Tag Archives: Dance

Dance Competitions – Make the Songs Stop Bleeding to Death

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Anyone who has ever been to a dance competition knows that it’s filled with studio colors, junk food, and a whole bunch of girls and boys who are uber nervous about messing up on stage.  No I didn’t mistake with that second item.  Yes full of junk food.  From starburst and gummy bears to goldfish and cans of soda.  Most dancers are at a competition from 8:00 AM to sometimes as late as 10:00 PM, so to keep a thirteen year old awake you feed them sugar.  I digress.  At dance competitions you also hear various songs performed to well choreographed dance routines that represent the best from each studio all over the country.  Every year there is that one popular song that every studio uses and you literally want to rip your ears off every time a kid steps on the stage and you hear those first few notes.  I’m talking about that song that there is basically a verbal brawl on who is going to get to dance to it at the studio, because once one person has claimed that song at the studio, no one else can dance to it.

My big competition years were between 2001-2004.  I can still list the most popular used songs for each of those years and I can’t listen them.  The debut of the artist Alicia Keys with ‘Fallin’ was the best emotional R&B song to come out in 2001.  Keys even won three Grammys for ‘Fallin,’ but after the second dance competition and hearing it fourteen times (in each competition) I just can’t bring myself to ever listen to that song.  Evanescence’s ‘My Immortal’ in 2004 was worse.  I swear every other dance solo or duet that came to the stage that was announced was using that song.  If I was a judge I don’t think I could have kept anyone straight, let alone made a judgement call on how well any of the movement was executed.

The whole point when you are competing or in any performance is to standout.  When you are searching for a song to give to your instructor for the new year try to find a band or artist that is up and coming or music that is older.  Instructors – give your students other song options before the new competition year.  Give your students other artists to get excited about at the end of a competition year that are new or developing a following so when they come back to class they could have a new found passion for another band or singer.  There are resources that the millennial generation did not have as kids such as streaming music services, YouTube, and Pandora.  These resources gives you the ability to find out about new artists as well as find similar music that have the same vibe or sound of a song you were looking at originally.  If you have older siblings that are really into music use them.  Don’t get stuck in the pop culture world when there are so many other artists to discover like alternative groups such as Sleeping At Last, PVRIS, and State Champs; all who have great songs for contemporary or lyrical routines.  Look into songs that music publications are writing about such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, or Alternative Press.  Be bold.  Be brave.  And stop caring so much about what your friends are going to think if you don’t pick the new One Direction song or Little Mix single as your solo music.  As Dr. Seuss says, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.”

Dancing in Boston

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cropped-dancerlayback1.jpgDance is a very internal community.  The more people you know in the industry the easier it is to find job openings (artistic and administrative), best locations to take classes based on style, teaching opportunities to increase your revenue or experience as an artist, space rentals, or to see some great dance performances.  I have been living in Boston, Massachusetts for the last three years and even though I believe that if you are looking for a career as a dancer you are better off long-term in New York City or Los Angeles, Boston is a spring board for those not sure if you want to make the big leap to those intimidating cities.

There is a website called Boston Dance Alliance, which is a great starting point for any new dancer in the area, or someone trying to get more involved in the Boston dance community.  You can find any numerous opportunities from auditions and choreography gigs to fellowships, performance venues, and teaching prospects.  If you are looking for classes check out places such as the Dance Complex or Green Street Studios.  Both are in Cambridge, but are well worth the trip.  They have affordable classes that range from $9 to $15 depending on the instructor and a variety of dance styles to chose.  Unfortunately they do not take credit cards because you pay the instructor directly, but they do accept cash or check in most cases.  If you are a beginner, not a problem, they have beginner and advance classes in each style of dance and everyone who takes class is always supportive, friendly, and approachable.  If you are short on funds check out the work-study program the Dance Complex has for incoming students.  These positions are tough to come by and sometimes takes a few months till something becomes available, but hey what in life comes easy that is worth it?

If you are looking for more consistency in classes check out Urbanity Dance for hip-hop, contemporary, world dance, and Yoga.  Urbanity Dance is a prominent company with an epic director named Betsi Graves who has an extraordinary background commissioning work all over the country, winning choreographic awards, and was selected by Mia Michaels to tour on a full scholarship with LA Underground when she was only seventeen.  Graves company has been around for about six years and is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the Boston area.  She has brought more contemporary dance into the community by starting the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival two years ago, which has brought artists from Canada, New York, Texas, Florida, Rhode Island, and all over Massachusetts to present and mingle with other artists in the area.  Also, check out Urbanity Dance performances throughout the year.  Next performance in Boston is at the ICA in February through World Music/ CRASHArts.

You can’t go to class without looking like you should be there right?  In my opinion you don’t need to buy fancy leotards and warm ups as long as your clothes are comfortable, form-fitting, and you can move without feeling restricted.  I am sure every fourteen year old that I danced with which is literally half my age now (wow I’m old) would disagree with me.  So, for those of you willing to spend some money on dance clothes and/ or shoes check out Dancer’s Image (Newton, MA) or Back Bay Dancewear (Burlington, MA).  For those you looking for pointe shoes, both locations have pointe shoe specialists that can help you find the right shoe for your type of feet.  Not all pointe shoes are the same, but that is another story.

I literally spent my entire life in a dance studio growing up and I miss not dancing everyday, but at least I have the opportunity to dance when it fits into my schedule and not totally break the bank.  So the next time someone looks at you all weird and ask you why you dance just respond why do I breathe.

Dance for the Next Generation

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ParisDancerA musical is like a love letter.  It intertwines two people’s lives that expresses their feelings for one another through song and dance.  How can anyone not fall in love when a man who dances and sings like Gene Kelly?  We all know that Leslie Caron had no chance in the 1951 version of An American in Paris, and Gene Kelly was not giving up until they were together.  Now the movie is being brought to the stage in new fashion by one of the most requested contemporary ballet choreographers to date, Christopher Wheeldon.  Wheeldon has choreographed for some of the great dance companies such as Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet, and The Royal Ballet.  Now, he not only brings his choreography back to Broadway, but makes his directoral debut with an American classic, An American in Paris.

It has been 63 years since Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron graced the screen in An American in Paris.  The six time academy award winning picture has been adapted into a Broadway show which opened in Paris, France at the Theatre du Chatalet in November 2014; Wheeldon has big shoes to fill.  He chose not to transfer the film directly to the stage, but instead taking an artistic stance and creating all new choreography and extending dance sequences within the score of the musical.  I thought it was interesting for casting he chose to go with a cast of extremely strong dancers including the two leads Robert Fairchild, Principal from New York City Ballet and Leanne Cope, First Artist from the Royal Ballet.  Wheeldon is taking a choreographic direction similar to Movin’ Out where Twyla Tharp had a show that was centered around Billy Joel’s music, but was strongly supported by the dancers that brought the songs to life.

George Balanchine once said, “Dancing is music made visible.”  The beauty and magic that happens when you see a work that you connect with for the first time is an out of body experience and I think society is finally catching up.  Over the last year, I have seen a large change in the dance world where choreographers are starting to be more in the public eye, and not just the people who are obsessive dance fans.  There has not only been growth in Broadway with the bright future of An American in Paris, but also the up-coming Finding Neverland  Spring 2015 debut in which Mia Michaels choreographed.  There have also been some fantastic music videos that have embraced the power that dance can bring to a piece of music in various music genres like Carrie Underwood’s Something in the Water that incorporates the Los Angeles dance troupe Shaping Sound, as well as Ed Sheeran’s Don’t, choreographed by hip-hop duo Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo and performed by Phillip “Pacman” Chbeeb.  Wheeldon’s new show has come at the perfect time where dance is starting become more prominent everywhere through television, music, and stage, and is now being presented to a whole new generation of dance lovers.  The great thing about An American in Paris is it connects an old audience with a new one. So make your New Year’s resolution to go see more live dance.  Connect with something on an emotional level, see something that is not through your iPhone or computer screen, and fall in love all with an art form that can bring you to the past, present, and future in a matter of minutes.

A College Performing Arts Degree is Worth More Than You Think

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I could sit here and spout off a ton of statistics from society that tells the up and coming student that a performing arts degree from a four year college institution is not worth your time.  I could also tell you that you are going to fail at life if you don’t get a practical degree in a study such as business or economics.  Well, I am hear to tell you that society and those statistics are wrong.

I have a Bachelors degree in Dance (concentration in performance and choreography) from the College at Brockport in upstate New York.  Like all artistic eighteen year old dance majors I had big dreams of becoming a professional dancer.  As I took more classes and became more immersed in the program, I was introduced to my first composition (choreography) class.  I choreographed my first piece to ‘For Blue Skies’ by Strays Don’t Sleep.  My dancers had so much energy, passion, and really connected to the music.  It meant the world to me that my work had the possibility of representing the dance department in a showcase to my peers at the college.  For those of you not performing art majors – Usually in performing art college programs your work has to pass a professor board for each showcase or performance.   In my first review, my work was on probation to be put into the showcase because of the music I had chosen; music with lyrics were not looked at highly in dance works at my college.  I was asked to look into changing the music or getting rid of the music before the final round.  So, I sat in a studio for over four hours listening to every piece of music I had access to on campus.  After listening to everything I had, nothing gave the choreography the same feel.  I decided to go into my final round of judgement keeping the same music I originally chose, but expanded the beginning movement phrase without music.  As my piece came to a close, I was asked why I still kept the same music?  I told the board that the music was chosen after the piece was created and the music was the missing piece to the work; to take that out would create a hole.  Needless to say that answer got my piece into the showcase.

The process of this showcase taught me to be confident in the choices I make, and to stand up for what I believe in.  This has carried with me throughout my personal and professional life.  This process also taught me about collaboration and that your superiors are not always right.  As I was leaving the auditorium to go backstage, I was listening to the audience discuss the various dances.  This one group of students were discussing ‘For Blue Skies.’  Being the nosy person I am, I began to listen to their conversation.  The students were agreeing that ‘For Blue Skies’ was the only piece that they truly understood and they really connected to the music.  Like any nineteen-year-old, my head got a little big, and I thought to myself, “Take that professors!  I was right and you were wrong” and then I may have gone into a back hallway on my way backstage and did a celebratory running man.  Now that it is nine years later it wasn’t that I was right or that the professors were wrong about the choice of music or that the professors did or didn’t believe in the piece, but that art (performing or visual) is subjective.

So why do I think a college performing arts degree is worth anything?

  1. It teaches you about creativity.  Always forcing you to thinking outside the box and in multiple directions when you are making decisions.
  2. It teaches you about collaborations and team work with your peers as well as your superiors, and understanding that not every choice needs to be in agreement; sometimes compromises are a good thing.
  3. Confidence – In today’s society, I think that parents can be over-protective.  Not allowing your child to fail can become a detrimental mistake as they become adults.  Sometimes people need to fall to build up confidence, and the art world tears you down and rebuilds you one brick at a time.
  4. The three Ds (Discipline, Dedication, and Determination) – The performing arts doesn’t allow you to do anything half assed.  You need to have drive behind every step you take whether it is choreographing, performing, or taking class.  You need to be constantly giving 110% everyday.
  5. Always go with your gut – Not all feedback is good feedback, and sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith.

Have I convinced you yet that a college performing arts degree is worth anything?  If I have not yet let me leave you with this one other thought.  After I graduated from College at Brockport (Class of 2008), I had get a job at the worse time it could possibly be as a college graduate.  The market was taking a nose dive and people were losing their jobs left and right.  I took an internship in NYC for a short period of time and when I decided I wanted to move to Rochester, New York I applied to every job I could that related to dance.  I was hired at three dance studios as an instructors where I taught ballet and modern, as well as hired as the School Assistant to the Garth Fagan Dance School Director (Natalie Rogers-Cropper) at Garth Fagan Dance.  I may have been working four jobs, but it was in my field of study and led to many doors opening in the dance and performing art world; including becoming Assistant Company Manager of an internationally-known dance company by the time I was twenty-three years old.  Will your parents get weird looks and comments from people when they say that their kid is “dance major”? Absolutely, but you will gain so much more than just a piece of paper when you leave.