Because my actress friend, Tara Wilson, was featured in Lifetime 's film, Center Stage: On Pointe, I had the opportunity to watch one of the hottest dance films around. I genuinely relished every aspect of the film, and I found the dancing particuarly captivating. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for me to interview the choreographer herself, Monica Proenca, and she was quite honored to grant that coveted audience. She and I had a delightful and informative conversation earlier this summer, and we discussed her dancing career, the challenge and elation of working on this film, and specific issues that relate to the fine arts as a whole.
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RH: Center Stage On Pointe was the first film that you choreographed, correct?
MP: Yes, that is correct.
What inspired you to become a choreographer?
Well, first of all, I was a dancer my whole life. That is what I adore doing. I did really well in school and got to the university level. Although I really love chemistry, mathematics, and physics, and I did really well in school, dancing was my favorite thing in life. When I got to the university, I had to choose because I didn 't want to do university level dancing and have so-so grades, and dancing was my favorite, and so I chose dancing.
Choreography, to me, came naturally I think because I 've always been creative in terms of creating movement and exploring storytelling with my body. I thought that dancing was the most amazing thing because it merged storytelling with
In accordance with today’s standards, every serious ballet dancer should have ‘dancing en pointe’ in their repertoire. Yet there was a time when dancing en pointe was a mysterious and mystical practice that one young woman brought on stage for the entirety of a ballet, changing the dance world forever. Marie Taglioni was a trailblazer in many aspects of dance, including technique, style, and costume. Her legacy lives on in the romantic ballets of yesteryear, still performed today for thousands of audiences worldwide.
Dancing gives me a place to be my self, and is my outlet from stress and daily life. The moment the song begins i am a mirror image of the piece, my arms swing high as the beat takes my feet away. I express whatever pain or hardship i am partaking in through a heart felt face. My love for dance led me to try out for Advanced Dance my junior year. Dance has allowed me to meet an amazing group of people, while letting me show off my goofy personality. Being able compliment a beautiful music piece singing or dancing is a rush like no other. Music is my life, and it has been a vice for me growing up. Choreographing and writing songs ignites the creator within me, theres no other satisfaction then watching a personal designed dance, or singing out
I have been dancing since the age of two. When asked about my career aspirations, there is no hesitation before saying “I want to be a dancer.” Being a dancer means putting all other distractions aside, and focusing on my craft. Currently, I dedicate over forty hours a week to dance, which is a schedule that requires sacrifice. When I am dancing, the rest of the world fades away, slipping out of my mind with relaxed importance. For that moment in time, I am completely free, wholly focused on my goals, letting me know dance is what I’m meant to do. With this realization comes a responsibility to myself and the work I have put into improving my craft thus far, and I know I must seek out the best opportunities for growth and continued learning.
My passion for dance transitioned into high school and college. My role as a cheerleader in high school aided in the maintenance of my physical and mental well-being. I feel most empowered when I am performing on stage, and when I am
My love for music has always been coupled with an interest in dancing. At the age of four, I learnt to dance from Shakira; I watched her videos and imitated her till I felt like we were doing the same thing. I kept getting better, and soon, I would go to birthday parties just for the purpose of thrashing everyone else in dance competitions. My love for dance has only seemed to intensify over the years. Looking at me now, I still do almost the same thing: download dance videos and learn the choreographies.
I danced at Tina’s Dance Studio in Eldridge, Iowa for 12 consecutive years before I graduated high school. There I studied in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, lyrical, tap, jazz, hip-hop, musical theater, gymnastics and clogging. I was also a part of the competition team for eight years. We not only did local competitions and conventions, but we traveled and went to nationals in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. I also danced in shows in Disney World and on a Carnival Cruise Ship. In high school, I was on the varsity Dance Team winning three state titles in pom and lyrical eventually traveling to Nationals. A few summers ago, I trained with Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago with their summer intensive focusing on modern, contemporary and ballet. During my senior year of high school and this past summer I taught classes in jazz, tap and contemporary for students 8-16 years old. I also self-choreographed three competition solos. Here, at Ohio University, I am a member of the dance team doing dances at football and basketball games.
Dance is one of the major things that defines my identity and it is an interest that had become so meaningful, that without it my application would be incomplete. This has been able to shape me throughout the years, from discipline and maturity all the way yo leadership and teamwork. I find dance as an art work, that it is easy to make mistakes and fall, you just have to learn from those mistakes and get up twice as strong as from where you started. Dance is to look above and beyond and just let everything fall into place without hesitation.
My mother once told me I was born to dance. Ballet, jazz, and hip hop nourished me from the time I was three years old. Whether helping my parents clean or walking in the grocery store, my feet sashayed beneath me to an unknown rhythm. Some of my earliest memories occur in a small studio in a converted barn, where I spent hours at the barre. Unlike performance schools depicted on reality television, my dance studio required less excessive makeup and more polished black leotards and pink tights (we did, however, have a fair share of screaming stage moms).
Another one of my passions is dance. Since the age of three I have been dancing. Whether it is on stage, at a competition, or just in front of my family, I found a love for this art. Around the age of thirteen I began student teaching; because of this, I found a liking for helping people become more confident in themselves and their dance technique. Not only did I learn to dance, but I also built confidence, learned great stage presence and to have respect for everyone. These are all lessons that will remain with me for life.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it so my mother allowed me to quit. Then a few years later when I was in fourth grade I saw that my elementary school had a dance team/drill team and it looked like tons of fun. I then realized that dance seemed like a hobby that I would enjoy. So my mother let me tryout as long as I promised not to quit. Of course I made her that and I auditioned for the next dance season and made it. I was extremely shocked that I had been asked to join the team seeing as I had no previous dance experience. Now ever since that moment dance has been more than just a hobby for me. I continued to dance through the rest of elementary school. However I did discontinue when I reached middle school due to my mother getting divorced and my family and I moving to a different town. I did try tumbling and cheer for a while, but it wasn’t befitting. I recognized I did not have a connection to tumbling and cheer like I did with dance, and that’s when I realized dance was my passion. After I came to this realization I auditioned for my high school dance team and this was the point in my dance career where I became extremely involved and also when I began to take it more seriously. I began to take it more seriously because at this point in my life I was out of shape and my body was not built to be a dancer. This was because during the time my mother had gotten divorced it was a difficult transition and I
I was a dancer for fourteen years, beginning at the age of four and ending at the age of 18. I participated in basically every type of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical, and contemporary. Each year, I would participate in more classes than the last, and it eventually got to the point where I would be attending dance classes five or six days of my week. It definitely got tiring, but I still loved it. Dance is a great way to be able to portray emotions through movement, and I think that is very unique and special to participate in. It was a very huge part of my life, and so were the people teaching me. Dance and everything that came with it was a huge influence on my life, and it helped shaped me into the person I am today.
Dance has been a huge part of my life ever since I was three years old and at first I started out taking ballet classes and hip hop. But
She like dancing because she shows expressions and feel the music while dancing. Dancing started to be her passion also once she started dancing in organizations. When she
On Wednesday, November 18th, I had the pleasure to attend and watch the Dance Plus’s Fall show. The Dance Plus was performed at the Douglass Theatre, Victoria Mastrobuno Theater. When I entered the show the theatre seemed a little small for such big crowed. I immediately thought there would not be enough seats for all the audience, but somehow it fitted everyone. As everyone got settled down, the dance performance had started. I chose to write about the first performance that was choreographed by the amazing director, Jessica Lange her work was simply wonderful! I loved every little piece of the play. It put a smile on my face watching this amazing work of art. So with that said, I would now like to talk about the dance performance. There were
Dance has been apart of my life ever since I can remember. When I was young, before I officially started my dance training, I was always up on my feet and moving. No matter what hobby I took interest in (whether it was cheerleading, musical theatre, or jump rope), I would always find a way to choreograph little routines a show them to my friends and family. Even when my parents tried to put me in sports, I would do cartwheels and dance on the playing fields, completely oblivious to what was going on during the games. When I look back at how I started my dance training, I just smile and laugh because I was so naïve and unaware that it would become such a huge part of my life. In 5th grade I was put into my first dance class as a hobby. It happened because I watched the Disney Channel movie High School Musical and immediately fell in love with it. I showed the movie to my parents and told them, “This is what I want to do.” At the time I thought I excelled in both signing and acting and that all I needed were dance classes. So in 4th grade I was put into my first dance class and I began to scratch the surface of the basics of dance. What I didn’t know then is that dance would slowly but surely influence my entire life and