Summer School Blog

Starting in a small local dance school and ending up in the Corps de Ballet is huge, but most dancers don't even realize how or when they go there. "I wasn't even thinking about a career yet. It was all sort of a whirlwind, and I just went with it." says Betsy McBride, a 24 year-old dancer who started in her local dance school at the age of 3 in the suburbs of Dallas. At 14, Mc Bride went to a summer intensive to get better and learn more, at a school that's affiliated with the Texas Ballet Theater. After a few weeks, she was offered a year-round place at the school. A couple months after that, she was hired into the Texas Ballet Theater. In 2015, McBride contacted the American Ballet Theater, in search of something bigger and new to do in her career. ABT originally said that there were no open spots but offered to let her take a class with them. After the class was over, she had made a good enough impression that a spot just so happened to open up and she was of...

During the most emotional and meaningful part of a performance inspired by the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, the fire alarm sounds. With the perfect timing of the alarm, most of the audience remained seated, treating it like it was part of the performance, when in reality, the on stage smoke mixed with the humidity, setting off the fire alarm, creating a real need to evacuate until the fire department gave the all clear. What is a performer supposed to do when something like the above happens? Dr. Charlie Brown,  a retired performance psychologist who has worked with dancers from Charlotte Ballet, talks about the difference between successful and not as successful performers in tricky situations like this, "The most successful performers aren't more perfect; they know how to visualize performance success and mentally prep for when things go wrong," says Dr. Charlie Brown in a interview with Dance Magazine. Dr. Brown suggests that to be a successful performer, you ...

Yesterday, on our class trip downtown, we were asked to speak to a few business owners to find out what its like to own a business. I came across a few coffee shop owners and a few more native to our area shop owners. I learned a few things from each of these places; and surprisingly a lot of it is the same from shop to shop. One of the things many of the owners said that they learned from owning a business is that you should never think like a business owner, but you should think like a costumer. In all honesty, this makes a lot of sense. You want to think like the costumer, so you can understand what they want, what they are looking for, and if it is set at a reasonable price yet you'll still make a profit. Another thing I learned from all the owners I talked to is that the costumer isn't always right. I was slightly shocked by this. Usually you get told that the costumer is always right, but in reality you must stick to your values and only try to appease someone if it sta...

http://www.dancemagazine.com/how-to-actually-find-neutral-2440448159.html When in dance classes, all dancers are asked to keep on their neutral spine. But, what is a neutral spine, and why must we stay on our neutral spine? Your neutral spine is when your spine, from the cervical to the pelvic, is in its natural s curve. This is different for everyone because of the different structure types for each different person. Each dancer must stay in their neutral spine to stay balanced and to work all the correct muscles. This is extremely important. If a dancer is off balance or working the wrong muscles, then they could seriously injure themselves. As a dancer myself, I am asked to keep on my neutral spine all the time and I can honestly say this is difficult if you have no idea what they are talking about. This article actually helped a lot and I actually feel better about how to do it.

Capturing dance on camera is a feat all on its own, and having a dance background is a very helpful thing. Ezra Hurwitz is a former dancer, who after he injured himself in dance, decided to pursue photography and filming. "I always knew I wasn't going to dance forever," says Ezra in an interview with Dance Magazine. When he was back in New York of rehab after his injury, Ezra says, "I was bored, so I started working with Ellen Barr in the New York City Ballet video department." That's what got him into filming dance. Dance is an art form that engages the eyes and imagination of those who watch it. To catch it on film and capture the magic of it is extremely difficult. If you don't get the dance at the right angles, you are not going to be able to understand the story and connection of the piece and those are two of the  most important things of dance, the third being the emotion of the piece. If one cannot connect emotionally with the piece, then they w...

What makes people seek out the dangerous things in life? The things that give us a trill and a rush of adventure? Well, just that. The rush of adventure is the entire reason for people taking risks in life. Some people like the feeling of a rushing heart beat and a normally frightening sight in front of them. It makes then feel alive. For example, Alex Honnold, a free solo climber, just free scaled El Captain in Yosemite National Park on June 3rd. He is the first person to accomplish this, while others have died trying. As Tommy Caldwell, one of Alex's friends, explains in an article about Alex, "Alex climbs to live, not to cheat death." This reflects back  on what I mentioned earlier when I said that it makes some people feel alive. It puts people out of their comfort zone and gives them a chance to live life to the fullest.

Mira Nadon, 16, and Davide Riccardo, 17, preformed a duet by George Balanchine on June 3rd. Durning this beautiful and "romantic 1952 homage to the Highland landscape" piece, Nadon's character teases the guy and will "'call to him then say no, and he has to run after her.'" The chemistry so strong and "a happy surprise," between the two of them. They have never worked together before this but as Suki Schorer, who put together the "Scotch Symphony", said, "'They have chemistry together that is magic.'" I absolutely love this dance so much! It is so beautiful and light hearted. You can definitely see and feel the connection between the two of them. They are so beautiful to watch.  

What is "Dance Theater"? Well, according to author Annie-B Parson, Dance Theater is a "cornucopia of theatrical possibilities," everything (dance, text and narrative, clothing, singing, etc.) is equal, yet, paradoxically, "I think dance is the most important thing." Parson goes on to explain why dance is the most important thing ("it's the most fundamental element at hand") and talking about her disagreement with the separation of dance and theater. I absolutely agree with Miss. Parson. Dance is a special art form that conveys feeling and speech without speaking a single word and I do feel that it is the most fundamental element in a theater production. Dance makes any play much more fun and entertaining to watch. Dance brings in movements that otherwise cannot be conveyed through words.

Eva Igo, 14-year-old dancer from Minnesota preformed a "hypnotizing" performance on "World of Dance". "Such a star", J.Lo states. I love this dance. You can definitely feel the emotion Eva is giving off in this performance. She seemed comfortable up on stage and definitely lived up to my mothers words, "Dance like no one is watching." One of the judges, Derek Hough, commented, "You dominated that stage," and she really did. She used the entire stage, used her face, and turned her dance into a story and conveyed the story so well that, as I said earlier, you can feel the emotion of her dance.

We see symbols all around us everyday, but what do they mean? To me, symbolism is a quick and easy way of labeling something. For instance, every car has a symbol on it letting people know what kind of car it is. A Chevy has the bow tie, Honda has the slanted " H ", and Mercedes has the "pie chart". All of these symbols have their immediate meaning saying what they are, but they also have a deeper meaning that not everyone really consciously recognizes but knows its there, such as a Mercedes. The "pie chart" means Mercedes but when you see a Mercedes you most likely think, "they have money and they have arrived". During our walk yesterday through downtown Rapid City, I found many symbols. Here are six of my favorite symbols that I saw and their meaning, both immediate meaning and deeper meaning. A Camera~ A person holding a camera in a tourist city usually means that they are a tourist, not from around here and wanting to make memories. But a ...

Everyone has a different idea of what the future has in store for us. Some of us say that in 50 years we'll have flying cars, others say that we'll be on Mars in 50 years. I think that in the future we'll have faster ways of traveling, and maybe getting closer to being able to put a human on Mars. I don't know if we'll actually get someone on Mars, but if we do, that's the next step in this never ending space race right? Most people when they think of the future, they think of movies to get their ideas from. For instance, Back to the Future. There's Flying cars, The Skyway, the Robotic Journalist, and many more. On October 21, 2015, everyone who had ever seen Back to the Future, went crazy trying to see what Back to the Future had actually predicted, such as: Finger Scanners and Virtual Payment, Monitor Sensor Games, and Six Chanel TV. These kinds of movies are what people base their predictions on.

Season 14 is here and the original that I fell in love with is back! So You Think You Can Dance is a reality TV show and dance competition that searches the country, and world, for amazing dancers. Yesterday, Monday June 12, 2017, Season 14 of SYTYCD premiered on FOX and it opened with a bang! The first contestant on the day had such an astonishing performance that everyone knew after that, that it was going to be a good day for dance. I absolutely love this show, but I will admit that I didn't watch last season, due to the fact that they changed it too much; they turned it into a kids competition and that is not what I "signed up" to watch. Now that they are back with the original show with the original judges, I plan on watching the show again and for its full length.

 "We’re capable of the worst monstrosities . . ." Jordan Peele, director of the horror film Get Out, talks about how society results to scapegoat, or isolate, a person out of fear of everyone else going against you also in an interview. He mentions that fear can drive people to hurt, or destroy another person for the fear of being on the wrong side of the group or society. I agree with Peele. People are like wolves, we tend to stay in a pack and follow what the others do to avoid being an outcast or pushed out of the group. When we are pushed from a group in society, we tend to feel scared and out of place and in a constant hurry to find a new group to jump into. For example, there was a video that was floating around Facebook a few weeks ago that was set in a Japanese school setting. This video was about a school girl who was being bullied by a group of school boys but one of the boys actually liked her. The thing was that the one boy who liked her was never going to stand...

The Hubble Telescope has done the "Impossible". Hubble has viewed "a dead star about 18 light-years away warping the light of a more distant star that appeared to pass behind it" which Einstein had predicted would happen but said it would never be able to be seen. Hubble made it possible for astronomers "to read clues carried in the curved starlight and discern the mass of the dead star, called Stein 2051B." I find this extremely fascinating that we have made such advanced technology that is able to basically prove Einstein wrong. The fact that anyone could do that is just amazing; being able to prove a genius wrong seems to be an impossible task all on its own.

"I pretty much realized that we’re just existing. We’re not really contributing anything to society. Our generation doesn’t have the basic manners that include ‘no, ma’am,” and ‘yes, ma’am’—we don’t even hold the door open for ladies, much less our elders anymore. We listen to really obscene music that degrades women and pretty much glorifies drugs and crime." Alexis Bloomer, a young lady who has seen the issues with our generation. As she stated above, we have lost basic manners and I honestly agree with her. I used to live on a military base while my father was the commander of the Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB),and during that time I had to use those manners out of respect for those serving our country. The sad thing is that I actually get made fun of for using "yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, and no sir". I also agree with her when she says that we listen to obscene music, and I cannot lie about the fact that I'm listening to some right now. I fi...

I grew up watching "So You Think You Can Dance" (SYTYCD) and have been dancing my entire life, and totally agree with this article. SYTYCD has pushed me to become a better dancer so that one day I could compete on the show. Every day in the dance studio I push my self harder than the day before and I constantly stretch to keep my self from hurting my body in any way. SYTYCD has also given me an interest in learning new styles of dance. Before watching the show, I only danced Ballet (on flat and on point). Now 15 years later, I do Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. The show was my inspiration, for if I want to compete I have to be able to dance each of these at least a little.

James Berardinelli wrote a review over the Western movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stating that the movie "remains one of the best crafted and most beloved of all the Westerns". I partly, but mostly, agree with this (and I've seen my fair share of Westerns because of my uncle). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a more whimsy and comedic approach of a Western movie, where others are more serious and violence driven. Not to say that Butch Cassidy doesn't have violence in it, because believe me, it's got plenty of on screen deaths; yet none are extremely gruesome. I enjoyed the movie and found it easy to watch for a Western, and funny in some of the most intense scenes of the movie, such as when they were under pursuit of the bounty hunters and the only way to escape was to jump into the river, but the Sundance Kid didn't want to jump because "' I can't swim!'" Butch stared laughing, as did all of the audience who watched th...

Christina Fragiskatos  wrote a beautiful article that I relate to so much. Being able to let go of everything and forget the world through dance has always been the best feeling for me. I admire how well Ms. Fragiskatos explains how she uses dance as an escape from the hardships of  life. In many ways I am a lot like Christina: I was put into Ballet when I was two, I used to find it mostly about making friends and having fun; now I use it to strengthen my body and escape the world, I don't put myself out there in dance; therefore I don't get solos or feature parts like her, and being a generally shy and anxious person, dance allows me to speak without saying a word.

Our culture today doesn't sing publicly or even a loud. We fear being off key and out of tune. Before people were so self conscious, people would sing as large groups all the time not really caring how bad it sounded. For example, Andy Crouch recalls when he was a kid at a base ball game, the crowd would sing the National Anthem, all together and not very well but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that the National Anthem was sung. Nowadays, you never here the crowd sing the National Anthem (well, unless there's technical difficulties with the recording or a singer is too nervous), you always hear a professional sing it now, someone who actually sounds good; and the crowd does what they'll be doing the entire event: watching, listening, and enjoying. I find this fairly odd and honestly, I wish we'd go back to the days where everyone sang out nations song. Singing, I think, brings people together. Pete Seeger knew that most people cannot sing on key to save ...

 Ever heard of a Ballet dancer rescuing someone? Not normally right? Well, Mr. Grey Davis, a Ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theater, did just that. On Saturday night, a 58 year-old homeless man was pushed onto to subway tracks at the 72nd Street Subway Station by a 24 year-old girl. When Mr. Davis, his wife, and his mother were leaving the Metropolitan Opera House after watching his wife perform (who is also a ballet dancer), the incident unfolded. Mr. Davis was originally waiting for someone else to help, but when he saw that no one was going to he jumped down and lifted the 58 year-old, who is unconscious, off the tracks and others helped pull him up. Mr. Davis didn't realize the danger until he heard the on coming train getting closer. He then quickly pulled himself up onto the platform. On Monday, back at rehearsal, Mr. Grey Davis was honored by his instructor with a traditional flower wreath. This story made me smile. Hearing this reassur...

Downtown Rapid City, SD in the summer Rapid City, SD, a medium sized city with a lot to do in every season. A place where visitors from around the globe are welcome in the summer, and a place that always has something to do for those who live here year round. In the winter, there is ice skating downtown, the parade of lights around Christmas, hockey all winter long, and a fun New Years party at the Alex Johnson. In the summer, there's the Summer Nights Concert Series every Thursday night, tours through the city, and plenty of shopping and dinning. But, is Rapid City any good for those who live here? To me, Rapid City is up and down. There only seems to be two seasons here, Winter and Construction/Tourist season. The roads always seem to be under construction once the weather gets nice and when the population grows with all the tourist, traffic just gets hectic. For example, Mt. Rushmore Rd., the road the leads to the most popular attraction in the Black H...

Who am I? I am a person of enthusiasm and excitement. I am polite and caring. I am a person who tries hard at what I want to succeed at. But with all these good things there are some bad, some down falls to being me. I have an issue with lying. If I don't know what to do or how to do it I tend to push it away and act like it was never there. I get snippy pretty quickly and defensive pretty easily. I get extremely lazy at times and need a little push to get going. I have trust issues due to too many people breaking my trust and I find it pretty difficult to make friends. I can easily talk to new people, but only if its not about me. When a conversation turns to me, I tend to get defensive and shy away from the conversation or change the topic of conversation. I don't tell many people what is going on in my life and I try to solve my own life problems with out any help; even when I really need help. I tend to shy away from asking for help. I  have some depression problems ...