With its STEEZ portable audio system (or “boombox”) Pioneer is revitalizing a breed of music player that seems nearly extinct, yet still has use and meaning in the dance community. Storing your digital music in 4GB of memory this line offers dance-specific features like tempo control, music cues, and dance battle mode. Dance Advantage reviews the mid-sized Duo model.
Dance Styles
Tap Classics: In-The-Trenches and Over-The-Tops
These popular flash steps were the innovations and contributions of Toots Davis. Learn more about Davis and the history behind classic tap steps, in-the-trenches and over-the-tops.
History Moves: Using the Creative Process to Explore Dance History
When working with students on choreography it’s possible to get them thinking beyond steps to a more robust concept of creative process that encourages thoughtful choices about all areas of production. Heather demonstrated this with her previous article. This time, she goes a step further, showing you ways to connect these ideas with dance history to enrich students’ understanding.
Tap Classics: Paddle and Roll Heroes, Lon Chaney & Bunny Briggs
Many contenders could claim to be “the king” of paddle and roll (also called paradiddles) but no other dancer is identified more with the tap step than tap icon, Lon Chaney. Bunny Briggs has also made his mark with the step, as have others. Learn more about paddle and roll and its origins.
Confessions of a 30-year old Grade III Grad: Why Cecchetti?
Fresh from her Grade III Cecchetti teacher’s exam, Lauren Warnecke reflects on why, despite that she’s not actively teaching ballet, she continued to study the Method. Purely editorial, her musings are a peek inside the exam process and tip of the hat to the man behind the Method.
What The Ailey School’s Melanie Person Knew When She Was Twelve
Co-Director of The Ailey School, Co-Chair of The Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. program, and former Dance Theatre of Harlem ballerina, Melanie Person answers ten questions: on leg extension, encouraging ballet students, what studios could do to better prepare students for college, and what she knew when she was twelve.
