Dance Controversy

You may or may not have heard about Sarah Lane, the dance double for Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Lane claims she did most of the dancing throughout the movie, however Portman's co-stars said Lane only did "footwork."

Here's a blog post from the Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/03/28/sarah-lane-and-natalie-portman-who-is-the-real-black-swan/

Since this is entertainment news, E! would naturally cover the topic: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/b233073_natalie_portman_versus_sarah_lane.html

A number of comments defending Portman mention that she won an Oscar for acting, not dancing. Regardless of your stance on the situation, do you think an actor's performance should only pertain to the spoken word or can movement/dance be considered acting too?

Dance and Television Shows

Yesterday, when Amanda showed us the video of Carlton's dance scene on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", it inspired me to look up other dance scenes in television shows. Don't worry, I'm not talking about Hannah Montana or anything like that. I looked into the shows we grew up with, shows with substance, meaning and good humor. I'm talking about shows of the '90s. Be careful, this post might induce a large amount of nostalgia. You've been warned.

Carlton's dance is probably by far, the most popular. It's what made his character so adorable. It was so simple and yet so eye-catching. It was fun to watch and for those who have tried, it's fun to imitate. Another enjoyable dance moment that I can watch over and over again from this show is this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4qcbmiNmBM in which Carlton and Will dance together as a performance, I think the storyline of it was to win a competition in order to get money to fly back to California after Carlton gambles and loses his money...I'm not entirely sure. Either way, both dances are simple, repetitive yet so enjoyable, you just want to get up and dance along with them.

Friends also has some good dance moments. The first one I will mention is "The Routine" which Ross and Monica perform as an attempt to be on TV for a New Year's Eve show. It's great because it's funny but even if it's fictional, it's neat how a brother-sister dance is portrayed (not very realistically in my case). Monica and Ross are synchronized in their moves that it works out and is great to watch. It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc42WNcmXSU
Monica also has another good dance moment and it's one I can relate to. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITbvgWrobc4&feature=related. I can relate to this one, and I'm sure some of you can too, because when I'm all by myself and music is playing, I just have to get up and dance. There is no routine or choreography, I just have to move. I'll jump around my room like the fool that I am and just have fun dancing. It's the best stress reliever and mood booster there is.

Finally, my favorite "dance" is one that is done by Cory and Shawn (or Ben Savage and Rider Strong) in the show "Boy Meets World." As kids, I'm sure we all had some sort of secret thing we shared with friends. For some, it is a handshake, for some it is a dance, for Cory and Shawn it was both and for me, it was a secret language. In a happy moment between the two friends, they break out in a dance. It goes something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SED9PSQALA I love this because it seems so improvised and go-with-the-flow but is choreographed enough for both of them to participate in together. It also is a representation of friendship, dance is a way they bond and connect. Like the other dances aforementioned, this one is also funny and enjoyable to watch.

Are there any other dances from your favorite shows that you think are worthy of mentioning? Do you have a favorite television show dance scene? Reply, let the rest of us know about what you think are some great dances and dance scenes. I know I missed quite a few good ones.

Electronic dance music culture

For those who are into EDM: check out this online journal!
http://dj.dancecult.net/

International Dance Day

I saw a link the other day that International Dance Day occurs every year on April 29. I did a little research, and I guess it's organized by the International Theatre Institute as a way to celebrate dance and appreciate the diversity and cultures around the world. April 29 was chosen to commemorate the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, who founded modern day ballet.

The link to the ITI organization and short article about this day is here:

http://www.iti-worldwide.org/danceday.html

I am also a fan of So You Think You Can Dance, and I know they made July 31 National Dance Day. I guess that is for the U.S. and I didn't realize an International Day has existed for more than 20 years! Communities can organize their own events to commemorate and celebrate the day.

What are your opinions of having an International And National Day to celebrate and recognize dance?

Dances we grew up with

So we all know that there were dances in High school that would make everyone get out on the dance floor whether they wanted to or not. Even when I was in high school, it didnt matter if you couldn't dance, people had to try or they would look like an idiot.

So, the other day my friend and i avoided school work by listening/ watching 90s video and i thought i'd share the fun ones that reminded me of what it was like to be ten years old again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN62PAKoBfE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDENY9A-N1A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZv62ShoStY

let me know your favorite

Talent at any age

So this video had been going viral. In class we talk about why videos go viral and how people find out about them. This video I actually saw on yahoo, and wanted to check it out. I love it because it's a 10 year old kid from Norway who goes on a show to dance, and no one expects him to be this talented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbweIZcX41o

that's the link, and i wanted everyone to see it because it shows how talent had no age as long as you love what you do. Also, this kid is adorable and he's doing the robot, which was created before he was even born. It goes to show me, that dancing never dies, it's just recreated.

Simply for your entertainment...

So I know you have all heard Lady Gaga's new single "Born This Way." And of course, ever since it was released, there have been several parody videos. Remember on the first day of class when we watched Beyonce's "Put a Ring on It" video & then a couple parody videos? And then we briefly discussed what makes these videos so popular & what causes people to send them along to friends, resulting in thousands of views on YouTube: humor, outrageousness, and complete contrast from the original. So, since Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" was just recently released, here is a video of a guy named Matt Spencer dancing out in the public to "Born This Way" in Bristol (west of London). In my opinion, he is actually quite good, and has some guts for doing this all by himself haha. It's quite funny and you'll see at the end that he has a huge crowd of supporters who have stopped to watch his dance routine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GELTJbqsutY

Dancing with the Stars

Now, I will admit Dancing with the Stars is not one of the shows that I typically watch. But, recently I happen to flip through the channels and watch for a little to see celebrities Kendra Wilkinson and Kirstie Alley.

I was quite impressed with Alley in particular. She receives a lot of flack for her weight in the media, and here she was trying her hardest to compete. And, from the judges she received total praise. And, while I watched the pride she felt for successfully completing the dance, I was very impressed.

After watching I began to do a bit of research on the show and came across several news articles. Here is a link to one of the most recent ones I saw on MTV.com.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660835/ralph-macchio-dancing-with-the-stars.jhtml

Everybody was Kung Fu...Dancing?

During Spring Break, I had the chance to see one of my closest friends and hang out with him for a while. My friend, Shawn, has been interested in the martial arts for several years and has spent time training himself in various areas involved with martial arts. In the time that I've been in Syracuse, Shawn has started training in the area of Kung Fu and has gotten involved in a martial arts academy so he could train with a master. While I was home, Shawn showed me what he was learning and what he could do.
Through the years, Shawn and I have worked together and taught each other different movements and steps that each of us have learned in our two entirely different areas. We've found that by learning dance (for Shawn) and a little Kung Fu (for me) has helped each of us improve in our own area of interest. Both Kung Fu and dance require a large amount of balance, flexibility, sharpness of movements, quick motions, strength, control and a lot of practice in order to succeed. We've also learned that even though dance and Kung Fu are two entirely different things, they can be combined and turned into a unique routine.
Kung Fu involves movements and "steps" that can be related to dance. For example, I see a lot of ballet moves such as leaps, foot positioning and a sense of gracefulness in Kung Fu fighting. Another dance style I can relate to Kung Fu fighting is breakdancing because Kung Fu fighters constantly make moves similar to freezes and push themselves of the ground with force and style similar to that of a breakdancer. It's rather fascinating to compare dance and Kung Fu fighting and see just how similar they are to one another, even though they seem so entirely different. Based on my Spring Break experience, I think dance is important and influential in much more areas than we are aware of.

For this post, I watched and referred to the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnHRs308kQ

What do you all think? Do you see the similarities between dance and Kung Fu? Is there any other dance style you can compare Kung Fu to?

Yes Dance

I'm sure many of you have already seen this, but it recently came up on my newsfeed on Facebook. After watching it for the 90th time, I decided to check out who the guy behind the video was.

First, a link to the dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyqUj3PGHv4

Now, how many of you have seen Step Up 2?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGfUBwquHlw

Yup, the guy behind the Yes Dance is the same guy who was Chase in Step Up 2, Justin in She's the Man, and other movies. It completely blew my mind that a guy with a background in hip hop would also be the guy behind a flamboyant viral video.

I think it's interesting to see how pop culture gets many attributes from dance. We have all seen viral videos of flash mobs, dances mimicking celebrity music videos, or other dance videos, and these have all influenced pop culture in some way or another.

Just Dance

A few weeks ago, my friends bought Just Dance for Wii. I had heard about the game before, but I had never played it. Naturally, when I found out they had it, I wanted to try it out for myself. The game is very interesting and pretty much what I expected. You receive your points based on holding the controller at the right position for each song.

So basically, you hold the controller in your right hand and you just follow the dance moves on the screen to the best of your ability. The thing that confused me was the fact that it really didn't matter what moves you were doing as long as your right hand was in the correct vicinity. People that would try to do the actual moves would get lower scores than people who just flailed their right arm around.

Not only was this game fun, but it was also a workout. If you do each dance out full, you will be sweating by the end.

Here is a link of one of the dances. If you feel the urge you can try it out at home! (even without the wii controller.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4QY4Ls6rP0

I'm interested in seeing how the game Dance Central works on the Xbox Kinect where it senses what your body is doing without a controller.

Stepping in Film

This blog post goes back to when Amanda did a reading report on stepping. Throughout her presentation, all I could think of was the Sigma Party scene from “Drumline.” I remember seeing this scene and not fully understanding the purpose of the stepping. After Amanda's presentation, I was able to have a new appreciation for the dance and what it was trying to show.

Here's the link to the scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kP1fHUpchQ

2010 National Dance Champions

Since a lot of people were reporting on college dance teams or groups that incorporate a variety styles and steps, I thought people would like to see the nationals routine that the University of California did to win the national championship. Its interesting to see how their formations are both unified and singular in formation, allowing the dancers to feel like they are a part of a unit but have their own individual style to it. It's a really interesting routine and I think you'll all like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb57YuzBA2U

Danceworks Website

Hey everyone here is the website I created for my presentation: http://www.wix.com/bmkramer/danceworksweb

It's been really fun to see all the ways Danceworks has been represented in each presentation, so hopefully this website can be used to get out the word about this group and the recent performance as well. Enjoy!

SU Dance Team Field Notes

Here is the video I mentioned during my field notes presentation. It is part of their hiphop segment that I mentioned. This was the part that they spent the majority of practice working on.

DanceWorks Field Notes

Highlights from my Field Notes for DanceWorks:

• Dancers came from multiple styles of dance: classical ballet, modern, lyrical, jazz, Broadway, tap, hip hop, crump. However, they call came together for a collaborative finale number.
• Each dance incorporated the theme of the show: Cirque De Cuse.
• Costumes were unique to the stories each dance told. Dancers told a story with each dance. Their faces were expressive and held secrets to the audience.
• Dancers learned the finale dance during rehearsals. DanceWorks dancers were able to pick up the steps quickly as the producer and two directors taught the steps with ease. They practiced without music, then ran the finale number several times until dancers were comfortable with the steps and placements.
• Music for Cirque De Cuse ranges all different styles. Titles include: Rhythmnation, Black and Gold, Off the Rails, Something to Believe in, Take it Off, The Scientist, Work It and More…
• For example, the Work It dance is a combination of crumping, hip-hop and bhangra. Dancers are exaggerating their movements, hitting the beats, and creating sharp angles.
• In contrast, The Scientist is a beautiful modern lyrical piece. The dance incorporates fluid long movements accompanied by a sweet love story. There is one male lead in the dance that searches for his love throughout the dance. The girls are hidden by newspaper and only in the end of the dance can he identify his mate. Their movements are perfectly choreographed and compliment their soft faces.

This was from a Dancer's perspective. Did anyone go see the show? What did you think from the perspective of an audience member? It would be interesting to compare the two viewings.

Dance and Body Image

I came across an interesting article that brought up many interesting issues regarding body image in dancing. Throughout dance, specifically ballet, images of an ideal body type are portrayed. This is reinforce in movies like Centerstage, where the ballerinas are plagued with eating disorders, and the recent Black Swan, where Natalie Portman admitted to dropping an unhealthy amount of weight to prepare for her role. In this article (http://www.danceusa.org/ejournal/post.cfm/my-eyes-your-body) the author explains the shock she felt towards herself when she reacted differently while watching a dancer who was larger than the typical performer. She explains the problem: "Our eyes have grown lazy. We simply don’t see enough professional dance with a variety of bodies on stage. And I have interviewed numerous artistic directors in the ballet and contemporary genres over the years who claim they love all kinds of bodies. Sure, they hire a few shorter and taller dancers, but it’s rare that we see even average weight dancers in professional modern or ballet companies." In the article, she discusses why we are conditioned to think this way and vows to work towards creating a culture where we are accepting of all body types.

After reading this article and thinking about body images shown in the dance world, what do you all think of the authors argument? Do you think you are more receptive to dancers with the ideal body types? Do you wish to work towards a culture where we are more accepting of larger body types? How can we achieve this?

Dance and Sports

Okay, so "dancing" done by cheerleaders on the sidelines at sports games isn't exactly up to the same caliber as what we've been discussing in classes. But I DO think that it has become a part of American culture. These cheerleaders often come on at halftime, do a little routine and get the crowd excited. We see them at basketball and football games, and now they've even been recruited into professional lacrosse.

But an incident in Boston that has occurred over the semester has drawn a bit of backfire from fans. Click here for the original article, in which a dance contest gone awry has gained international attention. Essentially what the article states is that a dance contest between some lacrosse fans turned into a lap dance show for families in the arena and on the internet via LiveStream.

Since then, the Boston team has apologized and given away 2,000 tickets to another game. But criticism has issued and it makes me wonder why we have dance teams and cheerleaders for sports teams in the first place? Do you think that they enhance a game? Are they effective with their dance routines and acrobatic moves?

Personally, I've always found it a bit odd that sports teams have dance teams or cheerleaders. Football is classic, obviously. But basketball and lacrosse (and I'm sure some other sports that have them) seem like they're not exactly the place for dancing cheerleaders.

Get Hyphy

Everytime I DJ I have to drop one Hyphy track. A set full of these bay area beats is a little much but i've found that one or two e-40, Too $hort, or Mistah F.A.B. tracks will make the whole club "go dumb" when played at the right time.

Hyphy is a term that embodies the dance, attitude, and lifestyle surrounding bay area hip hop. It started in the 90's in San Fransisco and was first made popular by E-40's "tell me when to go"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GZbaXdK8Js

As you'll see in the video, going dumb is the best way to describe it. Hyphy music and culture is similar to the clowning and krumping we saw in Rize but definitely has an original personality. These guys also love to get the whip involved. I used to do this with my friends all the time in high school.

Ladies and gentlemen, the ghost ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPNJjL9iznY

Behind the Scenes of a Dancing School

While I'm sure many Syracuse students spent their spring break on a warm and sunny beach somewhere down south (you're lucky if you were one of those students), I had the pleasure to spend the week back home in New Hampshire. While I was home, I did plenty of visiting and one of the places I visited was my old dance school. My dance school was practically my second home for 13 years. I had the same dance instructor, danced with the same people and formed a "dancing family" with everyone involved in the school. So when I returned to visit, I was welcomed in with hugs and an invitation to watch my former dance instructor finish choreographing routines and teach them to the dancers for this year's dance recital.
It was really interesting to watch the two classes that I had dropped in to see. One was a tap class and the other was a class for kickline, both of which I participated in before I left for school so I was familiar with the style and instruction. Dancing is something that many people don't have the chance or the option to see it as a work-in-progress. It's not common for the public to come into a dance studio just to see a group rehearse, at least it's not common in my experience with it. The dancers learn and perform the choreography and the audience sees the final performance, the outcome of many months of rehearsing but the audience has no experience with the rehearsal process. However, I got the rare opportunity to watch a rehearsal.
As an outsider watching a dance being choreographed and taught, I learned a lot about dancing and how a dance needs to come together. After 13 years of being told to sharpen my movements, flap instead of shuffle, be a count faster or slower, position my arms better, spot...the list goes on and on, I've finally seen just how important those notes and remarks are. As a dancer, I listened to the advice and criticism, but didn't focus as much on it as I could have. I improved whenever I was scolded for something, but I didn't think about it too much and would often repeat my mistakes. After watching the dancers rehearse and noticing the sloppiness of uneven arms, moves being off-count, laziness of steps where dancers were walking instead of shuffling or clamping or sashaying, I realized just how important it is to correct the mistakes and really focus on the timing and movements. Every move that is made is important and needs to be treated that way. Every bit of advice and criticism from the instructor also needs to be respected, listened to and followed. If the focus on the movements is ignored, and the instruction is ignored, the dance will never come together and will feel just as sloppy as it looks.
In two months, I will return home to see the final product of the sloppy rehearsal I witnessed. Knowing my studio, I know it will look great when it's finally performed but I never noticed just how much patience and hard work is required to get the dance ready to be performed in front of an audience. I almost learned as much by watching the rehearsal as I did when I was the one rehearsing.

Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day!

So we're all back in the 'Cuse now, I'd imagine, and St. Patty's Day has come and gone. But still, why not revel in some good ol' fashioned Irish stepdancing in commemoration of all things green and lucky?

The featured link is from the 2007 tour of Riverdance, a show that at least Wikipedia credits for the global popularization of Irish dance. It's been making theatrical rounds since 1994, and I remember seeing it as a little kid...and being blown away by it.

Looking at this video now reminds me why I was; that footwork is insane! More specifically, the fact that all of these dancers rely almost exclusively on their feet for movement and expression is impressive. Their backs always stay rigidly upright, their arms never leave their sides. To make things even more complicated, they're creating the beat they're dancing to--in perfect synchronization with each other. And I thought it was hard enough moving to music!

We touched on clogging and tap dance in class. What are some similarities you see here? Too obvious? How about this: what's different?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B718RsboGEI&feature=related

Sensation White

This past week, a group of my friends attended one of the biggest party circuits in the world, Sensation White. This particular festival was held in Brussels. Sensation, in a nut shell, is a enormous party usually held in a soccer arenas around the world where the best DJs and biggest house music fans come together, all dressed in white, to dance and "celebrate life". The concept of sensation white got me thinking about how we have discussed how some dances seek to unify communities. Most of the dances that we've learned about are specific to certain cultures. I feel like sensation is an example of our generations iteration of this concept. We grown up with the technology to communicate with the world and thus, are able to come together in a foreign country, with foreign people, and experience the same sense of unity with the people who have a passion for the same music and dance.

....or maybe its just a bunch of people who like to roll.

3D Dancing

One of the most famous dancers known as "Lord of the Dance", Michael Flately is starring in his own movie "Lord of the Dance in 3-D." His fame makes him a worldwide phenomenon and many have attended his shows over the past decade but for those who couldn't see it in person now they can see it in 3-D! Opening on St. Patrick's Day (duh) anyone can feel like they have attended a dance performance by Lord of the Dance. Here is the article that discusses the release of this 3-D film.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2011/03/16/2011-03-16_michael_flatley_interview_lord_of_the_dance_in_3d_star_on_his_movie_and_performi.html

If more dance groups come up with 3-D dances, do you think people will stop attending in person since it is a similar experience?

If you have never seen Michael Flately before here is a link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11HdGesJIWg&feature=related

Orchesis

This somewhat connects to Katie's post about DanceWorks, but I had the opportunity to attend an Orchesis show at a local high school over break. It was very interesting watching the different ability levels of the high schoolers, but they were all having a great time dancing. Many of the numbers were jazz or hip hop based, but there actually were a couple ballet numbers, including pointe shoes. I always find it interesting watching pieces choreographed by young dancers because they are just learning how to and experimenting with choreography and stage techniques. I remember the excitement and nerves I felt the first time I choreographed for my high school dance company-I was so proud to have a piece of my own performed on the stage, yet it was a lot of work teaching the dance to others, creating costumes, and figuring out formations and lighting. It was challenging, but very rewarding as well.

Does anyone else have experience with choreographing or performing while at high school? How did you feel dancing to your peers' choreography rather than a professional's?

Line Dancing videos

Here are the line dancing videos I wasn't able to show in class today. Enjoy!

Watermelon Crawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWdmi1rHO5g

Sugar Push: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxPIejUgBoU

The Shag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAWRwawgNQ4

Tush Push: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SStdYJvPZMc&feature=fvst

Boot Scootin’ Boogie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2AG69EDa-M&feature=related

Border dances

Hello all,
Technical difficulties prevented me from showing you my awesome videos! So here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Acrobatic quebradita style (especially starting at 4:30):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZg_pxXz5Y&feature=related

Salsa con quebradita:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmge1ljipgQ

Mastercard's quebradita commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfTIbJyuzTA

Some fancier norteño dancing moves than what I showed you today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPoRYtUvT9w

Cumbia, waila style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJXpyjEfjOQ&playnext=1&list=PL88186B0D6689B90C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUcPunWQtY8&feature=related

Polka and Belly Dancing?

After searching for modern polka, I came across this interesting fusion of cultures: polka and belly dancing. By using polka music, the dancer belly dances to the beats found in the accordion. I think this is a really interesting representation of not only the influence that dances and music have on other cultures, but other dances. I had never considered mixing such different cultures together to create a fusion dance form. Can you think of any other dances that fuse cultures together? Recently I saw a performance by the Danceworks club team where they fused tap dance with rap music, taking a traditional dance style and bringing it modern. Here's the video that I found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zKhLJtN0co

Step in the name of love!

Among one of the most popular Chicago dances in urban communities is "Chicago Steppin'". It is usually done at events called "steppers sets" and caters to an older crowd. I think it spurred out of some strange combination of Polish polka and Mexican polka mixed with African American soul and funk dances of the 1970's. This is one of the cultural dances I'd say is closest to me, its the sort of thing you do at family gatherings, picnics ect... Not many young people step unless its with an older person (I usually step with my dad :-) ), it's something my parents do often on weekends. I'd say the age range is around 40+. The most popular example of this dance is R. Kelly's step in the name of love video, I think its a very accurate representation of what stepping is, who does it, and at what kinds of events. What's funny about it, which you can see in the video is most of the younger people are sitting down, but if you look at the dancers it looks similar to people who would dance polka.

R. Kelly Step In the Name of Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj71KbE6ekg

Irish Step Dancing

With St. Patricks Day quickly approaching, I have been so often reminded of Irish Step Dancing. In fact, I covered a story this weekend in Binghamton on their St. Patricks Parade. One of the major aspects of the parade was the traditional Irish music, the bagpipes. And, the Irish step dancing. And, now with Syracuse's parade quickly approaching I think this is something that will be very visible in our community this weekend.

I find Irish Step Dancing to be intriguing. The intricate foot movements, the curly hair, and the costumes all work to make the dance very visually appealing.

Princess and The Frog

During the last class when we were discussing music coming from the south, this movie came to mind. For those unfamiliar, its a disney movie set in New Orleans. I think it shows throughout the movie a lot of what the documentary we watched in class shows, such as the differences in music, and the mixture of cultures. If you anyone gets a chance you should give it a try! Here is one example of the kind of music you'll find in the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk_vxsCpA1c&feature=related

Clogging and Hip-Hop?

I remember us talking briefly about clogging during one of our more recent classes and it reminded me of Brandon Norris, a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew as a member of Dynamic Edition on Season 3.

Brandon and his group of dancers are known for their fusions of clogging and other styles, particularly hip-hop. Most of their choreography shows off their fast moving feet with clogging, but also stops to incorporate sharp, crisp movements of hip-hop, particularly in the arms.

Click here for a video clip of Brandon's moves and tell me what you think of the fusion. Do you think that it's good for clogging to be infused with other styles? Is it compatible? Or do you think clogging should remain by itself and more 'traditional'?

CNN series on Square Dancing

The past two mornings I have turned on CNN to hear specials about Square Dancing in America. The exposes have followed the tradition of the dance in Marietta Georgia. The features talk about many of the same things that we talk studied in class. It talks about square dance as a traditional dance that was at one point suggested to be the national dance. It also discusses the decline of the dance through the years.

I highly recommend watching the video. It puts an individual slant on the dance. And, really takes you inside the culture of Square Dance.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2011/03/06/nr.square.dancing.two.cnn?iref=allsearch

Don't Stop Believing

This past weekend, my parents came to visit to see our DanceWorks performance.

Naturally, I brought my parents to Chucks, the local bar on Marshall Street. When we arrived, my parents asked why no one was dancing and if they were what was this so called grinding they were doing? My parents are not used to this type of dancing. Chucks happens to play a lot of 80s music. My dad really appreciated that.

As Don't Stop Believing came on, my dad hopped on his bar stool and began dancing to the beat of the music. Naturally my mother stood next to him on the floor begging for him to come down and eventually gave up and danced herself.

Their dancing to the 80s rock music is so different than dancing to contemporary songs today. My mom did the step touch while my dad jumped up and down and did the air guitar. How is their freestyle so different from ours? When did regular dancing become so sexualized in college students?

I happen to think my mom and dad's dancing is more fun! And they appeared to start a revolution at Chucks as everyone started to dance with them.

How can we preserve the quality and sanctity of dance before it become too sexualized?

Danceworks

I thought it would be interesting to get a discussion going about Danceworks this past weekend. I know that we have some people in Danceworks in class so I thought it would be interesting to get perspective from both an observer and a dancer. I've always enjoyed Danceworks a lot and thought this years performances were amazing! I liked that they mixed lyrical dances with hip hop dances and created a flow throughout the night. By breaking up the songs and creating a continuous flow of different beats and moves, the show almost seemed to be telling a story to its observers. One of my favorite dances was to Justin Beiber's Baby. Not only did the music allow for distinct phases in the performance, but also the use of the lights as props towards the end of the dance created an interesting illusion and another element to dancing. Which were your favorite dances? Did you observe anything during the performance that you could relate to something we've learned in class? I'm really interested to see what other people thought!

Saving The Do-Si-Do

Hey all,
Saw this on CNN the other day...gives a brief history of square dance (which we already discussed), and the notion of making it the national dance of America. Notice towards the end of the video that they mention how Reagan signed an act making square dance the "national folk dance" in '82...I found that kind of interesting! Anyway, I figured that this video couldn't relate more to our discussion of square dance, so enjoy:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2011/03/06/nr.square.dance.cnn

THON Follow Up

Last month I wrote about Penn State's Thon, the school's most anticipated event of the year where they annually raise money for children with cancer by dancing for 46 hours. This year the event raised over 9.5 million dollars. It is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. One of my best friends was one of the 708 dancers chosen to dance for 46 hours straight, no sleeping and no sitting were the rules. My friends and I sent her a package of goodies to keep her going through the night. I talked to her when the weekend was over and I don't think I have ever heard her as happy as she was.

It just amazes me how much of an influence dance has on our culture, and to be able to use it for something as beneficial as raising almost 10 million dollars for kids with cancer.

Here's an article for more information.
http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-thon-achieves-new-high-fundraising-increases-seen-throughout-664841/

Hula Fusion in America's Next Top Model

Hey guys, so I managed to catch this clip in an episode of America's Next Top Model.

Click here, the action begins at 4:35. (You can stop around 6:50.)

The girls are learning how to "tell stories with their bodies," as certain movements mean certain things. There are basic moves that they're taught: love, strength, determination and sadness. Love has amorous, slow, and sensual movements - drawing attention to the body; strength is danced with clenched fists held high. Fear is danced with the head turned away from the arms and the body is turned as to back away, while determination turns around and faces the opposite direction head on. Sadness reveals the hands falling downward and the face turned away from sight in a crying motion.

The hip-hop fusion is interesting, and would obviously be classified as hula 'auana - the modern, westernized style of hula that can involve fusions such as these ones.

I thought the clip was interesting, not only in terms of fusion, but the fact that the girls are learning about the importance of movement and body language in modeling.

The History of Cotillion

So we brought up the southern tradition of cotillion last class, and I actually participated in the event myself. That, however, was in the sixth grade, and in addition to being very hazy in my memory, I realized I don't know a whole lot about its history. A few blog posts and wikipedia articles later, I've discovered cotillion actually has its roots in 18th century France, where four couples would assemble in a square formation and perform routines according to an overseeing caller. (Sound familiar? I immediately thought of US square and line dancing, which also originated from European tradition, if I remember correctly).

Drawing on memory, my cotillion class assembled in two gigantic circles that wrapped around a vast ballroom; girls were in one circle, guys in the other, and we would rotate partners as the caller stood in the middle. So, clearly, the modern southern form has evolved from a four-piece square to something bigger, but the basic concept is still there.

So is the requirement of formal dress. I remember wearing a standard suit while girls wore dresses and white gloves. Turns out this style of dress is integral to the dance's name: "cotillion" originates from the French word "cotillon" (or "petticoat"), in reference to the flashy sways of gentlemen's suits as they turned while changing partners.

In its original inception, these dances were courting rituals, where young debutantes had the opportunity to interact with several potential spouses from wealthy families. Obviously, things have changed since then, so what purposes do you think these dances serve today?

Dance and Politics in Australia

I came across this article about dancing politicians and found it quite relevant to our class discussions about dances going viral on the web.

In Australia, a video of a lawmaker dancing has become an internet sensation, after a senator danced to songs like the Hokey Pokey and the Time Warp during a political meeting.

The original video that went viral was of liberal senator, Mary Jo Fisher, who performed the two dances as she discussed the Governments climate change policy.

This Australian website polled their readers to ask if they would like to see more Parliament members dancing, and a majority said yes.

Below is a link to the article.

http://www.news.com.au/national/mary-jo-fishers-hokey-pokey-time-warp-performance/story-e6frfkvr-1226015645476

President Obama Pays Tribute To Dance Festival

This week, President Obama honored Jacob's Pillow, a dance festival whose 79th season begins this June. The festival is the longest running international dance festival in the U.S. Obama gave the festival and singer-songwriter James Tayor the 2010 National Medal of Arts on Wednesday. This is the highest arts honor in the country.

It is an award given by the President based on recommendations from the National Council of the Arts. The medal was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration by Congress.

In the past 26 years, over 250 people and organizations have been honored by the President with this award.

Below is a link to the full article.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_17525367?source=most_emailed

Folk Dance in Schools

Reading the article about Folk Dance in schools made me think about the purpose of dance in schools. While folk dancing was gaining popularity, the music and dancing appeared in music and physical education classes at school, exposing students to different forms of dancing. Being an educator, I think this is a great idea. Not only does it promote physical activity in schools, which students need, it allows students to learn about different cultures. The article also talks about the development of international folk dancing, where programs developed retaining and including dances from a variety of cultures. Not only will students learn about the history of folk dancing, they also will be more accepting of other cultures and their values, so diversity will be appreciated in schools. Anyway students can learn about other cultures and respect them and the differences, will help us live in a more tolerant world.

I'm not sure how much folk dancing (or other forms of dancing) are still included in music and physical education classes, especially when the emphasis on schools is on content and standardized testing. What are other ways for teachers to incorporate dance and other cultures into the regular curriculum to continue giving students the opportunity to appreciate diversity?

Emergence of Hip Hop

I know it dates back a few weeks, but this kind of relates to the "From Mambo to Hip Hop" film we watched earlier in Feb. I thought it was interesting to see how mambo slowly gave way to hip hop and other dance styles throughout the years, and it actually reminded me of a really good book that you guys might find interesting. Classmate Brittany and I were studying in London last semester and had to read Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music by Dick Hebdige for one of our music courses. Although the book focuses more on the music rather than the dance style, it ties in nicely with the film. It discusses Caribbean music in its entirety, and how it led to the development of various other music genres such as calypso, ska, reggae, and then eventually hip hop music (particularly in the States). What the movie did not mention, which the book touches on, is the important role of the "soundsystem culture" and how it helped perpetuate the emergence of both hip hop music and dance. Many countries and regions where Caribbean music was popular (such as African nations, Jamaica, etc.) were poverty stricken and uneducated, therefore leading to the heavy reliance on soundsystems, because they were somewhat cheap and produced a lot of sound for a lot of people (in regions where music was an important cultural value). This eventually grew quite popular in modern culture, first spreading to the UK and then later to New York, followed by the rest of the U.S. Anyways, that's just the hip hop aspect of the book in a nutshell. It is a really cool book though, and thought that you guys would be interested in checking it out. I would lend it to anybody who wants to read it, but I unfortunately left it back home in California!

Dancing with the Stars: Season 12 Cast

Since we talk about Dancing with the Stars a lot in class I thought it would be interesting to post the new cast for season 12 as they just announced it last night. The group of stars chosen relates to what we have been talking about in class in two ways specifically. First, with Dancesport and our discussion about ballroom dancers not being entirely recognized and given the same amount of credit as the "stars" on the show. If you read the article you see that the "stars" are listed first (and it is what all the news hype is about) and given much more attention. Down below, the "professionals", as they are called, are summarized in a brief two sentence list. Second, as we have been talking about authenticity in relation to different types of dance and what truly makes a dance "authentic", it will be interesting to see if these stars can dance the styles in a way that makes them and the dance look genuine. Or, do you think they will in a sense "ruin" the dance they perform. I guess that's why its entertaining!

Down below is the list of stars and their "title", and here is the link for the article if you want to read it in full: http://www.squidoo.com/dancingwiththestars

Rapper- Lil Romeo
Boxing Legend- Sugar Ray Leonard
Original Karate Kid- Ralph Macchio
Wrestler- Chris Jericho
Football Player- Hines Ward
"Loveline" Host- Mike Catherwood

Disney Actress- Chelsea Kane
Model- Petra Nemcova
Reality Star- Kendra Wilkinson
Talk Show Host- Wendy Williams
Actress- Kirstie Alley