Imagery

Lately in class I've been focusing really hard on balancing. One thing that I know I have a problem with is keeping all of my toes planted into the ground. I know once I get them grounded balancing is a lot easier. One thing that I imagine is a frog. Their webbed toes are so planted into the ground and spaced evenly apart. Once I accomplish that, I know my balance will get better.

Dusan Tynek Dance Company

The Dusan Tynek company was amazing!!! They are all super talented dancers and an inspiration to watch.They all had great use of whole body and spatial  awareness. The dances included a lot of running and fast movements so if they didn't breathe and use whole body it would have been impossible to do. I like how they danced with the chairs. The choreography was very creative and well thought out. You could see that he put a lot of time and effort with all of his dances. I loved all the partnering and the fact that he had guys partnering with other guys. He broke out of the norm of only having a guy partner with a girl. I also loved that they took their clothes off. Just seeing their bare skin moving with all the long lines was very beautiful. Watching the company just made me want to work so much harder so I can soon be there one day too.

Whole Body

I feel like I'm actually starting to grasp the concept of dancing whole body. At the beginning of the semester I had trouble with moving upper and then lower but that's something that I am working very hard on. I am starting to move from my core and it's something that I just need to keep being aware of. I do have a habit of sticking my ribs out but that ties into not using my core. Sometimes I find myself leaning back in my heels and that's also another habit I need to break. Being present and aware is what I need to do to re-train my body.

Being Present

I am..
I am..
I am a dancer.
I am a believer.
I am a leader.
I am strong.
I am emotional.
I am Alexandra Nicole Dyer.

I started off saying I am 2 times before I actually finished it. I sometimes have to remind myself to be confident. I doubt myself a lot when it comes to dancing so I just need to have more faith in myself. I chose I believe because I believe in God and in people. I believe you can do anything if you put your mind to it. My mom always taught me to lead and not follow after people and to be strong. But I defnitely do have my days when I break down. Doing my solo was nerve racking for me. I get super nervous before doing a solo but that ties into my confidence problem. But once I start dancing I feel it and put my all into it.

Body Check In

My body is doing terrible right now. My energy is very low and I feel tired all the time. My knees, ankles, and just everything is hurting. I need to find more time in the day to rest but that's not an option right now. In class I am present for the most part. It's hard to remember all my bad habits and fix them but I am trying. I just have to keep working hard. Theres a point in class where I just give up because I get tired but I need to push past that tiredness and keep working hard. Once I do that then I feel as though I will grow as a dancer a whole lot sooner.

Monica Bill Barnes Dance Company

I went on youtube and watched a dance piece by the Monica Bill Barnes Dance Company called "Another Parade". Their movements are very interesting and they are one to take many risks. I think they are very creative and talented. I could tell they had good technique even when they were doing crazy movements. I thought it was very interesting that they were dancing in sweaters and skirts. That was kind of werid to me but I liked it. What I liked the most about this company is that they are not afraid to do something out of the norm. I give them much praise!

Incorrect

This dancer is using bad technique right now in her pointe shoe. She's pushing her foot way past her toes and her ankle is past the limit it's suppose to go. She's not lifting up in her body at all. It might be because she has a boot on her other foot but if that's the case then she doesn't need to be wearing pointe shoes at all.

Dance Combo

Start in 1st position. Four degages devant on right leg. Chasse on the right leg to the front. Fall back to the ground and roll on the floor using head tail connection and get back up finishing in 1st position. Repeat on the left leg going devant and then to both sides and then to the back and back to the sides.

Spring Semester

I feel like I have improved this semester. But a part of me feels as though I could have gone further. I sold myself short at times and didn’t put my all in it but I had many distractions this semester. I’m still at the point in my life where I’m learning how to deal with my stress in a healthy way. I do plan to work harder over the summer and not sell myself short. I plan to take ballet in summer A, hopefully go to the dance festival at USF, and I’m going to a dance intensive for a week in August. My goal with dance is to get my AA by the end of next spring. I haven’t really worked out the rest of my life plan yet but I am definitely working on it. Things that I wish to one day do are get my BFA in dance, dance on a cruise ship, and dance in a professional dance company.

Weight Shift

One concept that we have been working on lately is weight shift. Taking your pelvis with you everywhere isn’t as easy as it looks when you’re dancing. Dancers make the mistake of leaving their pelvis behind when dancing. People are shifting their weight even when they don’t realize it. Dancing in the club for instance is a good example. You shift your weight when you do the dougie and when you do the two step. Not only is the movement better looking but you can do a lot more with the movement when you use your whole body.

Mentally and Physically

My body is currently not a 100%. Lately I have been feeling really tired. I can barely get up in the morning, when I get home I take a nap, and at night I usually have no trouble falling asleep. My immune system hasn’t been the greatest since December. As of now I feel like I’m getting a cold and my body is breaking out in bumps. I don’t know why. I have been really stressed out lately but I’m doing the best I can to bring it back down. I’ve been drinking a lot of water and putting more fruit back into my diet. My mom recently bought me a multivitamin for athletic lifestyles and a stress B vitamin and a herb vitamin for stressful lifestyles. Hopefully after a week I’ll be feeling better. I’m sure it’s also affecting my dancing for the worst and not better. But I am trying my best in class though.

Weight Shifting

These two dancers are AMAZING!! The dance is really good and they both are always so interesting to watch. A lot of the time in this dance I can see them weight shift.

Summertime!!

A dance intensive that I would love to go to over the summer is at the Boston Conservatory. After reading about conservatories, it is definitely the training that I need right now. The fact that it’s in Boston and not in Florida is a major plus. To be able to dance out of state is a great experience. Some of the classes they are going to offer over the summer are African, ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop, pointe, choreography, and pilates. If I get into this program, I know I would work my butt off every day. Actually I’m going to start working my butt off from now to prove that I deserve to go somewhere like that. I didn’t even know about the Boston Conservatory until a dancer that goes there added me on facebook. He’s an amazing dancer and after seeing some of his dance videos on facebook, it made me want to go there. The application due date isn’t until May 6^th so I still have time to apply!

The Way I Learn

After reading this article, there’s no doubt in my mind that I am a touch/experience learner. I’m the type of person that has to experience things for myself. Even though I do listen to people’s advice, a part of me feels like I have to find out for myself. In class I find myself going to the same spot everyday in modern and in ballet. I guess it’s my comfort zone. Tomorrow I’m going to try the opposite of the room and see if that changes anything. Maybe I’ll take in information differently. When taught a combination, I always find it easier doing the side that I was taught first. It doesn’t matter if it’s right or left but I always have trouble getting the opposite side down. I guess that’s just something I’m going to have to work better at. Counts don’t really make a difference to me, as long as I hear the tempo of the combination than I’m good.

Alignment

I found the article to be very helpful. I know that alignment is important as a dancer and they gave some good examples of how to achieve them. One that I would keep in mind is keeping the muscles engaged but not gripped, so that at any moment you can move without having to release. I find myself more gripping muscles than actually engaging them so that is something I will definitely work on. Edward Ellison talked about not taking a long time to get into a position. Get there fast and hold it is the best way to keep your balance. In ballet class Richard has told us to not wait so long to let go of the barre when we are balancing. The faster you let go, the harder your body will work at keeping you balanced. Recently I have been trying to do that in ballet class and I think I’m getting better at it. I think sometimes reading what other dance teachers write makes it better too. Sometimes it takes hearing the same thing from somebody else.