Summing Up The Summit

Instead of actual snapshots I’m sharing some of the thoughts and impressions I picked up along the yellow brick road. I hope you’ll use, think about, or act upon these little nuggets from the Dance Teacher Summit. I had a great time collecting them for you.

New Continents — From Royal Ballet School To Boston Ballet

“I once took six months off from ballet when I was 14. My school commitments were growing and it was becoming seriously difficult to juggle everything. It reaffirmed for me, however, that ballet was my one love and out of everything what I should have been doing.”

Who Wants To Rock The Vote In These Online Dance Contests?

The winner will score the ultimate prize of rehearsing with Kate Champion to bring his/her unique performance to life at the screening of Footloose on September 26. In addition to the thrill of performing live at Sydney Opera House, the winner will receive $2,000, a SONY HD flash Handycam camcorder, as well as a SONY ‘Bloggie’ HD snap camera.

Why I’m Psyched For The Dance Teacher Summit

The line-up of dance artists, master teachers, and presenters. Every single one has contributed so much to the dance world and to dance training. Legends and long-time educators like Frank Hatchett, David Howard, Bill Evans, Finis Jhung, Zena Rommett, Denise Wall and my former professor at Slippery Rock University, Thom Cobb. Plus luminaries like Sean Curran, Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, Mike Minery, and Andy Blankenbuehler.

Social Smarts LIVE Chat

TweetShareChat Archive: The archive to the chat can be found at Chatroll (you do have to be have to register for free with Chatroll to view the archive online) Here is the archive from today’s chat, available for download: Social Smarts Live Chat Check back for more links and useful info. The purpose of of [...]

Guest Post: The What, When, Why, and How of Clogging

“Yes, it’s kind of like Tap. No, it’s not like Riverdance. Clogging is every dance – a dance form that includes everything from Irish step dancing to hip hop and everything in between. Cloggers perform choreography to anything from “Uncle Penn” by Ricky Skaggs to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” It is a dance form that defines who I was, who I am, and who I always will be.”

Today Is National Tap Dance Day!

Discover details about National Tap Dance Day, more about Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and his relationship to this event, and ways you can celebrate with the rest of the world.

Art Is Kids Play

Easy access to drugs, internet, lack of phone and computer regulation and other challenges facing children and the teachers and parents entrusted with their care make all youth “at-risk” in Weiner’s eyes. And so, her programs at the Hope Center are open to any child on a first come, first served basis. Many Kids Play participants are recruited, however, from local organizations such as Archway Academy and Chinquapin (schools for troubled and disadvantaged youth), Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Baylor International Adoption Center, and group homes like Casa de Esperanza. “We love the mix of cultures and socio-economic levels,”

Why DOES Dance Matter?

I’m not the first and certainly not the last to ask the question. An expectant audience asks this of each performer as he presents his offering on stage. A student looks for the reply in the eyes of their teacher, the guide to their experience. The soul doesn’t have to ask the body as it moves to the internal rhythm of the heart. It just knows.

So why do we have to ask? Why must we put it in words? It seems that the answer should be inherently clear to anyone whose body has for even one second embraced accord with that internal rhythm. So why must we be utterly clear in our conviction that dance matters?

Film Review: Dancing Across Borders

Bass resists a Cinderella telling and provides, with ample footage of Sy’s progress, an unflinching glance into the rigorous training and hard-won rewards of ballet. She also does not shy away from Sy’s inner conflict as a young man trying to reconcile two worlds, two cultures, and find his place within each.

Why Does Dance Matter To You?

Affirm the impact dance has on the lives of individuals and communities. Between Arts Advocacy Day (April 12) and the close of National Dance Week (May 2), participate in Why Dance Matters, a virtual event that rallies the dance community on Facebook and beyond. Begin by attending the event (found here: http://tinyurl.com/dancematters) and sharing it with others. From updating a status and donning a profile badge to creating a video or blog, choose your own level of participation, but take action and share Why Dance Matters to YOU!

Guest Post: Unifying Women and Mothers Through Dance

I knew also that she was employed as a dance teacher in Scotland, doing a job very much the same yet also very different from that of many dance instructors. She will tell you more about this work in her own words but I feel it speaks to the affect dance and movement can have on the soul and on a group of people. Occasionally, I like to step away from the technical, instructional, business, and material side of dance to remind myself and those reading of the unifying and universal power of dance. As Camille will reiterate, I hope this reminder will encourage those of us who hold keys to find their own unique ways of unlocking this potential in dance.

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