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Dance Book: Codename: Dancer

June 8, 2011 by 4dancers

Thanks so much for having me here today! I’m very excited to speak with dancers about my new YA book, Codename: Dancer.

I’ve been dancing pretty much my entire life. My mom enrolled me in a ballet/tap combo class at age 3 because she noticed I would jump around and spin whenever the Coke commercial came on. From that point on, I was hooked!

As a preteen and teen, I was in my dance studio’s company, and was dancing around 30 hours per week. Then in college, in addition to double majoring in Political Science and French, I studied flamenco, ballet, and ballroom. My junior year I auditioned for the ballroom dance team, and spent the next two years competing against other schools up and down the East Coast. It was a lot of fun!

I decided to write Codename: Dancer because it was the type of book I would have loved growing up. There were tons of fiction books about dancers for little girls, but not much for teens. There still isn’t, really, except for books about the ballets and choreographers. In other words, non-fiction.

So I decided to do something about that. I’ve always loved mystery novels, so why not write a mystery series about a group of dance students at a performing arts boarding school? And thus, Codename: Dancer was born.

Of course, I’ve never solved a mystery, nor did I go to a boarding school, so I still had a lot to learn. But I’d started reading Nancy Drew books in elementary school, and always used to win at Clue, so how hard could it be?

It actually ended up being a lot more difficult than I expected, but readers tell me they don’t figure out whodunit until right at the end, so hopefully I met my mark!

I hope you’ll enjoy my book. Here’s a little bit about it:

“Aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak is thrilled when hit TV show Teen Celebrity Dance Off comes to the campus of her performing arts boarding school. She trades the barre for the ballroom and gets set to cha-cha-cha to stardom with Hollywood wonderboy Nick Galliano.

At first their partnership is awkward, because Dani is in awe of her longtime teen idol crush. But soon their chemistry is heating up the dance floor and the attraction moves into real life.

Her excitement is short-lived, because someone wants her off the show. Bombs, poisoning, arson… Will Dani’s 15 minutes of fame be over before she reaches age 15? Dani and her friends are suddenly at the center of some serious sabotage. And if she doesn’t find out who is behind it, her next pirouette could be her last.

It’s like Nancy Drew in toe shoes in this light-hearted tween mystery, a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® Award for Best Young Adult Romance.”

You can learn more at www.amandabrice.net.

Would you like to win a copy of the e-book? If so, just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite dance book or dance movie is. I can’t wait to hear from you!

New Exhibition From Sculptor Andrew DeVries

June 4, 2011 by 4dancers

Some of you may remember an interview I had on 4dancers some time ago about the talented sculptor Andrew DeVries.

I thought I would share with readers the fact that he has created a new exhibition of original bronze sculptures and drawings that feature depictions of contemporary dance and movement, accompanied by photographs and commentary on works ranging from ancient Greece to the days of Degas to today.

His 2011 collection and exhibition officially opened on May 13 in Lenox, Mass., in the heart of the Berkshires, an epicenter of arts and culture.

A number of events surround the exhibition, as well; For instance, Andrew will unveil his latest works such as Apollo, a half-life-size depiction of a male dancer, on June 5 at a reception that will include performances by Boston Symphony musicians. Dancer-model Ruslan Sprague modeled for this sculpture, which was inspired in part by Jennifer Homans’ NY Times bestseller Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet.

DeVries Fine Art International gallery is located at 62 Church Street, Lenox, so if you get the chance to go–by all means drop by.

In addition, DeVries will unveil Apollo at Ventfort Hall, The Museum of the Gilded Age in Lenox on June 5. The gallery is open in the spring on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On June 27, the gallery will expand its hours to span six days a week, including weekend evenings. For more information, visit his website.

Andrew will also host open studio sessions on August 13 and 14, which will feature a live bronze pour.

Framed Dance Photo: Belly Dancer “On Stage”

April 12, 2011 by 4dancers

From time to time I will be putting up artwork that I have done that will be for sale through 4dancers.

This piece was a belly dancer that I photographed during a performance. I then spent time working with the image in Photoshop to create the work. I have titled it, “On Stage”.

The print itself is on archival paper and it is matted and framed. The mat is white and the frame is a rich brown. The print is 5 x 7 and the frame is 8 x 10. I am asking $35 for it, plus $5 shipping. I only have one available at this time.

I took a close up photo so you can see the image a bit better, but bear in mind that the picture is much sharper than you see here as it was taken through the glass.

You won’t see this art piece anywhere else.

At this time I’m only set up to ship to the continental U.S. If you know someone who might like this print, please do pass the word…and thanks!

World Dance Workout – An Inside Look

February 28, 2011 by 4dancers

Today we have Sandy & Ryan with us to talk about the CD “World Dance Workout”. They’ll give you a peek into the “behind the scenes” work that went into it, as well as let you know what you can use the CD for if you are a dance or fitness instructor…

1. How did the idea for the World Dance Workout CD come about?

Sandy: World dance workout cd was created for a fitness class based on dance moves from around the world. The needs of the original and innovative class inspired the customized music.

Ryan: Once Sandy started sharing with me her needs for her class, I jumped at the opportunity. The concept of real drummers who love dance and have real experience playing for dancers getting into a studio and recording an album is something I have always wanted to do. The tracks on the album are original in essence, but they are based on a number of African Diasporic dance music styles that I love (as do countless people the world over). I arranged these rhythms and grooves to Sandy’s tempo and song length requirements, and we went into the studio. It is worthy of note that this album was tracked and mixed at Solid Sound in Ann Arbor, MI – a true recording studio with an incredible live room. This is remarkable because studios of this quality are fewer and fewer – due to the popularity of heavily produced (and often synthesized and or electronic) music. A lot of contemporary music can be recorded in a simple home studio… but the kind of music we were after – real, raw, and made with acoustic instruments – needed a real live room built to handle that kind of acoustical presence. The popular “Behind Barres” albums are all tracked there as well.

2. Who are the musicians involved and what do they play?

Ryan: There are four musicians on this album; Ryan Edwards, Chinelo Elegua Amen-Ra, Abass Camara and Matthew Bell. All of us share a love of dance and have more or less been raised (either literally, or since we started playing) in the dance tradition. Matthew and Chinelo live in the greater Detroit area of Michigan, Abass lives in Fort Wayne, IN and I now live in Boston, though I am from Michigan originally. The list of instruments we played on the record is a pretty long one, but I will try to summarize: we played congas, bells, shekeres, balafon, drumset, djembes, dununs, surdos, snare drum, ago-go bells, cylinder shakers, pandiero, triangle, goat toe-nails (actually on a few tracks!), cajon, calabash, bass djembe, and I am sure a few more…. you can see a pretty cool video on our website, www.worlddanceworkout.net of us making the record in the studio. It is just a few excerpts from the session, which we did in one day. [Read more…]

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