Traditional Dance Research Paper

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.

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.

When she was younger, it wasn’t hard for her to learn the new choreography.She was a natural dancer,but no matter how well of a dancer she was she knew that she could always improve her skills. She also became a local dancer and she performed at rodeos and county fair. One of instructor said “She didn't know learn the basics.” She needed to be taught the basics.

I’ve always dreamt of dancing in New York City and this summer I earned the opportunity to live out that dream. After auditioning and waiting months for a result, I was accepted into the Rockette’s Summer Intensive. The program was, in brief, intense. I went into the intensive not knowing anyone, first time in New York, and all while the stress looming over my head that I was performing with strangers the challenging choreography that was just thrown at me in seven days. The first few

Jaspreana Tobias, a young girl born in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was a child who had grew up around music and rhythm and soul. Born to a family where the last person who was not from New Orleans was born two generations ahead of her, one could assume the rhythm was in her blood. Since she was little and could feel the music, the young Louisianan danced and did so with passion. Though her family loves music and all its counterparts, Jaspreana is the only dancer in the Tobias family tree. In high school, Jaspreana, a determined dancer, tried out for her school’s dance team. Unfortunately she did not make the cut. As any young woman would be, she was disappointed in herself; heart-broken actually. In her mind, she had a great chance at making the team, due to her skillful footwork and elegant grace as a dancer. In her own words, the result of her not making the team was “devastating” as it shook her confidence to the core. On that day, Jaspreana swore she would never try out for another dance team ever again. After months and months of sulking and great disappointment, her love and passion for the art of dancing returned. Not only had it returned, it returned with a new fire which burned deep in her soul. Dancing was her passion and being a professional dancer had been her dream since she could ever even two step to the sound of a simple beat. Jaspreana practiced and practiced. She would dance and think about dancing from the break of dawn until dusk. Finally

At 3:00 PM on Sunday April 13th, 2014, I attended the performance “Shared Graduate Dance Concert at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center-Dance Theatre. Walking into the theatre I had anticipated experiencing an upright performance. This sensation came as I visited the website for the Shared Graduate Concert and saw a breath taking photo that entailed a person behind a curtain holding their hand up and a fuzzy person in front of a curtain. Also, I knew I was in for a good ride after I saw Meghan Bowden in the pamphlet.

The fact that I was not dancing had somehow made me responsible for providing helpful criticism. I was afraid I might have forgotten to tell her something important, that they may not look together on the court, but it seems as though I had forgotten that birds of feather flock together. On the court, the music started, and they danced perfectly. They look so good! How come they don't practice like that? I wondered. They performed, were given a loud applause, then ran off the court. Ten minutes later, we were already getting ready for the next dance, the one I was to perform.

When choosing a job to apply to Piagetian theory and sociocultural theory, I chose the position of a dance teacher. Children of all ages join dance companies, and the experiences and interactions from this activity can have a great effect on their development. After dancing for so many years I have first hand experience on how it can influence a developing child. These two theories are important when understanding the ways in which a child develops, and this paper will focus on how a dance teacher can aid the development of their students using some of the information from these theories.

A relaxed and enjoyable evening, students are able to dance with a fellow student or invite a friend from out of school as they show off their ballroom dancing skills. Karen Feldman’s expertise is invaluable as our students learn something new and have a night for themselves. Today our MPC is used as a venue for off-site dance lessons for people of all ages, and many years ago the school even offered dancing lessons. In fact, chances are there are some members of the school community who remember being taught the fine art of ballroom dance under the watchful eye of John

Sophomore Mayra Gomez has mostly AP classes and she is in Dance Production. How does she do it all? Well, Mayra has found that during the dances she is not in or during breaks, she can do her homework. Gomez says she gives one hundred percent in every dance otherwise the dance looks sloppy and weak. Did you know that she choreographs dances in her free time? She does and she plans to audition those pieces so that they can be in dance concerts held by Grace Davis High School. Mayra says that being in Dance Production is very stressful, but at the same time it is fun because you and the members of Dance Production become one family who share embarrassing moments; they share tears and smiles. Although Dance Production looks well-put and organized,

For this project, I interviewed my dance teacher of 11 years, Amy Moretz. She is someone with great importance and meaning to me. During this interview, I learned a lot that I had not previously known about her.

Most of the dancers came from a voluntary background as in they like to do it for fun, but, for some they use this as a professional aspect for their dance careers. The environment is a mixture of voluntarily and professional backgrounds. Although some may just do it for fun, the coach has a strict regime way of getting stuff done to prepare for performances. In the other hand, the coach can be laid back with a nice sense of humor from what I can tell. I asked the dancer named Karen Delgado where and how she gains her knowledge and ability for dance, she quotes “During the summer, we head to Santa Barbara to compete with different schools all around the world, this is where I take away the different cultures in dance that are divergent and this is how I prepared for the dance team ” (Karen Delgado). According to the dancer she felt like she’s not gaining much from the dance team, she says “ I feel like the coach does not have the knowledge for dance because she is a cheer coach not much of a dance coach, she does have the ability to teach us but sometimes it is difficult” (Karen Delgado). From my perspective, the coach seems to have more knowledge about cheer and is well known for it. Overall, the dancers were well focused, their excitement for it was great, there was a lot of enthusiasm. In the end, Coach Tiffany say “Go home and practice, and get it together”

And when my music started, I remembered why I’d wanted to do this so badly--nothing, not even a broken foot, could stop me from dancing. My brief time away from dance had made me appreciate the times when I could dance so much more, and I really had fun onstage that day; I didn’t even feel any pain (although I’m not sure whether that was due to adrenaline or the Advil I’d taken). When I finished and the theatre filled with applause, I felt powerful. My teacher later told me that it had been the best time she’d ever seen me

At the time, I never really knew the impact my dance would have on me. I remember the first rehearsal I had with my dancers. Even then, among the dancers, the younger ones were still consumed in showing their beauty, while the older ones wanted to show depth.