Dance Magazine: The first season San Francisco Ballet corps dancer Ludmila Bizalion performed the company’s French (or Mirliton) Nutcracker divertissement, which entails twirling a long, handheld ribbon while doing pirouettes and can-can high kicks, she ended one performance wrapped up in her ribbon and unable to take her bow. “My mom, who was in the audience, thought it was hilarious,” she remembers. “But that day really changed the way I saw props.”
4 comments:
I think that it’s interesting that some people love props and naturally feel that they enhance their work and then there are others who feel award and nervous to implement props into any kind of performance. I haven’t put a lot of thought into how the size and shape of a prop can really have an effect on a dance routine. It makes me think about the considerations that are made when designing or choreographing a piece. It kind of changes your perceptive and understanding of the difficulty level of piece when props are involved. I totally agree that props can help tell the story, especially on ballet. For some reason they can be so enchanting. I believe this really could be due to the comment that was made about how they should be treated like an extension of the body. It can be so beautiful to watch a performer fully connected with something that is helping to tell the story.
I have been involved in musical theater since I was six years old. I was always told no props in auditions until I was 13. Which was such a weird thing to me and honestly still is. There was such a stigma with using props in auditions and that's all I have ever known growing up. So it is interesting reading this article and see props in a different way. This article made props be seen as an emotional part of the act. Like the prop is part of the act rather than a distraction. I feel like for theater and other art forms it can be interesting what enhances the performance. Also if this is something that can make performances new and a different thing to try, it's worth trying since the art and theater world is ever changing. I also love how they talk about balance in this article because I feel like this is one of the most important elements.
In my opinion props is such an underrated element of design within the entertainment industry because I feel that people often overlook them due to how well they tend to blend with a piece of work. Articles such as this one provide such great insight on the significance of props and how they can change the perspectives of one's movement and the story itself. I really adore how this article utilizes various cultures, specifically of people of color, utilizing "props" within their cultural dances as to depict the historical prevalence in which these items have been used. The use of props transcends time as they have continuously been incorporated within multiple dance forms and practiced very meticulously to evolve to the way they are used currently. This article depicts that props are not merely just objects but storytellers as well that can heighten the emotional and physical attributes of a dance number.
So, I am a huge Dance Moms fan. When I saw the title of this article I immediately clicked it because a) I competed myself for many years and b) I have seen this endless times on Dance Moms. Props always throw a wrench into things, it’s infamous. Some of my favorite Dance Moms numbers have had props, and if you know Dance Moms, you know that there will never not be prop drama. There are always umbrellas flipping upside down during Made In The Shade, or in Silver Spoons, the spoon is too heavy and has to be changed, or there’s a prop missing in Sugar Daddies and someone has to not have one in the number, or in Tongue Twister, Paige has to dance with a chair - it’s endless and I love it all. I did one number called “Kite” with a gigantic pole that was offstage with a string that came onstage with a handle. That handle created a lot of problems. I did another number with a map that we all passed around, and there was a lot of dropping. I think it’s an effective mindset to think of the prop as a partner. And the article implies it’s always important to be vigilant, because there’s always a chance of the prop failing on you. There’s definitely a need for a higher sense of awareness.
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