Ballroom Dancing Program at Jade Hills

The quotes “For most people, social dancing begins in pleasure,” and “Of course, people sometimes feel pressure to dance in ways that are otherwise associated with pleasure; social dancing can serve many functions in a society,” from Chapter 4 of Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement (Jonas 2003), peaked interest in me when thinking of all the various dance forms that we have talked of in class and even those outside of class. One in particular that has interested me the most is swing dance. With family member involvement in the past and having multiple friends take part in the Swing Dance Club here on the Wayne State University Campus for pleasure, enjoyment and social interaction has made me want to go more in depth about it. With the help from academic sources and knowledge from class lectures I will be researching the history of swing dancing, the forms of swing dancing, and what gender roles take place within these movements.

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

In this documentary of “Mad Hot Ballroom” showed students in 5th grade dancing with their peers. In the beginning of this film, students were really shy and immature dancing with their partners. They were embarrassed and they couldn’t keep that awkward smile off their face, but they still had fun. They were mentioned that the best of dancers will be chosen to compete in a yearly competition, but it was much more than just a competition. Each student probably didn’t notice it but they were maturing throughout each practice. Each day in practice students tried their best, even when they were tired the instructor put on a catchy music and immediately the students were dancing and laughing. Dancing was their escape of reality. It was like a dream for them. They had a really nice opportunity. While they danced you can see every blood, sweat, and tears they put into practice. Throughout the documentary you see them mature every dance move they made. They matured by boys dancing with girls and they got out of that awkward stage. They weren’t afraid or shy to talk to a boy or girl. The ballroom dancing had a much greater purpose than just dancing and having fun. “You are going to learn from this experience” (Argelo). Every student probably didn’t earn a medal but they all won. They came out more than what they had as they walked in. Some students also learned what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, they want to become an actor,

From kindergarten until high school, I was a member of the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. Up to 5 days per week, I would be at the dance studio taking classes, rehearsing for shows, and helping out in the less advanced classes. Regardless of skill level, Jean never hesitated to speak the brutally honest truth about students’ performances and she never settled for anything less than perfection. Jean would often preach that she is only the instruction manual and she cannot make us good dancers, we had to do that for ourselves. However, it was not her critique or teaching alone that motivated dancers to perform well, it was her relentless work ethic and commitment to her studio. As a 70 year-old women, Jean held classes as much as 7 days per

“What are you even doing here? I have never seen such flawed technique in all my years as a choreographer.” The words echoed throughout the medical college auditorium. Impelled by the admonishment in front of my peers, I persevered in my endeavor to improve upon my dancing prowess and by the final year of medical school was leading the college dance team. The above mentioned undertaking further spawned an interest for the discipline of Latin Ballroom which lead to participation at the national level. The unwavering focus and persistence even in the face of unfavorable odds is more broadly reflective of my approach towards learning, both academic and extracurricular. This has been instrumental in achieving stellar academic outcomes including being ranked nationally in the top 0.0004 percent in the premedical test and the top 0.6 percent in the common aptitude test for management training.

Ballroom dance is a sport that involves productive thinking, strength, balance and control. This term has been centred around Figueroa 's Framework and the effect on access, equity and cooperation in ballroom dance. The aim for this report is to recognize which level of Figueroa 's Framework and Maslow 's hierarchy of human needs has had the most critical impact on my advantage and attempts in ballroom dancing this term. This report will focus on the interpersonal level of Figueroa 's framework and the associations that have affected my participation in ballroom. These consolidate the associates, friends, educators (Mrs Humphrys, Miss Grehan and Mrs Brennan), family member and mentors such as

Of all the values that dancing instilled within me, I believe I learned the greatest lesson when I forfeited my first love. In my mind, I rationalized that school’s importance outweighed my devotion to dance. In my eighth grade year, my studio encouraged me to join their dance company, while my school implemented an academic plan for me that met my educational needs, which included placing me in ninth grade honors courses. Faced with the truth of the difficulty of balancing schoolwork with a demanding practice schedule, I reluctantly withdrew from my dance

Watching these interviews reminds viewers of their own feelings or the first crush they developed at a young age. Regardless of the shyness towards each other, the students come together and gather valuable lessons through learning ballroom dancing. The students learn several famous ballroom dance styles that range from Latin American dances to dances familiar in North American culture such as swing dance. These students attend ballroom competitions, experience the amount of work they put into learning these dances, and the reward of having their hard work pay off. Towards the end of the documentary, people witness how effective the ballroom dance program helps with the kids’ development.

We will have a quick aerobic workout for our warm up, we all will stand in big circle and each child will take turns of suggesting a new move. Then we will start our daily activity, which will be dancing. The students will move to stimuli such as rhythm, beat, music, and words. Different movement patterns that resemble

Miller Street Dance Academy is a dance school that is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This dance school was established in 1994. Miller Street Dance Academy teaches ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, pointe, tumbling, acro, cheer dance, and more. They are award winning and they provide expert instruction. Miller Street Dance Academy is certified by the Dance Masters of America.

In my dance appreciation course, we are learning the different genres, forms, and styles of dance. The course material explains the evolution of dance, giving readers a better concept of the art. On September 15, 2017, my girlfriend planned a surprise birthday dinner celebration. The reservations were for the Cazbar Authentic Turkish Taverna. Cazbar is the first and only turkish restaurant in Baltimore. The restaurant is located on North Charles Street in downtown baltimore. This was not a typical restaurant, but it was a unique place and a different experience. I did not know what to expect. When we entered the establishment, the host directed use to the upper level of the restaurant.

On Saturday February 11 the JROTC annual Cadet Ball will be held. Every year JROTC cadet’s from Freshman to Juniors plan out the ball while Seniors enjoy their last year in JROTC but the biggest preparation for the ball comes from the dance lessons given many weeks before to all students. Dance lessons was first incorporated into the ball when Colonel Roy McCutcheon and Colonel Russell Wilder saw a way to help the Cadet Ball stand out as a more formal event.

Many people are under the false impression that dance is just a hobby that requires very little effort. As a dancer myself, this is something I completely disagree with, as well as the members of the YWCA School of Dance that I had the pleasure of interviewing. There is more to dance than what meets the eye. As a previous member of this studio, I was fortunate enough to observe this community in action making note of the literacy practices they use within the different classes. This experience guided my introductory research, which was to identify and eliminate any stereotypes associated with dance.

The benefits of dancing as a physical exercise are well researched, widely understood, and as a fitness, mobility and weight management tool, it is a multi-million dollar industry. Less studied and acknowledged are the benefits on our mental functioning, self-awareness, psychological well-being, self-confidence, self-expressions, concentration, social skills, etc.