Stuck on what to get your dancer this holiday season? Christmas may only be 9 days away, but there is still plenty of time to get your dancer the gift they want! Here's your quick guide to great gifts for the deserving dancer in your life...
Best of luck with your shopping this season! Happy Holidays from Ballet with Becca!
0 Comments
I have had many failures when it comes to my dance career. I was looked over year after year for the role of Clara in The Nutcracker, I was never any good at doing fouettés en pointe, my piece was rejected from a student choreography showcase, I failed my dance MTEL on the first try, and I'll never be able to do a split. I don't have any trophies or crown to show that I was ever any good at dancing when I was younger. Nobody shares videos and photos of me online because they're in awe of me. I have been beaten down (metaphorically speaking) to the point where I was ready to quit dance altogether. Ironically enough, today I was cleaning out my house and found an old rejection letter from a dance program.
We are so quick to equate these superficial signs of "success" to the value of our dancing. We treat the glorious as the gods of dance, while we brand the less fortunate or less successful as wannabe dancers. The second we walk into a ballet class, we identify the good and the bad, while trying to find our place at least somewhere in the middle. We get envious of those that can show off their incredible flexibility in photographs. We don't skip that third class of the week in order to keep our teachers, dance moms, and classmates happy. We even perform to get the crowd on their feet in roar of applause. So much of what we do in dance is for someone else. As I have gotten older and have taken a step back from performing and training as rigorously as I did growing up, I have had this fear of not really being considered a dancer anymore. Yes, this sounds crazy, especially considering I've been studying dance at BSU for the past 3 (going on 4) years, but I no longer have these outward attributes of a dancer. I don't have a show to rehearse for or a new move to nail. But I still have dance in me. Last week I took a ballet class for the first time in a year. Even though I've been taking other styles for the past year, I could definitely feel that I am much less flexible than I was in the past. I was definitely one of the least advanced in the class, but I still felt like I belonged there. The familiar feeling of tights being stuck to my legs on a hot July day had not been forgotten. My technique was still there, and it felt like I had never left. Ballet had not left my body just because I had left the barre. Dance is mine. It has been mine since I was three years old and I took my first ballet lesson. It was mine when I found out I was genetically predisposed to being less flexible than the average person. It was mine when the girls I went to school with made fun of me for doing ballet productions instead of dance competitions. It was mine when I first became injured and had to come home and ice my knee every night. It was mine when I fell into a deep depression because someone in my life discouraged me from pursuing my dreams of becoming a dance teacher. It was mine when I choreographed my first musical with my best friend, and struggled to just get my dancers to master a jazz square. It was mine when I cried at my first big audition because I got cut halfway through. It was mine when I finally got to be Clara in The Nutcracker, even if it was just for community outreach performances. It was mine when I got anxiety over modern dance classes because I really had no clue what I was doing. It was mine when I received my first card from students with "Miss Rebecca" on the envelope. Dance was mine, and is mine, through every trial and triumph, success and failure, good memories and bad, that I was been through...and it always will be. To my future students, please know that dance is all yours. No matter where you are on your dance journey, where it begins, where it ends, or where it throws you for a loop, dance is yours. The joy you feel when you dance will stay in your body throughout your life is you let it. Don't let this false idea of what a dancer is cloud your judgment. Don't let someone take dance away from you, as they have no right to. It doesn't matter if you're the best in the class or you make it as a professional; what matters is that you love dance, you keep dancing, and you save a place in your heart for dance, always. Dancers typically have very little (if any) free time in their schedules, but unfortunately dance is expensive. Between pointe shoes and master classes and entry fees, dancers may find themselves...well, broke. Especially for students, getting a summer job is a great way to earn some extra money to fund your dance career (and maybe pay off some loans)! Here are some of the best summer jobs for dancers... Amusement Parks Amusement parks are a great way to break into the entertainment industry. Many amusement parks have performances or entertainment departments that can provide you with dance or performance experience. Even if you are working in another department, every employee in an amusement park is part of the entertainment business. There's a reason many amusement parks call their employees "cast members" and use terms like "on stage" and "off stage" to describe parts of the park. Regardless of weather or crowd conditions, employees are expected to put on a show for their customers and provide them with excellent guest service and quality entertainment. Dance Stores Local dance stores are often looking for extra help, and their employees are usually members of the dance community. By working in a dance store, you can learn about the dance retail industry, give advice about merchandise to other dancers, and possibly get a good employee discount! Dance Camps Many dance studios and schools offer dance camps, so look for a job assisting or even teaching at one of them! Getting some teaching experience can't hurt your dance career, and if you're lucky, you'll be paid for your time. Theatre Programs Like jazz squares, children's theatre camps and workshops are a crowd favorite, and are often looking for choreographers and/or dance teachers. Look into programs like these and see if you can find yourself a job! Dance Captain Professional, pre-professional, and local productions may already have choreographers, but dance captains come in handy during the rehearsal process. See if any theatre companies are putting on a show this summer, and try reaching out to see if they need a dance captain. Dog Walker Want a fun way to stay in shape this summer? Start your own dog walking business in your neighborhood and get your steps in while taking care of some furry friends! Crafting Dancers are also artists of many forms, so if you have a knack for crafts or other art forms, try making your own little business and selling your work! Some cool ideas for dancers would be painting/bedazzling/redesigning old pointe shoes, making wreaths out of old pointe shoes, making doll replicas of dance costumes, or anything else you can find on Pinterest! Assistant at Dance Intensives Many young dancers board at their summer intensives, and these programs hire "resident assistants" (or a similar title) to look after these students in some way, shape, or form. Look into intensives and see if you meet the qualifications for this kind of position! Tour Guide Schools, museums, and other places hire tour guides to show their guests around. Being a tour guide can help you practice your performance skills and get some exercise in! If you are a college student, your school might even be hiring tour guides for the summer. Interested in applying for a job? Create or edit your resume (see CONTACT for my resume as an example!) or design your own website (with Weebly, like this site!) to create an online portfolio. Happy summer, and happy dancing! Photos from MTL Blog and ABCDance If you live in the Salem, New Hampshire area, consider applying to Canobie Lake Park! Hundreds of jobs are available and you can work in a fun environment with flexible hours and awesome team members! Visit canobie.com or click the button below!
Students at Westfield State University visibly upset after news broke that the school would be tearing down their set a week before opening night in order to clear the stage for a televised political event. Photo from Facebook You really can't make this stuff up.
A few nights ago I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across this photo with a captain describing what happened at WSU. According to students at WSU, they had built this extravagent set for their upcoming production of Urinetown, and have had this space booked since last Spring. Last week (two weeks before the show goes up), school staff members were beginning to tear down the set because they had double booked the space for one of the production dates. Senator Elizabeth Warren was set to speak at this event and MSNBC would be filming. The show was going to moved to a black box theatre that would only be able to fit 13 of the 35 cast members on stage and would not be able to have this set. By looking at the photo, you can see the funds, heart, blood, sweat, and tears that had gone into that set. And it was being taken down for a PR event. First of all, I would like to take the blame off Elizabeth Warren. I'm not just saying that based on political views, but she isn't the one to book her own events. Her people probably didn't even know there was supposed to be a musical in that space, and that the set was being destroyed on the event's behalf. The school was basically sweeping the show- and more importantly, the students- under the rug for this event. Not to mention, knowing Senator Warren's platform I don't think she would have been okay with any of this. But what I am saying WTF to is the fact that any sane human would think that destroying this set and throwing away all of this students' hard work was a good idea. What I am most horrified about is that this was real life. We've all seen an episode of Glee or some other TV show where the arts are underrated, but this is proof that shows like Rise and Bunheads weren't lying. There are actually awful people that are willing to hurt the arts and its students for selfish reasons. All I have to say about these people are they are unjustified, cruel, and not fit to be working in education. How many times do we have to say that the arts are important??? How many times do we have to spell out the benefits of the arts??? How many times do we have to stick up for kids that like to do something other than play sports??? Never underestimate the power of the arts (and social media), because news broke this past Friday that MSNBC has pulled out of the event after hearing what the school was planning to do to its students. I am so happy for these students and grateful that someone came to their senses. However, I think it's pathetic that the school did not make this decision themselves. Someone that works in education should ALWAYS put the students first. Long story short, I am proud that these students stood up for their art and saved their show. I just wished they didn't have to defend it in the first place. If you'd like to read more about this story, read about it here: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/04/msnbc_cancels_westfield_state.html Like any other subject, dancing and teaching dance are two separate things. For example, you wouldn't expect an astronaut to one day leave the Moon and pick up a textbook in a local elementary school and teach first grade science, would you? Sure, he might come in to do a fun presentation for the kids, but what does an astronaut know about classroom management? Education is a separate subject and at many schools, a separate degree. Bridgewater State University (the school I attend) is known for its education programs. I am a double major in dance and secondary education, meaning that I am learning how to dance while learning how to teach dance. Within my dance major, there are many classes that are geared towards teaching dance, as many students that attend BSU plan to become dance educators one day. There is a difference between taking a ballet class, where I focus on perfecting my own technique, and taking a course where I learn how to teach others what I have learned in that ballet class. The differences between studying dance and studying dance education can be seen when comparing college dance programs. For example, getting a BFA or a BA in dance (or a specific style of dance) at a conservatory style school will most likely prepare students for a career in performing dance (or sometimes other elements of dance performance, including choreography etc). Some conservatory schools do have concentrations in dance education or pedagogy that will prepare students for a career in dance education, while others are strictly for dance performance. It is possible to have careers in both dance performance and dance education. Some professional dancers teach while performing, with others wait to teach until they are retired. Look at Ballet West's Allison DeBona, for example. I had the opportunity to take classes with Allison through her summer intensive artÉmotion. Allison created this program as a way to teach both aspiring professional dancers and recreational dancers that just want to improve their technique and have fun. During my time in Salt Lake City, it was clear to me that Allison has a passion for teaching. She was very student-centered in her methodology, gave effective and clear corrections, and was focused on helping us improve and have fun. Allison is currently a First Soloist with Ballet West, and is the perfect example of a professional dancer who has sought out teaching dance as a vocation, not as a fallback plan to make extra money or because she has nothing better to do after retiring from dancing professionally. I have noticed a problem, however, with professional or wannabe professional dancers who deflect to teaching dance, especially in the ballet world. Some dancers study and train as hard as they can, but never make it professionally, so they decide that teaching is a good alternative. Other dancers are forced to retire from dancing professionally, whether it be because of age, injury, or settling down with a family, and feel teaching dance is the next step in their life. While there are success stories, like Allison's, teaching dance is not something that dancers should "deflect" to. Dance education is just as important as dance performance, as the dance world would not exist without dance teachers. If a professional dancer or a dancer who never made it professionally decides to teach dance, they can't just do it because they believe in the philosophy "those who can't, teach". In other words, if someone pursues a career in dance education simply because they feel they have no other options, they may be doing the dance education world an injustice. The first problem with dancers "deflecting" to teaching is their potential lack of training. For example, if a professional ballet dancer holds a BFA in dance, they may have only studied dance performance, and have no training in teaching. They may lack skills of teaching to all learning styles, classroom management, lesson planning, advocating for dance education, injury prevention, and other elements of dance methodology. Like other subjects, dance is not usually something you can simply teach effectively without some kind of teacher preparation. There is a reason public schools (and many private/charter schools) do not hire teachers that do not have a teaching license or any kind of teacher preparation. While dance does exist in some schools, the majority of dance education occurs in private studios, where anyone is allowed to teach. Without this crucial training, even the dancer with the best of intentions may be unprepared. This does not mean, however, that all dancers should give up their dreams of teaching dance. There are many teacher preparation programs available through colleges and universities, as well as the National Dance Education Organization. My advice to aspiring dance educators in this position is to get the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to be an effective dance educator, and keep in mind that dance education is a separate vocation from dancing professionally, not just something you feel you can do or have to do after dancing professionally. Also, keep in mind that teaching dance is not your only option! There are career opportunities in choreography, dance criticism and journalism, and dance production. Pursue dance education if you wish, but please educate yourself first! An even bigger problem with dancers "deflecting" to teaching dance is their attitudes. If a professional dancer, like Allison, truly has a passion for dance performance and dance education, then that dancer has great potential to be an effective dance educator. However, if a dancer is only pursing teaching because they feel they have no other options, they may have a negative attitude towards teaching. Although this is not a real-life example, take the character of Saskia on Dance Academy. Saskia was a star of her ballet company, but is given the chance to teach when her career is put on hold due to an injury. Saskia was a terrible dance teacher. She was cruel to her students and became jealous when they could do things that she was physically incapable of. She even injured a student when she pushed her beyond her physical limitations (something I learned about and did a research project on in my dance education program at BSU!). Professional dancers need to have the attitude that dance education is an important and valuable thing, not something to look down upon or "deflect" to. If a dancer even uses the term "deflecting" or thinks of teaching dance as a fallback, they should not be teaching dance. Dance Academy may be fiction, but this happens in the real world. I've seen it. A dance teacher should be enthusiastic about his/her/their career in dance education, not bitter because their professional is over or nonexistent and feel trapped in this job. I can't stress enough how important dance education is. There is research as well as anecdotal information about how dance education can improve the lives of students of all ages, all ethnicities, all genders, etc. Just because someone is a good dancer does not mean he/she/they will be a good dance teacher. At the same time, just because someone is not cut out for a career in professional dance (like me!), does not mean he/she/they will be a bad dance teacher. To quote Damn Yankees, all you really need is heart, and the heart of a good dance educator believes in teacher training and putting the needs of students first. Dance education is not something to casually fall back on, but a worthy career that takes time, effort, and education to properly pursue. Here are some ways you can support dance education...
No, the girl in the photo is not floating by magic or receiving an exorcism...that's me doing aerial yoga! What is aerial yoga, you ask? I don't know the history of aerial yoga or really that much about it (sorry I'm no journalist), but from my experience I have learned that aerial yoga is like yoga done with scarves that hang from the ceiling. I didn't think I was going to be good at it, as yoga takes a lot of upper body strength (one of my weaknesses), but I was better at it than I thought. The only moves I really struggled with were ones where I was supposed to go upside down without holding on to anything, and I mostly struggled because I was too afraid of falling. Flexibility played a key role in aerial yoga too, but not necessarily in the way you would think. Anyone who has previously read my blog before knows that I struggle with flexibility, but I felt aerial yoga is a unique way to work on it. A lot of the stretches we did in the class were not out of my reach, and made me felt even more stretched than I might after a ballet or other conditioning class. I highly recommend aerial yoga to anyone, but especially dancers. It was a fun and relaxing way to work on both strength and flexibility. It is a unique way to stay fit and improve your condition for dancing. If you get a chance, take a class! For anyone in the Bridgewater area, I took my first class at Juniko in Hanover, MA. Your first class is free at Juniko, and beginners are welcome! Courtesy Photo from Bridget Buckley
Just about every college kid goes through some existential crisis but about not making it in their desired career path. Part of me has always had this fear, that I won't get jobs or at least a job I want. Regardless, I still have hope that someday I will get to teach dance and share my love of dance with others. However, the other day in one of my dance teaching classes (in case you're a new reader, I am dance and education major at BSU, so many of my classes are geared towards dance education), my class had an open discussion about what we're afraid of when we go on to teach. I have come to realize that while I am very set on becoming a dance teacher, I have many fears about my future career. Here are some of the things that came up in discussion. While I believe I will be able to conquer these challenges, and I have a good foundation to do so thanks to my dance education, here is what I have been reflecting on...
My students will get injured Injuries are very common in dance. Fortunately, BSU's Dance Department has provided me with many classes and opportunities to learn about teaching proper alignment and technique, as well as applying anatomy to dance education. However, there is still this fear that deep down I will not warm a student up enough before a performance or let them dance en pointe too soon and will become injured. A certain amount of pain comes along with dance, but I never want to be the reason a student gets injured. My students will be too focused on competition While I would never hold a student back from competing if that is what they truly desire, I plan to create opportunities for my dancers that are more performance, and less competition, based. For example, if I were a studio owner in a perfect world, I would produce and direct ballet and theatrical productions to give my students more performance opportunities. However, competition is heavily emphasized in many studios, and I don't want my students to become so focused on it it's all they think dance is. Parents won't understand This is a lesser fear, but because of my dance education and personal experiences, I have learned to value different things in dance. For example, many people associate flexibility with dance, but from my own experience and undergraduate research, I have adopted a philosophy that students should only push themselves to be as flexible as they are physically capable of. I also believe that stretching and other related practices should be done with the consent of the student. I will never force a student to practice splits or physically push them into stretches. Because of my countercultural opinions on flexibility, I worry that someday a parent will think less of me and pull their students away from me because they don't feel their child is succeeding enough in dance. My students will be uninspired This comes from my own self-esteem in dance, but sometimes I worry that because I never had a professional dance career and am not one of the "best of the best", my students won't be inspired by me to dance. I have a long performance history, but nothing super special, and while I don't believe that is necessary to be a great dance teacher, I worry that my students will. I won't get to work with the age group I want While I will take any almost job teaching dance (especially early on in my career), my dream is to work with high school students. I love younger children and enjoy working with them, but I fear that that is all my career will end up being. My technique classes will be ineffective I have a good amount of experience teaching choreography, but teaching technique classes is still new territory for me. Sometimes I feel discouraged, especially when many of my peers have been teaching for years, that my technique classes won't be up to par. I am most likely being overdramatic about many of these fears, and I will never let any of them get in my way, I think it's important to be honest about them. I don't want to pretend that the road to becoming a dance teacher has been all rainbows and butterflies. In just three semesters, I will be thrown into the real world where all of these fears will become front and center. Fortunately, I have had a solid dance education from BSU, and mentors and peers that support me endlessly. I have the skills I need, but only time will tell how I overcome these challenges. Future/new dance teachers: what are some of your fears about going into a career in dance education? Seasoned dance teachers: what are your thoughts on these early on fears? Feel free to comment below! I'd love to start a discussion about this! When I was a young dance student, my new year's resolutions for dance were usually something like this:
When many people think about interpretive dance, they might think about that scene in High School Musical when the two dancers are told they should go see a counselor (start the video at 1:52 to see what I'm referring to)... Clearly, those students were never dance majors. But there really is a whole world of expressive movement out there that doesn't look like that. You can use choreographic elements, movement qualities, facial expressions, and literal interpretations (such as when you use language in a piece) to tell your story. While powerful movements are important to dance, they're not your only option. It is possible to make a powerful statement without executing 32 fouetté turns. Here is one of my first attempts to choreograph with expressive movement (as well as with spoken word). The piece I worked on for my choreography class is done to a spoken word that my friend and I adapted from the song "Car Radio" by Twenty One Pilots. The language is about what happens to a guy when the radio is stolen out of his and he is forced to drive around in silence. The theme of the dance is what happens to some people. especially those who struggle with mental illness, when they spend too much time alone in silence. "Oh, you dance? Prove it- do a split!" I can't tell you how many times I heard that on the playground in elementary school. Currently on Facebook there is a video circulating of a 13 year old cheerleader screaming in pain as she is forced into a split at cheer camp. When I first viewed the footage, my impulse was to label it as child abuse. The girl is being held down against her will and is pushed further into a split as she screams for them to stop. I'd like to say I wasn't surprised by the footage, but unfortunately, I can't. In both cheerleading and dance, flexibility is a prized possession. People watched in awe as a young Brooke Hyland bent herself in half on the early seasons on Dance Moms. So many photos and videos of seemingly impossible bendy dancers get shared on social media. I am genetically inflexible. If I had a dime for every time someone in the dance world told me that I "just needed to stretch more", I could actually afford a new pair of pointe shoes every month. I was born with abnormally short tendons throughout my legs, meaning that I am dispositioned to be less flexible than the average person. I remember not being able to walk with my heels flat on the ground as a child; I later went through physical therapy and slept with braces on my legs to try to stretch my hamstrings out. Through years of dancing and therapy, I have become much more flexible than I would be naturally, and would be considered more flexible than the average person. However, I am not as flexible as the average dancer. I have never been able to do a full split. In ballet, my biggest weakness is my turnout. Ballet requires dancers to execute most movements with their hips facing outwards (ultimately, making your feet face horizontally instead of vertically). Because the tendons in my hips are too tight, but I was under pressure to always be in turn out, I unconsciously forced my legs to turn out from my knees. From doing this, I developed tendonitis that I still struggle with. Being the least flexible girl in the class took a toll on my self-esteem when I was younger. I always felt like I was never good enough to be a ballet dancer because I couldn't get my splits. By not being able to participate in the spectacle of flexibility, I thought I wouldn't be cast in my dream roles. Having a physical limitation put me at a disadvantage in the dance world. As I got older and was exposed to a wider variety of dance, I began to question why flexibility is so idolized in the dance world. Yes, extensions are beautiful in a ballet piece, and splits can help with extensions and leaps, but there are many roles that do not demand as much flexibility as others. The only character in The Nutcracker that traditionally bends in half is coffee, anyways. There are also many other movements that can be done to express something through dance. I have been exposed to and have participated in many pieces that did not require me to be so bendy, like this one... Long story short, being incredibly flexible is impressive, but it is NOT the only important aspect of dance. Flexibility should be worked for, but not forced; dancers can still express themselves through movement even if they have physical limitations.
As a future dance educator, I want to make a promise to all of my future students, to teach them how to express themselves through whatever movement they may be capable of doing. No person should be pushed to the point that they are traumatized and injured (like the cheerleader in the viral video), or be made to feel that they aren't good enough because of things that are out of their control. Sure, maybe they'll never be the Arabian Princess in The Nutcracker, but that doesn't mean they can't be Clara. My best friend, Casey, and I used to hang out almost every Saturday afternoon after ballet class. On one occasion, I got discouraged after class because of my lack of flexibility. Casey's mom gave me a pep talk to told me to stop focusing on what I can't do, and start focusing on what I can do. And if you ask me, that's a whole lot of dancing. So to anyone who has a physical limitation of any kind and is worried that they can't keep up, stop focusing on all the things you may never be able to do. Keep working towards your goals (I still sit in a flexistretcher to try to improve my flexibility), but don't let what you can't do get you down. Focus on expressing yourself through movement and creating art...and there are many other ways to do that besides getting your splits. "Your art matters. It's what got me here" If two years ago you told me I would be dancing at Ballet West with my favorite professional ballet dancer, I would have rolled my eyes and told you to get realistic. But here I am, writing this from Salt Lake City- the most aesthetically pleasing city I have ever been to- after a long week of dancing with Allison DeBona and other Ballet West members, and performing in a final showcase today. To recap, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the artÈmotion Summer Intensive at Ballet West. I have never attended a summer intensive like this before, or gotten to travel for dance. Dance brought me to this beautiful city, and gave me a week to remember for the rest of my life. I had no idea what to expect going into this intensive. It was intimidating to walk into a new studio, especially a professional one, and be in a room full of beautiful dancers that I had never met before. I was taking class with dancers of all different experience levels- everyone from retired ballerinas to Ballet West company members. It was a lot to take in at first, but it's something to get used to if you're going to have a career in the dance world. Once ballet barre started, I felt much more comfortable. Tbere's something comforting about doing barre; no matter where I go, it's a familiar exercise and a consistent aspect of my life. All of the ballet classes I took this week were a lot of fun. I felt like I could keep up (even with BW members), and it was nice to not worry about how well I was doing in this class. Of course I was there to improve, but it's been a while since I've taken a dance class that I wasn't being graded on. At the end of the day, I knew it didn't really matter how well I did in each class; I was there to learn and have fun. I also had the chance to take contemporary, modern, jazz, pointe, and variations classes during my time at Ballet West. I was grateful for my BSU dance education during contemporary and modern, because I know I would have been so lost and uncomfortable if this was my first experience in more modern styles. My favorite class besides ballet was Allison DeBona's pointe and variations class. I have been en pointe for seven years, but I have always felt behind when taking pointe classes. I kept up pretty well in this class, and I appreciated how she played close attention to the tiny details of pointe work, and how she gave us different exercises that we can do outside of class. The variation we learned was a version of the Lilac Fairy from The Sleeping Beauty. I have previously learned both the Vaganova and Royal Ballet (which I performed at BSU) versions of this variation, but I was excited to get to do a version en pointe. Allison made me feel comfortable and confident enough to try the variation en pointe, and later that day we performed the variation en pointe at our showcase. Even though it was a variation I'd done many times, I felt very accomplished for performing it en pointe with very little rehearsal time. The choreography aspect of this intensive was a worthwhile experience. Even though I was tired by 2PM and wasn't always up for another 2 1/2 hours of dancing, working with BW Principal Adrian Fry was an incredible experience. Instead of just teaching us a dance, Adrian assigned us different choreography activities and made the piece based off the movement we created. The assignments were variations of the activities I've done at Bridgewater State, and incorporated many of the movement concepts I've learned at BSU (negative space, retrograde, levels, etc.) It was good for me to not only have fun this week, but to connect this experience to my dance education. In addition to dancing, I had the opportunity to participate in a professional dance photoshoot with L. M. Sorenson Photography. While I have not seen my final photos yet, his work is amazing and working with Allison during the photoshoot was a great experience for me. I have always been self-conscious during photoshoots (especially dance ones), but Allison coached me and made me feel comfortable and confident about my photos. The people I worked with this week were unique. Everyone in this intensive came here for a different reason, with different backgrounds and different dance experiences. There was even a man in the beginner level who was in a wheelchair. It was inspiring to learn about what all of these people have been through, and still see them pursing their passion. It was also cool to be connected to so many different people through our love of dance. Everyone from professional ballet dancers, to parents, to college students...we are all connected by our art. You know those things in life that while they're happening you say to yourself, "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life"? This week is one of those things. I owe a big thank you to my mom for bringing me to Utah, and to everyone at artÈmotion (especially Allison and Adrian) for the opportunity to grow as a dancer this week. As Lucas Scott said in One Tree Hill, "Your art matters. It's what got me here". Dance brought me to Salt Lake City and to all of these amazing and talented people. If anyone is interested in attending an artÈmotion Summer Intensive next year (there are many different programs offered), you can visit their website or follow them on social media! It was a worthwhile experience for me, and I would recommend it to all dancers!
|
AuthorWelcome to my blog! Popular PostsArchives
September 2020
Offline Updates7/16 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the showcase I was selected to choreograph for at NYU was unfortunately cancelled. However, I was able to turn my work into a mini-documentary about the choreographic process and art prevailing during these trying times. You can watch my video my clicking the button below!
9/18 Follow my new Instagram just for my dance things!
12/23 I was one of NDEO's Guest Bloggers this year! Read "Teaching is a Vocation. Not a Fallback" on their Behind the Curtain Blog!
9/27 I will be presenting my research at the National Dance Education Organization National Conference next week! See my research project by clicking the button below!
4/15 While working on PMA's production of The Addams Family, I got to combine my two favorite styles of dance (ballet and musical theatre) for "The Moon and Me"! Watch my talented students dance by clicking the button below!
2/20 I am choreographing PMA Theatre Guild's Production of The Addams Family! Come see these amazing high school students perform at Presentation of Mary Academy in Methuen, MA April 13 & 14! Tickets available at the door.
2/20 I am stage managing BSU's Dance Kaleidoscope this year! Show dates are March 29-31 at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA. Come see this student choreography showcase!
11/5 I will once again be dancing in a BSUDC concert! Tickets to WinterDance are now available!
8/24 NDEO's National Honor Society for Dance Arts has published one of my articles in their newsletter! Read an updated version of "Audition Advice" here:
5/16 Interested in learning about movement concepts? Visit Becca's new Educational Dance website!
5/8 BSU Dance Company's Dance Kaleidoscope 2017 is now on Youtube! You can watch my performances by visiting the VIDEOS page!
4/23 I recently performed for the residents of Allerton House in Hingham, MA! You can watch part of my performance here!
Amesbury Children's Theatre presents...James and the Giant Peach Jr, featuring choreography by me! Click for tickets!
2/8 My piece "Barefoot" is now available to watch online! Click to watch!
2/5 Happy to say I have been cast in BSU Dance Company's Spring concert Dance Kaleidoscope! I will be dancing in 3 faculty choreographed pieces, including excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty in which I will be dancing the role of Lilac Fairy! Show dates are March 31-April 1 at Bridgewater State University.
Click the button for more info! 1/15 Ballet with Becca is now on Facebook! Click to visit the page, and be sure to like it while you're there!
1/14 I am happy to say I will be attending artEmotion's summer intensive in June! I will be dancing in the one week artEmotion Adult Program. If anyone would like to join or audition for any other artEmotion program, visit their website!
|