For dancers, dance teachers, and those who love dance. – Page 20 – A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance

Detect The Details – Reworking Technique In Class

July 23, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

"Jump" by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped] — “Jump” by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped]

Editor’s note: this series by Karen is targeted specifically to competition dancers and those that work with them, although certainly many others may benefit from the information within!

by Karen Musey

It is a great joy and privilege to be able to encourage and give feedback to each new generation of dancers. It is exciting to see the fantastic talent and passion on stage, and every dancer’s growth over this season definitely needs to be celebrated!

In this digital age, it is becoming the norm to see younger and younger children seeming to grasp difficult tricks/concepts/technique quickly. I think we sometimes forget that learning to be a dancer is, and always will be, a process that takes time and effort. It’s not a one size fits all experience or path.

During a judging season, a dancer who has heard the same corrections repeated multiple times can feel frustrated and defeated. This is a great time to check in with them. If they feel that they are accomplishing what is being asked but they are not achieving the desired result, what can you do to shift their understanding of how they are working through the movement?

It can be helpful for students to put on a “teacher” or “detective” lens and start looking for clues for what looks and feels right (or not). This will help them train their eye and their corrections will improve faster – and better yet – they will start to self correct.

Let’s go over a “classic correction” and discuss some ways you can encourage your students to interpret it in a new way: [Read more…]

What Makes A Dance? The Brain As Choreographer, Dancer And Spectator

July 5, 2016 by 4dancers

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Aloha to All –

We are very pleased to have as our next Dance Wellness guest contributor Judith Lynne Hanna, PhD. Dr. Hanna is a longtime dancer and anthropologist whose work spans many years. Reading reviews of her recently published book, “Learning to Dance: The Brain’s Cognition, Emotion, and Movement”, spurred me to contact her to see if she would write an article for us concerning the new research on dancers’ brains, and how growing up in dance really does change us. The new science of Neuroplasticity (also called brain plasticity, is the process in which your brain’s neural synapses and pathways are altered as an effect of environmental, behavioral, and neural changes) is fascinating – and there are now more than 400 studies related to interdisciplinary neuroscience that reveal the hidden value of dance.

Many of us in the dance world have grown up feeling / knowing that we were somehow “different” from non-dancers, but only recently has science been learning how and why. I found Dr. Hanna’s article to be a clear explanation of all this new research, and am so pleased to share it with you.
Enjoy! (and don’t stop dancing–ever!)

Jan Dunn, MS, Dance Wellness Editor

by Judith Lynne Hanna, PhD

At times during their careers, dancers may want to explain what dance is about to family, friends, students, schools, spectators, and the media. After all, knowledge about dance is new and limited compared to the other arts.

My journey toward understanding dance began as a child in 1946, and the odyssey hasn’t stopped. A pediatrician told my parents that ballet would make my feet strong. So I studied ballet. Dancing didn’t do much for my feet, but dancing has made me stronger physically and mentally. Alicia Markova’s experience with flat feet was different than mine. Critic Clement Crisp reports, “The sublime artist Alicia Markova was taken to ballet as a child because her flat little feet left sad imprints in the sand during a seaside holiday. Ballet, said a doctor, would cure that. And it did. She grew into an astounding artist whose ‘intelligent’ feet and legs were the envy of the ballet world.”

Fascination with dance led me beyond ballet to explore other dance genres (e.g., modern, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American, African, flamenco, Middle East, jazz, hip-hop, swing, ballroom, and folk). Curiosity led me to conduct dance research in villages and cities in Africa and then in theaters, school playgrounds and classrooms, and cabarets in the United States.

As an applied anthropologist I study human behavior, including many forms of dance and culture, past and present, and draw upon the work of different disciplines. I was surprised that at the 2008 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, more than 6,800 attendees paid rapt attention to renowned choreographer Mark Morris as he answered questions about the relationship between creativity and dance. Neuroscientists interested in dance? I wanted to know why.

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The Attraction of Dance

Scientists are turning to dance because it is a multifaceted activity that can help them demystify how the brain coordinates the body to perform complex, precise movements that express emotion and convey meaning. Dancers possess an extraordinary skill set—coordination of limbs, posture, balance, gesture, facial expression, perception, and action in sequences that create meaning in time and space and with effort. Dancers deal with the relationship between experience and observation.

The brain hides from our sight the wondrously complex operations that underlie the feat of dance. Although there are many secrets to unravel about the power of the brain and dance, advances in technology—29 at my last count, such as brain scanning techniques and the experiments using dancers, dance makers, and dance viewers–reveal to us the unexpected.

Misconceptions that dancers shouldn’t think, just dance, or that dance is merely physical or emotional expression, are challenged by reality. Research shows that dance activity also strongly registers in regions of the brain responsible for cognition. Hidden processes reveal that the brain is choreographer, dancer, and spectator. Dance is what the brain does.

The Choreographing Brain

[Read more…]

Review: Foot & Shoe Deodorizer

June 18, 2016 by 4dancers

FootSpray-1500-01-300x300 If it’s one thing dancers are always thinking about it’s their feet, and with the many hours spent in class and rehearsal, it can help to have a little something that freshens them up a bit.

This 4 oz all-natural foot spray by Aurorae makes for a great addition to your dance bag. Whether you are trying to revitalize some old technique shoes, or you want to deodorize your feet a bit before slipping on some sandals, this little product is a good choice. Made with essential oils such as peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus and thyme, it has a delightful scent, and because of its size, it is super portable.

The thing I was most impressed with was the pump for this product. Instead of a harsh stream of liquid or a heavy spray, it delivered a light mist which keeps your feet from getting soaked with it. Also, a little bit goes a long way, so you can use a light hand when applying.

All in all, this foot spray makes a nice addition to any dancer’s bag.

Purchase this spray from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vlNAdS

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CD Review: Music for Ballet Class Volume Four

June 15, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

Music for Ballet Class Volume Four
Charles Mathews

by Rachel Hellwig

I’ve always found it helpful for artistry and musicality to dance to melodies from ballet classics in class. Also, it’s just plain fun. I was delighted to discover that Charles Mathews’s Music for Ballet Class Volume Four is mainly made up of such selections, including pieces from Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Giselle, Napoli, and others.

You can channel your inner Osipova, or its as-humanly-close-as-possible approximation, when you fouetté to Kitri’s Act I variation. You’ll be tempted to add Odile-ish accents to your barre work as you frappé to the less frequently performed, though more evocatively sinister, version of the Black Swan variation (which is not to imply that there’s anything inherently evil about frappé at barre; in center, that’s another story, but I digress…) And Raymonda’s dream/vision variation may inspire a royal grace in your pirouettes en pointe; or perhaps draw you into uplifting daydreams of dancing in the Prix de Lausanne where this piece is often performed–as you likely know from regular intervals of artistically edifying YouTube ballet binges.

You may not (or you may) be a prima someday, but it’s a joy to point your toes to memorable tutu-and-tiara tunes on stage or off.

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Saying Goodbye To Atlanta Ballet’s John McFall

May 20, 2016 by 4dancers

John McFall with dancers — **John McFall and dancers from Atlanta Ballet. Photo by Brian Wallenberg.**

Dear John,

You are stepping down as Artistic Director of Atlanta Ballet this month after 21 years. How to describe what your tenure accomplished? How to distill such a career?

I could talk about the numbers. How the budget has nearly tripled since 1994 or the 1200 students enrolled in the school. I could talk about how Atlanta Ballet has transformed in your two decades from a regional dance troupe to a world-class institution. About the exciting collaborations- Big Boi from Outkast, the Indigo Girls. Or about the world premieres- Twyla Tharp’s first full length ballet, Helen Pickett’s Camino Real. I could talk about the tour to China, the opening of a beautiful new building, your own choreography including the record-breaking Nutcracker. I could talk about the cutting-edge choreographers like Ohad Naharin, Alexander Ekman and Jorma Elo that you convinced out of a sheer doggedness and passion for your dancers to come to a city in the Southeast and bring their work to us.

These things are astounding, valid and commendable. But you know all these things already.

And this letter isn’t about what you’ve done for Atlanta Ballet. It’s what you’ve done for me and your dancers. So I’d rather talk about the joy. [Read more…]

The Attraction of Dance

The Choreographing Brain

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