Ballet Academy, HMTM / Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz
Rita Barão Soares trained at the Dance Academy in Setubal (Portugal) and joined the contemporary dance company there in 1997. This was followed by engagements with the Portuguese Contemporary Dance Company, the Karlsruhe Ballet and from 2003-2019 with the ballet company of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. As a dancer, she has worked with choreographers such as Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Christian Spuck, Jiří Kylián, Itzik Galili, Jo Strømgren, Marco Goecke and Christopher Roman. After various freelance engagements as a choreographic assistant, she has been working as a choreographic assistant and rehearsal director at the Gärtnerplatztheater since 2019 and has been a teacher for modern dance at the HMTM Ballet Academy since 2021.
I developed this ballet class expressly to address the needs of the everyday routine of professional contemporary dancers. It centers on musicality, coordination, and the simple pleasure of movement found in ballet. The class is informed by the various experiences, methods, and teachers I have encountered during many years active in the dance field, integrating elements of modern dance and release techniques. Participants are encouraged to cultivate confidence while emphasizing suspensions and focusing on gaining momentum through conscious breath and musical phrasing.
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