Nicholle-Rochelle

How did the young dancer from the hills of California find herself in London winning one of ballet's most prestigious medals, then in Miami working with a major ballet company, all by the time she was 17? Then going on to win a Princess Grace Ballet Fellowship and becoming a Soloist at North Carolina Dance Theatre just a few years later?

Naturally talent, discipline, brains and good training are essential ingredients in any such achievement; in Nicholle- Rochelle's case the training is especially enlightened and the individual has made the most of her individuality. Nicholle is the beneficiary of a rare blend of training methods: solid, traditional Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) syllabus with its emphasis on fluid, musical, "dancey" dancing, augmented by a highly progressive and forward-thinking approach that emphasizes injury prevention, cross-training and scientific knowledge of anatomy and kinesthesiology.

The Adeline Genée Competition ranks as one of ballet's most formidable events. Finals take place at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, a gorgeous but intimidating space. Judges such as Dame Antoinette Sibley are recruited from among the world's top dancers and teachers. Standards are high and uncompromising - never lowered to meet the level of a particular year's contestants. If no one is dancing at gold medal level then no gold medal is awarded. Finals require performance of a choreographed class center, which contestants have only a week to learn, and a set classical variation. Dancers must select their solo from a short list offered by the Competition. Nicholle chose the "Black Swan".

Nicholle says, "I never saw such good dancers in my life! They lived for fifth position." Strict English discipline pervaded. Nicholle jokes that in the entire theatre not one hair was out of place and that she had to rise an hour early just to get her hair slicked back. In a tough competition traditionally dominated by English and Australian dancers Nicholle earned a Bronze Medal (1999). She has just moved to Miami, where the acclaimed Miami City Ballet invited her to join its trainee program for dancers under age 18. She says it's strenuous work preparing for the company's different styling in both classical and contemporary techniques, and she "can't wait to turn 18". But she loves Miami and even took class with Miami resident Fernando Bujones who offered her a recommendation.

Nicholle credits Joanna Jarvis as her main teacher and coach, and the Royal Academy of Dancing syllabus as the foundation of her training. She did the RAD exams throughout her training, always earning "Honors" or "Highly Commended" from the notoriously strict RAD examiners. Even when she went away to school as a teenager she continued the RAD studies with Jarvis, working on her own to prepare for the advanced exams and making special trips to meet with Jarvis for coaching. She admires the RAD syllabus for creating dancers who are fluid, coordinated and never "robotic".

Nicholle started ballet at age 6 and from ages 13 to 17 studied at Idyllwild Art Academy in the California mountains from which she graduated a year early. Her main teachers were Jean-Marie Martz and Anne Krampen, both former dancers with the Stuttgart Ballet. She says that she is eternally grateful to Martz, and that she wouldn't be where she is if not for him.

Idyllwild's enlightened approach emphasizes injury prevention and it works; the students suffer fewer injuries and some, like Nicholle, go on to prove themselves among the best in the world. Nicholle alludes to another studio, (and such places are all too common), where lack of concern for dancers' health and safety resulted in almost universal tendinitis and even snapped ligaments. Not so at Idyllwild.

On entering the school students are painstakingly evaluated. It's not just, "how loose are you?" and "are your feet any good?" It is thorough: hip mobility, hamstring stretch, foot flexion, hyperextension, back mobility, various muscular strengths areall measured and recorded and than re-evaluated periodically. A special flexibility test determines the individual's safe degree of turnout at both knee and ankle. Teachers are experts in anatomy and kinesthesiology; with such detailed scientific information they can give highly individualized corrections, corrections that enable the student to improve without injury. Dancers learn to take care of themselves and to work independently but safely to change their bodies. Light ankle weights, resistabands and strength training, self -massage are all taught.

Idyllwild's precise measurements also revealed the effect of pointe shoes on Nicholle's body, and pointe shoe elastics in particular. Before trying Gaynor Minden Nicholle wore out about 40 - 50 pairs of pointe shoes a year; even shellacked double shanks wouldn't hold up despite Nicholle's diligence about pulling up and not allowing herself to go over too far. Naturally such shoes were hard to roll up in, and she found herself using more and more, tighter and tighter elastic to keep them on - to the point where she actually lost some flexibility in her Achilles tendon.

On switching to Gaynor Mindens, she gained 6% of Achilles tendon flexibility, she experienced an easier roll-up, an easier time finding her correct placement and an improvement in the appearance of her feet and in her pointe technique. She found that her quadriceps became more elongated, possibly from not having to "grip" as she did in her old shoes which rapidly broke down. Nicholle says Gaynor Mindens are good for turning, "no wobble," and good for floor feel, "you want to be stable during the semi-finals." She says she likes them because they last a lot longer, they are easy (quiet) to move in and teachers like the way they look. She also enjoys Gaynor Minden's comfort, "no more blisters", and shock absorption, "it's like the difference between dancing on a concrete and a sprung wood floor." Better still her feet were singled out for praise at exams and on her student's schedule she only needed about 7 pairs per year.

Nicholle greatly enjoyed Idyllwild's variety: she was able to study modern and jazz as well as ballet, and each morning was devoted to solid academic studies. Nicholle feels that exposure to other dance forms has contributed to her success and enabled her to cultivate her own individual style.

Her advice to other young dancers: Avoid injury. Develop your own style and be distinctive. Study many styles so you become well-rounded and attain versatility.

Photos: Mallory M. Cremin