Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Monday, February 4, 2019
Lesson (of life) We Need Right Now
Seth Meyer's had a segment on a great story about a man in Arizona answering an incorrectly-addressed email. https://youtu.be/MG2dCGTSFBs. This is so what we need to see and hear right now. In an age where we are constantly getting from point a to point b, making sure to get to school. to work. to anything, on time. Life is intense and we're just trying to live, and get in a little time for happiness, I get it.
This. Is. The. Lesson. Of. Life. I think Novak has given us the biggest secret to having a happy life.
"Count me in."
"You sound awesome. Get your ass to Vermont."
Of all the emails that he happened to open, the guy planning the bachelor party opened Novak's. This is leading a life of no resistance. To learning. To growing. To tapping into your intuition. Being open to the Universe? (God?) or whichever that greater force is that you believe.
Slowing down enough to notice the world going on around us. To watch our kids discover the world. Slow enough to breathe, and know we will get there. Taking a pause enough to realize my infant likes sprouts. How random are spouts. And sorry, with our picky eaters, learning your kid likes a specific vegetable is a huge victory.
That if people were instead led by their inner voice. Our gut. Our soul. Our instincts. What lives that could change. What stories to be told. So like Sara mentioned - why take ourselves so seriously? Live a little. Life is short. Don't little down what's already short.
So the driver of that car notices that kid before they step off the sidewalk.
Or they are going too fast and adjust.
Or your kid is having a tantrum.
Endless scenarios.
More of this soul-led life.
This. Is. The. Lesson. Of. Life. I think Novak has given us the biggest secret to having a happy life.
"Count me in."
"You sound awesome. Get your ass to Vermont."
Of all the emails that he happened to open, the guy planning the bachelor party opened Novak's. This is leading a life of no resistance. To learning. To growing. To tapping into your intuition. Being open to the Universe? (God?) or whichever that greater force is that you believe.
Slowing down enough to notice the world going on around us. To watch our kids discover the world. Slow enough to breathe, and know we will get there. Taking a pause enough to realize my infant likes sprouts. How random are spouts. And sorry, with our picky eaters, learning your kid likes a specific vegetable is a huge victory.
That if people were instead led by their inner voice. Our gut. Our soul. Our instincts. What lives that could change. What stories to be told. So like Sara mentioned - why take ourselves so seriously? Live a little. Life is short. Don't little down what's already short.
So the driver of that car notices that kid before they step off the sidewalk.
Or they are going too fast and adjust.
Or your kid is having a tantrum.
Endless scenarios.
More of this soul-led life.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Age Appropriate Dance
Dance evokes many different emotions, and for many children, a necessary outlet. Dancing isn't a way to escape stressors, but a way to embrace them and heal.
When creating a piece, I am asking my dancers to express an emotion. It is my responsibility to check a couple of things.
What is my intention?
Is any soul involved in this piece being asked to take on something they don't understand?
Will this message and movement heal or harm onlookers?
If I can't answer the intention of the routine, I start over.
If I am asking my dancers to express a concept they don't understand, I am exploiting them.
If the piece triggers conversations kids are not emotionally ready for, it isn't a good fit.
Dance makes us feel. Joy, sadness, anger (and that's only a few!) If those feelings come at the expense of the participants, it is a cheap thrill. And our children are priceless.
When creating a piece, I am asking my dancers to express an emotion. It is my responsibility to check a couple of things.
What is my intention?
Is any soul involved in this piece being asked to take on something they don't understand?
Will this message and movement heal or harm onlookers?
If I can't answer the intention of the routine, I start over.
If I am asking my dancers to express a concept they don't understand, I am exploiting them.
If the piece triggers conversations kids are not emotionally ready for, it isn't a good fit.
Dance makes us feel. Joy, sadness, anger (and that's only a few!) If those feelings come at the expense of the participants, it is a cheap thrill. And our children are priceless.
Monday, December 3, 2018
Expression Over Opression
As you know, dance class goes beyond footwork. Counts. Technique. Competitions.
Dance is the original language.
Allie Michelle is a millennial poet that has so many gems to spark your inner fire. I'm looking forward to reading her book, "Explorations of a Cosmic Soul." In her day to day life, she dances.
Dance allows us to express ourselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. When that spark ignites, kids that may be "sensitive", more inward, and drawn to nature find a safe place to be. We can't always pull out the words to speak for ourselves. Dancing allows us to step out of our brains and into our body.
Dance allows us to express ourselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. When that spark ignites, kids that may be "sensitive", more inward, and drawn to nature find a safe place to be. We can't always pull out the words to speak for ourselves. Dancing allows us to step out of our brains and into our body.
There is a documentary on Netflix called InnSaei. Humans are out of touch with their intuition and this causes many of the aggressive challenges and conflict in our world. We live in a screen and dull down our essence. Dancing is one of the many ways we can get in tune with that awareness from within.
It is the match that ignites us, which allows kids to speak that thing they cannot say.
Be who they are.
It forces them to breathe. And by learning to be conscious of their breathing, it spills over to the rest of their life.
And how lucky are we when we are invited to observe their story.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Gratitude Check
Last night I was talking with a dance mom that has been on the Maine Dance journey since before I opened doors to a studio. It was a nice conversation and I had more clarity on how much the studio has grown in six years. That even when it's hard to juggle studio life and a family, bursting at the seams in the waiting room and things I would like to do but can't. Just yet...Yet.
There is a community here. I am starting to see the foundation and technique that has taken time to develop. Maine Dance Arts is. a technique dance studio with a commercial focus and holistic approach. I don't teach choreography classes. Even as we are preparing for a show, the 3/4 of a class will still focus on conditioning and learning new skill sets.
Technique isn't marketable. It doesn't happen overnight. I can't capture it and plug it up on Instagram. So instead, I'm going to give some props to the less-flashy side of dance education.
I am grateful that I have students that haven't given up. They show up. They are committed to their craft. They are beginning to understand the things that are making them better dancers aren't the tricks and wow steps. It's taking time to talk about posture. About articulating the foot. It's about learning the history of the movement. When all those come together, that is when we truly are capable of performing a piece.
That's hard to capture in a photo. And let's be honest, I do a great job with capturing the moments of my Littles. But for the older kids, I'm too in the thick of it with you to always document what you're accomplishing. But you are doing it. And thank you for setting that example for our new friends. Thank you for taking chances of failing. Life is scary, but you show me how brave you are when you acknowledge it and try anyway.
And I am grateful for the things I can't take a picture of. But I notice you.
I can't take a picture of what dance can do for a kid looking for their inner confidence.
I don't know how to illustrate the energy that illuminates the dance floor when we are together.
So, thank you!
There is a community here. I am starting to see the foundation and technique that has taken time to develop. Maine Dance Arts is. a technique dance studio with a commercial focus and holistic approach. I don't teach choreography classes. Even as we are preparing for a show, the 3/4 of a class will still focus on conditioning and learning new skill sets.
Technique isn't marketable. It doesn't happen overnight. I can't capture it and plug it up on Instagram. So instead, I'm going to give some props to the less-flashy side of dance education.
I am grateful that I have students that haven't given up. They show up. They are committed to their craft. They are beginning to understand the things that are making them better dancers aren't the tricks and wow steps. It's taking time to talk about posture. About articulating the foot. It's about learning the history of the movement. When all those come together, that is when we truly are capable of performing a piece.
That's hard to capture in a photo. And let's be honest, I do a great job with capturing the moments of my Littles. But for the older kids, I'm too in the thick of it with you to always document what you're accomplishing. But you are doing it. And thank you for setting that example for our new friends. Thank you for taking chances of failing. Life is scary, but you show me how brave you are when you acknowledge it and try anyway.
And I am grateful for the things I can't take a picture of. But I notice you.
I can't take a picture of what dance can do for a kid looking for their inner confidence.
I don't know how to illustrate the energy that illuminates the dance floor when we are together.
So, thank you!
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
What is hip hop?
What is Hip Hop?
A journey of miseducation.
I have been finding a lot of inspiration for pre-ballet, contemporary and tap classes lately. I've been finding so many cool nuggets in poetry, pop culture, and every day life. Ask any dance teacher, and they will tell you, on average, we spend two hours of prep for every one hour we teach. Our playlist is the spine of class. It allows us to flow the structure of class, adapt to the need's of the students and keep a real time checklist of specifics we want to get to class to class per monthly curriculum.
Hip hop classes, though - I've been blocked. I admit for a few months I have had a hard time connecting to my playlist. Until this morning.
Music helps tell the story in a hip hop class. I have to have a certain song that reaches me some sort of way for our groove warm-up. It has to speak to me on a cellular level. The energy of this class is focused if the first song sets us up. The effort and enthusiasm I put out is reciprocated from the bodies around me. If I'm not giving them 100% I can't expect the same. I can't expect them to be present.
This morning, as I'm wearing my six month old in a carrier, and handing my three year old his morning popcorn (is that a thing?!) Lauryn Hill's Lost One from the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill came up on my playlist.
Hip hop's story is not mine. It is the story of men and women of the 1970s that were on the streets, experimenting with new sounds, tempos and beats that American up until that time, had never seen before. It is the story in which, no matter how much I love and strive to educate others on, will never be something I am able to 100% identify with. It is the story of the creation of an art, that has been continuously stolen from a group I am a part of. I make sure to do my part ensuring every student of mine understands how lucky we are to be learning the steps of the legends that came before. The boogaloos, the popping, the running mans.
So, I gave my teens the opportunity to do some extra work. (Yes outside of dance class, I asked them. Can you believe it!?) These moves your learning from Fortnight? Those aren't viral dance moves- that's hip hop. Research one of those, and next week, tell me where it came from. Grab something from our little "boutique" on me. Because you made the effort to understand your passion more. To find out the history of how much of every day life hip hop really is. That's our responsibility. It is part of the restitution to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments and contributions by Americans of color. Every time I teach a hip hop class, I need to pay my dues. I need to do my research and keep up on the history for my students. And for myself.
Hip hop is not having a kid shake their booty at the audience. It is my job to educate what hip hop is, was and will be. It is my job to let kids be kids. I can teach you to isolate your hips, but I'm not going to have you move it some type of way that leaves me feeling uncomfortable. I can provide you the skills to breakdance on that floor, but I won't be showing you to drop it like it's hot. *No judging anyone that does. Just not my thing.
Hip hop is not always aggressive. I have a lot of adults that have a formed opinion about this style of dance when they learn their child is interested. That it is scary. Fierce. Loud. It. Is. So. Much. More. It can be feminine. It can be funny. It can pull at your heart strings. It can tell a story. It can be a movement.
It can be A Movement.
Thank you, Miss Lauryn. For waking me up a little more. For letting me hear a song I thought I knew from back to front. It sounds new today.
This month I'll be using this album a lot in hip hop classes. It spoke to me in a different way, as a teenager. As an adult, it's speaking to me another. But they need to know it.
A journey of miseducation.
I have been finding a lot of inspiration for pre-ballet, contemporary and tap classes lately. I've been finding so many cool nuggets in poetry, pop culture, and every day life. Ask any dance teacher, and they will tell you, on average, we spend two hours of prep for every one hour we teach. Our playlist is the spine of class. It allows us to flow the structure of class, adapt to the need's of the students and keep a real time checklist of specifics we want to get to class to class per monthly curriculum.
Hip hop classes, though - I've been blocked. I admit for a few months I have had a hard time connecting to my playlist. Until this morning.
Music helps tell the story in a hip hop class. I have to have a certain song that reaches me some sort of way for our groove warm-up. It has to speak to me on a cellular level. The energy of this class is focused if the first song sets us up. The effort and enthusiasm I put out is reciprocated from the bodies around me. If I'm not giving them 100% I can't expect the same. I can't expect them to be present.
This morning, as I'm wearing my six month old in a carrier, and handing my three year old his morning popcorn (is that a thing?!) Lauryn Hill's Lost One from the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill came up on my playlist.
I know you don't want to hear my opinionBut there come many paths and you must choose oneAnd if you don't change then the rain soon comeSee you might win some, but you just lost one
Hip hop's story is not mine. It is the story of men and women of the 1970s that were on the streets, experimenting with new sounds, tempos and beats that American up until that time, had never seen before. It is the story in which, no matter how much I love and strive to educate others on, will never be something I am able to 100% identify with. It is the story of the creation of an art, that has been continuously stolen from a group I am a part of. I make sure to do my part ensuring every student of mine understands how lucky we are to be learning the steps of the legends that came before. The boogaloos, the popping, the running mans.
So, I gave my teens the opportunity to do some extra work. (Yes outside of dance class, I asked them. Can you believe it!?) These moves your learning from Fortnight? Those aren't viral dance moves- that's hip hop. Research one of those, and next week, tell me where it came from. Grab something from our little "boutique" on me. Because you made the effort to understand your passion more. To find out the history of how much of every day life hip hop really is. That's our responsibility. It is part of the restitution to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments and contributions by Americans of color. Every time I teach a hip hop class, I need to pay my dues. I need to do my research and keep up on the history for my students. And for myself.
Hip hop is not having a kid shake their booty at the audience. It is my job to educate what hip hop is, was and will be. It is my job to let kids be kids. I can teach you to isolate your hips, but I'm not going to have you move it some type of way that leaves me feeling uncomfortable. I can provide you the skills to breakdance on that floor, but I won't be showing you to drop it like it's hot. *No judging anyone that does. Just not my thing.
Hip hop is not always aggressive. I have a lot of adults that have a formed opinion about this style of dance when they learn their child is interested. That it is scary. Fierce. Loud. It. Is. So. Much. More. It can be feminine. It can be funny. It can pull at your heart strings. It can tell a story. It can be a movement.
It can be A Movement.
Thank you, Miss Lauryn. For waking me up a little more. For letting me hear a song I thought I knew from back to front. It sounds new today.
This month I'll be using this album a lot in hip hop classes. It spoke to me in a different way, as a teenager. As an adult, it's speaking to me another. But they need to know it.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Maine Dance Arts Monthly Themes 2018
Maine Dance Arts, LLC
2018/2019 monthly calendar & themes
September
"I am"
October
"Pumpkin Patch"
Recital deposit ($40)
No class Wednesday 10/31 *feel free to make up the class during a class of the same style that week
Sign ups for Sparkle Parade 2018
October 29 6p Community Appreciation Night
November
"Take Flight"
No Class for Thanksgiving break 11/21-11/24
Parade Clinic 1 Saturday, November 17 3-5p
December
Parade Clinic 2 Saturday, December 1 3-5p
Sparkle Parade Friday, December 7, 2018 * 6pm
Participants will organize at the Freeport Middle School on Kendall Lane at 5:15.
Participants will organize at the Freeport Middle School on Kendall Lane at 5:15.
Winter Break 12/24-1/1) classes resume Wednesday 1/2
January
"Celebrate Friendship"
The Golden Pinecone Winter Show Saturday, January 12 6p (rehearsal January 11 at 5p) at Freeport Performing Arts
Recital theme announcement
Recital balance due ($40)
February
"iHeart Dance"
February Break Camps
No regular class 2/18-2/23
March
"Out of This World"
April
"Enchanted Garden"
April Vacation no class 4/15-4/19
May
"Royalty"
Picture Day May 18
June
"Recital Ready"
In-studio dress rehearsal last week of class leading to show weekend
Dress and Tech Rehearsal at Orion Friday, June 7
2019 Recital Saturday, June 8:
Show 12p Creative Movement and Preschool
Afternoon Show 4p Big kids
Cast party during class (one week of classes follow recital to end the year *new this year!) Bring a treat to celebrate and bring your pins for "accomplishment ceremony".
calendar subject to change
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