Ah, yet again, I have been terrible about keeping up with this blog. The inspiration is always there- it’s a matter of remembering to put the inspiration into words and finding the time to do it! I’m sure most of you out there can relate!
I have decided to take the time to reflect on my personal year in dance.
The first part of 2011 was muddled with some personal problems that I was working through, however, I realize that the dance studio was my place of respite. From fine-tuning my competitive choreography, to creating for my recreational dancers, I found comfort in throwing myself into the world of dance. In some classes, it proved to be the drive that I needed. In others, I found myself struggling to be inspired.
2011 was the first year that I had a group lyric dance in competition. While it did not win any major awards, I was very proud of the choreography, and extremely pleased with much of the feedback that I got from judges. It was the same with a ballet piece. It was the first time our director was entering a group with a ballet dance that wasn’t the top level in the studio. They held their own, and proved to be able to handle a ballet piece with positivity, hard work, and a little grace.
Recreationally, 2011 was a mix. While the kids were great, and the dances wound up being good, I had some difficulty choreographing. With one class in particular, it seemed I had different people out every week, and since I wasn’t good with keeping the same notebook in my bag, I had no idea where anyone was spatially in the dance. It was, on a grand majority, my fault. On the other hand, I had a class where the choreography was done in almost record time, and we almost over rehearsed it for the recital. It paid off, though- it was one of my favorite and most fun pieces I ever created.
2011 was also the first year I acted as a judge in the dance world. I gained a whole new respect for dance competition judges. I had judged for a one day competition that started very early, but ended at a pretty decent hour. I was exhausted and wiped out by the end. Even with breaks for lunch and coffee, and having the opportunity to get up and walk around, I was amazed at how draining it was! However, I would never pass up the opportunity to do it again. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and loved being able to see different dancers out there.
The summer proved to be a long one this year. I typically take the summer off. The craziness from January to May usually gives me the feeling that I have the right to take this time off from dancing. I had the opportunity to go see some of my dancers at a Nationals competition in Boston where they did very well. After that, though, it was a long way to August. I wound up taking up jogging just to get myself back into a physical place. It paid off, though. I felt in top physical shape!
When August finally came around and I started teaching for the summer program, I felt ready to be inspired and boy was I! If you check out some of my previous entries, you’ll read about some of my experiences I had with taking class. It sparked the flame in me. My desire to return to my best year yet had been stoked.
The fall season began with a few minor hiccups, but I am proud to say that I believe this is going to be the best year yet! I am finding my stride as a choreographer. I am better aware of my students as dancers, and I am more aware of my choreography on stage. I know what inspires me, and hope that I can pass the inspiration on to my students. I adore working where I do, and can only hope that 2011 will be the year that my dance/teaching/choreography skills expand and move to new heights.
Looking back on 2011, in all aspects of my life, I believe it was a growing year. While I believe that some years are filled with more growth than others, I felt as though I walked into 2011 humbly, knowing that I had a long way to go, and that I needed to grow in certain ways in my life. I am walking confidently this year into 2012 with a better sense of where I am, and with an ever-increasing hunger to learn from my peers and superiors.
I am most looking forward to creating more dances in 2012. What are you looking forward to the most?
Showing posts with label choreographing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choreographing. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Search For Music
Sometimes searching for music for choreography can give me a headache.
Last year, I had a class of a large amounts of kids at varying levels of technique that were being introduced to the idea of an “open” piece. I literally searched for weeks for a song. It started over the summer, and I don’t think I decided until the last possible second. I spent many a night in my bed with my laptop staying up until 3AM doing searches on various internet websites related to music. I did finally find the perfect song, and it was worth it with the top scores that they pulled throughout the year. However, sometimes I wonder if there could have been an easier way.
This year, I had an opposite experience that was extremely uplifting. It started out in panic mode. I had created an idea in my head over the summer regarding the “theme” of the piece I wanted to do. I knew I wanted a certain style of music, and unfortunately, I got a piece of music into my head that I knew had been used a couple of years ago. I had searched absent-mindedly a couple times in the weeks leading up to the start of dance, but abandoned the project quickly every time because of the song in my head.
This past weekend, I realized that I needed to pick out a song quickly. The time when choreography begins had come up fast, and I had lost track of time. I went into the music searching phase in a cluttered-mind-state. Not a promising start. Somehow, I started looking at the same things I had been looking at before, and wound up on a different path. Within 20 minutes, I was at my computer listening to a song for a third time, with tears coming down my face. I knew that I needed this song. It fit the composition styling I was looking for, and it moved me. It’s very rare that I pick a piece of music that doesn’t inspire me- even for younger children ballet, which often can be the most difficult kind of choreography for me. It was incredibly uplifting to find a piece of music that had touched me in a way I was looking for.
I know that every teacher has different styles of looking for music. Just the other day I was sharing a room with a dance teacher who had an idea of what she wanted to do for a hip hop dance, and she was on a music site looking up songs related to candy in hopes to find a remix. Sometimes our methods provoke a long search that lasts weeks. Other times, our methods provide us with a quick and easy process. It can be extremely frustrating, but in the end, I always feel it is worth it when I find a song that fits the group I am choreographing for.
Now that I have found a song for the group, I am thoroughly looking forward to beginning the choreography process. Although overall it is a group that I’m familiar with, there are a few new additions this year that will make the group a little different, and I’m excited for what that means for them!
I hope that all the other competition teachers out there are enjoying their music searching process!
Last year, I had a class of a large amounts of kids at varying levels of technique that were being introduced to the idea of an “open” piece. I literally searched for weeks for a song. It started over the summer, and I don’t think I decided until the last possible second. I spent many a night in my bed with my laptop staying up until 3AM doing searches on various internet websites related to music. I did finally find the perfect song, and it was worth it with the top scores that they pulled throughout the year. However, sometimes I wonder if there could have been an easier way.
This year, I had an opposite experience that was extremely uplifting. It started out in panic mode. I had created an idea in my head over the summer regarding the “theme” of the piece I wanted to do. I knew I wanted a certain style of music, and unfortunately, I got a piece of music into my head that I knew had been used a couple of years ago. I had searched absent-mindedly a couple times in the weeks leading up to the start of dance, but abandoned the project quickly every time because of the song in my head.
This past weekend, I realized that I needed to pick out a song quickly. The time when choreography begins had come up fast, and I had lost track of time. I went into the music searching phase in a cluttered-mind-state. Not a promising start. Somehow, I started looking at the same things I had been looking at before, and wound up on a different path. Within 20 minutes, I was at my computer listening to a song for a third time, with tears coming down my face. I knew that I needed this song. It fit the composition styling I was looking for, and it moved me. It’s very rare that I pick a piece of music that doesn’t inspire me- even for younger children ballet, which often can be the most difficult kind of choreography for me. It was incredibly uplifting to find a piece of music that had touched me in a way I was looking for.
I know that every teacher has different styles of looking for music. Just the other day I was sharing a room with a dance teacher who had an idea of what she wanted to do for a hip hop dance, and she was on a music site looking up songs related to candy in hopes to find a remix. Sometimes our methods provoke a long search that lasts weeks. Other times, our methods provide us with a quick and easy process. It can be extremely frustrating, but in the end, I always feel it is worth it when I find a song that fits the group I am choreographing for.
Now that I have found a song for the group, I am thoroughly looking forward to beginning the choreography process. Although overall it is a group that I’m familiar with, there are a few new additions this year that will make the group a little different, and I’m excited for what that means for them!
I hope that all the other competition teachers out there are enjoying their music searching process!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fall Will Soon Be Here...
In the past couple of days, there have been hints of fall in the air. With the incessant rain that the North Shore got here, the temperatures dropped a bit, and the coolness sparked the thoughts of dance into my head.
I love the fall. It’s absolutely my favorite season. Even without being in school anymore, I get the luxury of “going back.” While most people only have their jobs that continue, and merely get to look forward to the change in seasons, I get to return to the excitement of a new season of dance!
The anticipation of starting a new year is always a joy. It’s a time to reflect on the previous season, and look forward to the new one. At the studio I work at, we have a two week summer intensive for the competitive students, so I get to also reflect on that, and take what I saw in their classes and apply it to the new year. I get to think about all the returning students that I’ve grown to love, and the new ones that will quickly adapt to their new dance surroundings. I also get to think about all the new steps and combinations that I will have the opportunity to teach them, and how quickly (or slowly) they will pick them up, and how the progressions will make them, and me, feel!
Reflecting on the past, and looking to the future. That’s really what fall is about, right? Fall brings about the reflection of the summer. Summer is about the sunny weather, the time spent outside, and the enjoyment of being able to spend more time with friends and family, whether it’s on a vacation or celebrating the fourth of July at a barbeque. We look back to those good times and the happiness that the lazy days of the warmer seasons brought us.
At the same time, we look forward to the future. In the fall, while many of us move forward with heavy hearts of summer behind us, we begin the excitement of going back to school. With the temperatures dropping, a buzz for everything we are learning and doing grows. Our lives become busier with the hustle and bustle of the new. As a dance teacher, I can hardly contain my happiness when my summer-dormant creative outlets are reinstated.
Just going through music, trying to find and put together play lists for class, gets me hyped up for the year. My brain starts putting together steps and coming up with ideas for new and fun things for class. Sometimes my brain runs away, and I begin to choreograph for classes that I don’t have, but that’s okay. Usually, it leads to an idea for a class that I DO have! This typically makes me think of my students, and I can’t wait to see how they will react to the things I throw at them!
The other minor excitement is getting new dance clothes! Even today, I just received my package of yoga pants that I will be using for the year! I love browsing through all the dance supply catalogs online to see what I might be interested in getting, and to see what I can buy that’s “in” (because really, as a dance teacher, sometimes you have to try to stay “hip” when dealing with adolescents!). I love trying to anticipate what all my students will be attempting to wear in my ballet classes (no baggy clothes, and warm ups only until rond de jambes on REALLY cold days!), or what the recreational students will be bringing in to wear for hip hop! I also love finding the few choice pieces that will pop in my wardrobe, and will keep me within my budget!
All in all, I cannot wait for autumn to begin. I am excited to see my students, and to begin choreographing. I know that many of my students are excited to return as well. I can’t wait for all of us to be happily reunited again!
I love the fall. It’s absolutely my favorite season. Even without being in school anymore, I get the luxury of “going back.” While most people only have their jobs that continue, and merely get to look forward to the change in seasons, I get to return to the excitement of a new season of dance!
The anticipation of starting a new year is always a joy. It’s a time to reflect on the previous season, and look forward to the new one. At the studio I work at, we have a two week summer intensive for the competitive students, so I get to also reflect on that, and take what I saw in their classes and apply it to the new year. I get to think about all the returning students that I’ve grown to love, and the new ones that will quickly adapt to their new dance surroundings. I also get to think about all the new steps and combinations that I will have the opportunity to teach them, and how quickly (or slowly) they will pick them up, and how the progressions will make them, and me, feel!
Reflecting on the past, and looking to the future. That’s really what fall is about, right? Fall brings about the reflection of the summer. Summer is about the sunny weather, the time spent outside, and the enjoyment of being able to spend more time with friends and family, whether it’s on a vacation or celebrating the fourth of July at a barbeque. We look back to those good times and the happiness that the lazy days of the warmer seasons brought us.
At the same time, we look forward to the future. In the fall, while many of us move forward with heavy hearts of summer behind us, we begin the excitement of going back to school. With the temperatures dropping, a buzz for everything we are learning and doing grows. Our lives become busier with the hustle and bustle of the new. As a dance teacher, I can hardly contain my happiness when my summer-dormant creative outlets are reinstated.
Just going through music, trying to find and put together play lists for class, gets me hyped up for the year. My brain starts putting together steps and coming up with ideas for new and fun things for class. Sometimes my brain runs away, and I begin to choreograph for classes that I don’t have, but that’s okay. Usually, it leads to an idea for a class that I DO have! This typically makes me think of my students, and I can’t wait to see how they will react to the things I throw at them!
The other minor excitement is getting new dance clothes! Even today, I just received my package of yoga pants that I will be using for the year! I love browsing through all the dance supply catalogs online to see what I might be interested in getting, and to see what I can buy that’s “in” (because really, as a dance teacher, sometimes you have to try to stay “hip” when dealing with adolescents!). I love trying to anticipate what all my students will be attempting to wear in my ballet classes (no baggy clothes, and warm ups only until rond de jambes on REALLY cold days!), or what the recreational students will be bringing in to wear for hip hop! I also love finding the few choice pieces that will pop in my wardrobe, and will keep me within my budget!
All in all, I cannot wait for autumn to begin. I am excited to see my students, and to begin choreographing. I know that many of my students are excited to return as well. I can’t wait for all of us to be happily reunited again!
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