Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) started a grassroots initiative declaring July 31st as National Dance Day. Encouraging individuals, communities and organizations to dance! This initiative has reached the interests of the politician Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes introducing a resolution to promote dance education as well as physical fitness.
The idea is to get individuals off the sofa and into a lifestyle of physical activity. SYTYCD is encouraging national dance parties to be filmed and submitted to the network (to upload your video go to: http://dance.blogs.fox.com/tag/national-dance-day/)
It is with great honor that I will be joining the Rangoli Dance Company in the 25th anniversary production “Shivaya”. I cannot wait to reunite with the exceptional talent and gentle spirits that make this foundation an integral component in the study of Bharata Natyam, Indian classical theater, Yoga and sustainability in folkloric dance. I first met artistic director/choreographer Malathi Iyengar during my undergraduate years at UCLA. We were both challenged by the adaption of an avant/post modern approach to dance movement concepts, coming from a background of organic movement vocabulary. We discussed and collaborated then our ideas of this “new” dance movement culture, and I am pleased to say, 15 years later we still share, as UCLA alum, great friends and extended family. This anniversary year, I will incorporate a classically choreographed intro in the theme of earth, air, water and fire.
Kudos Rangoli ……… from the Elder Storytellers to the New Disciples, you all rock!
What ever happened to Sadie Hawkins Day?
Based on the comic strip character Sadie Hawkins from Lil’ Abner, Sadie (an unmarried woman) was said to chase bachelors through the streets for courtship and marriage on this notable November day. In Brazil, June 10th marks the Sao Jao Festival where practioners, mainly children, will dress in country costumes, and the girls will mock matrimony by asking the boys to marry. The traditional style “Forro” is the music and dance of the rural cowboys, and predominate this celebration. <
I was paid several endearing compliments this week, which of course I humbly thank, but I must soak in and take note. After attending a local Zumba class with seniors one elderly gray-haired woman said to me, “You (your dancing) is on my bucket list” she explained “your movement is so fluid yet strong I love watching you move!” she enthusiastically exclaimed. WoW! I usually take this class to work out my own kinks I am asked, many times, to stand in front-center so others (especially this lady) may follow my moves. From the same class a woman responded “the energy is so different from a dancing man than a dancing woman”, “I like to watch your movement/gestures I understand them better”. Whoa! I think many female students taking dance from a female instructor feel the need to mimic the frilly/female aesthetic of the movement. It is a proven fact that when guys continuously study ballet from a female teacher, the movement style tends to be quick & frilly, however, in men’s ballet classes the tempo is slowed and the movement is grounded and strong. A recreational dancing man cannot move the way a woman would therefore, there is more flexibility in the movement vocabulary for a woman (that is she may respond to the movement the way a woman would). On a social exchange (from the same class) I was asked from a new Zumba student from Columbia “Are you from Brazil?” and in further conversation “I don’t understand why Americans are so materialistic?” OMG!! Was that a rhetorical question? I responded: “My heart is from Brazil” and furthered “materialism in America is due to the disillusionment of wealth & prestige in an unhappy society with too many choices”. Whew! Life is simple it is a dance of many speeds, difficulty and emotion. It is easy for some and difficult for others, but it is a given right to all of us. In support of my answer, some people feel the need to purchase dance lessons/instructions in learning to dance, and that is fine (after all it is how I make my living), while others will dance for passion, devotion or just because. Ultimately dancing is fun, energizing and sometimes life saving, and makes people happy in whatever context. Back to this week of compliments, the last one came from a three hour conversation I had with a dance colleague. We discussed dance strategies, passion, technique, life lessons, pearls of wisdom, discipline and dance as culture, when she said: “I think you should write a book” Hmmmm!
O.k so the nation has resorted to a point where we need to claim a day in the calendar as “World Fitness Day”. Well, I say “Let ‘em”. This would never become a world concern because the World is not yet suffering from obesity and in the need of walking, running or cycling, (not to mention the many countries suffering from malnutrition and famine). So Georgia this is on you! Set precedence for the rest of the nation to follow, who knows maybe it will catch on!
My last visit to NY was a whirlwind. I landed to attend a dance performance, followed by late nite dining, twilight dancing, in-studio instruction, sidewalk dining, and a Broadway show only to repeat with variation. The highlight of my journey was when I acquiesced to take a morning Dunham class after one of those notorious NY nights. I had many years of Dunham dance technique and figured this attempt would be like riding a bike. And it was. The absence of Dunham dancing in my repertoire made me appreciate the strength training, body conditioning routines that Ailey Company members resorted to in training for the season. The endless plie, demi-plie, relève hold is a dynamic, unparallel to any dance technique ever invented. I returned home to teach a Tropical Dance class to ballet students and realized if they were to master the Dunham technique, their ballet form would strengthen, as they acquire the curved spine/rhythmic aesthetic found in many other ethnic dance forms. It was in that instant that I imagined Katherine Dunham’s “aha” moment for her technique. The use of the Ballet point, reconstructed to fit the non European flexed joint accompanied by the tribal drum rhythms of the African Diaspora.
Katherine Dunham revolutionized American dance in the 1930′s by going to the roots of black dance and rituals transforming them into significant artistic choreography that speaks to all. She was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography and one of the founders of the anthropological dance movement. She showed the world that African American heritage is beautiful. She completed groundbreaking work on Caribbean and Brazilian dance anthropology as a new academic discipline. She is credited for bringing these Caribbean and African influences to a European-dominated dance world. Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006 http://www.kdcah.com/katherinedunham/biography.html?submenuheader=1
As I laughed, (instead of crying) my way through the morning’s exercises, I exalted Thank You Katherine Dunham, Thank You!
Bloco Olodum in the historic Pelourinho
Spring is upon us and as the weather is changing and flowers are budding, so is the interest in fitness. So why not something different? Brazilian AxèDancing although new to America is nothing new in Brazil. Its origins unknown except that given any popular Brazilian song, there exists a designated choreography to its bridge or chorus. Brazilians are passionate about their Pop Artists. If you have never been to a Pop music concert, native Brazilians almost always know every word to the song performed by their favorite artist. It is usually at this time that a cohesive choreography becomes a part of the concert experience. Experienced dancers will usually take the lead in directing movement/choreography, on stage or on the floor, for the masses. After several bars of practice the entire stadium may respond to the new expression of the selected song. This choreography may become widespread through a music video, or select “barrios” or neighborhoods may invoke their own interpretation of the song/movement. The result… Axé Dancing, a form of choreographed dance to popular song lyrics, performed at street functions, concert halls and talent shows. Howard County Recreation and Parks present Teen Brazilian Dance at Misako Ballet Studio for 8 weeks starting April 13th to June 1st. Come experience Brazil, Teen style!
The Company
In 1977 DanceBrazil was founded by Jelon Vieira after evolving from grass-roots workshops at the Clark Center for the Arts in NYC. Alvin Ailey joined the board of directors in 1980 and helped focus the objectives of DanceBrazil, emphasizing the company’s ability to speak to a broad North American community. Within a few years, DanceBrazil premiered at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. In 1985, DanceBrazil premiered Orfeo Negro at the Riverside Dance Festival to critical and popular acclaim.
LIFE IS (BUT) A DANCE
I was paid several endearing compliments this week, which of course I humbly thank, but I must soak in and take note. After attending a local Zumba class with seniors one elderly gray-haired woman said to me, “You (your dancing) is on my bucket list” she explained “your movement is so fluid yet strong I love watching you move!” she enthusiastically exclaimed. WoW! I usually take this class to work out my own kinks I am asked, many times, to stand in front-center so others (especially this lady) may follow my moves. From the same class a woman responded “the energy is so different from a dancing man than a dancing woman”, “I like to watch your movement/gestures I understand them better”. Whoa! I think many female students taking dance from a female instructor feel the need to mimic the frilly/female aesthetic of the movement. It is a proven fact that when guys continuously study ballet from a female teacher, the movement style tends to be quick & frilly, however, in men’s ballet classes the tempo is slowed and the movement is grounded and strong. A recreational dancing man cannot move the way a woman would therefore, there is more flexibility in the movement vocabulary for a woman (that is she may respond to the movement the way a woman would). On a social exchange (from the same class) I was asked from a new Zumba student from Columbia “Are you from Brazil?” and in further conversation “I don’t understand why Americans are so materialistic?” OMG!! Was that a rhetorical question? I responded: “My heart is from Brazil” and furthered “materialism in America is due to the disillusionment of wealth & prestige in an unhappy society with too many choices”. Whew! Life is simple it is a dance of many speeds, difficulty and emotion. It is easy for some and difficult for others, but it is a given right to all of us. In support of my answer, some people feel the need to purchase dance lessons/instructions in learning to dance, and that is fine (after all it is how I make my living), while others will dance for passion, devotion or just because. Ultimately dancing is fun, energizing and sometimes life saving, and makes people happy in whatever context. Back to this week of compliments, the last one came from a three hour conversation I had with a dance colleague. We discussed dance strategies, passion, technique, life lessons, pearls of wisdom, discipline and dance as culture, when she said: “I think you should write a book” Hmmmm!