Training Model
About Style
With his many years of training drawing from the method of the Cuban Ballet School and years performing Balanchine choreography, Maestro Serrano developed a method of preparing dancers that they might excel as company professionals.
It is a concentric method, based on simple phases and stages until the movement is achieved, the incorporation of steps that serve as preparation for more complex ones. The habits and skills developed in the simplest techniques build to the most complex form of execution.
Dancers are prepared to perform choreography that requires extreme speed, short and sometimes very deep plié, fast feet, unconventional arms and hands and a lot of emphasis on lines, especially in Décalé (body position where it is outside its center).
Maestro Serrano's repertoire includes a neoclassical style, which incorporates elements of traditional ballet technique while embracing modern and abstract movements. Dancers' movements often emphasize strong lines, angular shapes, and dynamic contrasts.
Physical conditioning
Formal dance class has long been considered the cornerstone of training, providing all the technical, physical and aesthetic requirements of dance.
In recent years, a considerable number of studies have been carried out related to the health of dancers. The results of this study indicate that many dancers are not as physically fit or healthy as they could be.
It was also observed that there is a discrepancy in the level of physical intensity of training, rehearsals and dance performances. This means that training methods, which are often based on tradition, are not sufficient to prepare dancers for the more physically demanding aspects of dance performances.
In view of these studies, and with greater knowledge of the artistic and athletic needs of dancers of various genres, it is no longer acceptable to train dancers without preparing them physiologically for the demands of current choreographic work.
What is physical fitness and why is it beneficial?
For dancers, their instrument, their means of artistic expression, is their entire body (physically and physiologically).
Dance requires all aspects of physical condition. Good physical condition is key to reducing the risk of injury, improving performance and ensuring a long career as a dancer.
A healthy dancer is one with a state of physical and mental "well-being."
A physically fit dancer is one who can meet the demands of a given physical task at an optimal level.
The goal of improving the physical fitness of dancers is to minimize the difference between the dancer's maximum individual capabilities and the requirements for them to become the best dancers they can be.
These days, most classical ballet companies have a varied repertoire with classical, neoclassical, contemporary and fusion style choreographies.
