All Articles by Alex Ossadnik

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Alex Ossadnik

About Alex Ossadnik

Alex was trained under government scholarship for eight years on the Palucca Schule Dresden in his native (then communist) Germany. His performance career spanned from 1986-2000 with companies in Germany, France and the USA. Since then he is a successful choreographer, teacher and coach. Alex is the ballet master for Ballet Idaho since 2008.

Before we begin, here’s how to read this article: This is not meant to be easy or entertaining reading. Because the subject is complex, intricate and multi-layered, this article is technical and tries to cover all the basics and all the details. If you have never thought of tendu as anything other than stretching your…

This is the time when some schools hold placement classes to decide who will be in which level for the coming school year. Other schools may have already placed their students before the summer break, but be it as it may, this process can be stressful and even upsetting for students and parents. And everyone…

To answer this question, let’s begin with a little experiment: Where ever you are at the moment, take a few steps and find out which leg is your good walking leg and which is your bad walking leg. It should become obvious in very little time that most likely there is no good or bad…

Especially during the summer month, staying in shape can become an issue when there are less classes to take. It can be scary or comforting, depending on which end of the spectrum you are. At Ballet Idaho, our dancers are faced with a brutal layoff between mid April and October, making a living takes often…

“A prophet is nothing in their own country” is something they say in Germany. It means that a prophet who teaches his own pupils will be listened to the least. The prophet’s pupils will pay polite and respectful attention, but most of what is said will go in one ear and out the other. I…

Corrections you hear the most and like the least are the most important corrections for you. The reason is simple: How you feel doing things is a world apart from how things work and look in reality. That is why many dancers have a difficult time watching video footage of themselves. The only person that…