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.

Profile of an American Icon: A Few Words With Paul Taylor

I feel very honored that Mr. Taylor took the time to answer a few questions about his life and work in an email interview. Paul Taylor is one of the most prominent and influential choreographers of our time. Yet, in the late 1940′s he was studying painting and swimming on scholarship at Syracuse University when amidst a series of seemingly unrelated dance experiences he was struck by a revelation or, as he describes it in his autobiography Private Domain a “flash of recognition… an unignorable hunch” that he was to become a dancer.

DVD Review: My First Ballet Collection

My First Ballet Collection is a great choice for those wishing to nurture enthusiasm for ballet among children of all ages. Younger children will enjoy being introduced to colorful characters and beautiful dancing. Older children will benefit from the opportunity to sample a mélange of ballet specimens.

Ballet — Its Origins and History

Ballet Comique de la Reine (1581) was choreographed by Balthasar de Beaujoyeux and is credited as the first ballet because it had a central story around which sets, costumes, and music were built. Ballets de cour peaked during the reign of Louis XIV, who was passionate about dance and its artistry.

Remembering Merce

I had the opportunity in college to observe Merce in action with his company of dancers during a company class several years ago. At probably about 80 years old, he had difficulty walking and would instruct the dancers from a chair, indicating movements and instruction with his hands and only a few words.

Your Lobby Library — 9 Dance Biographies for Students

The lobby of your studio is a great place for waiting dancers and families to learn a bit more about dance, its history, and its artists. Picture books are a great way to introduce your dancers and perhaps inspire them to learn more and dig deeper into the lives and legacies of important figures in dance.

Isadora Duncan: Mother of Modern Dance

An innovator ahead of her time, Isadora’s natural and free dance liberated the dance formula and paved the way for the development and acceptance of the modern dance art form.

Guest Post: Dancers Connecting to Their Faith and Enriching Their World

TweetShareThe following is a guest post by Randall Flinn, director of Ad Deum Dance Company in Houston, TX. The Relationship Between Faith and Dance Dance is born from the heart and soul of people and cultures. Long before the polished refinement of classical or contemporary dance movement, dance lived and thrived in personal expression and [...]

Everything Old Is New Again

TweetShare Let’s face it, dance doesn’t happen in a void. New work is continually influenced by that which surrounds it, as well as everything that has come before. One can trace a line throughout history of dancers and choreographers who have influenced future generations. The connections are like thread woven through intricate fabric. Dance for [...]

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Turnout – Part I

Although we sometime use the word turnout as a noun or a position (i.e. “Your turnout could be better.”), it is more appropriately thought of as an action, a verb. Because outward rotation is not the body’s natural state, the work does not stop once the position or desired degree of rotation has been attained. Instead, outward rotation of the hips requires continual action within the body, even when the rotation is held in a position (like ballet 5th).

Pillow Talk (Jacob’s Pillow, that is)

TweetShare My little family of three just returned from our summer vacation. Aside from a short trip to the Big Apple in 2006, my husband and I have not indulged in a true holiday for several years now, instead spending time off visiting with family. Now that we have an infant son, vacations come with [...]

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