerome Robbins, Kathleen Marshall, Michael Bennett, and others.

 

Program example in short:

• Warm up

               Daily physical warm-up to create better body awareness with emphasis on different qualities of movement.

• Technique classes in Jazz & Ballet (different levels)

• Musical theatre classes

               Musical theater classes in a variety of styles and time periods. A lot of choreographies are taken from original Broadway shows                     as mentioned above. These specialized classes are always customized to any level.

 

We are open to all suggestions and collaborations! We often work together with drama teachers and song interpretation teachers to create a Triple Threat Musical Incentive. If you are interested and want to discuss the possibilities please send an contact Sigrid at sigridvancoillie@chello.nl or +31-629230439