Fall Semester

This semester has been a great experience for me.  I have grown as a dancer, and have met some great friends. My technique has gotten better as well as my performing skills. I'm excited for next semester because i know my friendships will grow as well as my technique. Mrs. Acosta and Mrs. Claire are great teachers and I am very thankful to have them!

Head-Tail Connection

Many students in my class get the same correction. Use your head-tail connection! Some would describe it as a fetal position. Without connecting your head in a movement you would look like a fish with its head poking out the water. You have to use your spine as well as the rest of your body to make the connection. Imagine make a C with your back. Picking your head up will break the connection.

Being Present

Being present means to be aware. You can dance through a whole class and not be present. Present is dancing the movements full out, seeing the people around you, and dancing with the people. Even by standing still you can tell if a person is being present or not. On stage, being present is showing facials and seeing the people around you as well as the crowd. It’s being in tune with your body.

Dance is Life :)

When I dance I feel alive. I feel like I can breathe and everything is going to be okay. I want to smile when I dance. Dancing for me is my therapy. If I didn’t dance then I would probably go crazy. Dancing is not my hobby but it is my life. I never knew what I wanted to be when I was younger like all the other kids but when I started dancing in high school, I knew this was it. Showing expression through my body is the best thing I know how to do.  

Things to Improve

This semester I have worked hard on my technique. Oppositional tension has been a challenge for me as well as head toe connection. I’ve worked on not just doing the movements but actually performing them. A lot of dancers are really good but if they don’t know how to perform then it doesn’t matter how good they are, nobody would want to watch. Things I need to work on next semester is picking up choreographer faster. I need to work on my balance and being more flexible. I also need to work harder on my facials when I dance too. Just being aware of the things that I’m not aware of.

Hidden Movements

Hidden movements are very important. My ballet teacher always tells me whatever you do at the barre is what you will do in the center combinations and eventually on stage. She’s always correcting on my arms being too high. One day when I was doing a center combination I noticed in the mirror that my arm was too high. I didn’t feel myself doing it though. The hidden movements are very tricky. Another hidden movement is plies. Most people don’t know how important plies are. Every day in class you start off with plies. It’s important to get your body trained to pile because coming out of jumps for example you need to pile or you can hurt yourself greatly. Depending on how you practice your hidden movements can make or break you.

Pop Culture

Pop culture has influenced dance technique in a good way. Most dancers think they have technique because they can keep up with the trendy dances. But most of them have never actually taken a dance technique class. Pop culture has encouraged many dancers to want to better their technique. A lot of dancers start dancing at parties and clubs for fun or by taking a hip hop class. When they realize they could be so much better by getting the proper training, dancers start taking ballet and modern classes. Taking technique classes also give dancers discipline because a lot of pop culture dancers have the attitude that they already know how to do and you don’t need to tell them anything. Technique classes are good for the body and mind.  

Dancing in the streets

Dancing outside was a joy to me. My group started our improvisation on the stairs. One by one we moved up repeating what the last person did. Then we traveled around the balcony overlooking our audience. It ended coming back down the opposite stairs repeating what the last person did. It was a great experience to dance in the open and in an area I was not familiar with. People stopped to watch us and we even danced around the people who were just sitting there enjoying their day. I found a flag that was moving by the wind which made me imitate it with my hand. Ever since then, my hand moving like the flag starts off any improvisation that I do. That activity made me realize that you can make up movements from the most random things.

Far, Mid, and Near

In dance class, we practiced reaching far, mid, and near. Far reach consists of reaching beyond the movement and long gating the steps. Taking it a step further and dancing full out. Mid reach is the space around you. It’s kind of like dancing in a box. You only dance as far as your fingers and arms will take you. Near, however, is dancing under yourself.  No traveling needed and no outreach of the arms or legs. Combining far, mid, and near reach would give you oppositional tension. An example of that would be during the warm-up in class when we do flat backs.