Studios – Page 5

What Makes A Good Dance Performance?

March 25, 2011 by 4dancers

Contributor Stacey Pepper Schwartz is back today to share some insights about what makes a good dance performance–

What makes a great performance? Is it performing the dance steps perfectly? Is it dancing without mistakes? Dancing in perfect unison or keeping a specific formation? What about expression? What about movement quality?

When I teach dance, my students mainly focus on performing the steps accurately. It is hard to teach them that performing to the best of their ability goes far beyond the execution of steps. I actually think it has little to do with precision and more to do with being in the moment. If you focus only on counts, steps and spacing then it’s like painting by number. You haven’t put anything of yourself into the performance. There is no heart.

Teaching how to perform is just as important as teaching how to do a pirouette. The trick is unlocking the brain. When a person is afraid of making a mistake on a test he will usually tense up and not do as well as if he was relaxed. The same goes for dance but even more so. Dancers can tend to judge themselves on how well they perform a single step instead of looking at the dance in its entirety.

Answer these questions or have your students answer them:

Did you stay in the moment?
Were you aware of the other dancers on stage and did you relate to them?
Did you focus on the quality of the movements as well as the technical execution of the movements?
How was your use of transitions?
If you made a mistake with the choreography did you stop dancing? Did you do your best to improvise and stay focused?
Were you constantly thinking about the steps or were you also focused on the technical aspect of the steps, quality and expression?
Did you do your best? Did you enjoy performing?

I always tell the dancers I work with that a great performance is not one in which you don’t make a mistake but a performance where if/when you make a mistake you are able to stay in the moment and perform the spirit of the dance. We are not robots or perfect human beings. Humans are vulnerable. That is what is so magical about dance. The art is created by imperfect beings that lets the audience tap into all sides of themselves.

So, how do you teach this or practice this?

In class when you make a mistake don’t stop. Don’t criticize or judge. Keep dancing. Flub, trip, fall and get up and keep going. Keep the quality of movement, idea or concept of the dance. And if a teacher tells you that you must be perfect know that perfection can only be obtained when you make mistakes. A perfect dance has mistakes and it also has heart, life, vibrancy and a human performer.

: Stacey Pepper Schwartz

BIO: Stacey received her BFA in dance performance at Montclair State University and her MA in dance education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught as an artist in residency and guest artist in public and private schools for over twelve years.

Stacey is the Founder and Director of Leaping Legs Creative Movement Programs. The focus of Leaping Legs Creative Movement Programs is to help people regardless of age, experience or ability, become educated about their movement potential, develop kinesthetic awareness, and become more physically fit and healthy together as a family, and community.

Leaping Legs promotes its goal through the original Up Down & All Around DVD. The DVD received Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Award and 10 Best Active Products Award. The DVD has also been featured in many magazines including Dance Retailer News, The National Dance Teachers Association dance journal dancematters, and Dance Teacher.

Before embarking on dance education, Stacey was a professional dancer and choreographer in New York City.

10 Questions With…Joanna Wozniak

March 23, 2011 by 4dancers

Today for our “10 Questions With” feature, we have a dancer from the Joffrey–Joanna Wozniak…

_MG_8972 — Joanna Wozniak, Photo by Herbert Migdoll

1. How did you become involved with dance?

Becoming involved with dance can happen in a number of ways, but the way it started for me as a little girl, was probably in my kitchen and around the house. Once I had gone to a few dance lessons at the ripe age of childhood, it became my walk. I danced around the house instead of walking. I also loved music, and that I could express what I heard and felt from it through my dancing.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am currently a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet. We just returned home from a two week tour in California as well as a stop in Colorado.

3. Would you share a special moment from your career with readers?

I think one of the most special moments was when I had the opportunity to perform “the Chosen One” in Nijinsky’s “Sacre du Printemps”. This is for a number of reasons, when I first started dancing with the company, this was the first ballet outside of the Nutcracker that I performed. I was in awe of ballet, and in love with it, as well as the company and the experience of it. Being the smallest part was exciting. Nearly ten years later, I was able to perform the incredible part, in essence nearly coming full circle to something that meant so much in my life. Beyond that, I was fortunate enough to receive recognition in the part from Hedy Weis, in Pointe Magazine as one of the standout performances of the year. This was and still is such an honor in the difficult world of dance, especially to be amongst artists from around the world in multiple top companies. [Read more…]

10 Questions With…Sharon Marroquin

March 11, 2011 by 4dancers

Todays’ 10 Questions With… feature is with Sharon Marroquin…

Sharon Marroquín by A. Sarkar
1. How did you become involved with dance? I began dancing when I was 5 years old. My first teacher was my aunt, who was a dancer herself. The studio was a tiny elongated rectangle on the second floor of her house. The walls were bright pink and the floor was marble tile. A black piano stood in the corner. Music played from an old-fashioned record player, and the parents waited for their daughters in the living room.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I choreograph and perform as a guest with various companies in Austin, Texas. I also teach dance at Tapestry Dance Company Academy.

3. Would you share a special moment from your career with readers?

I remember clearly the first modern dance performance I ever went to. I sat in the audience mesmerized by the unitard-clad dancers who were moving in ways I had never imagined possible. At that moment I decided that is what I wanted to do. Several years later I threw my pointe shoes in the trash, and embarked upon the journey of discovering modern dance.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received from a teacher or mentor regarding dance? [Read more…]

Dancers Unite Fine Arts Academy LLC

March 9, 2011 by 4dancers

Today we are running a feature on a dance studio for all you studio owners (or potential studio owners) out there. Take a closer look at Dancers Unite Fine Arts Academy in North Carolina…

Your Name/Title: Elizabeth Emery/Owner

Studio Name: Dancers Unite Fine Arts Academy LLC

Years in business: 2

Your studio’s philosophy: First and foremost, we want to make sure our dancers are learning the right way to do things. We want top quality instructors who teach our dancers correct terminology and body placement so that if they want to become professional dancers they have the proper tools to do so.

Secondly, we want it to be a postive environment. We want it to be a safe place to try things. We want to encourage our dancers to try difficult steps in an encouraging way. We are a family owned and operated studio, and we want all our customers to feel they are part of the Dancers Unite family.

Thirdly, we want them to have learned skills that would help our students in any aspect of life. For example, learning how to try new things if you fail, learning how to perform in front of large groups of people and learning how to accept criticism are all wonderful skills that can be used in any career choice.

Dance styles taught: Ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, tumbling, pointe, contemporary, musical theater dance, bellydance, zumba

Approximate # of classes per week: 40

Approximate # of teachers: 7

Biggest struggle in getting off the ground and how you handled it: Getting the word out about our studio. A lot of people choose a dance studio based on what their friends & neighbors recommend, and as a new studio it’s going to take awhile for your studio with the best word of mouth. You just have to be patient, not give up and work hard at building good relationships with your customers.

Also, try to get your name out in the community by working with local schools. For instance, my dance studio teamed up with a well respected private school in the area to host a dance camp out of their facilties.

Best advice you can give someone who is opening (or thinking about opening) a dance studio: Save up as much money as possible before opening a studio. I opened a studio with my sister and we worked hard in high school to get full scholarships for college and then lived at home with our parents and shared a car. Opening up a dance studio takes a lot of capital and there are expenses that you probably wouldn’t even think about before opening a studio!

One mistake you think potential dance studio owners make: Bending over backwards too much! People don’t appreciate it, and often the ones you bend over backwards for still aren’t happy and leave your studio anyway. Make sure you don’t spend so much time trying to please the hard to please that you forget about your supportive base of customers!

Specific tip for having a smooth recital: We had a checklist of every possible thing we would need for our recital going into it, and that really helped make sure we didn’t forget anything.

Best marketing move you’ve ever made: Having a really great website that my sister runs herself so it is constantly updated. We also constantly work our social networking. We’ve found most of our customers have found us through the internet.

Most rewarding moment: Walking through the lobby during intermission of our recital and seeing all the pleased parents. It was so nice seeing so many proud, happy parents and knowing that I had helped make a wonderful, memorable afternoon for them.

BIO: Elizabeth Emery began dance at the age of three, and started teaching dance at the age of thirteen. She taught dance throughout middle school, high school and college. She danced competitively since age seven and her routines won numerous overall awards. A personal favorite dance performance of hers was Disney World, a favorite vacation spot of her family. In addition to teaching and dancing at her studio, she was a member of the Charlotte Catholic Dance Team for four years. She was the only freshman on a team that placed first runner up in a national competition..

She graduated Charlotte Catholic with honors, and her dance and academic achievements helped her receive the Thomas Cooper Scholarship to the University of South Carolina. She then graduated cum laude from the nationally ranked Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina with a bachelor of science in business administration. She double majored in business economics and marketing, and minored in sociology where she took such courses as Childhood Sociology.

Elizabeth’s combined loves of business, dance and working with children has made owning a studio a natural dream of hers. Elizabeth strives to provide children with self-esteem, but at the same time provide them with a good dance background. Elizabeth continues her dance education today, and has taken numerous classes up and down the east coast, most recently at Broadway Dance Center in New York City, the Boston Ballet School, the Dance Complex, and the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in Boston. She has taught hip hop and jazz for the after-school program for the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (St. Patrick Catholic School, St. Ann Catholic School, St. Gabriel Catholic School, St. Matthew Catholic School, and St. Mark Catholic School) and the Summer Dance Camp at Charlotte Latin School

10 Questions With…Winifred Haun

March 2, 2011 by 4dancers

Today we have Winifred Haun with us for our feature…

1. How did you become involved in dance?

When I was 5 years old, I attended a little private school on Chicago’s north side. As an alternative to gym, they offered ballet classes on Fridays to the girls. I loved it, and sort of knew then that I would be a dancer for the rest of my life. When I was 10 years old, I started taking classes at the Ellis-DuBoulay School of Ballet. I think I received the best possible training in the city. Mr. and Mrs. ‘E’ trained not only our bodies but our minds. A lot of really successful Chicago dancers trained with them (Lou Conte is probably their most famous student). I also credit Harriet Ross for teaching me everything I know about modern technique. She also taught me how to perform and she and Randy Duncan encouraged me to choreograph.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I have my own dance company, Winifred Haun & Dancers. I started it in 1991 because I wanted to put together a group of artists who could help me create my work. My latest work, “Bento,” premieres March 17 & 18 at Hamlin Park Theater. I also teach modern dance at Hubbard St. Dance Center, and at Legere Dance Center in River Forest.

3. Can you share a special moment from your career?

One my favorite moments was when, as a member of the Joseph Holmes Dance Theater I first performed “Love Not Me,” choreographed by Randy Duncan, at the New Regal Theater in 1989. I had actually performed it a few times on tour, so it was really rehearsed. Despite all the preparation (I had great coaching from Harriet Ross), I felt terrible right after my performance, but I had a really quick costume change, so I didn’t have time to cry. After the show was over, the response and quick congratulations from Randy, Harriet, and my fellow dancers was so wonderful and so positive, that I still didn’t have time to cry or really be upset!

4. What advice would you offer other dancers?

Don’t worry about what others are doing or who’s getting what parts or into what company. Concentrate on yourself and make yourself into the best possible dancer you can. Take class as often as possible, listen to your teachers. Audition and then perform work for anybody who wants you. You never what will lead to what.

: “Bento” by Winifred Haun

5. What have you had to struggle against in dance?

As a dancer, I always felt that being tall (I’m 5’ 9”) was a challenge. Most of the lead roles go to women who are shorter (they’re easier to partner). As a choreographer, just being a woman in a field where the top jobs are all held by men is a challenge. Women just don’t get the recognition for their work that men do. (I think women in all careers probably struggle with this…) Which is kind of ironic, given that the field is about 80% women.

6. Do you have a favorite dancer or choreographer? If so, what is it about them that makes them stand out?

One of my all time favorite dancers is Claire Bataille. I loved her stage presence and her control of her technique. Watching her in class, in rehearsal, and on stage was inspiring. My favorite choreographers are: Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Ohad Naharin, Eiko & Komo, William Forsythe, Randy Duncan, and Mark Morris. I love the risks that these artists take and how alive and individual they are. In my latest work, Bento, I honor some of these choreographers by purposely imitating their choreography. (Some have even “donated” 32 counts.)

As for young, local choreographers, my favorites are Jackie Stewart and Jessica Miller Tomlinson. I’m sharing a concert with them in March 2012 at the Ruth Page Center. (We just received a MetLife New Stages for Dance grant for this project!) I saw a concert that Jackie and Jessica shared a concert last year and it was amazing.

7. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

Hold your stomach in and move from your center. And don’t take yourself too seriously. Those are good life skills also!

8. Where do you think dance is going as an art form?

I think choreographically dance is moving away from ballet. In her amazing book “Apollo’s Angels,” Jennifer Homans, says that ballet is a dying art form, and I reluctantly agree with her. No one is moving the form forward and without constant re-invention, it will eventually not be an art. Ballet will always be a great technique with lots to offer any dancer who studies it. But, as an art form, dance is moving away from ballet. (Lots of my friends, teachers and colleagues will heartily disagree with me. To them I say, let’s have coffee and talk about it 🙂 )

I also think we are living in a great time for dance. I think more than ever are aware of dance as an art form. We have the current dance TV shows and the internet to thank for that!9. What is it about dance that you love so much?

I don’t know what it is but, I love watching dance, whether its a class, rehearsal, performance, or even my kids’ recitals. I love taking class, teaching class or coaching. I love all forms of dance: ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, etc. And I love making dances. Many times I have tried to live without making dances (my life would so much easier if I wasn’t a choreographer…). I’ve formally “quit” the dance field twice only to return for reasons I can’t quite articulate. I guess, for me, dance is kind of a calling. I feel like ideas for dances “seize” me and won’t let go. Its like I can’t not make dances. And I feel the most alive when I’m choreographing.

10. What is next for you?

Saturday, March 12 Winifred Haun & Dancers is performing at the Regional Alternative Dance Festival in Kalamazoo, MI. On Thursday and Friday, March 17 & 18, we’re premiering Bento in program of 6 works at the Hamlin Park Theater.

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