Dance Is My Life

In my final blog post I will blog about my feelings toward dance. I will also blog about the impact that dancing has had on my life these past years. Dancing is my life. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

Dance picture found at: http://hapibaimao.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

To me dancing is expressing the way you feel through movement of the body. I use dancing as a way to let out my feelings. Like for when I'm angry, sad, or even happy. Dancing is the best way to let your feelings out, and show them to the world.

In my opinion hip hop dancing is the best type of dance. I enjoy it way more than any other type of dance. I think I enjoy it so much because it's a type of dance where you can just give your all and go hard and do hard movements. I think it is more fun, interesting, and different than the other types of dancing. Hip hop dancing is also what I'm best at doing.

Whenever I go on stage to hip hop dance I feel like I'm not really there. It's like my whole mind just goes blank and I don't think about anything. I feel free, and away from all worries in my life. No worries exist while I'm on stage dancing. I also feel like no one is in the building except for me when I dance. I just eliminate everyone that's there and I feel like it's just me and the stage.

I am proud of myself for being committed to something for so long. Hopefully I will still be able to dance for more years to come. I absolutely love to dance and am very happy to be a dancer. Dancing is my life.

Contemporary Dancing vs. Ballet Dancing

In this post I will blog about the differences between contemporary dance and ballet dance. I will also blog about the similarities too. People often get these two types of dancing confused. They think that if someone is dancing to slow music doing slow movement, that it is automatically ballet. This assumption is incorrect.

Contemporary dancer found at:
http://kristianverdida.blogspot.com/

"Contemporary dancing refers to forms of dance that are derived from more modern techniques, rather than traditional styles of dance, and is not necessarily an entirely different kind of dancing." Contemporary is a very popular type of dance now. Whenever I go to competitions now and I perform my solo dance, there are always mostly contemporary solos. This type of dance is a really nice way to let yourself go while you dance. Contemporary can make you feel free whenever you do it. In contemporary loose clothing is often worn. 

Ballet dancer found at:
http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/akqa-goes-to-the-ballet_b2758

Ballet is defined as a classic type of dance that was formed around the time of the Renaissance. Ballet is rarely performed at competitions today, but it still is a popular type of dance. Tutus are often worn for this type of dance.

Ballet dancing and contemporary dancing do have many different similarities. One similarity they have is the type of music that is used for the dances. "They both use slow music. The difference in their music is that when someone does a contemporary dance it has many different types of music that can be used. You could use rock, r&b, some techno, and many more. While with ballet most people use classical music from a orchestra when they perform." 


Another similarity between contemporary and ballet is that they both have slow movement. Although they both have slow movement, there is a big difference from the movements used in contemporary and ballet dancing. Sometimes contemporary isn't slow. There are some contemporary dances that are very fast and upbeat. In contemporary dancing there is more variety in the moves. While in ballet there are very soft, and delicate moves. Plus in ballet your posture is way more important than it is in contemporary dancing. 

What Is Dance?

During this post I will discuss the the outlook on dancing from a different perspective. I will ask others about what they believe the definition of dancing truly is. I chose to interview dancers on this topic because I want to see what other peoples views on dancing are instead of only knowing my perspective on dance. The people I am interviewing will be dancers from the studio that I attend weekly. I also plan on interviewing my dance instructor too. I plan on interviewing about five people. I will ask them multiple questions on dancing and include their answers in this blog post.

Q1: What is your definition of dance?
-My dance teacher, Alaina says; “ To me dancing is movement throughout the body.”
-Ashley, a dancer at Broadway Bound studio says; “Dancing is a way to express yourself.”  -Another dancer of Broadway Bound; Katie says that it is a way express yourself too.
-Logan, another dancer of the studio says; “Dancing is showing emotions through movement.” -Destiny, a dancer at Broadway Bound says; “ It is a movement of your body.”

Q2: How do you feel when you dance?
-Alania says; “I get a satisfying feeling that nothing that nothing else can bring. I feel happy and joyful.”
-“I get a happy feeling that I love.” Says Ashley.
-“I feel free when I dance.” Says Katie.
-“I feel overcome with happiness and joy.” Says Logan.
-Destiny says; “ I feel like I’m in a whole different world.”

Q3: How does dance impact your life?
-“Dancing has been my whole life.” Says Alania.
-“It is my passion, and it makes me want to reach my goals in life.” Says Ashley.
-“It keeps me happy and keeps me active.” Says Katie.
-“Takes up most of my time.” Says Logan.
-“It keeps me out of trouble.” Says Destiny.

This is a video that shows what dance truly is and he is dancing while telling what dance is to him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCCpUnD6y4

Dance Competitions

During this blog post I will talk about dance competitions and what it was like for me when I had my first solo dance at a competition. Dance competitions are a chance to show people everything you got. At the dance competitions there will be judges adding and deducting points from your score depending on how well your on stage performance is.

The judges usually have a tape recorder and they talk into it while you dance to give you constructive criticism. The constructive criticism helps out a lot. It helps you know what to do whenever you’re practicing in the studio so you can do it even better whenever you hit the stage.

Whenever they had called my number for me to go on stage to start my dance, I was very shaky and nervous. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I would do if I messed up. When my music cut on it was like my mind was blank of all negative thoughts. I wasn’t thinking about anything. It was like I was the only one in the auditorium, just dancing by myself with no one watching. Before I knew it my song was over. I thought it went by very quickly.

After I got of off the stage it was like I wanted to go right back up there and dance all over again. I had so much fun. I just didn’t have a care in the world for the rest of the day. I was so proud of myself for actually going on stage in front of hundreds of people and performing a solo dance all by myself.

After competitions there are always awards. They make sure that everyone gets some kind of award, because everyone deserves something for actually trying. There are many different kinds of awards you can get. The highest is called a diamond award then there’s the high platinum, platinum, high gold, gold, and silver. Sometimes it just depends on what kind of competition you go to. Whenever all of that is done they then place the dances from tenth to first for each category. After that they name the top dances overall. When I had my first solo I ended up being fifth place.

This is the competition that I attended last Sunday.
http://dancemachineonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Dance-Machine-Logo.gif

How to Dance

During my fourth blog post I will be explaining what to do if you want to start dancing. I will also tell the most important factors when it comes to dancing. 

First thing to know is that when dancing be yourself! Being yourself has to be the most important factor to dancing. Honestly if you don't express your personality or feelings in your dance then it looks bland and boring. It doesn't matter if you're not a good dancer or not, dancing is for anybody. Just do what you feel, and let go. Dancing is a way to let all of what you're feeling inside show on the outside. For me dancing is a great stress reliever.

Another way to learn how to dance is to try dancing at a studio. Make sure to find a studio that fits you. Finding a studio is a very important part at dancing. You should make sure that the studio fits your time schedule, and is in an appropriate area where you can drive there and make it to class on time instead of being late all of the time.

Practicing is another important aspect to dancing. That saying "Practice makes perfect" is very true. If you practice your dance like you would do it on stage then you most likely would not have that much of a problem actually performing the dance on stage.

One more important thing to dancing is your on stage performance. I know how hitting the stage for the first time can be. It is very scary and nerve racking. The best thing to do in a situation like this is to clear your mind of all things and just dance! It's like the more you think the more you mess up. At the competition that we had on Sunday I thought about my dance while we were performing and I ended up messing up very badly. So just go with the flow, stay calm, and try not to think too much and you should be fine.

Dance picture can be found at: http://www.ric.edu/whatsnews/media/photos2/dance/dance_detail.jpg

Senior Flash Mob

A flash mob is a group of people mobilized by social media to meet in a public place for the purpose of doing an unusual or entertaining activity of short duration. In a Dulles Virginia mall, there was a dancing senior flash mob.They came from a retirement home called Ashby Ponds. The person to come up with the idea to do a flash mob was Jessica McKay, the public affairs manager at Ashby ponds. The oldest out of the group of twenty-five was eighty years old. The youngest was sixty-six years old. The song that they danced to was “Tonight is the Night” by Outasight.There were practicing for two months, once a week.

The people of the retirement home began planning for this flash mob sometime last year, and they had discussions and meetings about it. Later on they decided that they would give it a try. By late January the community got a dance studio called Arthur Murray Dance Studio to help them with this plan. The studio help with choreography and worked with the senior group regularly. Dan Dunne, director of communications with Erickson Living, which operates Ashby Ponds, says the participants were committed from the beginning.

The dance lasted for almost three minutes. Everyone seemed to love their surprise dance.There were many mall shoppers that were surprised by the flash mob. While some of the people at the mall were just friends, family, and neighbors that already knew about the flash mob. After the dance was over a group of four women gathered up and talked about how they felt about the flash mob dance."You get all piped up for something like this," one of the women says.

Jessica McKay says that she does plan on trying the flash mob again at another location. She says, "We're going to give them some time to recuperate, and maybe we'll do another flash mob and surprise people somewhere else."

http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2826627&nid=159

History of Ballet

In my second blog post you will learn what ballet is and its history. Alexander Pushkin says that "Ballet is a dance executed by the human soul". This quote is a perfect explanation of what ballet truly is. It shows that ballet is not just a list of movements put together, it is a dance that is used to express yourself in a way of moving your body. Even though I’m not a big fan of ballet I've chosen ballet because I believe it is one of the most important types of dance. A lot of other types of dances originate from ballet. If ballet never happened then the world of dance would be way different from what it is today. 

Ballet started out in Italy during the Renaissance in the 1500s. In Italy instead of saying ballet they called it ballet de cour (court ballet). There would be ballet dances performed on a court for entertainment for everyone to see. The dancers would wear fancy, decorated masks. They also wore layered clothing, which was difficult to move in.

Eventually, ballet dancing began to spread to France and soon all over the world.The first professional ballet school was in 1661, and it was created by Louis XIV. Only men were allowed to dance in the studio, they had to wear masks and play women roles. In 1681, women were allowed to be professional ballet dancers. The first ballet performed by women is called Le Triomphe de l'Amour, in English it’s The Triumph of Love.During the second half of the 18th century males dominated ballet dancing.

Over the years ballet dancing has made a drastic turn. Today there are many women ballet dancers and anyone is allowed to join a studio.There has been more types of ballet. Now there are many other ballets like contemporary, romantic, neoclassical,classical, and many more. Dancers are not required to wear fancy, masked, jeweled costumes to perform anymore. You can wear whatever you want to, but the usual outfit of choice for ballet would be a tutu.

  Renaissance:http://www.cockaigne.org.uk/research/images/balletdecour1660small.jpg

Today's Ballerina:http://www.trespassmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ballet_cuba_500.jpg

Dance

Dancing has played an enormous role in my life for the last nine years. My passion for music first started at a very young age. When I was around five or six I would always sing and dance to songs on the radio.


Eventually I decided to join a cheer team around the age of five. I didn't find much of an interest in cheering. So after a few months of cheerleading, I was with my Aunt Lillian when we saw an ad on dance classes for beginners starting that summer at a studio called Broadway Bound. I so ecstatic to start something new and meet new people, but I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be good enough. 

After a few weeks of impatiently waiting summertime finally came around. I had so many butterflies on the way to the studio. When I arrived to the studio we started out on basics like pirouettes, then splits and dances. After that day I’ve loved dancing ever since. Now I compete at different competitions, do solos, go to dance conventions, and many other things. We actually just had a competition on Sunday that we did great at, and I can’t wait for the next one. 

We are doing a jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and tap dance, and I’m doing a hip hop solo.Everybody at the studio aren’t just friends, it’s like we are a family. I think dancing has and always will have a big impact on my life and the decisions that I make in life. Dancing and music is something that I have a strong passion for. When I dance it helps me to clear my mind of all things, and it makes me happy. Dancing also helps to keep me in shape. It gives me something to do instead of going around and doing crazy things. I love dancing and I hope I can keep doing it for even more years to come, this is why I chose to do my blog on dance.

Citation: The picture is available at: http://www.signaturedanceacademy.com/