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New Magazine: TangoZapa

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I recently heard about a new magazine that will be coming out in March 2010…it’s called TangoZapa. It bills itself as a tango culture and lifestyle magazine, covering everything from the dancers to the shoes they wear–and much more. You can sign up for a free digital version of the mag to see what it’s all about. (And if you are handy with a camera you can even enter their photo contest (until Jan 10th)…you might win a trip to Buenos Aries!)

Dance writers may be interested in contributing to this magazine. Accepted articles pay $100 through PayPal. The submission guidelines are listed in detail on the site.

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The Nutcracker And You

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Everyone has their favorite corner of this holiday classic. For me it was always the snow queen. It doesn’t matter how many times I hear that music….

Some people love the sugar plum. Others have an affinity for the Spanish dance or the Arabian dance. The choices are as varied as the music. It never ceases to amaze me how different parts of The Nutcracker affect different people. As a little girl, I wanted to be Clara, but as I got older the role had less and less appeal…

I’d be interested to hear what 4dancers readers have to say about this ballet. What do you connect with? Who would you be if you had your choice? What was your favorite role to dance?

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Dancing With The Music

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Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.  ~Author Unknown

There was a girl in my early ballet classes that had it all–or so I thought. She had perfect feet, a perfect body and flawless technique. Every combination was executed exactly as it should be. Every position was correct. I thought I wanted to be her…

Then I discovered something…she had no musicality.

Now…I don’t mean she couldn’t dance to the beats of the music. She did that. But there is a certain something that sets a dancer apart when she becomes one with the music instead of dancing to it. And that…she didn’t have.

It can be difficult to explain why a dancer captures an audience. There is a certain, elusive “something” that they have that by its very nature defies quantifying. Even so…you know it when you see it. And it is my firm belief that you either have it–or you don’t. I think that musicality is something that is innate. I don’t think it can be learned. That is why the quote above speaks to me. It puts forth the same type of idea as dancing to the music as opposed to dancing with it.

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Making Waves

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Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me. It is an uncomfortable doctrine which the true ethics whisper into my ear. You are happy, they say; therefore you are called upon to give much.”                                       

– Albert Schweitzer

I came upon this quote recently and it kept popping back into my mind when I thought about dance. We are part of something larger than ourselves when it comes to what we can share through movement, and this is what makes every single person who is involved in the field important. Not just the people who are at the top, dancing at the best companies…but those who share the love–the happiness that they get through dance with another…even in the smallest ways. Music and movement have the tremendous power to heal, to connect and to ease pain. I have seen it when I worked with physically and mentally challenged children, and I have seen it on the faces of those who are far older than I in class…. [Read more…]

Dance Bloggers

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Dance Bloggers is a wonderful site that I highly recommend. Keep up on the dance blogs that are out there by hitting their site to see what is new from around the blogosphere, or get a daily e-mail with the headlines and first few sentences of posts for the day. It’s a great way to stay connected to the dance world without doing any work–they’ve done it for you! Started by two dance bloggers in Israel, it really is a terrific site.

If you are a dance blogger, sign up!

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