Student Post - "The Studio"

Last month our student blogger, Dryden, went to see The Studio at the Young People's Theatre. This was an interesting show that used a contemporary dance style to explore the visual arts, inspired by the work of artists such as Jackson Pollock and Jean Dubuffet. The show used a variety of mediums, from traditionally structured dance pieces to pieces that intergrated puppetry and video technology to literally and figuratively paint a picture. Here is what Dryden had to say about the show:

I recommend “The Studio” with four stars for sure! It was an incredible performance! I absolutely loved it!
The show was mostly about dances that were completely based on pieces of art work! In the whole show there were only four dancers.
It was a great show, and I love how the choreographer combined dance and art to come up with this great show. It was incredible! I overly recommend it!
 
 
After seeing the show, Dryden and I discussed the use of Ballet technique that we saw in the dancers, even though it was not a strict Ballet show, the use of space they used - including the backstage space and the use of video to show different perspectives - and how nice it was to see a cast with boy dancers as opposed to all girl dancers.
 
YPT has some great shows this season, including Seusical starting next week.
 
Check back later in November for more discussion of using dance to explore and learn about other art forms. We will be talking about the National Ballet's new Romeo and Juliet.

Congrats to our students!



Pegasus Performance Group

To begin our summer blogs we wanted to take one post to say congratulations to our dancers from 2010/2011! We are so proud of all of them for the hard work they put into to each and every dance class. We also are very proud of our dancers who participated in our annual benefit show, Dances of Offering, the RAD ballet exams, all of our recitals and the Pegasus Performance Group. This year the Pegasus Performance Group attended the Kiwanis Festival and yet again came out shinning! The piece “Between Lungs” choreographed by Sheri Kimura won a scholarship in the Lyrical Jazz category!

Pegasus Performance Group

Although we can never thank or acknowledge our fabulous faculty and staff enough for their commitment and talent, this month we want to send out a special thanks to the dancers at Pegasus. It is through the spirit that our students bring to the studio everyday that makes Pegasus the place it is. Thank you for your joy and dedication and congratulations on all that you’ve achieved this year!

 









Inspirations: Twyla Tharp

If you go to Twyla Tharp’s website, her bio begins with a list of accomplishments that is immense, to say the least. Tharp has been choreographing since 1963 and has to date created over 135 dances, 5 movies and 4 Broadway shows (add director to those credits). Want to hear what honours she’s received? Try a Tony, a couple Emmy’s, 19 honourary doctorates, and on and on and on. This woman has been creating, performing, dancing, directing and inspiring to infinite and beyond! After studying with legends like Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, Tharp created her own company, Twyla Tharp Dance, in 1965. Her style is a mixture of all things great, classical traditions with pop music, techniques from Graham and Cunningham with jazz.

Why is Twyla Tharp inspiring? Well… not only has she proven her abilities to choreograph stunning pieces that touch an audience, she has also proven she can cross genres from classical to Broadway to film, and above all else… she’s still going!

Interested in Twyla Tharp’s choreography? Check out her piece The Upper Room at the National Ballet of Canada this summer, June 15-19.

Check out Twyla Tharp's website, where we got this information, for more great photos like the one above. http://www.twylatharp.org/home.shtml

                                    

A Look Ahead

Here is what we have up our sleeves for April blogs:

Inspirations: Twyla Tharp
Spotlight: Recital Costuming
Health Smart!: Caring for Injuries
The Parent Toolbox: What to ask when shopping for a dance school

Hope you enjoy!

Dance as Inspiration

Famous dance quotes can be found from sources as varied as dancers, philosophers, and ancient proverbs. Some of the most frequent themes in these quotes is a spiritual connection that dance brings as well as dance as a form of poetry. What is great about the quotes that we’ve put below is that in a short sentence or two the emotional aspects and benefits of dance is expressed. 

So… here is a dash of inspiration in the form of quotes:

Let us first teach little children to breathe, to vibrate, to feel and to become one with the general harmony and movement of nature.  Let us first produce a beautiful human being, a dancing child. - Isadora Duncan

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. - Maya Angelou

Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! – Constanze

The truest expression of a people is in its dance and its music. Bodies never lie. – Agnes de Mille

You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart. – Unknown

There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them. – Vicki Baum

Dance is the hidden language of the soul. – Martha Graham

To watch is dance is to hear our hearts speak. – Hopi Indian Saying

Dancing is the poetry of the foot. – John Dryden

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. – Japanese proverb

The Month Ahead...

Here is a look at the posts we are planning for March:

Inspirations: Inspiring Dance Quotes
Spotlight: A day in the life of an exam candidate
Health Smart!: Remaining focused on personal goals rather than competition
Parent Toolbox: The exam Toolbox - everything you will need on the big day

We Are Looking for Inspirational People (Under 18!)

This spring we are talking about what inspires us; our heroes, teachers, friends, anyone who gives us the drive to be the best that we can be! I’m sure you are already thinking of someone! But are they under 18? We hear about many people who are inspiring, but often they are adults with incomes, resources or large support systems behind them. We are looking for the younger inspirations, people who are under 18 years old but that are doing something inspirational with their lives. We are not talking about superheroes here, but someone who goes out of their way to help people or tries to make a difference in someone’s life, or even someone who provides you with the fuel to keep reaching for your dreams. Maybe they have achieved things you look up to or maybe they volunteer. Whatever it is, we want to hear about it. Have someone in mind already? Nominate them here on this blog! Just leave us a comment in the section below!

Coming Up in January

This month we will have four blog posts for you. We are kicking off the new year with four areas we want to address each month; things that inspire us, a spotlight on a certain artist, company or event, a health smart section and lastly a little thing we like to call the parent toolbox which will have lots of information on aspects of being a parent in a dance studio.

This month look for:
The search for inspiration under 18 years old
Spotlight on the Erik Bruhn Prize
Injury Prevention Techniques
Parent Toolbox on Pointe shoes

Enjoy!