dancers – Page 4

Dance Blog Spotlight: 2PointeSocial

November 15, 2012 by Ashley David

Today I’m excited to introduce Amanda McAlpine, author of ballet and social media blog, 2PointeSocial..

Amanda McAlpine

1. Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?

I am originally from New Hampshire, and received the majority of my training from my mentor and artistic director, Doreen Cafarella at Northern Ballet Theatre Dance Centre (formerly Granite State Ballet School). I really credit Ms. Cafarella for pushing me to the next level and encouraging me to participate in Youth America Grand Prix and the ABT summer intensive. While I was training with the school, I also had the honor of dancing Apprentice roles with the professional company in the early 2000s. Upon graduation from high school, I continued to dance at Emerson College in Boston. I came from a ballet-focused background, so I was able to gain more experience in other styles of dance including modern and musical theater (and I even got to sing!) One of the most fun performances in college was performing the Lonely Town pas de deux in the spring musical, “On the Town.”

After gaining a couple of years of professional marketing experience, I moved out to Chicago to explore the dance scene here. There’s a ton of performances to see all the time and it’s a wonderfully supportive dance community. I also began working at The Joffrey Ballet last September shortly after I moved here, so I still take classes at the Joffrey Academy from time to time and try to keep dance in my life as much as possible…which is part of the reason I began my blog. 🙂

2. When did you begin your blog—and why did you start it? [Read more…]

“Dancers Among Us” – An Interview With Photographer Jordan Matter

November 13, 2012 by 4dancers

Jordan Matter is a portrait photographer in New York City who has had work featured on the Today Show, Tyra Banks, MSNBC, NBC, MTV, BBC, ZDF TV, NY Daily News, Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, Dance Magazine, Huffington Post, and in newspapers, magazines and blogs around the world. He has photographed the past two advertising campaigns for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and now he is also the force behind the new book Dancers Among Us.

DAU reached the NY Times extended best seller list in its first week, despite having only been on sale for part of the week. Also, it sold out on Amazon in 48 hours, and was #1 on Reddit last Friday. Just as I was sitting down to put the interview and photos together to run on 4dancers, I looked up to see this book spotlighted on my nightly news in Chicago. Clearly it’s a hit–and not just with the dance community.

As I scrolled through the photographs to select the ones I would use for this post, I found myself smiling the entire time. Matter has managed to capture dance in a way I have never quite seen it before. It’s fresh and fun, and it really must have been something to be involved in the shoots pictured in this book. Let’s take a peek behind the scenes–

How long have you been photographing dancers, and what got you started on this subject matter in the first place?

I’ve been photographing dancers for the exact amount of time that I’ve been photographing “Dancers Among Us,” which is about 3 ½ years. I had no dance photography experience when I started this project. Jeffrey Smith of the Paul Taylor Dance Company hired me to shoot his headshots, and I told him about my idea of photographing dancers in everyday situations. He loved it and convinced ten PTDC company members to collaborate with me, despite the fact that I’d never shot dancers before.

You recently published a book, “Dancers Among Us”. How did the idea for that project come about?

I was watching my three-year-old son, Hudson, play with a toy bus, and I was struck by his enthusiasm and intensity. As we grow up, most of us seem to lose this ability to be wholly in the moment. I thought it would be exciting to create photographs that celebrated the joy of everyday life, seeing the world as if through the eyes of a child.

What was the process like of getting the photography together for this book?

It was thrilling. I spent the first two years shooting in NYC, and the last year traveling around the US. I would tweet and Facebook my destination, and the dancers came out in big numbers. Everywhere I went dancers were excited to volunteer their time, often traveling great distances to participate. I photographed well over two hundred dancers, and I owe each of them a huge debt of gratitude.

The most difficult part was cutting photographs- knowing that dancers would be left out of the book through no fault of their own. It was heartbreaking. I wrote a blog about that process, “I’m a Piece of S#!T… and I’m Sorry”, which you can read on my blog.

jordan matter photo from dancers among us — Rachel Bell, Baltimore, Photo by Jordan Matter

Can you share an interesting “behind-the-scenes” story about one of the photos in this book?

Sure. In the back of the book there are behind-the-scenes stories for most of the photos. Here’s an example-

“Surrender” (Rachel Bell)- Is this pose as unsafe as it looks? Yes, in more ways than one. Not only is Rachel hanging off a cannon at a great height, but we shot in 105-degree weather: That cannon was steaming hot. Just so you don’t think I’m completely heartless, I found a very strong man in the crowd that had gathered and asked him to hide behind the cannon and hold her left leg. (He crouched in a way to obscure himself from the camera’s view.) I entrusted Rachel’s life to a complete stranger, so maybe I should take back that heartless comment.

What is the greatest challenge in photographing dancers?

Dancers are used to being rigidly choreographed, and they’re not often encouraged to collaborate in the creative process. As a result, dancers often wait for direction rather than throw out ideas. I consider the dancer an equal partner, and those who embrace the creative process are often asked back several times. Also, dancers can be extremely critical of themselves, and they get very frustrated if they don’t meet their expectations (which are often set impossibly high). A choreographer with a major company once told me that dancers live in a constant state of negative reinforcement, and it takes a strong personality to rise above it.

What is the most rewarding part about this type of photography?

Just look at them. Dancers are unbelievable-they’re the perfect subjects to photograph. They’re beautiful, athletic, expressive, and willing to try anything. I quickly realized that if I could imagine it, the dancer could probably do it. I can’t believe that photographers all over the world aren’t raiding their local dance studios.

jordan matter, dancers among us photo — Jamielyn Duggan, San Francisco, Photo by Jordan Matter

What do you think has helped you the most in becoming a dance photographer?

Being completely ignorant of the dance world, so I could approach my work with a fresh eye, unburdened by expectations. I actually don’t consider myself a dance photographer-I’m a photographer who uses dancers to tell stories. The quality that helped me tell those stories is a willingness to trust serendipity. Almost every photograph in the book came together through serendipity. I rarely ever had a plan- the dancer and I would explore the environment until I discovered something that excited me. Then I would ask, “What is the story? What’s the scenario?”

Usually dance photos are either pretty pictures in a studio or pretty pictures outside. I wanted to break away from that mold and create images that could resonate with everyone, not just dance fans. I tried to take slices of life that are easily recognizable and imbue them with joy and passion. However, it wasn’t always easy to trust that things would just work out when I had four dancers who just drove five hours and are waiting for me to make a decision. As we walked around, seemingly aimlessly, I would usually say, “Don’t worry, this is the process. The shot is right around the corner somewhere. Just stick with me.”

Is there a particular method you have come up with to capture a dancer’s personality through a photo?

The dancer’s personality comes through in the scenario. It’s much easier for dancers to show that they’re funny, sexy, intense, or whatever if the story highlights that quality. It’s much more difficult in a studio setting. When I’m considering a scenario, I always see the dancer as an individual and try to gauge what interesting characteristics he or she will bring to the photo. My favorite is humor-I just can’t get enough of dancers who have a sense of humor.

What is coming up on the horizon for you?

I’ve been obsessing over this project for the past three years, so that’s primarily where my focus is right now. I haven’t announced this yet, but there will be a 2014 wall calendar (I guess I just announced it!). I hope to expand “Dancers Among Us” beyond the USA. Why would I ever stop shooting this? It’s my nirvana!

Visit Amazon if you are interested in purchasing Dancers Among Us.

Here’s a behind the scenes video that gives a glimpse of what the process was like:

Dancers Among Us goes around the USA in Ninety Seconds from Jordan Matter on Vimeo.

Nourishing Your Dancer Body: Understanding The Fundamentals of Making Good Food Choices

October 25, 2012 by 4dancers

by Diana Clanin, M.F.A., AT

Dancers have such a love-hate relationship with food! Of course we need it: it gives us sustenance, repairs our over-worked bodies, and provides us with energy. And of course we enjoy it: it not only tastes good, but is part of every cultural and social life-occasion from birth to death. Yet, we are often afraid that it will make us – and I shudder to even write the word – fat. So we teeter between trying to be super vigilant about nutrition, and the fear of gaining weight. And the less food we eat, or the more we try to avoid eating, the more we focus on it. It’s an ongoing internal conflict.

As The Stomach Growls

So why is this so hard? Seems like balancing food intake, good nutrition, and weight would be as straight forward as a tendu devant. But dancers have a unique challenge: how to get the optimal nutrition we need in the fewest possible calories.

To complicate matters further, between the print and broadcast medias, and our hyper-immersion in “smart” electronic communication gadgetry, we are on information overload. Sadly, very little of what passes for nutrition “news” is fact or evidence based. If you are increasingly confused about what to believe, you are not dancing solo. Much published nutritional advice or claims are dubious attempts to sell you some product, which may or may not perform as described. Influencing you to purchase a supplement or special “food” often means convincing you that you have some critical deficiency, or are needlessly suffering from a chronic lack of energy. It is fear-based marketing psychology and you are the target.

Keeping It Simple

So let’s start by laying down a few basic guidelines for making sane and healthy – and economical – choices:

1. Eat food as close to how Mother Nature packaged it as possible.

Avoid pre-packaged food mixes (Bisquick, Hamburger Helper, etc.).
Stick with whole grains: 100% whole grain cereals, breads, and pastas. If it is white, Don’t Bite! (In the grain department, that is.)
And…if it came through the car window, is it really food?

2. Eat several small meals a day and include components from each of the macro-nutrient food groupings each time.

This means be sure you have protein, fats, and carbohydrates in your selections each time you eat. Examples: yogurt and fruit with granola, or cheese and whole grain crackers with vegetable sticks.
Try eating five or six small meals instead of three larger ones. This will give you more even, sustained energy and allow you to metabolize the food more efficiently.
And yes, this DOES mean that you may have to do a little food research!! – to learn which foods fall into which the various macro-nutrient categories (i.e., is it a protein? A fat? A carbohydrate?). In general, for dancers trying to eat healthy / maintain weight, and get good nutrition for energy, these guidelines are recommended for daily intake:

+ Protein                      12-15%
+ Fat                             20-30%
+ Carbohydrates        55-60%

Speaking of carbs, it’s good to learn what are healthy carbs (called “complex carbs”, like fruits / veggies / bagels, breads and pastas made with whole grains) and what are not-so-healthy-carbs (called “simple carbs”, like sugars and white grain products).

IADMS – the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science – has an excellent fact sheet on Nutrition for Dancers under the “Resources” tab on the left side of the home page – if you aren’t that familiar yet with different foods and nutritional information, this can be a great start.

3. Eat a wide variety of foods. [Read more…]

Dancers – Embrace Your Body

October 22, 2012 by 4dancers

Some of Lucy Vurusic-Riner’s dance students

by Lucy Vurusic-Riner

I’ve been avoiding the teacher perspective on body image post for a long time. It’s that subject that lurks in the shadows and I’m too close to want to address it. However, in the aftermath of last month’s Wisconsin news anchor debacle, where a woman just doing her job (well, I might add) was criticized for her weight (which in no way impacts her ability to report the news, I might add again). I feel that it’s time to broach the topic.

The fact is, body image plays a huge role in my day to day. In fact, to say I don’t think about it every single day as a high school dance teacher would be a flat out lie. Over the last 18 years I have thought about body image at least once a day, EVERY day, as I enter one of my classes. The issues have varied depending on the school and community surrounding it. The frequency of how many girls are noticeably affected by it differs as well. But it’s always safe to assume that there is someone in the room with me looking at their body in a distorted way; maybe even me.

Personally, I have been lucky with the gene pool bestowed upon me. Because quite frankly, I think that’s where you have to look first. We are as short or tall as we are because of how the chromosomes matched up. My long torso was not something I had to do massive amounts of bar hangs to achieve. I have it because I have my grandmother’s body, and alas, she too had a long torso.

Likewise, I have some pretty crappy feet and bad turnout as far as the dance world is concerned. My genetics could have told me that I had horrible arches as early as 7 or 8, when I tried shoving my feet into pointe shoes. I bought the do-hickey that stretches your arches and I laid on my belly in frog position to open my hips for hours at a time. To a certain degree maybe that torture, as well as determination in class and a strong work ethic, did make me a better dancer, but guess what? My feet and turn out are still nothing to write home about. But truly, amidst all of this, to the common person’s naked eye, I have always had a body “suitable’ for dancing. Phew.

So how do I approach this in my dance classes? My tactic for the most part has been to diffuse it at every turn. In my first years of teaching I had some pretty severe cases. Girls that wanted so badly to be in the highest level classes and have the most performance experience. Girls who wanted to please their parents (who often consciously put pressure on their daughters), girls who needed to live up to their friends and acquaintances ideas of what being a dancer meant. And a lot of the time, I couldn’t even blame them. So much of what being a dancer means to the general public is solely based on cheesy movies and fantasy. How many of you have ever told someone you were a dancer and then had to tolerate some stupid comment about stripping or lap dances? I found that “controlling” one’s eating was the one place that my students could feel they were empowered to do something about the way that others perceived them. They might not be able to physically alter their flat feet or poor turnout–but they sure as hell could get skinny.

With a few more years of teaching under my belt, I started to notice that poor body image was becoming less of an issue with my students. Sure, I still had the occasional one or two that popped up every three or four years; the ones that need to be hospitalized or get counseling. But it soon became an issue that was manageable.

What had happened? Had body image problems become a thing of the past? Hardly. I sat down with a group of my dancers a few years back and we had a long discussion that, at first, was simply a conversation about nutrition and diet and what people like to eat, but then turned into a riveting discussion on exercise and how to most efficiently take care of our bodies.

What I learned was that part of the reason I wasn’t seeing that problem was because we had formed a safe dance community within our classroom.

I rarely talked about weight. I never degraded my body or how I looked in front of my students (in fact, they often had to listen to me talk about how I embraced by big butt). And I ate what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat it, in front of them and with no guilt, because feeling shameful, about anything, has never helped someone overcome any sort of obstacle.

I want my students to be appreciative of their bodies and how to live in them. Adolescent girls have enough to worry about with their changing bodies, raging hormones and the pressure of becoming young, responsible adults.

I believe teaching dancers how to take care of themselves and respect their bodies needs to become an intuitive practice; one that we take part in each day when we talk about foods that we love, clothes that we feel comfortable in and dance classes that we take that make us feel good about ourselves. Some dance teachers might read this and say that I’m not being a very honest teacher or mentor if I don’t talk to my girls about their weight. Guess what? It’s not going to happen.

Why? Because my dancers already know if they need to lose a few pounds. They knew before I did; they stared at themselves in the mirror long before I did, and they will continue to find things about themselves that aren’t good enough–just like I did. Yes, I want them to be healthy and make smart nutritional choices, and when it’s appropriate I talk to ALL my dancers about this as a group. Because–let’s be honest again…

Some of those skinny girls need to hear about how to take care of their bodies far more than the bigger girls. In the end, all that matters to me is that they love the body they are in.

Contributor Lucy Vurusic-Riner is a native Chicagoan who has been supporting and contributing to the dance community for over twenty years. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Dance Performance and Dance Education from Illinois State University. Lucy has been a member of Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, RTG Dance Company and Matthew Hollis’ “The Power of Cheer.” She has also had the opportunity to be part of the community casts of White Oak Dance Project and David Dorfman Dance.

Lucy has taught modern, hip hop, and jazz at numerous studios and high schools in the Chicagoland area. She was the Director of Dance at Oak Park and River Forest High School from 1999 to 2012. In 2005, Lucy completed her Masters Degree in Education from National Louis University and also received the Midwest Dance Teacher of the Year award and was the youngest of four finalists in the running for the National Dance Teacher of the Year award. Lucy and artistic partner, Michael Estanich, formed RE|Dance Group in 2010. RE|Dance Group investigates humanity in movement through long distance collaboration.

In 2012, Lucy joined the dance faculty at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. When she is not immersed in dance, she is at home with her two great kids, Margie and Luka, and her very supportive husband, Jim.

Career Transition For Dancers-Maryellen Langhout

October 1, 2012 by Ashley David

Today we are pleased to announce a partnership with Career Transition For Dancers! In the coming months you’ll be hearing more about this wonderful organization as we post a regular feature highlighting the work that they do in their offices across the country.

We begin with an interview with Maryellen Langhout, LPC, NBCCC – the career counselor in the Chicago office…

ML in office_Cropped_12.6.11 — Maryellen Langhout, Chicago Career Counselor, LPC, NBCCC

1. What is Career Transition For Dancers?

Career Transition For Dancers is the only nonprofit organization in the US solely dedicated to the career needs of dancers. With offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and a mobile National Outreach Project, we have helped thousands of dancers take their first steps in discovering rewarding second careers.

Career Transition For Dancers arose out of a partnership of several foundations and unions, including the National Endowment for the Arts, AFL-CIO Labor Institute for Human Enrichment, and Actors’ Equity Association. Under the leadership of Agnes de Mille, this partnership led to the development and presentation of a conference held in 1982 at Lincoln Center to discuss the need to assist dancers both during and at the end of their careers. The goal of the conference was to find ways to help dancers make use of their individual backgrounds, talents and skills on and off the stage.

2. How did it get started?

Career Transition For Dancers was founded in 1985 by Edward Weston and was originally administered as an initiative of The Actors Fund in New York City. The program was also supported by Actors’ Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Guild of Musical Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild. The funding provided by these organizations continues today. The original program provided career counseling and scholarship support for the members of these unions who were in the process of transition. In 1988, Career Transition For Dancers became a self-governing 501(c)(3) organization with a refocused mission to help all dancers, not just union members.

3. What is your role in the organization? [Read more…]

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