Rockstar Gym celebrates the highly esteemed Vaganova

Mention the word “ballet” and the picture that usually comes to mind are little girls in tutus doing twirls while standing on their tippy toes. However, this performance dance that originated during the Italian renaissance in the 15^th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia has more to it than portrayed by the typical stereotype.

Ballet has in fact been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training and has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically been incorporated into various cultures in the evolution of this beautiful art.

Another typical misconception, especially in Asia, is that ballet is an art practiced mostly by female dancers. However, this is not true, according to Nadiia Chekhovska, ballet instructor at Rockstar Gym, a development centre for children and teens aged six months to 16 years designed to enhance physical, socio-emotional and cognitive skills in a fun, caring and safe environment.

“If you compare the number of male ballerinos and female ballerinas, they are the same. Another bizarre myth I’ve heard are that males who take up ballet end up being ‘girly’ but this couldn’t be further from the truth. My own husband does ballet and he’s anything but girly,” says Chekhovska, who hails from Ukraine.

Chekhovska from Ukraine

“The things that a ballerino and ballerina do in ballet are completely different. While a skilled ballerina uses a lot of pointes during a performance, male ballerinos do lots of jumps and lifts. This helps them build muscles and strength because they have to lift others up and do lot of jump splits and pirouttes,” she adds.

She also adds that there are rumours that say that practicing ballet will hurt the dancer’s body. This, according to Chekhovska, is another misconception.

“If a dancer does everything correctly, they will not suffer injuries. This is why it is very important that ballet instructors ensure that the student does everything correctly,” she says, adding that at Rockstar Gym, students are thought using the highly revered and discerning Vaganova syllabus, ensuring optimum quality of classes, with little to no margin of error.

Indeed, the Vaganova syllabus draws on a solid foundation dating back to the late nineteenth century, developed by Agrippina Vaganova. A masterful and astute teacher, Vaganova developed a codified and comprehensive syllabus that established a new era in ballet education. Throughout its history, the highly esteemed Vaganova syllabus has endeavoured to preserve and enhance the best traditions of the classical heritage, renowned for its excellence.

The scientifically proven Vaganova method involves the systematic study of all ballet movements by breaking them down into their separate elements and is characterized by impeccable precision, attention to detail, ease of execution, emotion-evoking grace, and individual creativity.

Early training with employing the Vaganova code focuses on epaulement, or the stylized turning of the shoulders and body, which is partnered with the development of total stability and strength in the back to produce harmonious coordination of the body and continuity of movement. This core strength enables consistently precise, easy movement of the body; the training in epaulement, in turn, instills in the dancer an intuitive anticipation of how best to use every part of his or her body to evoke breathtaking results, right down to the hands and eyes.

The Vaganova Method's codified technical approach thus makes for injury free training emphasizing the simultaneous development of both technical proficiency and individual artistry, and a complete range of movemental expression that comes out of proper placement and a strong classical dance foundation, giving Vaganova and edge over other teaching styles and syllabi.

Ballet, when learnt from an especially young age, according to Chekhosvka, teaches the student more than just a dance technique, but rather ingrains into the student discipline, aspiration, proper diet and important socio-emotional and cognitive skills that benefit the student in other areas of his or her life.

Chekhovska states that Rockstar Gym’s ballet program offers both fun (free classes - based on age category) and academy (leveling classes - based on age category and skills) that train kids to learn correct posture, grace, self-discipline, coordination, ballet techniques, creativity, expression and musicality. Its ballet program includes Baby Ballet, Pre-Ballet, Pre-Grade, Grades 1-8, Contemporary Dance.

“You are never too young to start learning,” says Chekhovska. “At Rockstar Gym, we have students as young as two years old! These toddlers aged two or three years old typically start practising with fun music and exercise while listening to the tempo, while using fun props. Older students such as those aged seven or eight usually begin classes with warmups which include tip toes, stretching, bends and flexing the body before class begins. All these are done in a fun environment where learning and development come naturally.”

ABOUT ROCKSTAR GYM

RockStar Gym is a one-stop, children’s total development centre designed to enhance physical, socio-emotional and cognitive skills in a fun, caring and safe environment. Children 6 months to 16 years will have loads of fun when they foster their strength, balance, coordination, agility, rhythm and flexibility while developing their social skills, confidence, independence and self-esteem expressed through a wide range of Sports Activities, instructed by local and international certified instructors. RockStar Gym is determined to make a winner of every child of all ages, shapes, and size with focused, fun, exciting, and safe programs that are catered to the developmental stages of our children. Besides Malaysia, Rockstar Gym also operates in Indonesia through 15 gyms in two countries; with three of them being in Malaysia – The Mines, Tropicana City Mall, and SetiaWalk.