Street Dancing

Dance is very diverse. There are many different styles, and there are a lot of different versions of each style. In my opinion the most unique and diverse style is hip hop; or street dancing. This is a style that you can be trained in but most people just teach themselves or learn from a friend, not necessarily in a studio. The most unique thing about hip hop, or street dancing is how there are so many different types of it. A lot of times you can find people “street dancing” in big cities for money or just for entertainment because that is what they love to do.

                Popping is a type of street dance that originated in California. Popping looks really cool because the dancer flex’s and relaxes their muscles very fast to “jerk” the body; locking is a style almost the same just the dancer waits a little longer before relaxing the muscles to give a slightly different affect. Tutting sometimes called Tetris, is another type and it is probably the most unique, It’s supposed to be based off of the ancient Egyptians. It is just rapid hand and arm movements, it is not only used as a street dance but also used sometimes in other choreography like show choir choreography for example.

                One of the most common street dance styles is break dancing, sometimes referred to as B-Boying. This particular style was started in the South Bronx area by Latino and African American kids. There are four main parts of this style; Toprock, Downrock, Freeze, and power moves. Power Moves are a crowd favorite and what every kid wants to be able to do when they first see it. Power moves are things like hard jumps, spinning on your head or back, basically any of the tricks. This style of street dance is probably the most well known and most recognizable.

                Battling is very entertaining and has little to no rules. Groups of people gather in a circle usually around two street dance crews that will freestyle battle. The can use contact and do whatever they want; tricks and any style, or even mix all the styles together. There is no time limit and the winner of the battle is chosen by the crowd. Until the winner is chosen the dancers take turns running in and taking over the center spotlight. Dance battles are usually improv dances which means they are come up with on the spot and the song is unknown until it is played. This is like the dancing in the “Step Up” movies.

Auditioning

The audition process is a scary and exciting thing for dancers. It’s a time where doing your best matters the most and it is very stressful. Either your dream can be made or broken all in an instant. However, every audition is different. The one thing that is the same about every audition is the need for the person auditioning, and hoping to get the part to look and act professional.

               A very important part about looking professional is fitting the part of what you are auditioning for. If you are auditioning for a ballet company, it would be in your best interest to wear your hair in a tight, secure, slicked back bun. A lot of dancers use bunmakers, which makes the bun look perfectly polished, and they are not very expensive; you can find them for ten dollars. Also if you were auditioning for a ballet company you would want to wear most likely pink tights and a leotard. That is proper ballet attire which is essential in an audition. In another instance however you might not want a bun, tights, and a leotard. If you are trying out to be a hip hop background dancer for Beyoncé you would want to wear something that would grab the judges or evaluators attention but also looks professional and that is hip hop attire.

Another thing is that you must be ready for anything at an audition. They may ask you to do many different genres or styles of dance so it would be in your best interest to bring all different types of shoes. For example you would want to bring sneakers for hip hop, pointe shoes, or any others. Also you must be ready for them to ask you to dance with no shoes. It is very common for professionals to dance without any shoes on because they can feel the floor better and it is more stable. Lastly you need to go into an audition confident and open minded. Be prepare to do anything the choreographer asks of you and do it without question. Pay close attention to detail because that’s what most people’s fall back is, so if you can show you pick up detail it already sets you above most of the other people there. Lastly relax, have fun, and do what you love.

 

              

The American School of Ballet

The American School of Ballet, otherwise known as, The New York City Ballet is many little dancers dream destination. George Balanchine; a ballet genius who the master mined of many very popular and well known dance pieces; founded The American School of Ballet in the year of 1934. Balanchine was so good at choreographing and dancing mainly because of his understanding of music; his dad was a composer so he grew up with a musical background. Many of the instructors are alumni of the very famous ballet school and were very high up in the company. Other instructors worked with Balanchine or his partner and were appointed by one of them to be one of their elite staff members and help keep classical ballet alive.

                Although it’s every tiny dancers dream destination, you must try out and get accepted to be a part of this amazing school of dance. Although there are thousands of kids from all over the world that try out and dream about getting an acceptance letter, only about 450 kids from the ages of 6 to 18 get to join the school. However, if dancers don’t get accepted to the school during the winter, The American School of Ballet accepts close to another two hundred of the top ballet dancers to join them for their summer classes, or intensive. The acceptance is solely based on talent, and for this reason they offer scholarships. They give about one million dollars’ worth of scholarship money out each year.

                Being a part of The American School of Ballet is nothing close to cheap. The full tuition fee depends on your age and level ranging from three thousand dollars to a little of six thousand dollars. On top of that you must pay the student activity fee which is another payment of one hundred fifty dollars. There is even more, the room and board fees are close to sixteen thousand dollars, it includes, housing, a meal plan with twenty meals a week, WIFI and computer access, and allows you to use the laundry machines. Since it is so expensive the school helps pay for the students who they believe have a professional future. With the scholarship however, comes restrictions, they can’t take a role in a ballet without making sure it is ok with the school, they can not audition or train at any other ballet school either. They also very much care about education and offer academic scholarships as well.
http://www.sab.org/

Christopher Wheeldons "After the Rain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VibqEWACdRo

                This beautiful ballet piece Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, to “After the Rain” is danced by Damien Smith and Yuan Yuan Tan. However, it is often danced by various other professionals. In this specific video the two professional ballet dancers are performing at the “Fire Island Dance Festival” in 2010. The Festival is on the Great South Bay in Fire Island. This particular festival features many different professional dancers in order to raise money for people who need financial aid for health reasons, like treatments and other things like that. The Fire Island Dance Festival started in 1995 and continues to grow in attendance, performance, and income every year.

                Christopher Wheeldon trained at The Royal Ballet and is now a very well-known choreographer in the ballet world. He created this piece for the NYCB (New York City Ballet) to be performed at a celebration to honor the founder of the company George Balanchine. “After the Rain,” is one of Christopher Wheeldon’s most well known and loved pieces. In 2011 Wheeldon also helped choreograph “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” More recently; in 2014 he helped choreograph “The Winter’s Tale.”

                Damien Smith the male performer in this piece is a principal in the San Francisco Ballet. Damien Smith is originally from New South Wales, Australia; and joined the San Francisco Ballet company in the year of 1996. Damien worked his way up and became a soloist in 1998, and in 2001 he was promoted to a principal. A dance Principal is the highest rank in the dance realm and a huge honor. Damien Smith has been big parts of major ballet productions like “The Nutcracker,” “Giselle,” “Swan Lake,” and even “The Little Mermaid,” along with many others.

                Yuan Yuan Tan was born in Shanghai, China and is 38 years old she is also a Principal at the San Francisco Ballet Company. Yuan Yuan Tan joined the company in 1995 as a soloist and was promoted to Principle a short two years later in 1997. Just l like Damien she has been featured in many well-known ballet productions. For example: She was the sugar plum fairy and the queen of snow in “The Nutcracker,” She was Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” and appeared and played the lead in many others like “sleeping Beauty.”  Yuan Yuan Tan is often a guest artist at many festivals like she was with Damien Smith for the “Fire Island Dance Festival.”
https://www.sfballet.org/company/dancers/principals

 

The Foundation of Dance

               

Everything in the world has a foundation. For example: a house has a foundation, sports have basic footwork and moves, and the foundation of dance is ballet. Ballet is not only its own style but also appears in all other styles of dance with the exception of tap. Even in hip hop, ballet makes an appearance; it doesn't follow the same rules but it uses some of the same basic parts of it. The ballet basics are what make every move and technical component of dance possible. With a great ballet foundation every movement should look effortless, which makes dancers look more impressive.

 Ballet was started in the 15th century during the Italian Renaissance, shortly after,  the art form spread around the world like a wild fire. Now there are ballet companies and schools in every part of the world. Ballet is also offered if not required at most local studios. The ballet style itself is very complex and to get into large ballet companies you often have to start at their feeder schools usually before the age of seven. Occasionally people can start when they are older but usually they are not technically advanced enough in that short amount of time to join the larger companies.

In a ballet class you have to be very focused because there are so many little details you do not want to miss; or be practicing wrong. Usually you stand at bars and the teacher will verbally tell you a combination, sometimes they will physically show you but generally they will not in more advanced classes or settings. While doing the combination of basic technique components to classical music you have to be focused on your body alignment. You have to pay attention to which muscles are working and where you’re looking, how your body is lifted, and many other things. After bar you usually do exercises going across the floor of harder technical components or jumps and turns. At the end you do bows and personally go and thank your teacher to show a great amount of respect to him or her.

Ballet is not easy but the basics are a crucial part in every aspect of dance. Great dancers have great technique which starts in the ballet class. Ballet class can be calming but frustrating all at the same time because it takes so much energy from your body and brain because there are so many things to be thinking about. However, you can’t show that all these things are going through your head; you must make it look effortless. Everything has a foundation; and the foundation of dance is ballet.

Everyone Can Dance

                 Whether it was to celebrate a touchdown, or just dancing in the car because it’s a beautiful day sometime in your life you have danced. Everyone in the world has danced before. Dance is a universal language; it can tell a story, and portray an emotion. People dance when they are happy, to celebrate, and some dance even when they are sad. Dance can not only make you more joyful when you’re happy but can cheer you up and clear your mind from sorrow. You don’t have to be a dancer to dance.

                The most beautiful part of dance is that no disability can stop it. It doesn’t matter if you can’t see or you only have one arm, you can still jump around, sway your body, or twitch your head. Technique doesn’t matter when you are doing it for yourself. Dance is movement and expression and can’t be done wrong. It brings joy to yourself as well as others. Go anywhere in the world and you can find someone dancing.

                Dance is also a part of culture. Many Spanish countries along with others have special dances they perform at festivals and on holidays. The United States of America also has vastly known dances like the “Cha Cha Slide,” “The Cupid Shuffle,” “YMCA,” and many other American favorites. These dances always put everyone in a great mood, and get the party started. The best part about them is you can just follow along.

                There are no rules for dancing; it’s free, fun, and beautiful. If you are having an off day just listen to your favorite song and dance to it; don’t care about what you look like just be yourself and enjoy life because that’s what dance should be about. Dance is for anyone and everyone. If you look around in a busy place I bet you will see someone dancing and having a great time; so join in because you don’t have to be a dancer to dance.

Dance IS a Sport

A widely discussed debate among high school students is if dance is a sport or not. I would argue that dance is most definitely a sport, and that it is just as much of a sport as football, basketball, baseball, etc. I don't just believe this because I participate in dance, I think this way because dancers do essentially everything any other athlete does. Now, what requirements does something have to meet to be considered a sport? Is a sport something that requires time commitment, physical activity, a try out, and competition?

If a sport requires time commitment then dance is nothing short of it. You might be surprised to find out that high school girls on dance team practice on average anywhere from seven and a half to nine hours at school during the week. On top of that many of them dance at a studio which is another at minimum 3 hours a week and if they are involved in competition for their studio the time requirement is even greater. Also dancers have little to no off season; there is a short two week break for most dancers over the course of a whole year. Dance is not a sport that you can do half way because if you don’t put in the time people are going to pass you because they will be improving at a faster rate. On top of that dance is probably the only physical activity that uses every part of your body and all of your muscles at the same time.

In order to make competition teams for dance there is always a try out or an audition. For Kennedy Varsity Dance Team, not only is there a try out to make the team, but there is also a try out before every competition to see if you are “ready” to compete. So just like football and other sports, only the best get to “play.” For studios, generally you must try out to make the competition group but then you must try out again to see what class you get put in. Not only do dancers compete at competitions they are always competing even at practice.

Dance is not only a time consuming sport that always has you pushing to keep your spot and be on top; it also is a sport that bonds you with your team. Day long competitions are where you are pushed to your limits next to your best friends, and just like any other sport you hope to end up on top. I hope that next time you hear people debate about if dance is a sport or not you choose to side with dance being a sport and give dancers the credit they deserve.

About this blog and blogger

Hello this is Macy the author of this blog,
       On this blog I will write about dance, anywhere from reviews on ballets, biographies on professionals, stretches, types of dance, etc.. I am blogging about dance because it has been a huge part of my entire life and it is my passion. I started when I was three years old and have been in love with it ever since. Now I am a part of The Dancers Edge Company and I am on my third year of being on Kennedy's Varsity Dance Team. My dream is to be on the University of Wisconsin Madison's dance team in two years along with working towards medical school.
                                I hope you enjoy
                                                -Macy Schares