3 x 12 — The Best of Dance Advantage 2009

2009

It’s been an incredibly packed year! Over 120 posts were added to this blog in 2009 and when I look back I must admit that I’m rather proud of the quality of much of that information. I know that I have grown and learned so much as a writer this year. I was so happy to welcome a handful of guest bloggers this year as well, particularly as my 1-year-old son became a 2-year-old!

And Dance Advantage has come a long way too!

At the start of the year, this blog was still hosted for free at wordpress.com. Though in January I had been blogging less than a year, I had already decided that to make this blog function the way I wanted, I would have to bite the bullet and jump into self-hosting. By April we had a new location and by May, a new look. I’m never satisfied and I don’t love the tediousness and headaches of maintaining a site (especially when I don’t really know what I’m doing!), BUT it’s been an exciting ride!

It’s also been exciting to watch this small community expand.

The blog is only part of it – Twitter followers, Facebook fans, you are some of my most loyal readers! I believe subscriptions to the blog/newsletter have tripled since the beginning of 09. I’m in awe and completely humbled that so many have visited and regularly read what’s here. And I am so thankful for those of you who comment and who take the time to voice your appreciation. It truly means so much to me!

3 x 12 = 36

Students, Teachers, and Parents are the focus of this dance blog. For each of the 12 months of 2009, there was at least one post for you. Below are 36 links (well, more than 36 actually) leading to the best Dance Advantage articles of 2009. What makes these posts the best? No real criteria. It is easy for articles to get “buried” on a blog that constantly updates information. Many of you who may not have even heard of this blog in January! These are the posts that I felt most proud of, that I felt provided truly useful tips or knowledge, and those in which I felt newcomers might be most interested. I hope you’ll agree it is a diverse collection that clearly illustrates the purpose of Dance Advantage.

Without Further Ado…

January was a busy burst of information in 2009!

For Students: Defining and Dissecting a Piqué Turn

For Teachers: 12 Tips for Teaching Tots

For Parents: A FREE Download for Parents of Dancers (Lisa Howell’s Parent’s Manual)

Honorable mention: What to Look for in a Dance Studio — This one is a bit of a cheat, as it compiles links to four important posts on DA (all of which were written in 2008)!

February is admittedly slim, Hey, I was into heavy rehearsal, but these are keepers.

For Students: 7 Secrets of Super Performers

For Teachers: Choreographic Inspiration — Using Your Past in Future Dances

For Parents: What Has Dance Taught You About Life? (Okay, not officially for parents but this is a great place to learn of additional ways dance can affect the life of your child… straight from those who live it. P.S. Feel free to keep the conversation going!)

March roared in with a handful of key posts for students.

For Students: 7 Ways Dance is Like Learning the ABC’s

For Teachers: How to Be a Great Teacher’s Assistant (Teachers have told me they refer their assistants to this post!)

For Parents: Guest Post: Life as a Dance Mom — Finding the Balance Between Friend and Fanatic

Honorable mention: Just as I slipped this post in at the very end of March, I’m slipping it in here. Why? Because I think I managed a decent answer to a good question! What is Artistry and How Do I Develop It?

April was a shower of articles on topics from Facebook to Eco-Friendly studios.

For Students: How To Do a Proper “Crunch” — Activating Your Core

For Teachers: Approaching Choreography for Musical Theatre

For Parents: Appraising the Value of Praise (a post for parents and teachers)

May was a time of rebirth for DA with lots of info.

For Students: Backstage Bliss — 11 Rules of Thumb for Students in a Dance Recital

For Teachers: Mustering their Motivation — Strategies for Engaging and Inspiring Students

For Parents: A Celebration of Dance Moms (special Mother’s Day post)

Honorable mention: Teachers, May’s posts on curriculum and lesson planning were also a hit!

June was just busting with articles on music and more.

For Students: Strategies for Remembering Choreography

For Teachers: Five Favorites: Music for Children’s Classes

For Parents: Why and How to Encourage Students to See Concert Dance

July had a little bit of everything.

For Students: How NOT to Ask a Question in Dance Class

For Teachers: Top 10 Reasons Teachers Should Continue Their Education (psst! Check the bottom of this post to get some ideas about where to continue!

For Parents: Accentuate the Positive — How to encourage and reinforce the positive aspects of competitive dance

Whew! Take 5… 678

August had me sweating as I blogged from the road on our family vacay

For Students: How and Why to Strengthen the Inner Thigh

For Teachers: Back to School — Props and Classroom Aids

For Parents: Parents, Which Type of Helicopter Are You?

September spotlighted the professional dance world.

For Students: Gracing the Stage — My Interview with Houston Ballet’s Joseph Walsh

For Teachers: Biographies You Can Sink Your Teeth Into (Teachers, relax with a good book, you deserve it!)

For Parents: Guest Post: The Professional Dancer’s Survival Kit (Parents need to know what it takes too)

October fell together as we welcomed fall.

For Students: Lifting Your Leg from Underneath and Other Impossible Feats

For Teachers: Introducing the Iliopsoas (a nice brush-up for instructors)

For Parents: Help! My Child Doesn’t Listen to the Dance Teacher! Part I (Be sure to navigate to Part II!)

November’s posts were already warming up for December.

For Students: Stretching Safely for Splits

For Teachers: Keeping Rhythm Fascinatin’ – How to Make Tap Dance Come Alive (an excellent start by new Tapography columnist, Sarah Mason)

For Parents: Sweet Exchange with a Sugar Plum Fairy

December included a big giveaway but a few things to think about as well.

For Students: Oversplits — Overdoing It?

For Teachers: Guest Post: Confessions of a Busy Dance Mom

For Parents: This Dancer’s Response to World AIDS Day In the spirit of the season, I encourage you to assist dancers and performers in need of financial assistance due to AIDS and other diseases – help me raise just $300.

Too much to read at once? Bookmark it!

Where do we go from here? I have some plans for 2010 but you will have a hand in what Dance Advantage becomes.

If you want to be the first to know when big things happen or just be sure that you don’t miss new posts when they arrive, subscribe to the blog. If you want to get to know me a bit better, Twitter is a good start. I happy to give tips to newbies – just say hello!

Have a healthy, joyous, and successful 2010! Thanks for reading.

1, 2, 3 Reasons to Check Out 4Dancers

I’m always on the lookout for new sites and blogs for dancers, teachers, and enthusiasts. New ones pop up all the time so I watch them for a little while to get a feel for the information they provide and how it is presented. I try to share the most interesting ones with you.

4Dancers Blog has been around for a few months and I like what I’m seeing. Here’s why I think you will too.

1. Diverse

Posts at 4Dancers run the gamut. From dancewear, accessories, and gifts to tips on using social media to featuring studios and audition opportunities. There is a little bit of everything at this blog.

2. Concise

Speaking of little bits, that’s exactly the format this blog has adopted. The short bursts of content are bigger than a tweet but superfluous they are not.

3. Connections

Like the shared links you get on Facebook or via email from your friends, the posts at 4Dancers typically lead you onward to gather more information or check out the latest find. You are bound to find something new if you follow along.

Back to School 2009 — Teacher Edition

Is it really that time of year already?

As you put together and plan your classes for the coming dance season, here’s a look back at some Dance Advantage articles that may be of use to you.

Class/Lesson Planning –

Class Planning Part One: Developing a Curriculum Outline

Class Planning Part Two: Focusing on Skills and Concepts in Lesson Plans

Teaching Young Dancers –

12 Tips for Teaching Tots

Children and Dance

Objectives

How to Develop Musical Awareness in Dance Students

Teaching and Exploring the History and Evolution of Dance

Why and How to Encourage Students to See Concert Dance

Mustering their Motivation: Strategies for Engaging and Inspiring Students

Reflection and Journaling for Dancers

Encouraging Boys to Dance

Studio Biz

12 Steps to a More Eco-Friendly Dance Studio

Comparing Facebook Pages and Groups — Which is Best for My Dance Studio?

Facebook Privacy How-To: Maintaining a Student/Teacher Relationship

Also, check out this new resource from Rhee Gold — DanceStudioBiz — Design, order, and print newsletters, brochures, and other promotional items online!

For more articles on technique, choreography, terminology, and music, visit The Toolbox! This lists (chronologically) all the posts on this blog that give all dancers (teachers and students) tools they can use for class and performance. The Toolbox is separated into subcategories. Check out the drop-down menu for Toolbox in the Dance Advantage navigation bar (top right, under the DA logo/header).

Coming Soon!!

Stay tuned here at Dance Advantage for a list of dance-friendly props for children’s classes (and where to find them)!

Excavating the Archives – Don’t Miss These Posts!

I hereby declare Fridays links day on Dance Advantage!

One of my goals at Dance Advantage is to connect readers to other places and spaces online so that you don’t have to search high and low for great resources yourself! Generally Fridays will be a day to point you elsewhere in this world wide web. However, because it is the nature of blogs to feature the latest posts and entries, older posts can get buried. So, I thought I’d kick things off by “kinecting” you to some older posts within Dance Advantage that you may have missed!

(Bonus! All of these posts contain links to other sites! — Talk about Kinected!)

1. Costume Crisis – What to do when dance costume companies fail you at recital time
2. Fostering Artistry in Young or Beginning Dancers - First steps: Ask a child to be creative.
   
3. DanceMom.com – A forum for dance parents
   
4. Dancing With Conscience – Dancers and dance organizations that are making a difference
   
5. Art or Not? Musings on Dance, Art, and Entertainment
6. Eye of the Beholder – This one is just for fun! Do you know which way the dancer is spinning?
7. Two Heads Are Better Than One - More wonderful online resources! Deb Vogel and Lisa Howell join forces.
8. Reflection and Journaling for Dancers – Types of journals and the usefulness of keeping a “dance diary”
9. Classic Confusion – Sorting out labels in dance like classical, modern, and contemporary.
   
10. Bullying in Dance Class - Do girls bully? You bet! Don’t miss the resources and info in this one!

Isadora Duncan: Mother of Modern Dance

Isadora Duncan was an American dancer born in San Francisco in the late 1800’s. Adopting a free-form, expressive style of movement which she performed barefoot and in loose-fitting tunics (a departure from the rigid attire of the time), she became one of the fore-runners of modern dance.

Her early public appearances in the United States were unsuccessful and, like many of modern dance’s early pioneers, Isadora traveled abroad to Europe. There, her work garnered recognition and appreciation by audiences. Her dances, inspired by ancient Greek sculpture and philosophy, were characterized by expressive and free-flowing movement and gesture. They captured the imaginations of those familiar only with the convention and structure of ballet, an art form which was experiencing a decline in the early 20th century.

A rebel at heart, Isadora defied social norms. She was outspoken in her disdain for marriage and even jazz music which was gaining popularity at the time, preferring instead the classics of Brahms, Wagner, and Beethoven. Her two children, who later perished when the car in which they were riding rolled into the Seine river, were fathered by two different men. Her choices garnered public and political attention. She was both revered and ridiculed, considered by some to be a revolutionary and labeled a harlot by others. In Russia she met a poet seventeen years her junior and married him in 1922 so that she could bring him along on tour to the United States. Accused of being a Bolshevik agent, Duncan fled America for the final time.

She lived the rest of her short life on the French Riviera where she died tragically when her trademark long, flowing scarf became entangled in a motorcar wheel, strangling her. An innovator ahead of her time, her natural and free dance liberated the dance formula and paved the way for the development and acceptance of the modern dance art form.

“Isadora Duncan.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 Apr. 2009.

More About Isadora

• Isadora was also a dance educator, founding and inspiring several schools of dance. Read more about her legacy and the history of her “Isadorables” at the Isadora Duncan Foundation for Contemporary Dance whose resident company, directed by Lori Belilove (a third-generation Duncan dancer), performs the Duncan repertoire.
• From the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, a fascinating account of Isadora’s life, including glimpses from her childhood. Written by Samuel Dickson, this was originally one of the KPO/KNBC radio scripts, later printed in “San Francisco Kaleidoscope,” Stanford University Press, 1949.
• Short and sweet observations by Henrietta Cullinan, made after her attendance at the Royal Ballet’s  recent performance of the ballet, Isadora. I just enjoyed her comparisons to Madonna and her remarks regarding Isadora’s dislike of jazz music.
• — Thanks to Dancing as One for pointing me to this video.
• Ismene Brown looks back at Isadora’s controversial life and asks, “Isadora Duncan-- sublime or ridiculous?” A really interesting article.
• Did you know that San Francisco Bay Area dancers are given the opportunity to be recognized and honored by the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee? The awards and ceremony are known as the Izzies and dance blogger/San Francisco Ballet principal, Maria Kochetkova is a recent recipient.
• Did you know that Isadora Duncan is the subject of a graphic biography (i.e. comic book)? You can read an interview with author, Sabrina Jones at comicbookresources.com, and a review/description of the book at Girl w/Pen.
• Photographer, Hila’s beautiful shot of Tamara Rojo dancing Isadora Duncan Waltzes, choreographed by Frederick Ashton. Check out the accompanying video for an excerpt of this work.
• A lovely poem by Kirsten Olson entitled Isadora Duncan’s Fire. “My mother played piano. And I, Isadora, would dance.” Read on…
• Catherine Galasso will be premiering a new work in San Francisco about Joshua Norton, an eccentric businessman in the city’s history. The work will feature Isadora Duncan in its cast of characters and the blog provides reference material regarding this work-in-progress. There is interesting documentation of the process of recreating Duncan, and using her movement style as the basis for a contemporary re-interpretation.

Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept It…

Find ways of studying, incorporating, re-inventing Isadora Duncan in your classes or at your studio, (even if you don’t teach modern dance)!

List some ways you can or have done so in the comments below.

Thanks for a successful Teach-a-thon!

Thanks so much, everyone,

for your participation and for reading! Students, I hope that you discoverd some fresh information that you can take with you into the new school year. If there is something that really hit home, something that you would have liked to have seen here, or you just want to say “hello,” please take a moment to leave a comment.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful dance bloggers who took the time to write or add their work to the listing. There are some really wonderful and generous people within this community and I am so glad to have “met” all of you.

In case you missed any of them, here are the links again.

Organize Your Life and Nurture Your Spirit: Dianne from Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes offers tips on dancewear, visualization, journaling, and getting back into class!

Scholarships for Dancers: Heading to college? Seniors, now is the time to start working on applications for school and financial aid. DanceHere offers great advice!

Strengths and Weaknesses: Everyone has them. Here are some tips and encouragement as you attempt to master your strengths and overcome your weaknesses!

Sarah at What a Wonderful World! writes about one of her favorite belly dance students. A heartwarming reminder that you’re never too old to learn something new!

Challenges In Professional Dance: DanceHere offers the first in a series about dance careers. If you are thinking about a career as a professional dancer, don’t miss this post!

Why The Competition?: A post about the reasons dancers compete. Carl, a lindy hopper, competes in partner dancing but his post is applicable to all forms of competitive dance.

Start The Year Off Right: Leslea, assistant director at Uptown Dance shares with students how to be prepared and productive in the coming year of classes. Written as though you were right there in her classroom, she hits all the highlights of the first month of classes.

Jobs in Dance Companies: Considering or researching a career in dance? Performing professionally is not the only option open to dancers. Check out this post from DanceHere.

What to expect from your first ballet class: If you are taking ballet for the first time, Selly from Dance Outlook offers a thorough article on how to prepare and what to expect, complete with some great video.

Negativity: Could your complaining, insecurities, and negativity affect others in your dance class? My experience with a student whose negative attitude was turned around with positive reinforcement.

Careers for Dancers in Media and Communications: Continuing their series, DanceHere highlights careers in film, photography, and more that combine an interest in or knowledge of dance.

Improve Dance With Your Eyes Closed: Sanna, a performance specialist who blogs with dancer, Janie at DanceMind, expresses the importance of sleep for dancers who want to be at their best.

Vertically Challenged: My own tips and suggestions for improving your technique, height, landing, and musicality in vertical jumping (or, sauté).

Additional posts for students can be found under the “for students” category!

Thanks again!

What it Takes – Becoming a Ballerina

Originally this post featured a link to a news item that focused on a 12-year-old girl with aspirations to become a professional ballet dancer, and the sacrifices she’s made and will need to make in order to get there. The article is no longer available, however, so I have updated this post with some other links and information.

• Here is an interview with Courtney Lutz, a Canadian dancer with the Ontario Ballet Theatre. She talks of her path to becoming a professional ballet dancer, putting in half days of school to make room for dance, and times in her career when it hasn’t been easy to continue.
• Girls aren’t the only ones who work hard and make sacrifices while pursuing a career in professional ballet. An article about David, a 15-year-old, pursuing his education and a career in dance.
• Do you dream of dancing with New York City Ballet? Here are some helpful and realistic answers to  students’ questions about working, studying, and training with NYCB and the School of American Ballet (their official school).
• This forum offers an overview of the path(s) that dancers take to become a professional in the ballet world.
• A detailed account of the audition and training process at the Royal Danish Ballet School which are not unlike many other pre-professional ballet schools.
• Ten articles on the steps to becoming a professional dancer. Some of these articles are better than others and when reading keep in mind that these are the individual writer’s opinions. Most give you a sense for the work it takes to become a dancer and the challenges a professional faces.
• An interesting article that spotlights why someone may choose not to become a professional dancer.

In summary, the life and career of a professional ballet dancer is not easy and often requires much sacrifice for young dancers and their families. Although we like to think that with hard work and diligence absolutely anything is possible, the reality is that dance is a highly competitive field. Knowing one’s options, understanding the challenges, assessing and re-assessing one’s desires and goals, researching the paths of dancers and companies, and arming oneself with the best training possible are absolutely necessary if one hopes to pursue dance (particularly professional ballet) as a career. In dance, it is never too early to begin this process. To say that it is all work and no play would neglect the rewards and excitement of a career in dance, however, it is not a pursuit for one who gives up easily, desires immediate gratification, and wants a luxurious salary. It is also extremely helpful to have a balanced and healthy outlook and a strong support system, as ballet has been known to take a toll on a dancer’s mental and physical state.

In addition to the articles above, these books and DVDs offer some insight into the world of professional ballet.

Becoming a Ballerina

Getting Started in Ballet: A Parent’s Guide to Dance Education

The Dancer

The Children of Theatre Street – The Story of the Kirov Ballet School