Autumn Ballet

Here is a lovely ballet created about autumn - similar to our "fall leaf dance" which we have been doing in class.  Enjoy!

"Four Seasons Ballet - Autumn"
Dancers: Shanghai Dance Academy



And here is our music we used in class (Vivaldi's "Autumn"):

Wednesday Sr Tappers: The Shiggy Bop

To my Seniors:  Here it is - the elusive "Shiggy Bop"!

And he makes it look so easy!

Remember.. 3 sounds per Shiggy bop - scuff heel step

Contemporary Class: Tilt Jump Inspiration

To work on your tilt jumps, you need to:

• Strengthen your hip flexors (leg lifts in 2nd position)
• Work on flexibility of your hamstrings and splits

In the mean time, below are examples of "Tilt Jumps", which we worked on in class on Monday, with some variations on arm and upper body placement:

Some variations on upper body placement:

Body not tilted at all, arms crossed

Body extremely tilted, arms crossed:

Body leaning forward slightly:

And some super-flexible dancers (because they're pretty to look at!):

Thursday Tappers: Addam's Family Cramproll Dance

Practicing your tap dance at home?

Cramproll (step step heel heel) *snap* *snap*
Cramproll *snap* *snap*
Cramproll, Cramproll, Cramproll *snap* *snap*

Repeat

Shuffle ball change, shuffle hop step on Right, Left, Right, Left
4 Single Timesteps

Repeat cramproll part

Here is the music to go along with it:

Waltz Clog Series

If you're practicing your waltz clogs at home, here are some videos to help you remember what they look like:

SINGLE


DOUBLE


And for my adventurous girls / guy - the waltz clog with a pullback:

Symmetrical & Complementary

REPOSTED OCT 2013
See if you can spot the symmetrical dancers and the complementary ones!

Symmetrical

Symmetrical

Complementary

Complementary

Symmetrical

Happy dancing!

September Contemporary Music

Here is the music we've been using in class this month:

• Freight Train - Sara Jackson-Holman
• Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Ray

Thursday Class: Surf's Up!

Want to practice our jazz dance at home?  Here is the video from "Teen Beach Movie" where our moves came from (we started around 44 seconds into the video): Ahhhh... SURF'S UP!

Ballet Mime

Did you know dancers are storytellers as well as actors and actresses too?

Ballerinas and ballet dancers even have their own special hand gestures to tell stories - sort of like ballet sign language!

You may already know some common gestures:
- Both hands to the heart for "love"
- Hand cupped by ear for "hear"
- Bowing or curtseying to show loyalty
- Strong motions with fists to show anger

There are some others you might not be as familiar with:
- Tapping the forehead twice for "princess" and three times for "king" or "queen"
- Crossed hands with fists for "death"
- And "dance" is said by circling your arms overhead in 5th position


Here are some links for more ballet mime:

• Ballet Mime Vocab by The Ballet Bag

• Mime Meanings in Ballet by iSport

Learn the conversation between the Swan Queen and the prince from Swan Lake: