Role Of A Lifetime: Returning To Dance As A Mom

“Your body does change,” confirms Sara, “and my fear was that I wouldn’t be able to look or dance the way I did before pregnancy and birth.” It was a fear that Toni shared. When asked what concerns she had about pregnancy, Toni answers, “That my body would never be the same. Its true, my body has never been the same. So what.” However, Toni concedes, “Like most dancers, I am hard on my body image, and that got worse after having a baby.”

Pas de Deux: Two Career Dancers On Pregnancy

Balancing any career with motherhood has its challenges but mother/dancers certainly face some unique concerns and questions. To produce a picture of what it is like for mothers who are also professional dancers, I spoke with two dancing moms, one a ballet dancer, one a contemporary dance artist and choreographer. In this first installment, we discuss pregnancy and what it is like to dance and perform while expecting.

Five Ways Postmodern Principles Can Positively Impact Your Studio

The exposure to postmodern principles and technique has so positively affected my experience with both commercial dance and concert dance that I would recommend that studios add it to their course roster. Young dancers who gain an early exposure to the world of post modern dance are only at an advantage in today’s competitive dance market. It will prepare them for careers as professional dancers or for success in a college dance department. The reality is that modern dance principles are gaining popularity throughout the dance 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.

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.

Classic Confusion

TweetShareA reader recently posed a question in response to “Tips for College (Part II)” and perhaps “What is Modern Dance?.” She asked, “What is “classical” dance in the west?” The term “classical” in dance can vary in meaning, and just like the term “modern dance,” can be very confusing. Rooted in Europe, ballet would probably [...]

A Dancer’s Guide: Tips for College (Part II)

TweetShareTips for College Part I dealt with what to expect in technique classes and performance rehearsals, as well as some tips for success in these areas. In continuation of the series, I will highlight two aspects of dance in higher education with which many incoming students have little experience. Improvisation Improvisation may be an entirely [...]

What is Modern Dance?

Each generation of modern dancers seeks new terminology, concepts, and techniques that broaden the definition of dance. This legacy continues in the 21st century, an environment that draws from the techniques of modern dance and the spirit of exploration in postmodern dance.