One morning, before the Summer Intensive Program began, I ran into our Production and Lighting Director, John Hall. John was in his normal friendly demeanor and I immediately struck up a conversation with him. Since he had a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other, I asked him what he was up to. “I’m counting barres,” he replied. As he filled me in on what he was doing and why he was up to this “barre tab,” I instantly thought, “Our blog followers need to know about this!”

John explained that he was taking inventory of the barres mainly to get prepared for the 211 dance students that would arrive from all over the world for Miami City Ballet School’s Summer Intensive Program. Since there is such an influx of dancers during the five weeks, MCB needs to make sure we have enough equipment for the students.

His tally was up to 50 barres. Fifteen of the 50 were aluminum, light-weight barres that couldn’t be used because they were uncomfortable for the students. As a former dancer with the School and Company, I would never choose these aluminum barres when I took class. On the rare occasion I had to use one, it was always frustrating. If I was doing a hard combination and was relying on the support of the barre, it wasn’t there and that prevented me from getting the most benefits from the exercise. I would say they were mostly a nuisance, as these barres are so light you can pick them up with one hand. I was glad to hear that John was getting rid of them.

Since there was going to be a reduction in the barre tab, John continued to explain to me that they were going to buy 20 new barres. These barres are white and have two parallel bars at the top spaced about a foot apart. This makes it easier to accommodate dancers of different heights and allow them to move more gracefully through different exercises and stretch at different intensities. In addition, they are relatively easy to adjust. Dancers often adjust the height of the barres before their warm up exercises depending on their height so their hands hold the barre at a certain angle, a little less than 45 degrees from their torso. These barres are $200 each. So with 20 new ones, MCB will have to cough up a $4,000 barre tab. Ouch!

John shared this last tid bit with me. The 12 barres that travel with the Company from theater to theater were being brought into the studios as well. This would help accommodate the 211 Summer Intensive students during their training and bring the barre count to 67 in total. Three or four students to a barre is perfect in my book so I think John got his number right.

As I walked to my desk on the third floor administration level, I remembered there was even another type of barre used here. They are big, heavy, metal barres and usually need to be carried around the studios by two dancers. These mostly stay with the professional dancers, but will be used by the students over the Summer Intensive Program and were also figured into John’s 67 count. I sat down at my desk and had a final thought: “Wow! even the barres around Miami City Ballet can be so interesting.”

Here is one of the big, heavy, metal barres. Two dancers have to carry these!

This is one of the light-weight barres John was getting rid of.

This is one of the good barres! See how they have two parallel bars at different heights? Perfect!

The Nutman and the Mouse King come head to head on December 11-13 at Broward Center and December 18-20, 22-23 at Adrienne Arsht Center. For tickets to MCB’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ click here or call (877) 929-7010.

UPDATE: Click here to view Alex’s photos.

Click here to read about Ana’s experience with MCB.

You can help keep the dancers ”on their toes.”  For more information about the Toe Shoe Fund, click here.

Have you seen Alex dance on stage with Miami City Ballet? What was your favorite performance?

I remember the various fazes I went through over the summer layoff when I was a dancer with Miami City Ballet.  The first few days were always filled with a sense of relief…the “I finally made it to a break, I didn’t go insane and my body is still in one piece” feeling.  Dancing in the MCB corps can get you wound pretty tight due to the overwhelming demand on your body, mind and spirit.  And while I was always excited to sleep in a little later, get outside to feel the sunshine, and have some lazy lunches with my girlfriends on Lincoln Road, it wasn’t long before that “antsy-ness” set in.

It’s like going from one extreme to another.  For nine months you are dancing six days a week, doing close to 100 performances and then BANG…no more morning ballet class; no more 6+ hours of rehearsal; no more running around like a chicken with its head cut off on your one free day.  I always felt like my body freaked out when the season ended. But, after a few summer layoffs, I found my magic pill – Crunch gym.  It’s amazing what the elliptical and some yoga can do.

Beyond battling antsy-ness, layoff was a time to do things that got pushed to the side during the season.  I’d visit my family in upstate New York, get to projects around my apartment and pursue other interests.  Mentally and spiritually it was necessary to focus my attention on something else besides ballet.  My summers turned into pursuits of mastering SCUBA diving, trying out elaborate vegetarian recipes and wracking my brain with multiple college courses.

The last few weeks of layoff always seemed to creep up on me, along with a sense of anxiousness and anticipation.  I always looked forward to the fresh start of a new season with new repertoire, but I knew the hump my body was going to endure to get back into the swing of things.  It would mean sore muscles and lots and lots of Epsom Salts.  In the final few weeks, I’d force myself to get up a little earlier each day and come to MCB studios to take a class.  I’d begin to sew the ribbons and elastics on my pointe shoes, coax my feet into them, and then proceed to do everything around my apartment to break them in.  Despite getting prepared, eating healthy, doing some additional elliptical workouts, and taking daily ballet class, that little voice in my head would always be asking, “Am I ready?” “Do I look fat?”.

Ultimately, nothing can really get you totally ready for the season.  It’s a shock to the system to be back in the studio on your feet all day.  The first day back was always the best.  I’d walk into company class, to be greeted by smiling, refreshed, tanned, and joking co-workers and friends.  We’d either have to laugh together or cry because of how out of shape we felt.  Most dancers opt for laughing together.

I caught up with a few dancers – Sara Esty, Stephen Satterfield and Zoe Zien – who talked to me about what their first week back has been like.