We talk a lot about the time you spend on stage and the time you spend in the studio. But we should also think about our contributions to dance, not as dancers or as dance makers or as dance teachers, but as paying audience members.
Slasher movies and ghost stories are the obvious choices of entertainment during the Halloween season. But if you want to enjoy the holiday without quite so much blood, gore, and horror, check out some of these Halloween dance events.
The best way to practice dance is to dance. The next best way to practice dance: watch.
When you’re searching for dance info online, do you make the most of the Internet’s resources? Here’s a list of 10 websites and tools that will help you get your dance info more quickly and easily.
Most political “dance moves” have to do with dodging tough questions, finagling the opponent’s message, and downplaying scandal. So often, political commentators use “dance” as a metaphor for political strategy and smooth-talk.
But what about actual dance in this election?
“Audition” is hardly ever synonymous with “fun.” And bad auditions can mark some of the most unpleasant points in a dancer’s career.
Unfortunately, you’ll have bad auditions. But you can recover, and learn, from even the most disastrous tryouts.
Why do dancers–people who constantly train to improve their strength, stamina, and physical excellence–have a smoking rate nearly double that of people in the general population?
This post focuses on the reasons dancers give for smoking. And, it offer strategies for those who want to put dance before cigarettes.
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’ve performed on stage, you’ve probably (hopefully) worn “stage makeup.” But if you’ve never applied your own stage makeup, consider these tips before picking up the eyeliner and blush.
Click on the title of this post to read on.
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.
Although it’s a little random, this is a fun post, and it does have something to do with dance!
An article from the German “Spiegel Online” recently featured an invention that cuts energy costs and reduces consumption through the power of dance. And on September 2, dancers in Holland will begin powering the world’s first Sustainable Dance Club.
Click the title of this post to read more…
“Becoming Through Dance” is sociologist Helene Lawson’s study that asks, “why do adults begin taking dance?” Lawson herself began dance as an adult beginner, and she wanted to know why. Through this study, she tries to answer that question.
Click on the title of this post to read an interesting look at the benefits of dance for adult beginners.
Today, we’re putting a spotlight on Music & Motion Dance Productions for our feature series “This Season.”
Music & Motion Dance Productions is a a fresh, innovative, performance-oriented, youth dance company out of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.
You’ll want to learn more about Music & Motion and this dynamic young company’s approachable and inventive dance performances. Click on the title of this post to read more.
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.
On August 20, you won’t have to travel to see an amazing show. Cirque du Soleil will present “DELIRIUM”, the film, in select movie theaters across the United States and Canada for a special limited engagement, running August 20, 21, 23, and 24.
“DELIRIUM,” part of Cirque du Soleil’s repertoire since 2006, combines dance, music, and circus arts in a vibrant piece of imaginative visual art. Sony Pictures Releasing’s The Hot Ticket now brings “DELIRIUM,” the film, in High Definition, to theaters across North America.
The benefits of seeing “DELIRIUM” in theaters: you don’t have to travel, and you don’t have to pay the high ticket price of a live show.
Click on the title of this post to see “DELIRIUM.”
With the third anniversary of the hurricane Katrina disaster approaching on Aug. 25, Terpsicorps dancers’ recent presentation of “Hurricane & other forces of nature” at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC, was a timely performance of a powerful piece.
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.
You might often feel like you’re wrestling with your body during dance class. You want to push yourself into a perfect turnout. You discipline your muscles to perform flawless pirouettes.
But in rehearsals at AXIS Dance Company, Inflight Dance Company, Keshet Dance Company, or Propeller Dance, dance isn’t about forcing your body to obey technique. It’s all about embracing your body’s ability for creative movement. And for the dancers in these companies, passion overcomes any physical limitations.
These dancers have a special knowledge of movement. That’s because they practice as dancers with disabilities.
Click on the title of this post for the entire article…
Although there were fewer contestants and fewer performances during Wednesday night’s So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) episode 423, the two-hour top-eight show was still packed. And I think that this episode left viewers to make the most difficult eliminations so far.
Will we see Comfort and Mark in the bottom-four again tonight? Click on the title of this post to read our recap of “So You Think You Can Dance” episode 423, from Wednesday, July 23.
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.
Movement is a medium through which you communicate emotion, stories, and abstract ideas. And now, you can use dance to communicate with people, even if they can’t see your performance.
Yes: dance now powers your cell phone!
Click on the title of this post to read the entire article.
As a dancer, you need the proper fuel to perform well. But you also need to maintain a target weight. Sometimes, this might cause you to eat too little, leaving you running on empty.
Balancing energy and excess requires a good understanding of nutrition. In this post, we’ve outlined some of the dietary basics that dancers should remember.
Click on the title of this post to read our article on nutrition for dancers.
Do people begin dancing spontaneously, breaking into song throughout the day? Is musical theatre unrealistic? Maybe not.
Click on the title of this post to read comments on a recent NPR story entitled “Finding Your Inner Broadway.”
Your costume fits perfectly. You have memorized every arabesque and pirouette in your routine. In practice, you have performed this dance flawlessly. So, why do your knees shake and your palms sweat as you wait to take the stage?
Take our advice, and learn how to stop stress before your next performance. Click on the title of this post to read our article.
