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