Poised for the season
Ballet students (l-r) Isabella Liby, Olivia Kutsch, Olivia Baughn and Ava Liby practice during a master class at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
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By Ruth Santana
Grand plié, tendu, relevé!
The sound of shuffling feet echoes the verbal cues ballet teacher Victoria Schneider calls out. The live piano sets the rhythm of the class, bringing the buzz of excitement and nervousness to a peak as girls adorned in black leotards and pink tights do their best to follow along to the routine.
The 31 girls in attendance Sept. 20 were participating in the revival of the HARID Conservatory’s master classes, which had been on sabbatical since COVID-19 struck in 2020.
Traditionally held once a year for ballet students ages 13 to 16 years old, the master class took place as arts companies throughout South Florida are gearing up for their new performance seasons.
This year’s program at the internationally recognized ballet school in Boca Raton featured the school’s specialty — the Russian ballet style of teaching known as the Vaganova Method.
The students came from as near as Wellington and as far as Gainesville, Miami, Tampa, Fort Myers, and other distant cities.
“I learned a lot of different corrections that you might not hear from your own directors,” said Isabella Liby of Melbourne. “Even having the same stuff being repeated in a different voice might make it more apparent to you.”
The program’s return satisfied HARID Director Gordon Wright.
“Pre-COVID we ran those [master] classes for a number of years. We offered classes in the fall for kids from the local community and throughout Florida,” Wright said. “It’s open registration, we publicized it through emailing different schools and things on social media.”
Student Enola Fortin, from Melbourne, appreciated the challenge this master class presented.
“I feel like I always get better in a master class that provides more training … mostly technique and the ability to feel more grounded,” Fortin said.
Even ballet instructors were taking notes.
Kathryn Wheeler, co-founder and artistic director of Mount Dora School of Ballet, watched carefully from the sidelines.
“I think because the art form grows and because we progress with different generations, and as bodies change, it’s important to keep up with the teaching styles,” Wheeler said.
“It’s interesting to watch the HARID teachers and how precise they are with their movements and corrections.”
The master class lasted four hours; the students practiced barre, open floor, pointe, and modern dance.
Schneider, a teacher of 32 years at HARID, led the barre and pointe portion of the program. She walked around the room reminding the girls to turn their legs out, straighten their backs, and listen to the music, gently correcting movements and offering advice.
“There are various schools of classical dance. … We may use the same vocabulary, but the movements are not done the same way,” Schneider explained.
Ballet students aged 13-16 receive technical guidance from instructors Alexey Kulpin (above) and Victoria Schneider (below right) during a master class at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton on Sept. 20. Established in 1987, the school prepares the next generation of classical dancers for the professional stage. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Alexey Kulpin, a classically trained ballet dancer from Russia, oversaw the open floor exercises — focusing on leaps, turns and physicality.
“You want to challenge students. Of course, you want to give them steps that are a little more difficult … but you have to play it by ear,” Kulpin said.
After watching the students perform the movements he demonstrated, Kulpin gave advice on how to make those movements cleaner, telling the students where they should feel their weight. He also demonstrated proper leg and arm placement in relation to the Vaganova style.
The last hour of class focused on modern dance with Libby Faber Deen, a Juilliard alum.
For this portion of the class, students changed out of their leotards and tights and into sweatpants and T-shirts. The music also changed from the tranquility of classical music to a more upbeat percussion style.
Modern dance “has a bit more expression of movement. … It really complements their ballet training. … It helps them to be stronger and more confident,” Faber Deen explained.
Students left the afternoon’s program with smiles on their faces, chatting among themselves about the things they’d learned and accomplished.
“For me, a master class is a class where you bring people from all different backgrounds in the study of ballet together,” Schneider said. “You try to open their minds, hearts and souls in doing ballet in perhaps a different way.”
Master Class participants wait for their turn with the instructors.
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