 Jenie Lau of Young EduArts LLC (Seattle, Washington) Welcome to Part 2 of this bright informative interview! Jenie Lau is a ballet for figure skaters instructor located in the Seattle, Washington area. Her full bio has been posted below. To schedule private or group lessons with Jenie, check out her business website, Young EduArts LLC! Elesia Ashkenazy: What personal attributes do you bring to the field of teaching ballet to figure skaters? Jenie Lau: The most prominent attribute I bring is my understanding and compassion for how grueling training can be. Ballet and figure skating training are similar in that they both require hours of daily dedication, plus countless hours within a week, month, year, etc. I experienced dedicated rigorous training in ballet, dance, and martial arts. I also bring my personal thoughts on pedagogy of children from my studies in education (I am a student of the University of Washington pursuing a degree in early childhood education and family studies). The majority of my students are aged from preschool to teenaged. While the age range is wide, they are all children, and I am very cognizant of the teaching/learning relationship between student/teacher. Elesia: How do you organize and run your private lessons and group classes? Jenie: Private lessons are the ideal format for many figure skating students. They need the most “bang” for their money and schedule. I therefore individualize all private lessons specifically for each student. I begin with foundational ballet exercises that have been customized to address individual needs--for example, stronger extensions and better alignment and fluidity. There’s usually always a stretching component in addition to movement in the center/across the floor that stresses musicality and expression. Also, each student has a checklist of flexibility/strength exercises they need to complete between lessons. Group classes follow a similar format. The lessons address the technique, artistry, and musicality needed for skaters. I address the needs of the group as a whole vs. individual skaters. Elesia: What are a few of the most common tips, corrections, and advice that you find yourself giving students? Jenie: Posture, artistry, and musicality. These are big things I find to be very common when I give corrections and that skaters seem to lack consistently. Posture is critical for a skater yet many skaters seem to skate years without having learned the correct alignment (a neutral spine with the back muscles engaged, which in turn pulls down the shoulders and elongates the neck and head). Artistry is developed over time. Ballet is where a figure skater really learns to tell a story through every minute detail of the body such as the placement of their hands and fingers. Musicality is critical for a figure skater. For some, the ability to stretch the movements to illustrate the silences in the music is innate. For others, musicality must be developed over time with continuous exploration of different tempos and genres of music. Elesia: How do you involve your students' skate coaches? Jenie: I always prefer having a student’s skate coach involved, as they know the student’s figure skating needs best. From there, I can determine what elements should be emphasized in their lessons, such as extensions, flexibility and/or basic artistry (hand and finger positions, gaze, etc.). I generally like to touch base periodically--especially if there have been changes to the skater’s program--so that I may determine if there are new ballet relevant skills to be addressed. A new spin position, or a new arm position with a jump--any of those elements can be enhanced in the skater’s ballet lesson if the coach and instructor are working as a cohesive team to benefit the skater. Elesia: Is there anything I haven't asked that you would like others to know? Jenie: I strongly encourage figure skaters to start their ballet training as early as possible. In my experience, ballet is an afterthought, yet it is the ideal form of cross training as it supplements the technical and artistic skills needed for figure skating. Children--even at the age of 4 four years (such as Learn to Skate students)--should be encouraged to try a creative movement/ballet focused class. The foundational elements of ballet, inclusive of music, movement, and personal expression can be learned and then transferred more easily and earlier on to the ice. Lastly, figure skaters should look for an instructor who is willing to look at ballet as enrichment for figure skating. There is a huge difference between an instructor that teaches ballet to figure skaters solely for the purpose of continuing the ballet tradition, and an instructor that crafts ballet training for what each individual figure skater needs. Elesia: Thank you for your time and for this excellent two-part interview! I wish you the best. Your students are lucky to have you! Jenie: You’re welcome, and thank you! Bio: Jenie Lau began her dance training at the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet and Music under Artistic Director Debra Rogo in Richland, Washington. She trained in both Cecchetti (Italian) and Vaganova (Russian) styles including jazz and tap. As a pre-professional student, Jenie attended summer intensives as a scholarship recipient, inclusive of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and the International Ballet Competition program. She has studied character, musical theatre, and modern dance with renowned instructors. Jenie was also a competitive dancer and member of the nationally ranked Eastern Washington Elite Dance Team, and was also a member of Mid-Columbia Ballet where she performed soloist roles in classical and contemporary repertoire. Jenie's ballet for figure skaters background includes work as the guest ballet instructor for Sno-King Ice Arena-Renton's Figure Skaters 2015 Summer Camp. She is also the guest ballet instructor for the Tri-Cities Figure Skating Club 2015 summer class, and the 2015 Ballet for Figure Skaters Workshop. Jenie is the pending fall 2015 ballet instructor for Washington Ice Emeralds, a synchronized skate team. She is also the guest instructor for Skyline High School's Dance Team Summer Camp 2015 where she will be teaching technique class. 
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 Jenie Lau of Young EduArts LLC (Seattle, Washington) Jenie Lau is a ballet for figure skaters instructor located in the Seattle, Washington area. Her full bio has been posted below. To schedule private or group lessons with Jenie, check out her business website, Young EduArts LLC! Elesia Ashkenazy: How did you get started as a ballet for figure skaters instructor? Jenie Lau: I was teaching at a dance studio and a few of my ballet students informed me that they were figure skaters. When I started my own business, I offered to work with them in specialized ballet specifically geared to enhance and compliment their figure skating. Traditional ballet training at a typical dance studio is designed to produce pre-professional students. Figure skaters, however, need a variation of ballet training that teaches the foundational elements of ballet but is specialized to address the technical skills, artistry, and musicality needed for their field. Elesia: How does ballet relate to figure skating and why should a skater should invest in it? Jenie: Ballet is the ideal cross training for figure skaters as it addresses the three key aspects of figure skating: technique, artistry, and musicality. Figure skaters should absolutely be investing to some degree, even if it is just one solid ballet class a week. Most importantly, ballet teaches the correct posture and technical finesse needed for figure skating. Artistry is a core component of ballet, and ballet teaches a figure skater how to be an artist on the ice and not just an individual that performs jumps, spins, and footwork. Figure skaters must also be able to interpret music and illustrate the music with their movements on the ice, which ballet communicates from the very first class. No other form of cross training matches ballet as far as what is needed for figure skating. Elesia: How do you connect with and encourage enthusiasm and development with figure skaters who dislike ballet and/or dance? Jenie: I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with 40+ figure skaters over the course of eight weeks in an intensive summer camp. Most of them came in very skeptical of ballet due to previous experiences. If there’s anything I’ve learned working with skaters, it is that ballet needs to be relevant to their skating and ballet needs to enjoyable! Yes, ballet is hard--very hard. But it doesn’t mean that ballet shouldn’t be joyful to teach and learn. When instructors hold a mindset of wanting to help these skaters become better at their craft, the enthusiasm is contagious and the skaters in return want to become better at ballet for their skating. Elesia: Have you spoken with or exchanged emails with other ballet for figure skaters instructors? Jenie: Yes! There are a few instructors out there that I have come into contact with that are doing amazing things for the figure skaters they work with. Annette Thomas, instructor at American Ice Theatre is a well-known figure in the ballet for figure skating world. She offers a Vaganova ballet based method of training for figure skaters that I have incorporated in the training I offer. Jaclyn Levine, resident ballet instructor, at Arizona Ice Den is also another colleague I have communicated with. She runs a highly successful ballet for figure skaters program and offers a variety of lesson formats that I have also drawn from. Elesia: Is there anything us ballet for figure skaters instructors all have in common? What do we bring as a whole to the communities we serve? Jenie: I would have to say that the one common element us ballet for figure skaters instructors bring is the passion to utilize and share ballet for its incredible art form! Ballet for figure skaters instructors have the innate ability to see the parallels between figure skating and ballet to enhance their figure skating students’ abilities. We also have the ability to adapt training for students that are not typical ballet students. Not every ballet instructor can, or will want to do so. It takes a certain level of technical and artistic aptitude to translate the art of ballet for a different field even one as closely related as figure skating. We bring a reinvigorated type of ballet to the figure skating community! Elesia: Many thanks to Jenie Lau for this fantastic informative interview! My readers and I are looking forward to Part 2 tomorrow morning. Jenie: Thank you! Bio: Jenie Lau began her dance training at the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet and Music under Artistic Director Debra Rogo in Richland, Washington. She trained in both Cecchetti (Italian) and Vaganova (Russian) styles including jazz and tap. As a pre-professional student, Jenie attended summer intensives as a scholarship recipient, inclusive of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and the International Ballet Competition program. She has studied character, musical theatre, and modern dance with renowned instructors. Jenie was also a competitive dancer and member of the nationally ranked Eastern Washington Elite Dance Team, and was also a member of Mid-Columbia Ballet where she performed soloist roles in classical and contemporary repertoire. Jenie's ballet for figure skaters background includes work as the guest ballet instructor for Sno-King Ice Arena-Renton's Figure Skaters 2015 Summer Camp. She is also the guest ballet instructor for the Tri-Cities Figure Skating Club 2015 summer class, and the 2015 Ballet for Figure Skaters Workshop. Jenie is the pending fall 2015 ballet instructor for Washington Ice Emeralds, a synchronized skate team. She is also the guest instructor for Skyline High School's Dance Team Summer Camp 2015 where she will be teaching technique class. 
Body alignment and finger placement bring out the stickler in me. Whether I happen to be watching my students skate from my perch in the dance studio, or instructing them during a private or a group lesson, they're going to hear about it the minute I see a finger out of place. I avidly remind my students that finger placement has a significant impact on presentation because our fingers make or break our lines. Even after the stomach is pulled in, the shoulders down, and the neck elongated, there go our fingers ready to distract or enhance.
Look at the hand as a whole and create space between the fingers. Elongate each joint. From there, allow the thumb and middle finger to be magnetized toward each other. Not enough to actually touch, yet enough to say hello: enough to begin a thousand-word conversation. |
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