The Night Disco was Revived

Last night, for no reason at all, I got thinking about a dance routine I learned during spring break a couple years ago. In my Junior year of high school, I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise for a week. Since going on a cruise requires you to live on a ship for a week, each day, the crew has all sorts of activities they plan for the guests to participate in to enhance our vacation experience. One of the activities I looked forward to was the daily dance lessons in various types of dance styles. The one I remember most vividly is disco. I learned some moves from the disco days of the 70s and later that night, the group I danced with and I performed the routine in a kind of parade/dance party in the ship's Promenade. The routine was from the movie Saturday Night Fever during a scene when John Travolta participates in a line dance with a group at a club. You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m9ZP_tTtLc&feature=related

I've learned plenty of routines and choreographies in my life, but I must say, this one was one of the most enjoyable for me to learn and perform. It really is a shame that disco died.

In class, we talked about how a lot of things have a cycle, such as fashion. Things are in style for a while, then they go out of style, then they make it back into style...so on and so forth. Do you think disco will ever have it's comeback? The 70s clothing is said to become fashionable again, so maybe disco will come back with it...who knows. I, for one, sure hope it does.

Black Swan

I recently saw the movie Black Swan, and was astonished by the film. The main characters attachment to dance, the concept of physically turning into a swan, and the juxtaposition between the dance and the main characters life was just incredible. Granted, the premise of actually turning into a swan is unrealistic, but the idea of becoming so attached to the art that it becomes you is quite interesting. This movie can serve as an important reminder of how much dance can mean to some people. As a side, I think the dancing in this film is quite wonderful. The movements that the dancers use to serve to tell the timeless tale of the black swan. It always astonishes me the way that dance can tell a story like no other medium. If you haven't seen the film I would definitely recommend it.

Browner- Heartbeat Article

I am excited to discuss the Heartbeat article in class by Browner. I have never researched or learned about Native American dance technique and style before. It was very interesting to read this research report about the history of this style.

Native American dance consists of warrior society dances, reservation-era intertribal dances, wildwest shows, and postwar homecoming celebrations. All these dances have a specific meaning in the Native American realm.

What is different about Native American dance from other forms of dance is the ties it has to religion and healing. Some dances are performed to heal the sick and weary. Their dances invoke a form of healing in all those participating. I wonder how it could be that simple, yet powerful at the same time.

I also enjoyed reading about the Ann Arbor Pow-Wow at University of Michigan. I didn't know there was such a large Native American presence on that campus. It's great to know that diversity exists there. They have invitations, offerings, prayers, songs by special singers, and feasting on regional foods in an effort to bring together the University of Michigan Campus. Here is a video of the 2007 pow-wow at University of Michigan: http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/7662698

You can see in the background the intermingling of Native Americans and non Native Americans. They are walking around watching the dances and drum playing observing at a distance or even close to it going on!

I wish we could do something like this at Syracuse. I wonder if the campus would support such an event!

Native American Dance in Sports

I know in the past 10 years that having Native Americans represented in logos and mascots has been very debated in sports. While I agree that they should not be represented in a degrading manner, it should be okay to respect and honor them. Since we are talking about Native American dancing this week, I wanted to bring up a very controversial decision.

At the University of Illinois, the mascot is Chief Illiniwek. At halftime of football and basketball games, the Chief would come out and do a dance, and it was extremely cool to take part in this tradition. The entire student section lines up around the court and participates in the dance as well. However, this dance was considered disrespectful and caused a lot of controversy; due to the threat to loose NCAA funding, U of I decided to "get rid of" the Chief.

However, the person who was the Chief learned the dance from Native Americans; it wasn't something he just made up. He would go live with a local tribe to learn about them and learn the dance from them. The original tribe no longer exists, so it was other tribes who were upset with this tradition; the original tribe could not defend their action.

What is your opinion-should the Chief still be allowed to dance? Was this dance authentic?

Here is the Chief's last dance in 2007:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7tyfQu4QJo&feature=related

Another Example Of A Flash Mob

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=77O6IrDYBBI

After reading Kim's post about flash mobs, it got me thinking about where else I had seen this phenomenon. It was in an episode of the ABC show Modern Family. In this scene one of the characters who is typically thought of as uptight decides to surprise his mate and participate in a flash mob at a mall. I find it so remarkable that dance, is able to represent so much. In this case, it is showing the depths a person in a relationship is willing to go to express their feelings, it shows talent, personal expression, and boldness of the character.

3d dance film

I came across this very interesting article about a new film being made about dance. It will be in 3d. The premise got me thinking. Will a 3d dance film bring a new sensory experience to the old school dance films like dirty dancing or save the last dance. Will this extra element make that audience feel like they are there actually experiencing the numbers? I think that the extra 3d aspect could indeed bring the audience to the theater. Make them feel as if they are actually attending a dance show. Normally, I don't know how I feel about 3d movies with things flying off the screen. But, used as an art form I think the 3d could definitely work to enhance the film and bring people closer to dance.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/15/us-film-pina-idUSTRE71E0OR20110215

Dance and Twitter

Over the past year, I have become active on the social network Twitter. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with others, finding people with similar interests and talking to them, and it is a great way to hear about the news or events around the country. While I mostly follow and talk to friends or people in the Syracuse network, I do follow some celebrities and organizations. I found an article about dancers using Twitter, which describes who tweets and why. I do follow So You Think You Can Dance, some of its choreographers, some of the dancers that have been on the show, and some ice skaters. While I don't interact with them, it is still interesting to see them as "real" people and read what is important to them.

What do you think about dancers or celebrities using Twitter? Does it make them more human and help the average person relate to the person on stage? Do you think they should respond to people who tweet at them? I'm very interested in feedback.

Here's the link to the article: http://dancemagazine.com/issues/February-2008/Dancing-in-the-Twittersphere

And on Twitter I am @kegluskin :-)