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Creating A Google Alert

May 13, 2010 by 4dancers

Whether you are a dancer wanting to keep an eye on any reviews that come out about your performances or a studio owner who has their own blog, Google Alerts can be a great tool for you to use. Setting this notification up is very simple, and it will help you keep an eye on your online presence. Just follow the easy directions and you will have an alert e-mailed to you with the frequency you select. I use it for 4dancers and it lets me know when the site is mentioned elsewhere. Very handy!

 

Filed Under: 4dancers, 4teachers, Social Media, Studios Tagged With: 4dancers, dancer, google alerts, Social Media, studio owner

Flamenco Training Basics

April 13, 2010 by 4dancers

by Karen Stelling

It isn’t spoken of very often in flamenco classes but this dance form requires every bit as much body training as any other dance form.  Granted most flamenco dancers do not have to master a mean Cabriole Double as part of their regular technique, (landing with boots or shoes would DEFINITELY make it interesting however!) or other feats of derring-do, but flexibility, strength and correct posture are de rigueur.

Stretching, strength building and posture improvement (look in the mirror, please!) not only improve a flamenco dancer’s anatomy but improve technique, increase a dancer’s ability to sustain energy and breath for demanding sections of heel work or turns and facilitate ones ability to go from stillness to “striking”, not unlike a cobra, unleashing energy in a controlled deliberate fashion.

Karen Stelling

I have found that especially for the “brazeo” or arm movements, stretching of the entire arm, usually in a position over and behind the head, on a regular basis allows greater movement of the arms into and out of any position.  Imagine that you are “strung up” by your wrists, casually blowing in the wind like laundry on a summer day…Well, okay that’s probably a little too comfy a description, because it isn’t exactly that pretty but that’s the basic idea!  There was a time that I used soup cans (full, not empty!) one in each hand, to pass through all the basic arm positions.  I built strength and control as well by doing this.

Many students and dancers I observe often forget that the strength needs to continue into the wrists, hands and fingers to complete the line.  I firmly believe that ALL the upper body and arm energy emanates from the center of the back, like the trunk of a great tree, with the branches carrying that energy outward.  It makes sense then to keep the center both strong and flexible.  Doing upper and lower abdominal strengthening movements along with the side-waist muscles or obliques builds the “core.”  Proper footwork takes a strong center to lift the weight out of the legs and allow them to move freely but with great control.

Of course,  there remains and likely always will be, a huge emphasis on heel work and banging out great sounds, which often diminishes what the rest of the body is doing, especially the center of the body and the arms, neck and head.  I’ve often commented in my classes that “any knucklehead with a decent sense of rhythm can do heel work.”  In other words, it doesn’t take much to pound the floor; a few cool combination’s and you’re a super star!  But that isn’t flamenco dancing.  The dancing incorporates both the isolation and the joining of all your “parts!”   While the arms are moving one way, the hands may move another, while the hips, legs and feet do a counter movement and the face sends out the feeling and expression!   Then there is the connection to the singing and guitar…many pieces form the mosaic!

Ultimately, a flamenco dancer wants to create the most responsive body possible…so that her ideas can be fully realized in a strong and beautiful way with all the inner truth, intent and feeling apparent from the first step.

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Filed Under: 4dancers, 4teachers, Editorial, Flamenco & Spanish Dance Tagged With: brazeo, dancer, flamenco dance, guitar, karen stelling, singing

4dancers: Guest Posts Wanted

January 26, 2010 by 4dancers

Today just a quick announcement…

I am looking for a few guest posts on the following subjects:

+ Triumphs and tragedies–send me your biggest accomplishment or your most embarassing moment as a dancer. Or send both.

+ Inspiration–share a story about a teacher that inspired you.

+ Recital advice–what have you learned that you can share with others?

If you are interested in doing a guest post on one of these subjects–just send it to me in the body of an e-mail, with the subject line “guest post”. If you have a photo as well, that would be great, but it isn’t mandatory. Please include your first and last name, your location and a sentence about how you are connected to the dance world.

My e-mail is writer (at) catherineltully.com (Make sure you include the l)

I look forward to hearing your stories!

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Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: dance world, dancer, recital advice, teacher

Bursitis And Tendinitis

December 3, 2009 by 4dancers

If you have ever had bursitis or tendinitis you know how much pain either of these can cause. Early on in my career I had Achillies tendinitis so bad that I could hardly dance. If you or a dancer you know suffers from either of these conditions, it is important to get medical help so that you can come up with a good treatment plan. For some background information on what the conditions are and some details on prevention, check out the National Institutes of Health.

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Filed Under: 4dancers, 4teachers, Online Dance Resources Tagged With: achillies tendinitis, bursitis, dance, dancer, national institutes of health, tendinitis

The Arangetram

November 23, 2009 by 4dancers

Copyright 2005, Catherine L. Tully

If you have never heard of an Arangetram, get ready to be amazed…

(I am going to break it down here into only the very basics, but there are many layers that I won’t cover, so know that there is a good deal more to this than meets the eye.)

Basically an Arangetram is a sort of “graduation” performance that is undertaken by a student of Bharata Natyam. This classical Indian dance form is a combination of complex movements that are expressive, along with a spiritual component. Dancers prepare for this for a long time, and the final performance is typically a large-scale event. Some families even have musicians flown in from India to play for the dancer. Many times an auditorium or stage is rented out for the performance, and friends and family attend to watch the graduation dance.

I have attended several Arangetram performances, and they are actually quite an emotional experience. The dancers (and their family) put their entire soul into this one day, and it is a very long series of demanding movements that they must undertake. Most Arangetram will last between two and three hours, and it is almost continuous dancing. The teacher is called the “Guru” and they are also present for the performance. If you ever have the chance to experience an Arangetram, I would highly recommend it. You will get to see something truly unique.

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Filed Under: 4dancers, 4teachers, Dance History Tagged With: arangetram, bharata natyam, bharatanatyam, dancer, graduation, guru

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