dancing – Page 2

Student Spotlight: Luke Spalding

December 17, 2012 by Ashley David

ballet dancer practicing — Luke Spalding

Today’s Student Spotlight features Luke Spalding from Chicago Ballet Arts…

1. Can you tell readers how you became involved with dance?

I became involved in dance primarily through my older sister. I remember going to these little creative movement classes with her around Evanston before my mom learned about Chicago Ballet Arts. My sister started taking ballet there when I was in kindergarten and really liked it so when I got to first grade my parents signed me up and I have stuck with dance ever since.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class?

Grande allegro always has been the part of class I like best. It is just so fun and exhilarating to finally travel a lot and take up the entire room. Also I love the jumps that come with it that are unique to only that part of class. Flying through the air and reaching the extremes of motion is definitely a feeling that is unique to dance.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you?

The hardest part of dance definitely is the long hours that it entails. It is very challenging to find the balance and self-discipline to finish homework, attend class, and do any other activities or extra curriculars after going to school. Junior year has been especially hard academically, which has made it more difficult to attend as many dance classes as I would like to attend this year.

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

The advice that I would give to other dancers would be to really stick with it especially for other guys. I admit I really did not enjoy dancing after doing it for a couple years when I was in elementary school. I thought ballet class was extremely boring at times. But gradually I began to love dancing and to enjoy taking class in a different but better way than when I was little and starting out.

5. How has dance changed your life?

Dance has changed my life in so many ways. Going to summer intensives and dance events and performances allows one to meet so many passionate teachers and so many fellow dancers that are just so much fun to be around. In addition to the great people that you meet, dancing has made me very fit and extremely conscious of my body’s movements. It also has made me very conscious of my body’s aches and pains and has forced me to be able to deal with and avoid the injuries that are ever present in a dancer’s life.

Performing In The London 2012 Olympics

November 27, 2012 by 4dancers

Today 4dancers welcomes Amie Brotherton who is going to share her experience performing in the London Olympics this year. It’s an honor that most dancers will never experience in their lifetime, so we thought it would be interesting to see what she had to say about the event…

london 2012 olympics — Amie Brotherton at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

Olympic Performer. Diary of events.

November of 2011 I applied to audition to be involved in the Olympics Opening Ceremonies. As a dancer and dance teacher I relished the opportunity to be involved and hopefully perform so I filled in all the information about myself, my experiences and my specific skills. I received an email from the ceremonies asking me to come to an audition, so off I headed to East London.

After that, I received another email inviting me back to a second which was a role-specific audition.

16 January I received an email to say I’d been successful along with an invitation to take part in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. I was completely thrilled!!

15 April The first rehearsal we were met by none other than Danny Boyle himself. He sat us down and explained his whole vision, showing us a video of what he wanted the ceremony to look like and a scale model of the stadium.

We spent 4 weeks working very hard in the studio on the contents of our segment. Always shattered but on a high when I got home, each new part we learnt I’d practice at home be to sure I would keep ahead, remembering everything for the next week!

20 May We met in an outside space where there were a lot more cast members and we were all put together in bigger groups. We continued to learn new parts and integrate them with other groups and stood from week to week in any weather from blazing 25*C sunshine, to 11*C rain and wind.

olympic dancers — Amie and her fellow performers

21 June Stadium day! We had been given strict instructions about security and as we came out of Stratford station and walked towards the park, excitement was mounting. We went through security and were faced with the huge and beautiful stadium in front of us, the aquatic centre on our left and the water polo centre on our right. We walked across the bridge and it all looked very impressive. Everything was huge!

We began rehearsing 3-4 times a week, each rehearsal bringing new surprises, whether it was an addition to the set, special effects, or trying on our make up and costumes! The press made numerous attempts to find out what’s going on – including flying helicopters over us trying to take photos, and infiltrating our radio communicators.

20 – 26 July Now we were putting on dress rehearsals for crowds of around 40,000. This was our first true taste of having a large audience. Feedback from the crowd was immense and gave us an indication of what it could be like on opening night. All the audiences were amazing, and they did #savethesurprise for us–enabling us to keep the secret from the world as to just what they could expect on the 27^th of July. [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: Julio Sierra

November 21, 2012 by 4dancers

Yesterday we featured dancer Jamie Sierra, and today we have his twin brother, Julio…

1. Can you tell readers how you became involved with dance?

I’ve always wanted to study ballet when I was younger but never tried to do so because of financial issues. This is until my mother called a local dance studio in our city and I received an amazing opportunity from the artistic director, Francisco Gella, to study at Nuevo School of Contemporary Dance under a scholarship. I immediately started dancing during the last week of August 2011. Taking my first ballet class at Nuevo, I can honestly say I instantly fell love with the art. I now train for at least 22 hours a week at Nuevo School of Contemporary Dance taking as much ballet I can take. I’ve also joined their pre-professional performance company in August 2012.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class?

The thing about taking classes is you can never learn too much, that there is always room for improvement. Especially since I’ve only just started dancing, classes are the best way to try out new things that will work best for your body.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you?

Learning different styles of dance. Trying to switch gears from classes like Ballet to Hip Hop is the most difficult thing for me. Ballet feels so pure and elegant that when I try to do Hip Hop it constantly throws me off. Hitting hard beats and the fast choreography confuses me a lot. Also the musicality of it is so different. I played an instrument and I listen to a lot of classical music so it makes it a bit easier for me to count to Ballet music, while Hip Hop can be so random that I often won’t hear the beats as clearly.

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

When I first started dancing, I noticed how amazing others were so I paid close attention to them. Aside from learning from my teachers, I also learned from my peers. However, I started to get discouraged because of the fact that I started to compare myself to others who were far ahead of me. The only advice I can give to dancers is try not to compare yourself to others. Every dancer is different and worrying how others are doing does not benefit you in any way. Focus on what you’re learning, improve on what you do best, and work on your weaknesses. You should always pay close attention to your peers and get as much from them as you can, but never compare yourself to others who may or may not be better.

5. How has dance changed your life?

Dance has only entered my life recently, but has changed almost every aspect of it. I believe that dance is my escape, it is a way for me to truly express the way I feel. It has changed the smallest detail about me, like from the way I think and to what clothes I wear. Without dance, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. It has turned me into a better person and has only been a positive influence in my life. Dance is my passion. It is my love and my dream. If I wasn’t dancing now, I would be truly lost. I believe that dance has found me and is leading me to a better path.

Bio: My name is Julio Sierra and I am 17 years old. I am from Chino Hills, California attending my junior year in Chino Hills High School. I am a conservatory and pre-professional company member at Nuevo School of Contemporary Dance.

Student Spotlight: Jaime Sierra

November 20, 2012 by 4dancers

This next student spotlight is a bit unusual in that it will have two parts…you see, the featured dancer has a twin who also dances. Tune in for his post tomorrow! In the meantime, here’s Jamie Sierra:

Well, when I was little, as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved dancing. I would dance to any song that I heard. But in later years I started playing sports and sort of just forgot dancing. But I realized that I was missing something. Although I love sports, dancing was my passion. So I started dancing in 8th grade. I learned to break dance with some friends. Even though it was on and off I still danced. And later on I started taking dance class from Nuevo School of Contemporary Dance. I changed my whole style of dancing. I went from only breaking to a variety of dance styles.

2. What do you find best about dance class?

What I really love about dance classes are that you can learn so much from each class. Making yourself more diverse and learning different techniques, just expanding your knowledge in dancing itself.

3. What is the hardest part of dance for you ?

The hardest part about dancing for me, would probably be all the stretching and flexibility. I’m not as flexible as my twin. But I’m trying my best to get there.

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

My only advice to dancers out there is remember the first time you danced; that it was fun; remember how you felt when you first danced. Even though it’s hard work and sometimes stressful, you can inspire those in the future when you’re a great dancer. So remember to have fun with it!

5. How has dance change your life?

Dancing has changed my life in many ways. It helps me through to all my hard times; even though I’m only 17 there’s been a lot of stress. It made me a better person and has helped me make friends. I’ve had friends before but I now have more friends that I can connect with. Dancing changed a whole lot of stuff in my life. In every single part of me, dancing changed me from my limbs to my heart itself. I wouldn’t be the person I am now without it.

Bio: I am Jaime Sierra and I am 17 years of age. I love to play sports, instruments but most of all dancing. Dancing is my passion and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I dance at Nuevo School of Contemporary Dance

. And my dream is to be a successful dancer someday.

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning — The Franklin Method Part I

June 14, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn MS

Happy Summer! Our last few posts have been about conditioning, and we’re still on that topic…

Today is all about the Franklin Method (FM). The FM is not really an “outside conditioning” method, although it can be used for only that – but it is really much more. It is something which can be integrated into dance training and your daily life — a movement education system that can be very beneficial not only for learning new movement, but also for “re-patterning”. That term refers to when we have a poor movement habit or postural pattern, and want to change it to one that is more efficient and healthy for our body.

The FM is science-based, founded on principles from physics, biomechanics, evolutionary anatomy (how the human body has evolved over time in its movement capabilities), concepts from both Western and Eastern science —and is especially based on the new science of Neuroplasticity – i.e, the plasticity of the brain.

This has been one of the most important scientific discoveries of the late 20^th / early 21^st centuries. Science is only beginning to understand how amazingly flexible our brains are, not just when we are infants / young children, but though out our lifespan. How we live, what we do and think on a daily basis, profoundly affects and shapes our brain –constantly. We DO have the capacity to change our brain, and thus our bodies as well (“The Brain That Changes Itself”, by Norman Doidge, MD, is a terrific book about this field – available on Amazon and in bookstore). The FM gives us the tools to accomplish those changes ourselves.

The founder of the FM is Swiss-born Eric Franklin, a multi-talented man who is a:

-dancer

-choreographer

-educator

-author (10 English-language books currently on the market, 3 of them completely dance-oriented)

-movement scientist, who began developing his work nearly 30 years ago.

The FM is now taught and used world-wide, in dance as well in many other environments, such as:

-Music (The Music Conservatory of Vienna, for example)

-Pilates (many FM instructors are also Pilates teachers, and it has been presented at Pilates conferences in the US)

-Yoga (again, a number of FM trainers also are Yoga instructors, and it is taught at Yoga centers and conferences in the US and UK)

-Sports (Franklin has worked with world-class athletes, including those at Olympic level)

-Medicine (US PT’s are increasingly becoming certified and using it in their clinical work, and in Europe it has been used for many years in healthcare systems, including physical therapy and midwifery)

Tune in tomorrow for a closer look at the FM in the dance world!

Editor Jan Dunn is a dance medicine specialist currently based on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where she is affiliated with Pilates Kauai. She is also a Pilates rehabilitation specialist and Franklin Educator.

Originally a dancer / choreographer, she became university dance faculty, most recently as Adjunct Faculty, University of Colorado Dept. of Theatre and Dance. Her 28 year background in dance medicine includes 23 years with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) – as Board member / President / Executive Director – founding Denver Dance Medicine Associates, and establishing two university Dance Wellness Programs.

Jan served as organizer and Co-Chair, International Dance Medicine Conference, Taiwan 2004, and was founding chair of the National Dance Association’s (USA) Committee on Dance Science and Medicine, 1989-1993. She originated The Dance Medicine/Science Resource Guide; and was co-founder of the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. She has taught dance medicine, Pilates, and Franklin workshops for medical / dance and academic institutions in the USA / Europe / Middle East / and Asia, authored numerous articles in the field, and presented at many national and international conferences.

Ms. Dunn will be writing a new column, “Dance Wellness” for 4dancers in 2012 and will also be bringing in voices from the dance wellness/dance medicine field to share their expertise with readers.

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