Light Dancing

Happy Wednesday!

If you're super crazy this time of year like I am, here is a short video to give you a break from the chaos and to just enjoy the dance and cool visual effects.



Talk about theater tech and dance coming together.  So cool!

Hope you enjoyed :)

Refreshing Covers of Pop Songs: Postmodern Jukebox

I regularly troll YouTube looking for covers of pop music, however when you search "cover + song title", you inevitably end up with 100 acoustic covers done by anyone with a piano, guitar and a voice. Generally nothing too exciting, usually a slower version of the pop song.

Side note - if you ARE looking for acoustic covers of pop songs done really well, check out Boyce Avenue, Madilyn Bailey, and Savannah Outen.

Anyway, when I stumbled onto Postmodern Jukebox, I knew I had struck gold.  Pop songs with a vintage twist, they are such a unique cover band.  Do you like Doo Wop?  Ragtime? Swing? Ever wonder what pop songs would sound like if they were sung in speak-easies?  Yeah, me neither, but now I can't stop listening.

Here are my three favorites (although it was very difficult to choose - check out their album, aptly named "Twist Is The New Twerk" on iTunes for more!):

We Can't Stop:

Their doo-wop cover of "Timber" is pretty amazing as well.

A little jazzy version of "Careless Whisper" with a little "Take 5" thrown in there for fun:



And this last one has to be my favorite, simply because it includes tap dancing (!!!):



Grab their album on iTunes and listen on repeat!

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

Ballet Mime

Crossed arms mean love - but be careful -
make those hands into fists and you may
be saying something completely different!

My students and I had a conversation about ballet miming this week:  Did you know dancers are storytellers as well as actors and actresses too?

Ballerinas and ballet dancers even have their own special hand gestures to tell stories - sort of like ballet sign language!

You may already know some common gestures:
- Both hands to the heart for "love"
- Hand cupped by ear for "hear"
- Bowing or curtseying to show loyalty
- Strong motions with fists to show anger

There are some others you might not be as familiar with:
- Tapping the forehead twice for "princess" and three times for "king" or "queen"
- Crossed hands with fists for "death"
- And "dance" is said by circling your arms overhead in 5th position

Here are some links for more ballet mime:

• Ballet Mime Vocab by The Ballet Bag

• Mime Meanings in Ballet by iSport

Learn the conversation between the Swan Queen and the prince from Swan Lake with this fun video from The Royal Ballet:

NMM: The Lucky Ones - Kerli

I am currently loving this song by Kerli "The Lucky Ones".  I've been using it for tap and jazz warm-ups this week and its got a great beat (and no bad words!).


Grab it on iTunes:

NMM: Contemporary Song & Video Playlist

A few new songs that I've been loving in class and some videos to go along with them:

"Great" - Tony Robbins - free download here - this is the song from the Purina dog commercial that might have made you cry.  I think it would make a nice contemporary dance:



Try - P!nk - I didn't know she was such an awesome dancer - check out the video:


And my final song / video combo is: Capital Cities - Safe And Sound - you could use this techno song for warm-ups in jazz or tap, but I just love this fan-made video. Its a mash-up of historical dance moves juxtaposed with war images. I dig the old dance moves against the song:

September Blog Challenge: Inspiring Video

Participating in this month's challenge?
Feel free to this bad boy to your post
so you can be official!

Back to School, Back to Dance

For many dancers, parents, teachers, September means one thing: Back to School!

While I'm sad summer is ending, a new dance season is always exciting and my time off has made me anxious to start teaching again.

I've spent the last few weeks searching for some new music and watching dance shows and performances for some inspiration.

September's Blog Challenge Mission:

Last month's challenge was to share the inspiration from books. For September, your mission is to share a video that inspires you.

Your video that you share can be a dance performance you find inspiring on YouTube or just you vlogging about why you dance, teach or just love dance. (Just don't go all eharmony cat lady on me about your love of pointe shoes or something!)

How to Participate:

If you have a blog, share or link to your inspiring video and post a few words on why you like it.  Then make sure you leave a comment with a link to you post so we can all read it!

Don't have a blog? No problem! You can participate by leaving a comment below, tweeting @thedancebuzz or posting to our Facebook wall a link to your favorite dance video and why!

Can't wait to see your inspiring videos!

How To Get A Clean Music Edit Using GarageBand

For our 200th post, I am excited to debut the second video in our GarageBand Tutorial Series:  How To Get A Clean Edit Using GarageBand (see How To Fade a Song here)!

Check out the tutorial below or click the jump for a full transcript with additional notes that aren't in the video.





Side note...  200 posts!  I feel like that is an exciting milestone.  Fellow bloggers - do you get excited for "milestone" posts?  Or do you celebrate your blog's "birthday"?  Or am I alone in being dorky?

10 Hair & Make-Up Tutorials For Recital

Recital season is upon us in the US, and with it comes lots of parents and kids who have never done stage hair or make-up before!  I used to do demonstrations for some of my classes, but it is difficult to find the time when everyone is available, so I have switched to emailing YouTube links.  My students' parents love it when I point them to a YouTube tutorial - and I have learned a few tricks myself!

Here are some of my favorite tutorials for applying stage make-up and doing hair.  And be sure to share your favorite tips and tricks in the comments!

MAKE-UP TUTORIALS
For older students:
  (JAM Cosmetics)


For children:
  (JAM Cosmetics)

From start to finish w/little explanation, just her applying make-up:


More specific tutorials

• Stage Make-up for Male Dancers (in my opinion, a little too detailed for my pre-teen guys, but great for my older competition male dancers)
• Foundation and Blush by Fit For a Feast
• False Eyelashes by Kandee Johnson
• Applying Mascara on Children

Monthly Recap

Are you on Pinterest yet?  If you were, you wouldn't have
missed this awesome picture!

Yes I am aware that monthly re-cap would make more sense at the end of the month, but its been a busy month! And at the end of the month we have to have yearly recaps... so here is December's (a bit early) recap.

What You Missed From The Dance Buzz

• Vote for us for Dance Blog 2011!
• Dance pinspiration over at my pinterest page
• Things I tweeted
• Dance Teacher Survival Kit gift idea
• Tons of music inspiration (holiday, license-free music, new music mondays)
• Blank Wall Makeover

Dance Happenings Around The Internet

• I am so excited about the Jacob's Pillow "KNOW DANCE" project inspired by the Never Stand Still dance documentary (directed by Ron Honsa). You can participate by creating a response by answering this question in a video: "what do YOU want people to know about dance"!  I can't wait to see people's responses and would like to involve my students in creating a response of our own.
• Economics behind the Nutcracker
• Top Dance Stories from my dance blog friends at Twitter
• Stephen Colbert features (and participates) in the Nutcracker:

And if this doesn't spread some holiday cheer, I don't know what will...

And did I mention, vote for us for Dance Blog 2011!?

Oh, I did?  Well then, why haven't you voted yet!   Tuesday is the last day for comment voting for Round #1

Great How-To Music Editing Videos

Getting ready for competition or recital season and need to cut music?

Check out the great series of tutorials on music editing by Morriss Partee of SquirrelTrenchAudio. The explanations can get a bit long, but if you are struggling to know how to edit your music, there are some great tips here.

And if all else fails, Morriss also offers custom music editing.

Birds Can Dance Too!

Via DancePulp's Twitter feed:

New Music Mondays: Mash-Ups & Remixes

Trying to stay ahead of the trend in music for your classes? If you're a music-download junkie like I am, you are always looking for new music to use in class or to choreograph to.  This article will give you some new resources.  Last week we focused on Pop music - by checking out Billboard.com and Radio Disney.

This week, we change genres to mash-ups and remixes.

So what exactly is a mash-up?  Well, its a mix of two songs (often from different artists or genres) "mashed" together to create a new song.  If you watch the series "Glee" on FOX, you may remember the episode from Season 1 where the club was challenged to come up with a mash-up.  Here is the girl's result which combine's "Halo" and "Walkin on Sunshine":


You can find this song and the other Glee mashups on iTunes.
Halo / Walking On Sunshine (Glee Cast Version)

Where else can you find the hottest mash-ups and remixes?  Go straight to the source: DJs.  These guys and gals mix for the hottest clubs and will usually record their own spin on songs. These are a few of our favorites - and they often have their mixes available for download right on their websites.

• DJ Earworm - creating pop remixes and mash-ups.  Check out this remix of 2010 summer pop songs:

• Norwegian Recycling - This DJ has many remixes with over 5 songs sampled.  I love using this song for warm-ups:

Norwegian Recycling - Viva La Viral on Vimeo.

• Party Ben - he has a thing for combining the most unusual sounds and making them work.  Love this remix of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" and the Four Tops "Can't Help Myself".

Disclaimer: Of course you will still have to do the usual bad-words check before playing any song in class--which may also require translation for the world songs, which leads to my next resource:

• YouTube - It's probably not your first thought for new music, but you can find remixes, mash-ups and radio versions of popular songs that are often available to download from the user who created them. Type in a song and you will find remixed versions, mash-ups and edited radio versions.
  

Next week's New Music Monday will have another new music resource for remixes and mash-ups!

Looking for past New Music Mondays?

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)

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.