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Contemporary dance is always evolving where as ballet remains in most part true to tradition. If the gap between classical ballet and contemporary is getting increasingly bigger does this mean that they are somewhat less relevant to each other? Although contemporary was originally influenced by ballet (even if it was to challenge it) the term contemporary is becoming broader and broader now taking influence from other dance styles such as hip-hop, jazz and many others. I believe ballet may not be as relevant for directly reproducing contemporary movement but still certainly has its benefits in terms of bodily maintenance and activation. I believe it decreases injury and  increases strength and awareness of alignment body parts in space.  These elements will will help improve and sustain my career.
Although many of these are long term benefits I can feel the difference simply by doing a ballet class before contemporary as opposed to a regular warm up.

Throughout a ballet class I can feel my body gradually warming up as I progress through the exercises. The different exercises ensure that all parts of my anatomy are targeted including muscles and joints as well as mental stimulation. I think that this level of activation is achieved through ballets formal structure which no other technique possesses.

Throughout the online process I have tried to ensure my body was ready for class. To attain this I would carry out HITT workouts prior to a contemporary class. However I found that although they benefited my general fitness they did not activate as many areas as a ballet class would neither did they give me much mental stimulation to prepare for some of the tricky coordination contemporary classes present.

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Through out the online ballet classes I have found exercises to be less complex due to space limitations ect. This unfortunately gave the opportunity for my mind to wonder during exercises. This resulted in me not being well engaged in the exercise and therefore not gaining as much as possible from it. After noticing this was becoming a habit I tried to complicate the exercises for myself by trying to recall/draw upon previous teaching advice from different teachers and different techniques. This gave a lot to think about during the classes as I realised how much information I had been given over the course of my training and how much of it could apply to even 1 movement. I tried to film some exercises and give examples of some of my thought processes below.

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Simplistic exercises such as this one activate numerous muscles which can be hard to target such as rotatory muscles, inner thighs and metatarsals. All of which are imperative for contemporary assisting turnout and softening floor impact.

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Similarly to the recording above exercises such as these are good preparation for a contemporary class also activating back and arm muscles and coordination of focus. Exercises such as these can also act as an injury preventative. Regularly engaging the hip flexor (demonstrated in this exercise to maintain turn out in the rond) can maintain its elasticity resulting in reduced chance of injury.  Sustaining less injuries will enable me to perform movement to the best of my ability had sustain a long healthy career.

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Jason (contemporary teacher) frequently draws attention to details such as the equality angles in the arms and legs to ensure equal energy is going into both parts. I thought Fondue was a prime example where I could think about this particularly when squeezing down to attitude and straightening again ensuring this happens simultaneously and there are equal angles in my supporting leg as well and the working one, as well as thinking about the angle of my arm as it transitions from 1st to 2nd.
I also found in this exercise I was able to draw my own interests in back  expression. Thinking about creating a broad 3D shape in my back aided me to sustain the balance.

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Josh (ballet teacher) spoke a lot about dynamics throughout his classes and so I tried to incorporate this thinking about the speed on the leg on the way up and the controlled soft quality on the way down.
Chisato (ballet/ gaga teacher) often talks about circular motions when drawing the arm up to 5th and using that circular pathway to recycle the energy. I felt this was particularly relevant to such a explosive demanding exercise.

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Ballet demands a sense of pure ease in the upper torso whilst enduring vigorous work may be going on below the waistline. I believe that the ability to perform complex movement whilst maintaining an air of serenity can be one of the most capturing qualities within contemporary too. Ballet technique teaches this illusion of ease often by drawing intention to the core and the surface of the back. We are often taught, particularly in port de bras to ‘show our backs’ or ‘hold our arms by drawing down the back’. I think creating a fuller sensation in the surface area of the back is really important in giving a 3-dimensional dancer. Contemporary dance often entails twists and turns and demands the dancer to look immaculate from any angle. Cross training with ballet encourages dancers to be more expressive with their backs enabling more obscure turns and facings to be performed with projection and intent.

I filmed a series of videos of myself performing various ballet exercises that I felt drew attention or required my back to be expressive and work hard. Throughout the couple of months these were filmed I sustained a muscular lower back injury. Although this prevented me from performing some movements to my full range of motion it helped me focus in on the shapes I was creating with the back of my body and think about how I could make this area as expressive and essential as (for example) the arms. I have recently noticed from filming myself improvising that I tend to rely on my arms and limbs for expression and so finding more sensation in something seemingly more solid would really help add another layer to other techniques such as improvisation. Being confined to such a small space has prevented me being able to focus on elements I would usually in the studio such as distance travelled and focus projection but this combined and simpler exercises has enabled me the time and head-space to really tune into this area that I was less aware of previously.

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This video was taken pre-injury and so although I have fuller range of movement there is a lesser sense of intent in my back compared to the videos taken in March. I feel this is especially clear when turning to al a seconde as the shape appears more dense and internal rather than lifted. However, seeing bare skin gives the idea that there is more movement as you can see the skin stretching and condensing.

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Just filming from back allows me to reflect purely on how engaging my movement is without seeing the more expressive front of the body.
This exercise can be more closely linked to how I might be able to bring this awareness to a contemporary class as it involves movements such as curves and twists. I think that it is particularly clear in the curve that the fluid undulation of the spine brings a sense of ease something as a viewer I find satisfying to watch and is very important in techniques such as release to transition into the floor softly.

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This video shows my first attempt the most recent adage. I found this to be a good example of expressiveness in the back as it involves a series of port de bras and shapes such as arabeque created on the back surface.
As I started to become more aware of my back and filming myself for self reflection I found that wearing a long sleeve black top really accentuated the shapes I could create but was also interesting to see what effect it had in contrast to seeing the actual skin of my back in previous videos.

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This is my second attempt at the adage taken minutes after the first. During the time in between Charlotte focused on corrections surrounding the back and fluidity, using expressions such as 'show your back' and using the torso throughout the por de bra as well as the arms.
The physicality of it for me felt some what different. The movement felt exaggerated and larger whilst not blocking the the energy in the limbs from putting so much effort into it. I felt just focusing on improving my back affected the performative quality of my whole body.
From learning about my injury during physio, although its my back that is in pain it's actually caused by my glutes/ hamstrings and so I have been given physio exercises to target these areas. With this knowledge I can visualize and understand why I am able to feel a difference in so many other parts of my body just by changing my back. My back muscles are attached in/directly to many other areas and so when using it more expressively I can visualize this affect leading into areas such as my head (and therefore focus) arms, and legs.