By Laura Di Orio.

Sometimes crazy, usually superstitious and always repetitive, many of us have pre-performance rituals we engage in to help us get focused and ready for the stage.  Here professional dancers dish on their quirky traditions and share what they do to prepare themselves for a show.

Christopher McDaniel, dancer, Los Angeles Ballet

In my dressing room, I sit at my station and tear two sheets of paper towels – one to place foundations and eye shadows, and the other for the brushes in the order in which I’ll use them. I also place my performance shoes on the desk in the order I’ll dance in them. I like to then freshen up, sometimes with a full shower. Then I start my makeup. I try to stay in a quiet zone before a show because I get nervous. I put my iPod on and start to listen to music that’s calming and relaxing, usually something Gospel. The whole time I am snacking on mint Mentos and graham crackers. The chewing of Mentos, which is very different from gum, calms me down and simultaneously gives me a little sugar rush.

I started this ritual while I was on my first tour with the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble. I got yelled at by the ballet master for being too playful and excited backstage. So I explored the things that made me calmer. And as my repertoire on the tour began to increase and I started dancing more featured roles, I developed a love for my quiet time before a show.

Christopher Bloom, ­­­dancer, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company

I do sixteen entrechat-six before every performance. I began this during my freshmen year of college. At the Ailey School we have a very large studio that acts as a green room when we’re performing. With a whole bunch of energetic young dancers warming up, it is inevitable that little contests should break out. I got into an entrechat-six contest with a friend. Afterward, I realized that I had gotten very warm very quickly, so I remembered it for the future. So, doing them before a show gets me warm, as well as gives me confidence that I am indeed a capable dancer.

Thomas Bradley, dancer, Sydney Dance Company

I listen to Avicii’s “Levels” before every show. Adrenaline always comes knocking when it starts. Right before beginners call, I find a quiet place and rest my head against a wall and say, “Earth, fire, wind, water and spirit be with me.” It sounds immensely corny, but it’s what I do. When I get nervous, I tap my second, third, fourth and fifth fingers against my thumb back and forth as fast as possible. It’s great to distract you from being nervous and also focuses you. The reciting of the elements comes from my interest in their natural and somewhat untapped powers. I haven’t ever forgotten to do it, so I’m not sure if it’s all baloney! It certainly contributes to a stable and ‘ready’ state of mind pre-show.

Sarah Braverman of Parsons Dance. Photo by Evan Guston

Sarah Braverman, dancer, Parsons Dance

I have a few little quirks that I have noticed over the years. Pre-show, there must be Diet Coke on hand. In my dressing room, I perform my ‘shake the sillies out’ dance with the other ladies. It’s ridiculous, but it helps to get the adrenaline going. I have to get to the stage to warm up at half-hour. After doing abdominals and a little yoga, I have to crack both hips, then go through the ‘scary’ parts of the choreography.

Then comes the ‘unity breath’ and ‘whoosh’. [The whole company does] a series of big inhales and exhales and relevés to check our balance. Before the fourth time, I always have to say, ‘Last time.’ Then comes the ‘whoosh’, when we all gather our hands on each other’s over center-center and have a pre-show talk from our artistic and rehearsal director. Then I have to kiss my hand and touch the center-center mark. Everyone takes turns doing this and puts both feet, one after the other, on the mark and makes a ‘smooch’ noise. I always have to go last!

During the show, there are certain moments when I make eye contact with certain people at the same time every show, or the same inside joke is repeated at the same point in the program. Ritual or habit, I’m not sure, but I haven’t skipped these ‘rituals’ yet and don’t plan to!

Christina Ilisije, dancer, Parsons Dance

Our Parsons family has a pretty long list of pre-show rituals. Personally, I always kiss my fingers and put my smudged lipstick over the center mark. I also always have Ian Spring from the company fly me like Superman – my hip creases in his elevated legs. Apparently, this ridiculous position lengthens my back and stretches his hips. A win, win for us both. To top it off, he always proceeds to talk to me in Spanish at this point. A fun bonus!

I’m not particularly superstitious, but there is something that feels comforting in the routine. The stage is a special place that forever remains unpredictable, and a few rituals help bring some peace of mind for what’s to come. That being said, there are definitely shows when we are all running late and we only get one ‘unity breath’ in and maybe I don’t get lifted and fly with Ian or get to smooch center. To be honest, once the music starts, my partner is staring me in the eyes and my legs are in the air, none of that matters, and those thoughts of missed rituals are the furthest thing from my mind.

Kimberly Giannelli, soloist, Ballets With a Twist

There are three things that have to happen before I am about to go on stage. I must have one water and one red fruit punch-flavored Gatorade positioned next to one another at all times. In my makeup bag, I have a medallion from Bali that my old boss gave me of Dancing Shiva. Just before I begin applying my stage makeup, I hold it in my hands for a few seconds and then place him back in the right-hand corner of the makeup bag. Then, just after finishing my makeup, just before putting on my costume, I call out to my dance partner, Aengus Ortiz, for a very important job. I reach into my bag and pull out the same thin purple instrument: the neck shaver! He performs a very attentive haircut, making sure the nape of my neck is free from any fly-aways.

I am a very superstitious person. I have to walk the same pathway down the sidewalk into the theater for the entire run of the show. Depending on how long the run is, and if it was a good show, I have to wear the same pair of tights. If I had a bad show for whatever reason I have to change everything – pathway, tights, order of my makeup, and hair.

Alisha Coon, dancer, Sydney Dance Company

After morning rehearsals, I eat lunch at my favorite restaurant, usually choosing the same meal on each performance day. It is really important to eat properly on a show day, and I can never be bothered to cook, so I go to my favorite restaurant and choose something that I know will give me enough energy for the show but won’t make me bloated or leave me hungry mid-show.

I am admittedly easily distracted, so mental preparation for a performance is really important for me. This means getting to the theater early to do my hair and makeup, and making sure I have plenty of time to warm up so I never feel rushed. I will always go on stage before a performance as a part of my warm-up to think through entrances and corrections, and I will also dance out certain sections to get my body into the piece.

Top photo: Christopher Bloom, a dancer with the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, does 16 entrechat-six before every performance. Photo by Daniel Bloom.

Choreographer David Fernandez bids adieu to New York with ‘Some Dance’

By Laura Di Orio

One rehearsal with choreographer David Fernandez is like a party – his energy is contagious, his humor non-stop, and his work makes his dancers want to dance. So imagining a string of rehearsals and 60 professional dancers culminating in one evening of Fernandez’s work seems unreal – like some giant dance party.

On February 27, 2012, at New York City’s El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio, Fernandez will present a collection of his work as he bids adieu to New York before relocating to London to be with his children. The performance will feature friends and dancers with whom he has worked from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and NYC’s freelance dance community.

Altogether, Fernandez calls his project ‘Some Dance Company’ – a group that will simply gather together for the sake of the joy of dance. “We are here to dance,” Fernandez says. “Just press play and we will dance…a lot!”

In the early fall of 2011, freelance dancer Kimberly Gianelli and a friend first conceived the idea to celebrate Fernandez and his work in New York before his move. What began as an event that involved 18 dancers in a 180-seat theater has since blossomed into a performance of nearly 100 dancers – about 60 professionals and 40 of Fernandez’s students – and will now be housed in the 600-seat venue of El Teatro. Gianelli, a first-time producer of such an event, did the bulk of the fundraising on Kickstarter.com and used facebook as a means to spread the word.

“I want David to embrace this opportunity and present his work with the integrity it deserves,” Gianelli says. “I want the audience to walk away having seen a performance that made them feel entertained and happy, and to have introduced them to a collection of incredible dancers and a kind and talented creator.”

Fernandez was born in Mexico City and trained at the Centro de Arte y Ballet and later Giordano Jazz Dance in Chicago. He has choreographed works for Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, New Jersey Ballet, Opera North, Staten Island Ballet, and Westchester Ballet Company, amongst others. He has also been commissioned to create works for such ballet stars as Ask La Cour and Joaquin De Luz, both of whom will perform in the Some Dance Company performance.

Fernandez describes his choreography as “a very simple dance vocabulary that can range from classical pieces to modern works, with a focus on musicality. I don’t like to make heavy statements, have a super philosophy, try to change the dance world or fall victim to the pressure of having to say something very smart,” he adds. “They are quite simply pieces focused on just dance.”

ABT's Luciana Paris and Argentine tango dancer Claudio Asprea, who will perform a tango number at the February 27 performance. Photo by Renata Pavam

ABT’s Luciana Paris says she looks forward to dancing at this event. “David has always been about having fun,” she says. “Some Dance Company is a group of dancers who were touched in some way by his potential, his drive, his inspiration, and his artistry, who want to dance in celebration of that.”

The current roster – including La Cour, De Luz, NYCB’s Gonzalo Garcia, Amar Ramasar, Chase Finlay and Savannah Lowery, and ABT’s Luciana Paris, Maria Riccetto and Nicole Graniero – is proof that dancers enjoy working with Fernandez. On a Monday night, which is, for many professional dancers, a day off, they will instead be donating their time and talent in his honor.

“David breaks through the limitation of choreographer and learns everything he can about his dancers – inside and out,” says Lowery, who will dance in Fernandez’s White Shirt, Black Tie, Black Pants. “He is a friend in the most loyal sense and inspires his dancers through his friendship and love of the art.”

Garcia, a NYCB principal, agrees. “He is a great guy, who I would hang out with and talk about life and ballet for hours,” Garcia says. “I love to be able to support a new talent who is so excited about his work and dance in general.”

“Professionals recognize his artistry,” Gianelli says. “David is so musical and provides a dancer an opportunity to explore so many different types of movements. His work has a sense of humor and a light-hearted nature that brings out a sense of joy. It is also quite challenging and demands a lot of stamina from the dancer. It’s like a puzzle piece that always fits together so seamlessly.”

“I have no words to describe the overwhelming feeling that I have from this event,” Fernandez says. “To know that all my dancers, friends and students have collaborated to make this possible and that they like to dance my pieces is the biggest honor that I can ever have. Because it comes from the dancers it is so special. Without them I’m nothing. I could have many ideas, but no dancer, no choreography and no fun.”

As a way to give thanks to the dancers for their time and energy, Fernandez has decided to donate all net proceeds from the February 27 performance to Career Transition for Dancers, an organization dedicated to providing a variety of resources to dancers.

To purchase tickets to “Some Dance Company: A David Fernandez Celebration”, featuring about 14 of Fernandez’s works, some old and a couple new, visit his website at www.davidferndance.com/tickets.htm.

Top photo: NYCB Principal Joaquin De Luz in rehearsal with David Fernandez