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If you are looking for a really great job opportunity and you have terrific credentials, check out this online posting for Princeton University. They are hiring choreographers and scholars to serve on the dance faculty on a part-time basis. The positions are non-tenure track, but they are listed as renewable.
I love the Internet. Through the magic of Twitter I found a style of dance I never knew anything about. It’s called krumping. I watched some of the videos on YouTube and it got me really excited…you see, I could feel the emotion coming out of these dancers. It was the most moving thing I have seen in a long time, and I’m really happy to be able to share it with you here today by talking with Arsene Hodali in our next installment of the series, “10 Questions With…”
Can I have your name, location and age?
My name is Arsene Hodali, I live in Toronto, Ontario CA and I’m 19 years old.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you became involved with dance.
The easiest way to see what else I do is by visiting my blog at http://www.danceproof.com/. I became involved with dance when I was 16-17 years old. I went and signed up for a hip-hop class on a whim. I loved it. I got over my shyness though dance, I learned to be carefree through dance, and I learned how to laugh at myself though dance.
1. For those who don’t know what krumping is, can you describe it?
The best way I can describe krumping is “the hard-core rock version of hip-hop mixed with contemporary dancing”. It has the same roots as break dancing, as it did come from the streets, was used as an alternate to violence, and incorporates many of the same moves. It also has some roots in old-old school native american/african tribal dance.
2. How did you get into krumping?
I got into krumping, again by accident. When I turned 17 problems at home caused me to drop out of the hip-hop dance program due to me not being emotionally attached to all the “happiness”. I saw “RIZE” (a documentary on krumping and clowning) later on in the summer and was immediately captured by it’s message of dancing out your sorrow and anger.
I searched Youtube, saw some instructional videos, and learned from them for a while. But they didn’t really help. I then sought out some more experienced krumpers in my city, and eventually finding them, they agreed to teach me. We grew into NORTHBUCK Ent. (best krumpers in Canada) and the rest is history I suppose.
3. How is krumping different from other dance styles?
Krumping is different from other dance styles because it incorporates emotion and attitude into it as a necessasity. For example you could be an amazing “technique” krumper and do amazing things, such as b-boys do. But you would easily lose a battle against someone without these fancy moves if they show heart, emotion, anger, happiness, cockiness, etc. in their dancing. There’s even times when people don’t actually move and it’s amazing. The closest dance style I see it resembling are breakdancing, and contemporary.
4. How easy is it to learn krumping?
Krumping is easy to pick up, hard to perfect.
The basics are simple. Chest pumps, arm swings, arm jabs, travels, buck hops, army moves, etc. and can be taught in one day.
However, learning how to properly arm swing, arm jab, buck hop while timing to the music, telling a story, and entertaining the audience is extremely hard, complicated, and is an art in it’s self.
5. What has being involved in dance done for you?
Being involved with dance has opened me up as a human being. I’m more social, more carefree, and more understanding in life. One has to learn how to not really care what other people think in order to krump (one of the least understood dance styles).
Krumping has also given me a sense of family. I’ve never really been close to my family, and thus never really had a sense of family in my life. But, through krumping I became closer to the people i krumped with. We became family. When I say NORTHBUCK is my family. I literary mean, they are my family. I would fight for any of them, any time.
6. I understand you are going to be involved in an instructional DVD project. Can you tell readers a bit about that?
The DVD is one of those things we want to make and don’t want to make. We want to make it because so many people asked us to make one so we can teach them from afar (we can’t personally teach people in Italy, Russia, Argentina, etc.). But, we also know that the founder of krumping (Tight Eyez) has instructional DVDs out that teach people these basics. They are classics and a staple in a die-hard krumpers library of DVDs.
We are in the process of making a instructional DVD not to replace the DVDs the founder made, but as an add-on. The DVDs were made over 6-8 years ago, and A LOT of things have changed in krump since then. New basics have been added, new moves, etc. And we want to cover these new areas.
7. How often do you dance?
I, and a lot of krumpers, dance everyday.
When I hear a new krump song, you’ll usually find me engrossed in krumping for the next 2-8 hours after. It’s that addicting. Krumping, as we see it, is not just a dance, it’s a lifestyle.
What ballerina can tell you that when they lost their mom, they danced out their emotion? What jazz dancer can say that? I literally krump anywhere that music exists, if I hear it, I krump…. it’s addicting.
8. Can you describe how you feel when you are dancing?
When I krump I am at my happiest. It’s a feeling of opening up my heart to the world, whether angry, happy, or sad.
btw- Krumping is also used for praising God. It’s actually a key part of it that I forgot to mention. In fact Krump is actually spelled K.R.U.M.P. and stands for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise. It was started as a way to praise God (on top of the release anger, and stop violence aspects of it).
9. What type of music is used for krumping?
You can krump to anything with “soul”. But if I had to put it into a category I would say you can find yourself mostly krumping to jazz, hip-hop, rap, funk, soul, etc. Rap being the dominant one.
10. Do you have any other experience with dance besides krumping, or was it your first exposure?
As I said I used to hip-hop dance for a while before krumping.
And speaking of www.NORTHBUCK.com, you should check out our videos there. There are videos on our performances, battles, sessions, etc.
Do you know what a dance teaching portfolio consists of? Do you know when you need one? If you have ever been asked to provide one of these and had no idea where to begin, take a look at the information provided by Chicago Artists Resource on the basics.
This week’s 10 Questions With… features David Hunter, Owner and Editor of Ballet for Men. Take a closer look at a great resource for guys in ballet…and what went on behind the scenes before it came to the web…
My name is David Hunter, I’m 28 years old and a graduate student, working on a Masters in Teaching. I plan to teach high school social studies or english, and dance. I’ve always loved dance, but it wasn’t until I was 25 that I took an actual dance class. For some reason I never realized how much I actually loved to dance.
As a male, it was hard for me to get started. I couldn’t find many good resources for what I needed to know as a beginner. I wasn’t aware of all the opportunities that men had in ballet. I started late, but I currently dance for a pre-professional company who provides me with a scholarship for all of my classes. I take ballet classes 6 or 7 days a week and get to perform for thousands of people in 2 feature length ballets per year and various other festivals and performances.
1. What made you create this dance blog?
I started taking ballet when I was 25, and I didn’t really know anyone else who was into ballet. So finding out what I needed to know to get started was really hard. Most of the information I could find was geared toward women. I was always surprised that there was never more information for males who are interested in dance. Ballet has been great for me, and I want that type of experience to be available to everyone interested. I want my blog to help provide information to make it easier for guys to get into dance.
2. What are the top three pieces of advice you have for other dance bloggers?
1) Provide what you want. I ask for a lot of advice and suggestions, and I definitely try to provide what I think readers will want, but that advice isn’t always there. Most of the time I think about what I wish was there. I ask, “what information or resources should be available?” If I am interested in it, chances are someone else is probably interested too.
2) Do more than you think you have time to do. I always feel like I don’t have time to do anymore. But then I force myself to take on something else, and I end up finding time to do it. Having a blog requires you to keep working on making it better and coming up with new and interesting things. This takes up more and more time, but it also pays off more and more.
3) It is all a process. Rarely does anything pay off right away. It is important to recognize goals in the long term and think about the small steps that lead up to those goals. You won’t find more readers overnight, but you can do a little bit everyday to help build a following over a few months or even years.
3. What is your organizational routine when it comes to blogging (for example, do you research one day and write the next….do you post every day…etc.)?
I usually spend a while coming up with an idea for a post before I even do any work with it. I have a list of topics I want to cover. I choose one of those topics either based on what I think is important information for beginners that isn’t out there or if there is something that has been on my mind for a while. I spend more time researching and organizing the topic than I spend actually writing the post. I feel like this is really helpful for me, and hopefully the readers. There are a lot of ideas and information to fit into any one post, so it is helpful to get all those ideas and facts outlined first.
I try to write whenever I can find time. During the school year I’m a full time graduate student, dance and rehearse full time, and work, so I don’t get to update as much as I want. That is something I would like to change. I want to find a way that I can provide something to the readers several times a week, if not every day.
4. What would you say are your blog’s strengths?
BalletForMen.com provides a lot of information that is hard to find in one place, if at all. It is hard to find information for male ballet dancers, so I provide that. Also, I understand what it is like to get started later, so I understand what questions beginners might have. It is also quite personal. The blog provides a personal look at ballet and the guys who do it. This is especially true in the podcasts, but also with some of the dancer interviews we’ve got coming up.
5. Do you have anything new coming up on the horizon?
New podcasts are coming out every week. These are a lot of fun to record, and to listen to. There will be a lot of different perspectives covered on the Ballet For Men podcast. The first run of Ballet For Men t-shirts are getting printed this month. I’m releasing a free e-book for new dancers. I’ve also been talking to different people about contributing to the website. There are a ton of other things I’m working on, but these are what people will see pretty soon.
6. If you had to describe your blog in just five words, what would they be?
Showing guys ballet is awesome.
7. Can you recommend another dance blog?
I really enjoy TheWinger.com. I like being able to read posts by dancers that I also actually see in performances.
8. Who are your all-time favorite dancers?
I’m a fan of Gene Kelly and Mikhail Baryshnikov. I think they both have done amazing things for guys in dance. Angel Corella is also one of my favorites. One of my favorite female dancers is Louise Nadeau. She just retired from Pacific Northwest Ballet at 45 years old. She is a beautiful dancer and a beautiful person. Plus she makes me think that I can dance for many more years.
9. What is your favorite piece of music?
This is tough to choose a favorite, but I think one of my favorites would be the Dancepieces by Philip Glass from In The Upper Room. I saw PNB do Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room when I first started dancing, and it was the first piece that REALLY struck something inside of me. That dance didn’t just touch my heart, it danced with it. Whenever I hear those songs I remember why I love to dance.
10. Tell us something about yourself that may come as a surprise…
I danced in Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty music video. At the time I was living in L.A. and it was before I started taking ballet. I used to like to break dance, so I auditioned for the video. Somehow I got a part, but luckily, I’m a skinny guy behind a lot of bigger dudes, so you can’t find me in the video. But I do have the pay-stub to prove it!
Continuing in our new series, Dance in the US, we feature our second organization from Alabama…
Name: Alabama Dance Theatre
Location: Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104
About: Founded in 1986 by Kitty Seale, the Alabama Dance Theatre is a combination company and school. Classes are offered in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop and tap dance.
There is both a company and a junior company, and the ballet style taught has its underpinnings in the Russian Syllabus. If you’d like to learn more, check out the news section on their site, which offers a glimpse of the dancers on YouTube.
As always, if you are from the company or the school and you would like to tell 4dancers readers something about your organization, please feel free to leave a comment…