Saturday, July 31, 2010

Step Up 3D Dance Dub Competition Finalists

Learn the choreography:



Our favorite finalist:

Broadway Dance Center


Vote for them here (click on "the Music" tab)

Friday, July 30, 2010

Dance News - July 30, 2010

Dancing With Skyscrapers | The New York Observer

Using Dance to Treat Parkinson's | Seattle Times

Experimental Dance Comedy | Guardian

Follow Friday on Twitter: Bloggers & Dance Magazines

If you don't use Twitter, you don't know what you're missing! Twitter can be an overwhelming onslaught of mini-messages, but it can also be very useful to a dancer looking for audition updates or an inside look at being a professional dancer.

Here are a few of our favorite dance Twitter-ers :)

@Dance_SpiritMag - the popular dance magazine Dance Spirit's tweets are usually interactive by posting questions for other Twitter users to answer

@EliteDance - Bio: Promoting ballet and dance related digital media with lots of random weirdness mixed in.

@danceadvantage - Bio: Dance writer/blogger, instructor, giving students, teachers & parents an edge in dance education.

@BalletForMen - the accompanying Twitter site to the blog, Ballet For Men

And of course, you can find all of our buzz on our Twitter page: www.twitter.com/thedancebuzz

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Resources for Male Dancers

If you Google 'resources for male dancers' or 'my son dances', you'll get a lot of mother/son wedding suggestions or some suggestions more fitting for the bachelorette party! Here are a few links to some great resources for male dancers, parents of male dancers or studio owners who want to attract more male dancers!

Boys & Ballet - A collection of news stories about boys and ballet. The great part is that the author's pre-teen sons choose which articles are featured. There is also a "library" section information on training, physiology, nutrition, schools, helpful hints on drawing more boys to your school, and interviews with dancers.

MySonCanDance.net - Another mom's blog about her and her son's struggles and triumphs with the world of dance. Many great interviews and suggestions shared.

DanceAdvantage - This site has a TON of useful information for all dancers, but there are a lot of good articles on male dancers (see here, here, oh and here!)

Forum for Parents of Male Dancers - A great forum to post questions and respond or just browse for more information.

Dance Dot Net Forum for Guys - Another forum for guys only!

Choreographer's Roots: Stacey Tookey

In our Choreographer's Roots feature, we take a quick look back at where they started to help understand where they are today. After watching SYTYCD tonight, we thought we'd start with one of our favorite choreographers - Stacey Tookey.

Stacey Tookey performed as...

...a member of Mia Michaels' company
...a member of R.A.W. Dance Company (Mia Michaels)
...part of Parsons Dance Project
...cast member in Celine's Vegas show
...Ballet British Columbia
...Fusion Dance Company
...NBA's Grizzlies Extreme Dance Team

View her full biography here

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Countdown to National Dance Day: 4 days!

National Dance Day to be recognized by Congress!

According to the SYTYCD website, "Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a long-time proponent of healthy lifestyles, will introduce a National Dance Day resolution at a press conference on Saturday, July 31 in Washington, D.C., to promote dance education and physical fitness across the U.S."

Exciting news!

What are YOU doing on National Dance Day?

On The Blogs: Choosing a Pre-School Program

Choosing a Dance Program for your Pre-School Boy

Just read this insightful article by Nichelle Strzepek on MySonCanDance blog. If you're a parent looking for a dance program for your son, give this one a read. If you're a studio owner wondering why you don't have many boys, check this article to see what red flags your studio that could be sending to parents with boys. For example:

"2. A school without pink walls

A studio’s pink walls equivalent might be princess themes or anything that unnecessarily genderizes dance. Pink is a fine color and for the moment, pink is actually among my son’s favorite colors. However, a school that is “painting their walls pink” is either hoping to appeal to only one demographic or it has never really crossed their mind that a boy might enter the establishment as a student. Either way, it is reason enough for me to look elsewhere.

It may seem like a small thing but, for boys and young men, no pink walls can make all the difference. It is about feeling welcome and comfortable in an environment."

There is also some good advice that is useful to any parent looking for a dance studio for their child:

"Look for a school whose older dancers move in a coordinated, pleasing fashion."

Looking at a studio's advanced dancers is very often a good indicator of how serious a school is or what their focus is on.

Either way, good article - read on!
http://mysoncandance.net/2010/07/27/choosing-a-dance-program-for-my-preschool-aged-son/

Breaking News! Travis Wall Dance Company

2012 UPDATE!  Read about Travis' new company here!

------
Breaking news! Travis Wall (dance & choreographer - known for competing on SYTYCD Season 2 and then choreographing in Seasons 5, 6 & 7) just tweeted he will be starting his own DANCE COMPANY!

He says:
I made a pretty big decision yesterday.... I was gonna wait to do it but it makes so much since right now! I'M GONNA START A DANCE COMPANY!!

ok, so his spelling could be better, but.... a dance company!! squeeeeeee!!

In case you're unfamiliar with his choreography, here are my two favorite routines of his:



and



ahhhh soo gooood

2012 UPDATE!  Read about Travis' new company here!

Studio Owner Buzz: AWCT Value Catalog

We are debuting a new type of post we're calling "Studio Owner Buzz" (or SOB for short... wait a second... just kidding ;))

We will feature information that might be useful to all of you studio owners out there - costume catalog reviews, tuition ideas, recital hints and more! All of these posts are all on my own - I am not being paid to write about any of the catalogs, companies or products.
---------------------
Today's SOBuzz is about the A Wish Come True's Dance Values costume catalog. Just got it fresh from my cranky postman's hands. They also sent the Latin Rhythm Collection and Holiday Wishes, but that's for another post.

Now I won't post prices in here because just like any other retail place, SOs have to mark-up costumes to make a living, but I will tell you that the "values" is truly value. But don't let the term "value" turn you off. Sometimes when you get the discount catalogs it clear why they are marked down. They either have no normal sizes left or the costume is so hideous, no one wants it. Sure, there are a few like that in AWCT....



Which looks like a pattern my grandma would make curtains out of, but for the most part, the costumes are just plain cute! They range from simple silhouettes:





To more glitzy designs:








Love, love, LOVE this one.



And just like all their other costumes, AWCT doesn't skimp on quality when it comes to making costumes. We ordered multiple costumes from their regular line last year and everyone loved the fit and the costumes were very well made.





They also have a whole section for in stock value costumes for last minute needs!

Follow Us on Twitter!

We are joining the masses and you can get your buzz from Twitter!

Follow us for random thoughts, favorite music, dance quotes and other quips throughout your day!

~DB

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Box - Got To Dance

My jaw hit the floor on this one... granted, its not entirely dance - lots of gymnastics thrown in there... but MAN is it ever eye-catching!

ENJOY THE PRETTY!



This is from the UK show "Got To Dance". The show allows groups or soloists to compete in dance on the show. According to Wikipedia (reliable, right), CBS announced in April 2010 that an American version is planned to rival So You Think You Can Dance.

Countdown to National Dance Day: 5 days!

Places around the country (and globe) are gearing up to celebrate National Dance Day!

Find events near you!

Dance News - July 26, 2010

Great slideshow of Pilobolus's 'Hitched' (NYTimes.com)

Opinion: Blogging About Choreography (Dance Magazine)

St. Louis Celebrates Everything Tap (Dance Studio Life)

New Music Mondays: Pandora Radio

Looking for new music?

Pandora Radio is a great resource for finding music! It's a web "radio station" - to use it, you type in an artist or song and it starts playing music that is similar, creating a station. You can make as many stations as you want.

One of my favorite features is that it let's you "bookmark" artists or songs for later. I like to let Pandora play in the background while doing office work and if a song catches my ear, I'll "bookmark" it for later. That way if I'm at work, I can bookmark the song to download when I get home later.


What I don't like: Commercials and Time limits. Pandora used to be a free service, but then it decided it should make money (don't we all want to?) and so now there are "commercial" breaks. They're only like 30 seconds, but it is annoying. Also they have a time limit on how many hours a month you can listen to (somewhere around 40 hours). I haven't run out yet because I only listen to it a few hours a day, but its something to watch out for.

So there you have it - my unsolicited review of Pandora Radio! Hope you discover some new artists!
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