Cape Flats Line Dancing Project

Whether you are dancing for passion, to get into shape or to just attain some mental peace, jazz is an excellent option to choose. This highly energetic dance form is unique and has revolutionised the way we look at dance.

The buzzing of razors and the clipping of scissors filled the basement of the Iowa Memorial Union. A few girls are wiping away tears as their golden locks fall to the ground. Our friends are taking photos and videos of our reactions. Other girls are chatting about how much they want to cut off, while others are complaining about how much their feet hurt. It is four in the morning, we are only nine hours in, we still have fifteen hours left.

The prestigious dance company located on the Manly Wharf, Walsh Bay supports a great following and appreciation of dance. Since 1985 the company has called The Wharf in Sydney’s Walsh Bay home. Being minutes from the city’s iconic Bridge and Opera House it gains a lot of attention by new comers to the city. Its studios can hold the most attending dance students in Australia, with nearly 80,000 attendances annually. An opportunity with a pre-professional course in dance was offered to dancers of the company during 2014. This would offer students the likelihood to gain experience with a number of Australia’s most well-known choreographers.

On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.

Penn State athletes are ready to dance at the annual THON. The dance marathon is going to benefit pediatric cancer research. The Penn State IFC or Panhellenic Dance Marathon, known as THON, is going to happen this weekend.

Saturday, February 25, 2017 at the Oscar F. Brockett Theater, the UT Dance Repertory Theater presented a dance concert titled Momentum. The performance featured eleven unique pieces that were meant to “investigate and celebrate diversity in dance” with the community. These pieces presented, were a tribute to two important African American events in dance: The First Negro Dance Recital in America and Parallels. These two pieces are important to African American culture because they helped transform contemporary American dance.

While more well-known, specialized schools have had their own annual take on “The Festival of Nations,” RFK’s extracurricular activities focus more on basic sport and common clubs such as Yearbook, Habitat for Humanity, etc. Although the high school does not have a dance team or dance club, a few junior level students decided to create their own dance show similar to that of Townsend Harris. However, even though it wasn’t a formal, well-established production, the students formed their own grassroots type club from the ground up in order to showcase various modern day dance from around the world.

Hula dancing is a Polynesian folk dance that includes a chant or song. There are two types of hula, Hula Kahiko,the ancient style and Hula Auana, the modern style. Hula Kahiko ties their lineage with ancient motions, rhythm, moves, choreography, and vocals. While Hula Kahiko is regarded as being a dance of spiritual connection to ancient Hawaii, Hula Auana is a combination of the modern times and old knowledge. Hula Auana uses new choreography and music with modern instruments such as the bass, guitar, ukulele, or piano.

When reflecting back on my journey with West African Dance, I can honestly say it has been one of my highlights of my first semester. When I first signed up for this course, I had no clue what to expect on the first day. All I knew is that I wanted to explore my artistic side seeing that I have never taken a class that involves any type of art. Nevertheless, I always have loved to dance for fun, and I figured I should try something I am already reasonably comfortable with. I knew West African Dance was all about fluidity and individuality compared to that if Ballet or Ballroom dance, so I decided it would be best for me to try the course. After the first day of the class, I learned that while the dancing may not be as rigid as that of Western dances, this style of dancing is no easier, and possibly harder. Even though I knew West African

The Charleston dance is named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston was a dance that was often performed by the descendants of African slaves in the American south. “It is a blend of African and European sources, and it has had a broad influence on American life and art” -Dawn Lille. The Charleston was by the composer/pianist James P. Johnson and originated in a broadway show called Runnin Wild, where the rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States. The peak of this dance by the people was mid 1926 to 1927. “At first, the step started with a simple twisting of the feet, to rhythm in a lazy sort of way. When the dance hit Harlem, a new version was added. It became a fast kicking step,

once a week the students will practice music and dance with Ms. Linda from Lincoln center. The students will engaged in the lesson of Dancing around the campfire.

The Pointe Dance Studio is a ballet school that is located in Independence, Missouri. The classes they offer include pre-school combo, beginner combo, advanced beginner, technique classes, and competition technique. The classes include warm-ups, skill instruction and practice, and application of the skills in fun routines. Anyone can try out a class at The Pointe for free.

The class that I chose for the second community dance project assignment, was Sh’bam. The Sh’Bam class was held in the student rec center and instructed by Jeremiah Wofford, who is also my kinesiology teacher. Sh’Bam is a type dance that distracts your mind from the notion of exercising to focusing more on the various dance movements, constructed by the instructor that follows along with the beat.

Definition: a type of country and western dancing in which dancers line up in a row without partners and follow a choreographed pattern of steps to music.

In my high school dance program, I realized the potential influences of dance beyond the professional stage. As department president, I gathered support from my teachers and fellow peers to transform our traditional high school dance program to a service-based one: our annual concert became a benefit show with the proceeds going to a non-profit. We also give back to the community by dancing at senior centers and churches.