Ballet Zaida

Today’s blog post is an interview with ballet dancer, Jeanette Kakareka. The interview was done in December, 2011.

Jeanette is currently a trainee with the San Francisco Ballet School.

What music are you listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to Poison Control Center’s Sad Sour Future album.

What are you currently trying to improve about your ballet technique?
I’m always trying to improve my technique and I’m also always trying to get stronger. There’s got to be about a million things I see in the mirror every day that I’m working on fixing. I also have to remind myself to be patient so I don’t get overly frustrated too easily. Everyone’s body comes with a different set of strengths and weaknesses. I focus on my body, and what I have to do with the body that I have, to accomplish what I want.

What’s your favorite book?
Anne of Green Gables or The Time Traveler’s Wife.

What’s your current favorite ballet?
My favorite ballet will forever be Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is my dream role, far (far far far…) above anything else.

Have you thought about choreographing a ballet?
I’ve thought about choreographing something short, but I don’t have the confidence yet that I’d be able to carry it through. I never want anything to be just mediocre.

See any movies lately?
I saw the Muppets, which was hysterical, and the Descendants, which was heart-wrenching the whole movie. I loved them both.

What kind of pointe shoes do you wear?
I wear custom Bloch Alphas that have an extra hard shank and tip. When my shoes don’t arrive in the mail fast enough, I experiment. Right now I’m experimenting with some Freed’s I got upstairs from the company shoe room. I like them but they die too fast.

What’s it like doing a Ballet Zaida photoshoot?
It’s just you and the photographer so it’s really casual and laid-back. I also love photography and Oliver really knows what he’s doing, so I feel like I always learn from the experience.

Do you plan dance poses for the photoshoot ahead of time?
Sometimes I come up with a few and Oliver usually has some ideas of his own.

What’s your favorite part of the city of San Francisco?
Christmas time at Union Square is insane and I love it. I pretend I’m in NYC. I like crowds, just as long as I’m not in any big rush. I’m a fast walker and I pummel people down.

Any favorite place to shop?
Not in particular. I shop at a lot of different places.

How would you describe your personal fashion?
I wear what I want to wear. I usually want to wear big sweaters, boots, and scarves. I like pastels and dark colors. I love dresses.

Any favorite quotes?
“I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
- Ray Bradbury

What’s something that surprises people about you?
I guess it surprises people how much I eat.

Get any new leotards recently?
I bought a pink Yumiko this year.

Who inspires you?
There’s lots of dancers that inspire me. I think Alessandra Ferri is my favorite because of how she made every step purposeful. What also really inspires me is when a dancer can continue to improve over the years and not just get comfortable.

-Oliver Endahl

(@OliverEndahl) (@BalletZaida)

Today we’ll be discussing the composition of photos, and the ballet technique in them.

The first of today’s new photos features David Donnelly.

Dancer - David Donnelly. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

What I like about this photo is David’s intense expression, the angle the photo was taken, and also the colors. I also enjoy the vertical blocks at the bottom that frame him.

You can’t tell too much from this photo, but David’s feet are amazing. (You’ll see how amazing on Monday)

Dancer - Jeanette Kakareka. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

This photo of Jeanette Kakareka was created off of Market street in San Francisco, in a tiny alley.

What I like about this photo is the colors. I really enjoy the blue tones, and also how the lighting naturally vignettes her.

I’m a big fan of natural light.

Jeanette’s ballet position in this photo is gorgeous. There’s a lot of great stuff going on like her incredible well placed attitude leg, her flexible but strong upper body, relaxed expression, and her arms. But what what I notice first about this photo is her high arch, and her nicely winged foot. Both of which are great.

I’ve pointed out the nice wing shape her foot makes with red, and her high arch with green.

Jeanette's high arch and winged foot.

You will see many more photos of Jeanette as the gallery continues. She was just getting warmed up in this photo.

The next photo features Jeraldine Mendoza and Alanna Endahl.

Dancers - Jeraldine Mendoza & Alanna Endahl. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

Alanna’s tendu back line here is great. Both her legs are turned out, her arms are well placed, and her back foot is winged. And even though Jeraldine is just sitting on the ground, her feet are both in balletically appropriate positions.  Notice her left foot is in a well shaped wing, and her right foot is not sickling, and is continuing the line of her leg.

Alanna and Jeraldine’s wing’s are in green, and Alanna’s turn out and Jeraldine’s continued foot line are in red.

Alanna and Jeraldine's nice wings, Jeraldine's nice foot line, and Alanna's turn out.

This next photo is of Caitlin McAvoy.

Dancer - Caitlin McAvoy. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

This is the 2nd shot in Gallery Four that features just the upper body. (The first shot was of Alanna)

As I’ve said before, I’m constantly looking for new angles to photograph dance positions in, and I’ve become a big fan of the just upper body shots.

It turns out this pose is actually much more difficult than it looks, because the arms can’t look too tense, and they can’t look too relaxed. In this shot Caitlin found the perfect balance between the two though, and she added her own artistry. I think the photo turned out great.

The last photo we’ll discuss today features Anthony Spaulding & Kimberly Braylock.

Dancers - Anthony Spaulding & Kimberly Braylock. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

I love the dynamic of this shot. Anthony’s pose is so strong, and Kim’s pose is so free. My eye’s tend to go back and forth between the two.

Both Anthony and Kim’s ballet position’s in this shot are great. Anthony’s standing foot is really well placed, and you can tell he has a really strong balance because of it. Also, his back foot in attitude is shaped and pointed very nicely.

Kim’s arms and upper body are great. And even though Kim is in a falling forward pose, she still maintains a great standing foot shape that continues the line.

Anthony’s standing foot and nicely shaped foot are in red, and Kim’s standing foot line is in green.

Anthony's strong standing and nicely shaped foot, and Kim's great standing foot line.

More photos will be added to Gallery Four this Monday.

-Oliver Endahl