On April 10th, I was able to see a student dance performance at Bailey Concert Hall at Broward College across the street. The performance started at 8 pm. I was glad to be able to observe this performance. There were a total of four pieces, two of which were choreographed by Erin St. John. Another by a professor at BC. However, one was choreographed by a student. Well observing, I could definitely see the difference between professional dancers from college level student dancers. I definitely did see some great talent.
It was mostly a modern dance performance, but there was one ballet piece. The ballet piece was very original and I could see some modern in it as well. The dancers were all very together as they danced. It was very beautiful. On the other hand, the modern pieces that were performed were very intense I felt. A lot of movement was happening on the stage at one time, which always intrigues me. The costumes were subtle and calm, but the movement was not. It was obvious to me that the dancers had work very hard on these pieces and it was wonderful to see. I could also see the potential that was in their bodies. It is just important to continue to work hard and to train the body in the correct ways.
TTYL
~AMY~
Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Observation 7: Heather
On Wednesday, March 24 from 5:30-7:30, I was able to work with a group of five dancers. Heather, a Miami based choreographer was working with us to choreograph a seven minute piece for the Nova Dance Concert. During this rehearsal, we were running the dance for tech people. They had to do lights and sound for us. The fact that I was able to work with Heather for a couple of months helped me learn that it is important to adapt to the choreographer's style and their environment. I noticed that Heather was very intelligent and sometimes it was hard to understand what she was talking about because she would use words that I had never heard before. For example, she would tell us to use our "body half" or to let our bodies "inhabit our movement." I, as well as the other dancers, were not use to these words. We had to learn and adapt to her language. I also noticed that heather alway used words to choreograph more than actual movement. Of course, she would show us what she wanted, but mostly she would tell us and that allowed us to explore the movement and find it for ourselves. It was very different for me. Heather's choreography was very smooth and flowing all together and it took the dancers a while for their bodies to adapt. However, I felt that it was a much needed experience and I hope to have more like that. It is good to be put out of my comfort zone and "stretch" myself a little further. :) TTYS!!
~AMY~
~AMY~
Friday, March 19, 2010
Observation 6: Local-Motion
Ok, so I was able to see the performance Local-Motion: A Black History Month Celebration of South Florida Dance at Nova on February 27. Special guests included Elena Garcia, Jubilee Dance Theatre, Brazz Dance Theatre, Clarence Brooks, and Live in Color Dance Collective. It was a short, sweet performance. Although I did not like all of the performances, there were some amazing dancers that did perform. My favorite piece was called "Kayala", which was choreographed by Augusto Soledade and danced by Christane Silva and Liony Garcia from Brazz Dance Theatre. The reason I loved this piece so much was because it was so different than anything I had seen before. It was modern dance, but had very wild movement that seemed effortless to the dancers. If I am able to see movement performed that seems effortless than I know that the dancers are professionals. Because their movement seemed effortless does not mean that it was weak, but actually very strong action was made. I just could not take my eyes off of the movement. When I think about the action that is taken by professional dancers, I wonder how is it so possible? Body awareness must be so extremely important, because if tension is created and held in the body, then the body will not be able to move so freely. Also, lots of experience and practice, of course, is necessary. I really was glad to see that, learn from that, and experience that. It was really a joy to me. Talk to you soon!!
~AMY~
~AMY~
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Interviews
Fortunately, I was able to interview two dance professors at Nova, whom I take classes with. Even though I know them as my professors, through the interviews I was able to learn so much more about them and dance as a career. After interviewing both of them, I learn how different the two professors are. Erin, the person I first interviewed, really focused on the education part of dance and how important it is to have something to fall back on in case dance did not work out. Elana, however, really focused on having faith in yourself and really just doing what you love and have passion for, which is dance. I learn that having a dance career in South Florida is challanging, because the dance community is quite small down here. It is very important to be involved in organizations and other dancers in the community (networking). I also learned that even though dance as a career may not always be finacially rewarding, it is emotionall and physically rewarding. Both of my professors spoke about different organizations that they are involved with (Florida Dance Association and Florida Dance Educators Organization).
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Observation 5: Bill Evans Dance Company
-Saturday (Feb. 6th 8pm-9:30pm)
Tonight I was able to see a professional dance company perform at FAU's theatre. Bill Evans Dance Company is a modern dance company. They also performed with FAU dance ensemble, which consisted of the students who study dance there. The Bill Evans company had three dance pieces, all of which were very beautiful and exciting to see. Bill Evans, the choreographer, really just has a great way of working with his dancers and setting up a beatuiful piece of visual art. It was interesting to me, because through out all the performances you could really see the difference between the professionals and the students dancing. You could really just see the huge difference between the level of skill. The students were just not as good as the professional dancers. The first of the three pieces by Bill Evans was called "Impressions of Willow Bay", which was choreographed in (1978). It was a very beautiful piece danced by four strong dancers, two girls and two boys. They wore all white costumes. By watching them dance, you could tell they were very strong and there was just so much dynamic in their movement, which really grabbed you and pulled you in. There was a lot of work between all of the dancers and partnering which was greatly displayed. The dancers sensed each other on stage and worked with each other amazingly well. It seemed effortless and I just love how dancers make it look effortless, because that just shows how strong they really are. In reality, it is lot of work for them. All the movements really just flowed together so smoothly. The second piece called "What's Your Story? Morning Glory"(1974), whiched was danced by one male dancer, in all white. This was a really fun piece, because the dancer used a tennis racket as a prop, and that is definitely something you do not see a lot of. He used it really well and in a lot of unique ways. It reminded me a lot of a classic broadway jazz routine. The third one was called "Climbing to the Moon" (1997), which was danced by another male dancer. He was wearing a grayish costume. His movements were quick and tight, which takes a lot of strength to do, because you need to have that sharpness in the moves to be able to define the moves. He had a lot of energy.
I really enjoyed being able to observe dance professionals live on stage, doing what they do best. The performance quality was great and they did not hold back at all. You could just see the confidence a mile away. I think it is really important as a professional dancer to be able to get over your nervous and just enjoy the movement, because if you let nervous get the best of you then they will mess you up. I would really encourage everyone to see at least one professional dance show once in their life, because it really is a great experience.
~AMY~
Tonight I was able to see a professional dance company perform at FAU's theatre. Bill Evans Dance Company is a modern dance company. They also performed with FAU dance ensemble, which consisted of the students who study dance there. The Bill Evans company had three dance pieces, all of which were very beautiful and exciting to see. Bill Evans, the choreographer, really just has a great way of working with his dancers and setting up a beatuiful piece of visual art. It was interesting to me, because through out all the performances you could really see the difference between the professionals and the students dancing. You could really just see the huge difference between the level of skill. The students were just not as good as the professional dancers. The first of the three pieces by Bill Evans was called "Impressions of Willow Bay", which was choreographed in (1978). It was a very beautiful piece danced by four strong dancers, two girls and two boys. They wore all white costumes. By watching them dance, you could tell they were very strong and there was just so much dynamic in their movement, which really grabbed you and pulled you in. There was a lot of work between all of the dancers and partnering which was greatly displayed. The dancers sensed each other on stage and worked with each other amazingly well. It seemed effortless and I just love how dancers make it look effortless, because that just shows how strong they really are. In reality, it is lot of work for them. All the movements really just flowed together so smoothly. The second piece called "What's Your Story? Morning Glory"(1974), whiched was danced by one male dancer, in all white. This was a really fun piece, because the dancer used a tennis racket as a prop, and that is definitely something you do not see a lot of. He used it really well and in a lot of unique ways. It reminded me a lot of a classic broadway jazz routine. The third one was called "Climbing to the Moon" (1997), which was danced by another male dancer. He was wearing a grayish costume. His movements were quick and tight, which takes a lot of strength to do, because you need to have that sharpness in the moves to be able to define the moves. He had a lot of energy.
I really enjoyed being able to observe dance professionals live on stage, doing what they do best. The performance quality was great and they did not hold back at all. You could just see the confidence a mile away. I think it is really important as a professional dancer to be able to get over your nervous and just enjoy the movement, because if you let nervous get the best of you then they will mess you up. I would really encourage everyone to see at least one professional dance show once in their life, because it really is a great experience.
~AMY~
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Observation 4: Erin St. John
Thursday, Feb 4th (9:15-10:30)
Today, I took a ballet 2 with Erin St John, a dance professor at Nova. I really enjoyed her ballet class. The classroom setting was comfortable, unlike other ballet classes, which can be very tense at times. She teaches a lot through her words; although, she does demonstate at times. At a level 2 class, she expects much of her students. When she speaks in French terminology, she expects her students to understand. Of course, she does not expect them to know everything, then she would have no reason to teach. If you take her class, you will definitely be challenged. She pushes her students in order for them to gain the strength and stamina needed for ballet. One thing that I wish she would do more of is hands-on instruction. I noticed that she makes a point to put you in something that may be uncomfortable, but she knows that it will help you grow as a dancer. At the end of class, I asked her a few questions about teaching dance and a little bit about her professional career. I learned that she started teching when she was very young. At 13 or 14, she was an assistant teacher and she began to teach classes on her own while she was obtaining her masters. She told me that she loved teaching dance because it enabled her to carry on the traditions that she had learned from her teachers. Dance technique is an oral tradition that needs to be passed on from generation to generation. She takes pride in teaching students new to dance and seeing how far they come along. Later, she went back to school to get a degree in education in order to further her knowledge in teaching. She feels that in order to TEACH dance, you must know how to teach. Professional dancers may be great at dancing, but are they great at teaching it? There is a strategy for teaching dance and it is important to learn it. She also explained to me that while teaching it is important to sense the engergy in the class from the students, in order to get a feel of where the class should and should not go. You never want to push the students further than they can go. I was really glad to be able to speak with her and I learn a lot. :)
~AMY~ ttys
Today, I took a ballet 2 with Erin St John, a dance professor at Nova. I really enjoyed her ballet class. The classroom setting was comfortable, unlike other ballet classes, which can be very tense at times. She teaches a lot through her words; although, she does demonstate at times. At a level 2 class, she expects much of her students. When she speaks in French terminology, she expects her students to understand. Of course, she does not expect them to know everything, then she would have no reason to teach. If you take her class, you will definitely be challenged. She pushes her students in order for them to gain the strength and stamina needed for ballet. One thing that I wish she would do more of is hands-on instruction. I noticed that she makes a point to put you in something that may be uncomfortable, but she knows that it will help you grow as a dancer. At the end of class, I asked her a few questions about teaching dance and a little bit about her professional career. I learned that she started teching when she was very young. At 13 or 14, she was an assistant teacher and she began to teach classes on her own while she was obtaining her masters. She told me that she loved teaching dance because it enabled her to carry on the traditions that she had learned from her teachers. Dance technique is an oral tradition that needs to be passed on from generation to generation. She takes pride in teaching students new to dance and seeing how far they come along. Later, she went back to school to get a degree in education in order to further her knowledge in teaching. She feels that in order to TEACH dance, you must know how to teach. Professional dancers may be great at dancing, but are they great at teaching it? There is a strategy for teaching dance and it is important to learn it. She also explained to me that while teaching it is important to sense the engergy in the class from the students, in order to get a feel of where the class should and should not go. You never want to push the students further than they can go. I was really glad to be able to speak with her and I learn a lot. :)
~AMY~ ttys
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Observation 3: Dance and the Body
Wednesday, Jan 28th
Today, I had a great opportunity to listen as my professor, Elana, spoke to her modern 2 class (10:30am-12pm) about dance and the body. It was different today, because the students usually dance, but instead they spoke about the body. I noticed that it was a very comfortable setting among the students and they were able to speak their mind and state what they know and what they want to know about their own bodies. This discussion was about creating and finding the correct alignment of the body and also, learning how not to create unnecessary tension in the body. It was very interesting to me because I was able to learn that dancers tend to put too much strain on their body when it is not necessary. This means that in the long run, they are hurting their bodies. It is important for dance professionals to know about the body and how it works with all the bones and muscles. I thought this was really great for me to learn and apply to my own life now. Elana talked about the unnecessary tension dancers may put on their body really restricts all the true, full range of motion they can have. She did some hands on exercises for the students in order for them to experience it in their own bodies. I thought it was great of the professor to give hands on training for the dancers; I feel that is really important, because some things cannot be learned just by words alone. I hope that I may have another opportunity to learn more about this aspect of dance through my research.
~AMY~ ttys
Today, I had a great opportunity to listen as my professor, Elana, spoke to her modern 2 class (10:30am-12pm) about dance and the body. It was different today, because the students usually dance, but instead they spoke about the body. I noticed that it was a very comfortable setting among the students and they were able to speak their mind and state what they know and what they want to know about their own bodies. This discussion was about creating and finding the correct alignment of the body and also, learning how not to create unnecessary tension in the body. It was very interesting to me because I was able to learn that dancers tend to put too much strain on their body when it is not necessary. This means that in the long run, they are hurting their bodies. It is important for dance professionals to know about the body and how it works with all the bones and muscles. I thought this was really great for me to learn and apply to my own life now. Elana talked about the unnecessary tension dancers may put on their body really restricts all the true, full range of motion they can have. She did some hands on exercises for the students in order for them to experience it in their own bodies. I thought it was great of the professor to give hands on training for the dancers; I feel that is really important, because some things cannot be learned just by words alone. I hope that I may have another opportunity to learn more about this aspect of dance through my research.
~AMY~ ttys
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