Saturday, 12 November 2011

task 2d


2D
When I go about my daily practice I am most enthusiastic about music. It is music that drives me to dance and I have been enthusiastic about music for my whole life. As a child I was a very musical person and I enjoyed playing the piano and flute. I decided to study music further as an option at school but found that I could express myself better through dance and also felt more of a fulfilment from dancing to music than playing it.
I love hearing a new piece of music that I can really relate to or that stirs up emotion inside and I really enjoy attending workshops and classes where dances are choreographed to relate to a piece of music emotionally. When I see people dance with their souls rather than their bodies I am inspired. I really admire Mia Michaels a choreographer best known for her work with contestants on America’s So You Think You Can Dance as she has created so many moving and inspirational pieces. Another choreographer who I admire is Mark Battershall whose classes I have attended at Pineapple Dance Studios in London.
I am a worrier. If I don’t have anything to worry about I will worry about something that could happen that probably never will. Growing up I found that going to dance lessons I would forget about everything that was going on outside the room until the lesson was over. I was able to purely focus and enjoy dancing and it was my teachers who inspired me with their music this is what I love so much about what I do and I admire Rebecca Davies my childhood dancing teacher who was able to make me feel this way and have such a passion for dance.
It makes me a little sad sometimes when people don’t take dancing seriously.  A lot of people are uneducated about how specialised it is. In order to be a strong technical dancer a lot of hard work and motivation is needed. It annoys me when people turn their noses up at me when I tell them that I am a dancer. Some people don’t have enough knowledge of dance to be able to respect it.
I really admire those who are trying to put dance more into the public eye through the media such as Nigel Lythgoe who created So You think you can dance. I feel like the more people see dance the more they are able to appreciate it. This particular programme showcases professional dancers competing against each other over a variety of dance styles, here is a link to one of my favourites which was choreographed by Mia Michaels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XIFZLlIiM.
Although I don’t have a specific line of inquiry yet I would like to go in the direction of inquiring about music and dance. What makes a piece of music so inspirational to dance to? How can we use this to inspire more people to dance?

2 comments:

  1. Hey Emily,
    I feel the exact same. I think that a lot of people are uneducated when it came to dance, in fact when I went to high school, I never told my friends I danced, as I don't think they would have understood. Especially boys, they seem to get the wrong idea of dance from such a young age.
    Also, people don't seem to understand that a lot of hard work is involved with dance. Most uneducated people seem to think we just do the hokey cokey and wave our arms around.
    I like the links to other practitioner too! Good work!

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  2. The artistry and abstraction of music and dance has always had a presence in out society. Try google these ideas to expand them a bit - what is it about seeing dance that supports your call to see more of it? Has there been anything written about the place of dance and music for social learning?

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