OLLOM MOVEMENT ART

The technique of John Ollom is founded on the alignment of ballet, but it pulls off into energies that are both modern and jazz in stylistic qualities. Each dancer is pushed to portray their unique voice beyond the restrictions of traditional ballet. To this end, John has developed two methodologies. The Ollom Floor Series© uses increased anatomical awareness and slow strength building exercises combined with slow stretches to build a phenomenally conditioned core. Internal Landscapes© is a choreographic process where the student learns to create works of art that incorporate movement created from an authentic impulse within the dancer. The goal of Ollom Movement Art is to motivate dancers to appreciate the unique beauty in each artist, both technically as well as emotionally. John's approach is based on trust among dancers, as well as providing positive reinforcement that creates both eloquent and personal choreography.

Please see Prismatic Productions for more information on John Ollom's movement art company, upcoming film and workshops and educational classes. Please email ollomdance@aol.com with any questions.

Your work has helped me a great deal and I am glad I can give back.

I am a 39 year old man who for the past 20 years has been lifting weights, usually on the heavy side. I haven't done much stretching over the years. In 2003 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Although the MS at times has limited my weight lifting I did continue to lift heavy weights while at the same time thinking about adding some stretching to my workout. However, stretching never seemed like a workout for me, moreover, core training was something I read about in fitness magazines, not something I practiced. So my attempts at stretching were half-hearted at best. As my MS progressed I experienced mild spasticity, an increase in muscle tone causing tightness and a shortening of the muscles, and loss of balance. I managed. Then in December 2007 an MS relapse left my body with severe spasticity which affected my walking greatly. The time had come for me to rethink my MS battle plan. My doctor prescribed a medication for the spasticity which I was happy to take initially to get some relief, but knew I didn't want to stay on it long term as my doctor had suggested. I knew there had to be something else I could do. My partner lovingly recommended acupuncture which I tried. Sadly, I went to the wrong office for acupuncture, they over booked and always seemed hurried. It was not the relaxing therapeutic environment I was expecting. During my 4th and last acupuncture treatment I was laying there with 15 needles stuck in various parts of my body when a thought came to my head... maybe I am approaching this the wrong way, (laying here doing nothing while someone shoved needles in my body)... maybe I should be moving my body instead. The very next day I picked up a fitness class schedule at the McBurney YMCA. That night I read it over trying to decide which classes I should try. The first week I tried water aerobics, I survived that so the next week I decided to try John Ollom's hardcore abs/body sculpt class. That first class was rough, I felt like a fish out of water, but I also knew that I had found the class I needed to get my body back in order, I felt stretched. The day was Wednesday, February 27, I remember it well, I could hardly walk home after that first class, but I felt good, challenged. I kept up with the class and over the next few weeks I learned what my core muscles are and how to use them. My tight muscles started to loosen and my balance improved, a lot. I noticed one day while I was walking down 8th Ave on my way home that I was engaging my core muscles to assist with walking, that was a great day for me. I was so excited about how I was benefiting from working with John, how my core strength was improving, that I decided to come off the medication for spasticity. At first I was nervous but as my balance improved I knew it was the right decision. So it has been 14 weeks since I started taking John's class, I have come a long way in those 14 weeks. My body continues to loosen up and my balance is great. John's expert knowledge of the body and how it moves has benefited me more than I can express.

Thank you, John, for teaching me how to strengthen my core and stretch my body.

JOHN OLLOM

With Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet, John performed La Valse, Firebird, and Cinderella. In New Hampshire, John also danced with Granite State Ballet. He has also performed at the Kennedy Center with Infinity Dance Theater, Lincoln Center with Diane Faye Dance Theater and the Metropolitan Opera House with the Bolshoi Ballet. He has performed with Annabella Gonzalez Dance Theater for three seasons in Manhattan and at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs and on the tour of Firecracker in China with Michael Mao Dance. John received his BFA in ballet from TCU where he trained under Stephanie Rand, Li Chou Cheng of Beijing Ballet and Fernando Bujones of ABT and the Royal Ballet. During his training at TCU, John was the only male chosen to dance Fernando's original choreography in Reggio Emilia, Italy. John also trained at Colorado Ballet and with scholarship at Boston Ballet. His dancing has taken him to such diverse areas as Europe, Africa, and China.

In May 2004, his choreography and performance in John Ollom's The Journey at Lincoln Center garnered a nomination for the Time Out New York's Dance Audience Award and rave reviews. John has choreographed operas including Dido and Aeneas and Orfeo and Eurudice. In July 2005 he was chosen as one of ten artists from across the world to receive a grant from The Field and The Howard Gilman Foundation to create new works at the Baryshnikov Studio at White Oaks Plantation. In March 2006 his dance theater piece Anatomy of Woman was presented at Lincoln Center's Clark Theater and also in Port Washington, NY. His work, The Other Species premiered at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Denver. In 2008, a new work entitled A Man of War was presented as the keynote performance at Creativity and Thought, a Long Island University Honors Program Conference. Karpos and Kalamos, one piece from his work Love Stories, is currently being produced into a short film. His new work M.U.D. will be presented as part of the Long Island Fringe Festival in September, 2009.

John's technique is founded on the alignment of ballet, but pulls off into energies that are both modern and jazz in stylistic qualities. John's company dancers are pushed to portray their unique voice beyond the restrictions of traditional ballet. To this end, John has developed two methodologies. The Ollom Floor Series© uses increased anatomical awareness and slow strength building exercises combined with slow stretches to build a phenomenally conditioned core. Internal Landscapes© is a choreographic process where the student learns to create works of art which incorporate movement created from an authentic impulse within the dancer which integrates feelings, emotions and ideas. His goal is to motivate dancers to appreciate the unique beauty in each artist, both technically as well as emotionally. His approach is based on trust among dancers, as well as providing positive reinforcement that creates both eloquent and personal choreography.

John has been teaching and coaching for the past eight years in New York City. Currently, he is a professor of ballet and dance at City University of New York (CUNY), the Ballet Master and Dance Faculty Coordinator for the McBurney Y, where he teaches classes from beginner to master levels. He teaches the Ollom Floor Series© core conditioning classes at PMT House of Dance. His classes range from group classes to private lessons to select dancers. John's coaching in partnering is highly sought after and includes: professional partnering classes at the Harkness Dance Center at the 92nd St Y, master classes, partnering workshops, Juilliard students, and private coaching. His methodology has been taught at Kalani Retreat Center in Hawaii, Baruch College and Atmananda Yoga Sequence in NYC. John will again serve as a featured faculty member of the 2009 Ollom Movement Arts' Summer Program at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts as he has since its inception in 2002.