Your parents may have sacrificed lots of time for your love of dance: they drove you to lessons and attended performances. And you may also owe them for several years’ worth of tights, tutus, leotards, pointe shoes, and lessons.
But 11-year old Dominic Handford now owes his parents a house for their undying support of his dance career.
If you choose a life of professional dance, it might worry you that many dancers retire in their late thirties.
So how do some dancers keep performing into their fifties and beyond? Good question: and now is the time to ask it.
This post comes to us from guest blogger Nichelle Strzepek. Nichelle’s home is at DanceAdvantage, a blog with great material for dancers, covering topics on everything from technique to nutrition.
Today, Nichelle brings us her look at Creative Dance and its use in teaching.
This is the final post in our series on career advice for dancers. If you’re trying to decide if the life of a professional dancer is right for you, then check out this entire series. Click on the title of this post to read on.
AND, check out the link to DanceAdvantage’s Teach-a-Thon at the end of this post. The Teach-a-Thon is a week-long blogging event that offers great advice for dance students who are heading back to school soon! We are happy to participate in the Teach-a-Thon all week long.
This is the fourth post in our series on career advice for dancers. If you’re trying to decide if you want the life of a professional dancer, then this series is for you. Click on the title of this post to read more.
AND, check out the link to DanceAdvantage’s Teach-a-Thon at the end of this post. The Teach-a-Thon is a week-long blogging event that offers great advice for dance students who are heading back to school soon! We are happy to participate in the Teach-a-Thon all week long.
This is the third post in our series on career advice for dancers. If you’re trying to decide if you want the life of a professional dancer, then this series is for you. Click on the title of this post to read more.
AND, check out the link to DanceAdvantage’s Teach-a-Thon at the end of this post. The Teach-a-Thon is a week-long blogging event that offers great advice for dance students who are heading back to school soon! We are happy to participate in the Teach-a-Thon all week long.
This is the second post in our series on career advice for dancers. If you’re trying to decide if you want the life of a professional dancer, then this series is for you. Click on the title of this post to read more.
AND, check out the link to DanceAdvantage’s Teach-a-Thon at the end of this post. The Teach-a-Thon is a week-long blogging event that offers great advice for dance students who are heading back to school soon! We are happy to participate in the Teach-a-Thon all week long.
You’ve been dancing since age three. Your classmates have never seen you without your dance bag.
Now, you’re ready to graduate from high school and decide on a future. Until now, dance has been your life, but will it be your career?
Many dancers reach this point and wonder if the life of a professional dancer is right for them. If you want to know the pros and cons of a career in dance, then this post is for you. This is the first in our series of posts with career advice for dancers.
Click on the title of this post to read on.
AND, check out the link to DanceAdvantage’s Teach-a-Thon at the end of this post. The Teach-a-Thon is a week-long blogging event that offers great advice for dance students who are heading back to school soon! We are happy to participate in the Teach-a-Thon all week long.
Dance lets us communicate across social, economic, and language barriers. And at the Edinburgh Zoo in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, the dancers from Janis Claxton Dance are proving that movement communication can also connect humans with other species.
Click on the title of this post to read more about “Enclosure 44 - Humans.”
What is the greatest challenge facing you as a dancer?
“Gravity”, Jeanne Robinson might say. This former dancer and teacher—now a writer and choreographer—has explored the idea of weightless dance for decades. And she is one of the few people who have actually performed in the zero-gravity environment high above ordinary stages.
Click on the title of this post to read about Jeanne Robinson and “The Stardance Experience.”
One of the best parts about blogging is that it’s easy to meet and work with dancers and teachers.
To help you connect with some of the people we’ve met (and to just take part in a cool project) we will be participating in the Teach-a-Thon, created and organized by Nichelle at DanceAdvantage.
Click on the title of this link for more information on this blogging project–it starts soon!
Studies have shown that ballet is a great cross-training activity for athletes.
But, studies have also shown that ballet is very tough, and ballet dancers experience many injuries.
In this post, we talk about how ballet dancers can cross train to improve strength and prevent injury.
We also talk about the benefits of ballet as a method of cross training for other athletes. Click on the title of this post to read!
Aside from the monumental challenge of actually creating movement, choreographers face an additional, ongoing challenge with each piece they create. They must protect their work.
All artists–writers, painters, filmmakers–work to protect their creations. But the nature of choreography makes it a little more difficult to capture and copyright.
As a dancer, you may branch into the field of choreography someday. In this post, we talk about the basics of copyrighting choreography.
Have you ever wanted to own your own dance studio? It’s easier in the world of Dance-Opoly!
Click on the title of this post to read more about the “Property Trading Game with a Dance Twist!”
You’ve probably noticed “Bollywood” dance featured on television dance competitions. And, Indian dance choreography appears more frequently in the concert and video performances of Western artists. Now, Bollywood dance classes are popping up in studios throughout Europe and the US.
Some people reference any form of Indian dance as “Bollywood.”
But, do you know what “Bollywood” actually is, and where it came from?
Click on the title of this post to read the rest…
Does dancing make you feel happier? Can it beat depression?
If you’re a trained dancer, you probably get an emotional boost from dancing. If you’re feeling sad or depressed, dance class or rehearsal might be your escape. This effect comes, partly, because you’re practicing something you love, something that you do well.
But, can dance help non-dancers beat depression? This question is being answered through several experiments, one scientific and the other not so formal.
Click on the title of this post to read more.
Even if you haven’t trained in ballet, modern dance, jazz, or tap, watching performances in all of these styles has probably helped you understand them. But liturgical dance is one style that is relatively unknown to people who don’t practice it.
Click on the title of this post to learn about liturgical dance, an art that is becoming more popular around the world.
Are you a dancer, a dance parent, or a dance teacher? Do you talk nonstop about dance? Can you use a computer?
Become a guest blogger for DanceHere!
Can you learn ballet through the Internet?
Some do-it-yourself dancers are skipping lessons and turning to YouTube for ballet instruction. Judging from many videos, from both students and demonstrators, maybe the risks of such lessons should be made clear.
Click on the title of this post to read our entire article on the risks of YouTube ballet lessons.
Dance is an art. But sometimes, the world of technology can bring audiences into a new appreciation for the beauty of a performance. UNC Charlotte’s Dance.Draw program is exploring this unification of art and science.
Click on the title of this post to read the rest of our article on Dance.Draw.
Does the wait to begin pointe work seem too long?
Read this post for a reminder on why it’s important to wait and to get tips for making sure you start right.
Click on the title of this post to read the rest of our article.
