Dance Movie Magic — Your Favorites on Film

Earlier this month Flavorwire introduced their picks for The 35 Best Dance Sequences In Film. Following this up with 25 more, they have shared a total of 60 YouTube videos. Among the choices are scenes from movie musicals like West Side Story, Chicago, and Sweet Charity; classics featuring Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson; and contemporary favorites Grease, Honey, and Pulp Fiction. While these videos are still listed (because of course copyright is an issue on YouTube), you may want to visit and send students over there for a little prance through the history of dance in cinema.

Of course everyone has their favorites and these choices are debatable — that’s what prompted the 25 additional videos. Evan over at Dancing Perfectly Free weighed in with some favorites and an excellent addition. Others have shared their thoughts on Twitter.

What do I think?

Many of the choices would have been on my list, though I tend to favor the oldies but goodies. What didn’t make it? I’ve shared before that I enjoyed the dance sequences in the minimal and perhaps underrated movie The Company. I was captivated by this “White Widow” sequence in particular. Performed by Joffrey Ballet’s Emily Patterson, Moses Pendleton’s ethereal stunner is exquisitely captured in this Robert Altman film.

View on YouTube

In the 2008 post about The Company (linked above), I mentioned Invitation to the Dance, a blogathon hosted by Ferdy on Film which encouraged film enthusiasts to discuss dance in film. As you can see this is a continuing conversation and in that spirit, I’d like to invite you to share your picks.

Whatever your method — a post on your blog, a YouTube rant, a podcast, or just your favorites in a list — let us know what you think of those top 60 choices above, what you think was missing from the list, or what you think is the greatest dance film sequence of all time.

Go ahead….

Yep, just scroll down…

That’s it. Keep going…

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!

Month by Month: March

In the midst of competition season and as the push toward recital time begins, you may be feeling your classes could use a bit of fun to break up the “blahs.”

March offers some opportunities to try something a little different. Here are some ideas:

A Night at the Oscars

Sometimes new accompaniment is all that is needed. Use movie soundtracks and classic cinema songs to spice up your classes one evening this month.

For fun, you might host an awards ceremony during the last 15 minutes of class – this could be your own version of “paper bag” awards… the presentation of silly or teasing award categories with low-budget trophies (like paper bags). The point is not to hurt anyone’s feelings, though, so create your awards with care. Encourage your students to dance their acceptance speech, and be sure to cut them off before they are finished!

You could even try some choreography inspired by last week’s Academy Awards dance segment.

St. Patrick’s Day

This holiday is coming up soon! You might use any music connected with Ireland (Riverdance, U2, Clannad) or the color green during your classes on or during the week of March 17th.

Why not try some Irish dancing? You can find an introduction to the basics at E-how. Or, better still, hire an Irish dance teacher to conduct a class.

World Meteorological Day

My husband is a meteorologist so this March 23 day of recognition (spearheaded by the World Meteorological Organization) stood out for me. You can do a lot with a weather theme, including everything from song choices (Singin’ in the Rain, It’s Raining Men, Here Comes the Sun…) to dancing about weather, water cycles, and more.

I own and have used these two books by Thomas Locker with dance classes to build choreography as a group. They feature poetic reenactments of the water cycle (Water Dance) and an introduction to cloud-types (Cloud Dance) accompanied by beautiful illustrations. With clouds that march, drift, and burst, and statements like “I grow ever wider, broader and deeper. I am the river.” The descriptive language lends itself to movement.

You may also want to check out this Weather & Wind Dance lesson plan from the Kennedy Center’s Arts Edge website.

Women’s History Month

March is also Women’s History Month so this is a great opportunity to educate your students with a little history lesson. Introduce through books, film, photos, or words, dance visionaries and groundbreakers like Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Martha Graham, Maria Tallchief, Anna Pavlova, Janet Collins, Eleanor Powell… and so so so many others! In my post 9 Biographies for Students, some of these women are covered in books for juvenile readers.

Print or photocopy photos of a few legendary women in dance to informally post on the walls of your studio with small index cards highlighting their life and contribution to dance. Allow students to peruse the gallery and encourage them to practice spotting pirouettes with Pavlova’s picture or chassé toward Eleanor Powell. At the end of the class, week, or month quiz your dancers on these dance luminaries.

Dancing with the Stars (Not Those Stars)

Celebrities get their fair share of exposure so, no, this is not another post on reality tv’s hit show. Instead, I wanted to highlight one woman’s realized dream to create dance in zero-gravity. Read more

The Company

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite dance movies – The Company. I love it for it’s rich performance footage and day-in-the life feel. It’s low on plot, but high on spectacular dancing and choreography. Just for your information, the movie, featuring Neve Campbell and directed by Robert Altman, is rated PG-13 with some nudity in dressing-room scenes.

Here is a wonderful review of the movie.

It’s part of a series entitled Invitation to the Dance Movie Blogathon which features more great reviews and clips of dance movies. I read and watched YouTube clips of movies I had never seen before! Definitely worth checking out.

Teaching and Exploring the History and Evolution of Dance

A student in ballet cannot learn the art in isolation and no one can know what great dancing is without seeing examples of it. Not only can the dancer not be separated from the dance, she also cannot be separated from the history of dancing, from the line of dancers and teachers leading to her.

This is a quote taken from an article written in Dance Magazine in 1995 regarding the film The Dancer. This sentiment holds true not just for ballet students, but for dancers in general.  So, in honor of National Dance Week, I wanted to offer ways in which teachers of dance can include dance history in their everyday classes.

I know how hard it is sometimes to fit it all in.  As a dance instructor I often find myself pressed for time when including just the technical principles of dance in my classes, let alone guidance in music, vocabulary, and other areas vital to performance and execution. However, having experienced the degree to which understanding the evolution of dance has enhanced and improved my own performance and desire to achieve proficiency within my classes, I know that it is important to draw attention to this “line of dancers” (past and present) whenever possible.

Here is an article that addresses this issue in the teaching of jazz dance.  It offers a few methods of incorporating history into dance education:

1. Connect the movements you teach to dance history.
2. Bring in master teachers of unfamiliar combinations or styles.
3. Use visuals – posters, artwork, videos.
4. Host special events that encourage an interest in dance history.

The article goes into detail specific to jazz dance, but these small actions can easily be applied to any dance style:

Connecting dance movements to history can be as simple as tossing out facts during class that get the students thinking about the origins of what they are doing.  For example, as you correct your student’s turnout, mention that dancers initially began to turn out their legs when ballet made it’s way from the royal court to the proscenium stage.  Better yet, encourage their critical thinking skills by asking if they know or can guess why dancers use turnout.  Or, when working on fouette turns, explain that Pierina Legnani was the first to perform 32 consecutive fouettes en tournant.  The students may not remember everything you tell them, but you may be surprised at how much of these tidbits they do retain.

Master teachers can sometimes be hard to come by in certain areas, but re-creating famous or historical works from video can be fun and exciting for student dancers. One summer a workshop was held at my hometown studio that focused on the work of Alvin Ailey. The dancers learned portions of Ailey’s Revelations (skirts, fans, and all) from video and, although we could not benefit from a master to teach us the dance, I recall a sense of excitement, accomplishment, and commitment to the choreography as the dancers re-created this landmark work. Exercises like this will reward the students with satisfaction in knowing they executed the same movements as the professionals, and may encourage them in working to perform with as much accuracy and dedication.

Consider the artwork you display at your dance school. I’ve noted that many studios throughout my teaching career have displayed only a) cute teddy bears and bunnies in tutus, b) the awards and trophies of their own dancers, or c) pictures of the studio owner in all his/her glory.  And, while I think it is important to recognize the hard work of the dancers and show the experience and accomplishments of the teachers [I'm not sure I can find a way to justify the bunnies... sorry ], to instill in your dancers a sense of the scope, importance, and history of movement arts, I encourage you to look for visual representations (like this poster art) (or this poster art) that will inspire them to look beyond the little bubble of their own studio. If you teach children, it’s ok to show children dancing (including pictures of your own students) on your walls but give them something to aspire to, as well.

Hosting an event can be as simple as movie viewing parties at the studio or as elaborate as taking a field trip to a nearby city for a dance performance. Some of the most eye-opening experiences of my life as a young dancer included traveling away from my hometown with my classmates to view dance and musical theatre productions, attend conventions/conferences, and visit art museums. Opportunities like this allow a student to understand dance art in a wider context and will inspire them to reach higher in their classes.

If you need to brush up on your own knowledge of dance history, the following texts may be helpful: 

• Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History
• Jazz Dance: The Story Of American Vernacular Dance
• Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing
• Ballet in Western Culture: A History of Its Origins and Evolution
• Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader

If you are a student and want to find ways of expanding your knowledge of dance history (it really does improve your dancing), try these tips.

• Use school projects like book reports, oral presentations, and writing exercises as opportunities to research and discover dance history.
• Join websites and blogs that offer historical dance facts and resources.
• Make it a point to see other dancers perform whenever possible – when your family vacations check out dance in the area or even take classes and rent dance videos (don’t forget your local public or college library may have videos available).
• Read biographies of dance artists, texts about dance throughout time, and profiles of famous dance works.

Let me know your thoughts!  Are there other ways to include history in your dance education?