What would you tell your high school self?
As I've been getting some of my students ready for dance team try outs, I thought I would do a "what would you tell your high school self" question.
As most adults would tell you, high school can be some of the most rewarding but tough years of your life! You're trying to figure out who you are, while preparing for tryouts, while studying for tests, while figuring out what the heck you're going to be when you grow up, while hanging out with friends and it can be tough and overwhelming. If I could tell my high school self something, it would be to have more confidence in yourself! You will have bad days, some days you won't be able to do your splits (even though you've been working on overextending them for over a year), some days you'll fail that set you studied so hard for, and some days you fall out of your turns, it happens! But instead of letting it get you down, use it to motivate you and push yourself harder. When the dreaded tryouts come around, don't be so scared! I would always be so terrified, but after judging my first tryouts a while back was when I realized that all my worry was pointless. Most judges want you to make it just as much as you do! If you smile, work hard, and do everything to the best of your ability, you will succeed! Of course you do need to work on your technique and stretch etc. but if you plan and work on yourself to prepare and give yourself time, you will be fine! One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, was instead of comparing yourself to the best dancer in the room, ask yourself why do you think they’re so good? Is it their confidence? Their technique? Once you’ve asked yourself that question, instead of getting jealous figure out a way to make you better. If the dancer youre admiring has amazing confidence, can you dance with more confidence? If they have amazing technique, can you go home and work every day on your technique to better yourself? Use others to motivate you, not tear you down. J
Another thing I would tell my high school self to focus more on what YOU want. As captain, I was entirely focused on how I could take my team to the next level. I was always brainstorming ways I could make my team better and how I could help people with the things they were struggling with, but I forgot that at some point I have to think about myself as well. I should have spent more time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and figuring out which school I wanted to go to. It would've saved a lot of money! Lol! I started out pursuing a dance degree because I loved it and than flip flopped between a ton of degrees that I thought would make me more money and give me a chance to support myself when I got older (my momma always taught me I didn't need a man!). Eventually, I changed my degree back to dance and I get to do what I love, and support myself at the same time. It's amazing how some things work out! If only I had thought more about what I wanted to do after graduating, I could've saved myself quite some time, stress and lots of tears!
Moral of the story is you're going to make mistakes and you're going to learn from them, but that's how to become who you're meant to be! Focus on being the best you can be, have confidence in yourself, and learn to put yourself first and you will succeed.
Friday, December 30, 2016
November: Juwan Alston
November: Working from a new perspective
Recently I was able to put on a different hat, and had the opportunity to be a choreographer. Every year Charlotte Ballet has an Interactive performance, where the audience is able to participate in various pieces and activities. This also gives members of the company if interested an opportunity to choreograph. But along with choreographing, you also have to design the lights and do the costuming. Everything is all on you. I loved every second of it.
I started with discovering the music. With the theme of the evening being “Everlasting Life,” I had to discover what exactly that means to me and how I could portray that in movement. There is a music composition major at UNCSA that I absolutely love named Alex Umfleet. I began exploring his sound cloud account and just listened to everything that he had posted. After narrowing them down to 2 options, I just sat and listened to them on repeat, asking myself which one moves me. I went with the one titled Elysia. I then reached out to him expressing my interest in Elysia, as well as asking for his permission to use it. I had a great conversation with him just getting more information about the piece, what it represents to him, what inspired the creation, etc.
The next phase of Operation Elysia was to cast the ballet. I watch everyone in company class and rehearsals, but I had to envision what I wanted my piece to be. At the very beginning, I imagined a pas de quatre of all women, but as I continued to observe company class and listen to the music that changed slightly. I ended up deciding on 1 boy and 3 girls. They are all amazing dancers and I knew from the moment that I confirmed with everyone, that it was going to be a wonderful experience.
Moving forward I had to create the structure and to begin choreographing. Sitting in my room with a blank piece of paper, I listened to the music, paid attention to the various phrases and tempo changes, and really studied the music. I was also fortunate to receive the score from Alex, so I could reference that as well. After having the structure, the movement began. I knew that there were certain steps that I wanted on certain musical phrases, the challenge was to really tie them together. I spent hours going through one thing and changing it to another, to make sure that you can physically see the music in the movement.
After completing the piece, I began exploring the idea of costumes. The funny thing about costumes is that I does not always look the same on a dancer as it does a hanger. They did not go with the tone of the piece, but with the help of my dancers, I was able to select something that would greatly compliment my piece. From the colors of their costumes, the choreography, and the music, I was able to tell the lighting designer exactly what I wanted. It turned out absolutely beautifully, and I truly can’t wait to experience this again!
Recently I was able to put on a different hat, and had the opportunity to be a choreographer. Every year Charlotte Ballet has an Interactive performance, where the audience is able to participate in various pieces and activities. This also gives members of the company if interested an opportunity to choreograph. But along with choreographing, you also have to design the lights and do the costuming. Everything is all on you. I loved every second of it.
I started with discovering the music. With the theme of the evening being “Everlasting Life,” I had to discover what exactly that means to me and how I could portray that in movement. There is a music composition major at UNCSA that I absolutely love named Alex Umfleet. I began exploring his sound cloud account and just listened to everything that he had posted. After narrowing them down to 2 options, I just sat and listened to them on repeat, asking myself which one moves me. I went with the one titled Elysia. I then reached out to him expressing my interest in Elysia, as well as asking for his permission to use it. I had a great conversation with him just getting more information about the piece, what it represents to him, what inspired the creation, etc.
The next phase of Operation Elysia was to cast the ballet. I watch everyone in company class and rehearsals, but I had to envision what I wanted my piece to be. At the very beginning, I imagined a pas de quatre of all women, but as I continued to observe company class and listen to the music that changed slightly. I ended up deciding on 1 boy and 3 girls. They are all amazing dancers and I knew from the moment that I confirmed with everyone, that it was going to be a wonderful experience.
Moving forward I had to create the structure and to begin choreographing. Sitting in my room with a blank piece of paper, I listened to the music, paid attention to the various phrases and tempo changes, and really studied the music. I was also fortunate to receive the score from Alex, so I could reference that as well. After having the structure, the movement began. I knew that there were certain steps that I wanted on certain musical phrases, the challenge was to really tie them together. I spent hours going through one thing and changing it to another, to make sure that you can physically see the music in the movement.
After completing the piece, I began exploring the idea of costumes. The funny thing about costumes is that I does not always look the same on a dancer as it does a hanger. They did not go with the tone of the piece, but with the help of my dancers, I was able to select something that would greatly compliment my piece. From the colors of their costumes, the choreography, and the music, I was able to tell the lighting designer exactly what I wanted. It turned out absolutely beautifully, and I truly can’t wait to experience this again!
December: Heather Hardesty
December: What would be the best present you could get right now? (Dance or personally)
Happy Holidays! This month we are asked to talk about the best gift we could receive right now. Without hesitation I would say the gift of time! This semester has brought with it many challenges and opportunities as a business owner. It’s left me wishing for more time to spend with my family, more time to devote to my faith and more time for myself. It’s so easy to say it’s all about prioritization and that is true, but sometimes when you are in so deep it’s a matter of survival.
This type of gift is one that you have to fight for and make for yourself. I’m happy to say that after a few months of overwhelming obstacles I am on my way to giving myself this gift. In the new year I will be teaching much less so I can manage more and grow my business and myself. I’m so happy that I will be able to give more of myself to my family, my faith and a little to myself. I look forward to seeing what the new year holds. I’ve got major plans for 2017 – stay tuned!
Blessings to all!
Happy Holidays! This month we are asked to talk about the best gift we could receive right now. Without hesitation I would say the gift of time! This semester has brought with it many challenges and opportunities as a business owner. It’s left me wishing for more time to spend with my family, more time to devote to my faith and more time for myself. It’s so easy to say it’s all about prioritization and that is true, but sometimes when you are in so deep it’s a matter of survival.
This type of gift is one that you have to fight for and make for yourself. I’m happy to say that after a few months of overwhelming obstacles I am on my way to giving myself this gift. In the new year I will be teaching much less so I can manage more and grow my business and myself. I’m so happy that I will be able to give more of myself to my family, my faith and a little to myself. I look forward to seeing what the new year holds. I’ve got major plans for 2017 – stay tuned!
Blessings to all!
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
October: Heather Hardesty
Question: What advice do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self about dance?
Happy October! This is my favorite time of the year with all the leaves changing color, the holidays and the holiday decorations. I am crossing my fingers that the weather matches the mood very soon. So this month we are asked to blog about what advice would we give our 10 year old self.
This is such an intriguing topic and I’ve given a lot of thought to it prior to writing my entry. I think one of the things I would tell my 10 year old self would be never to doubt your ability. I think sometimes society places a certain expectation on what something should look like. I think a lot of time dancers are looked at to be very svelte and extra flexible in societies eyes in order to be successful. I don’t think this is true all the way across the board but I think that often times it’s put forth as the standard for success. I would tell my 10 year old self to not let the fact that you are not of a certain body type keep you from going to the front of the group to do the combo or volunteering to be the first to go across the floor. Love yourself for what God has given you and enjoying learning the art.
Another thing I would tell my 10 year old self would be to not be scared to take different types of classes. I think if I would have stepped out of my comfort zone a bit from what I enjoyed I might have discovered a different style that I might loved. I wish I would have had the confidence to do that because I might have taken that twirling class or clogging class.
The last thing I would tell my 10 year olds would be to find that one thing that makes you unique as a dancer and use that as a springboard towards the type of dance you want to be. Don’t feel pressured to conform to the way everyone else does something – put your own unique spin on it. Make it your own!
Happy October! This is my favorite time of the year with all the leaves changing color, the holidays and the holiday decorations. I am crossing my fingers that the weather matches the mood very soon. So this month we are asked to blog about what advice would we give our 10 year old self.
This is such an intriguing topic and I’ve given a lot of thought to it prior to writing my entry. I think one of the things I would tell my 10 year old self would be never to doubt your ability. I think sometimes society places a certain expectation on what something should look like. I think a lot of time dancers are looked at to be very svelte and extra flexible in societies eyes in order to be successful. I don’t think this is true all the way across the board but I think that often times it’s put forth as the standard for success. I would tell my 10 year old self to not let the fact that you are not of a certain body type keep you from going to the front of the group to do the combo or volunteering to be the first to go across the floor. Love yourself for what God has given you and enjoying learning the art.
Another thing I would tell my 10 year old self would be to not be scared to take different types of classes. I think if I would have stepped out of my comfort zone a bit from what I enjoyed I might have discovered a different style that I might loved. I wish I would have had the confidence to do that because I might have taken that twirling class or clogging class.
The last thing I would tell my 10 year olds would be to find that one thing that makes you unique as a dancer and use that as a springboard towards the type of dance you want to be. Don’t feel pressured to conform to the way everyone else does something – put your own unique spin on it. Make it your own!
Thursday, October 27, 2016
October 2016: Juwan J. Alston
Question: What advice do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self about dance?
Well this question has a very simple answer for me. I wish I could tell 10 year old Juwan that you can actually dance. Boys can dance, and it is way more than just girls in pink tights and tutus frolicking on a stage dancing to classical music. Dance is so much more than that. You can put of shows for hundreds and thousands of people, more than just your teddy bears (I had 12 to be exact). You can teach more than just math equations to them. You can eventually teach actually human beings. Through dance you learn how to get into something that’s deeper than yourself. You can learn life lessons, tell some pretty incredible and sometimes magical stories, and continually challenge yourself!
I wish I had the opportunity to be introduced to dance at an earlier age. But then again, would I be in the same place that I am today, had I been. Would dance have as much meaning to my life as it does now? I am sure that I would have gotten bullied even more for dancing. I wonder would I have let that stop me from pursuing something that I would fall in love with. I don’t know why I was introduced to dance so late, but I feel as if I was introduced to at the right time specifically for me.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
September: Heather Hardesty
September: What did you do with dance this summer and what are you looking forward to most this year?
Welcome to a new year! I’m super excited to start blogging again for the new school year. So our topic for September is what we did with dance this summer and what I’m looking forward to the most this dance year.
I will start with what I did this summer with dance. This summer was spent primarily taking my daughter to dance conventions in Arizona and California. We started after Nationals for her team by going to Camp Pulse in Arizona. Hallie danced and I did the business track. I connected with other studio owner across the nation and some from Australia. We had a great round table discussion on building classes and what does beginner/intermediate/advanced mean in the current state of dance. I had a wonderful lunch with all the choreographers on the Camp Pulse/Pulse on Tour. I also took the parent hip hop class and unknowingly became a hot topic on the instructors Instagram! I also took at teacher’s only class with Brooke Lipton that was wonderful!
We then went to Los Angeles for the first week in August. Hallie attended the Monster of Hip Hop Tour finale and for once I got to watch like a proud parent. I did go to take a hip hop class at Millenium Dance – hip hop. I’m very proud to say that I kept up with the 20 something year olds in the room! I also took an African Dance class at Debbie Allen’s studio. It was an awesome experience! We had a great time that week.
This was one summer I didn’t do a ton of things dance wise, but I did do more theatre things. I’ve started a sing/dance/act class at the studio I’m on staff at (Cedar Park Dance Company). I also did a theatre intensive over the summer that was wonderful! I’m really excited to do more of this during this dance year. I think it’s something that can make dancers more well rounded that want to pursue more opportunities in dance.
This year I’m most looking forward to teaching more classes in musical theatre. I get to use my love of dance, theatre and singing all at the same time. Who hoo! I’m also looking forward to a new year with the Junior Capital City Dancers. Auditions for anyone 7-15 years old is October 24th. This year we are going to have a pom group and a hip hop group. I’m also looking forward to traveling around the country with Hallie for Camp Pulse. She received the honor of Camp Counselor so she gets to assist the faculty at each convention she attends. This year we are going to Las Vegas, Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, Orlando and Boston. Needless to say this year will be busy, but I don’t like any other way!
Best of luck to you all in your new dance year!
Welcome to a new year! I’m super excited to start blogging again for the new school year. So our topic for September is what we did with dance this summer and what I’m looking forward to the most this dance year.
I will start with what I did this summer with dance. This summer was spent primarily taking my daughter to dance conventions in Arizona and California. We started after Nationals for her team by going to Camp Pulse in Arizona. Hallie danced and I did the business track. I connected with other studio owner across the nation and some from Australia. We had a great round table discussion on building classes and what does beginner/intermediate/advanced mean in the current state of dance. I had a wonderful lunch with all the choreographers on the Camp Pulse/Pulse on Tour. I also took the parent hip hop class and unknowingly became a hot topic on the instructors Instagram! I also took at teacher’s only class with Brooke Lipton that was wonderful!
We then went to Los Angeles for the first week in August. Hallie attended the Monster of Hip Hop Tour finale and for once I got to watch like a proud parent. I did go to take a hip hop class at Millenium Dance – hip hop. I’m very proud to say that I kept up with the 20 something year olds in the room! I also took an African Dance class at Debbie Allen’s studio. It was an awesome experience! We had a great time that week.
This was one summer I didn’t do a ton of things dance wise, but I did do more theatre things. I’ve started a sing/dance/act class at the studio I’m on staff at (Cedar Park Dance Company). I also did a theatre intensive over the summer that was wonderful! I’m really excited to do more of this during this dance year. I think it’s something that can make dancers more well rounded that want to pursue more opportunities in dance.
This year I’m most looking forward to teaching more classes in musical theatre. I get to use my love of dance, theatre and singing all at the same time. Who hoo! I’m also looking forward to a new year with the Junior Capital City Dancers. Auditions for anyone 7-15 years old is October 24th. This year we are going to have a pom group and a hip hop group. I’m also looking forward to traveling around the country with Hallie for Camp Pulse. She received the honor of Camp Counselor so she gets to assist the faculty at each convention she attends. This year we are going to Las Vegas, Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, Orlando and Boston. Needless to say this year will be busy, but I don’t like any other way!
Best of luck to you all in your new dance year!
September: Juwan Alston
September: What did you do with dance this summer and what are you looking forward to most this year?
My summer break began May 1st. I gave myself about a week off and I just slept and enjoyed life from the sofa. I am such a busy body, that a period of rest was exactly what I needed. I then went to Texas to spend time with my family and taught about 9 master classes. Boy did I have a great time. I love teaching and being able to pour into the lives of others. It is always so refreshing to work with dancers that you have never worked with before, as well as dancers that you have not worked with in a long period of time. When I came back home to Charlotte, I continued teaching and begun taking classes again to get back in shape preparing for our summer Chautauqua Residency. Rehearsals began June 6th and I spent 2 weeks beginning learning the rep for the first show. After 2 weeks I then spent 4 weeks in Chautauqua, New York. In those 4 weeks I danced 5 different ballets, 2 of which were brand new. I had about 6 days off once I got back from New York, which I spent taking class with the Charlotte Ballet Summer Intensive students. Then the magical day came for me to return to UNCSA to teach at the Preparatory Summer Dance Intensive for 2 weeks. While there I was able to work alongside some incredible teachers, and well as some incredibly talented dancers. It was such a learning experience in really allowing me a new perspective on how I approach my teaching, as well as how I approach the way that I work in my technique classes. Upon finishing at UNCSA I received a phone call about an injury that happened in Chautauqua, and so I caught a plane the very next day back up to New York to begin rehearsing for a show that would be performed 6 days later. I was fortunate to have danced the ballet before, although dancing many parts than I didn’t before was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself and what I am really capable of and I am really ready to go back into this new season and just kick some ballet bootay!
This new season, I am ready to go back and continuing growing not only technically, but as an artist. I am also excited to explore new cross training opportunities. The rep for the season is nice and versatile. I am most excited to perform in one of my favorite ballet’s Sleeping Beauty! This year is all about celebrating Jean-Pierre (the Artistic director of Charlotte ballet who is retiring in June of 2017), and I am honored to have a part in helping make this season as special as Jean-Pierre is to all of our hearts.
My summer break began May 1st. I gave myself about a week off and I just slept and enjoyed life from the sofa. I am such a busy body, that a period of rest was exactly what I needed. I then went to Texas to spend time with my family and taught about 9 master classes. Boy did I have a great time. I love teaching and being able to pour into the lives of others. It is always so refreshing to work with dancers that you have never worked with before, as well as dancers that you have not worked with in a long period of time. When I came back home to Charlotte, I continued teaching and begun taking classes again to get back in shape preparing for our summer Chautauqua Residency. Rehearsals began June 6th and I spent 2 weeks beginning learning the rep for the first show. After 2 weeks I then spent 4 weeks in Chautauqua, New York. In those 4 weeks I danced 5 different ballets, 2 of which were brand new. I had about 6 days off once I got back from New York, which I spent taking class with the Charlotte Ballet Summer Intensive students. Then the magical day came for me to return to UNCSA to teach at the Preparatory Summer Dance Intensive for 2 weeks. While there I was able to work alongside some incredible teachers, and well as some incredibly talented dancers. It was such a learning experience in really allowing me a new perspective on how I approach my teaching, as well as how I approach the way that I work in my technique classes. Upon finishing at UNCSA I received a phone call about an injury that happened in Chautauqua, and so I caught a plane the very next day back up to New York to begin rehearsing for a show that would be performed 6 days later. I was fortunate to have danced the ballet before, although dancing many parts than I didn’t before was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself and what I am really capable of and I am really ready to go back into this new season and just kick some ballet bootay!
This new season, I am ready to go back and continuing growing not only technically, but as an artist. I am also excited to explore new cross training opportunities. The rep for the season is nice and versatile. I am most excited to perform in one of my favorite ballet’s Sleeping Beauty! This year is all about celebrating Jean-Pierre (the Artistic director of Charlotte ballet who is retiring in June of 2017), and I am honored to have a part in helping make this season as special as Jean-Pierre is to all of our hearts.
September: Haley Ivy
September: What did you do with dance this summer and what are you looking forward to most this year?
Hello TFDE members! I am excited to be a professional mentor this year and I hope what I have to share is helpful or at least interesting to you.
This summer was a little different for me because I didn't attend a ballet summer intensive for the first time in 7 years! YIKES! I would've like to have gone to another summer intensive but the truth was I couldn't afford it even with the scholarship I got. And I was already stressed since the Georgia Ballet ended in early march last season. (So I had a terribly long summer with no free dance in sight.) I ended up taking open class 2 times a week at Atlanta Ballet, student classes at my company, random hiking and doing yoga and Pilates in my living room. Thankfully I got to go back to Texas in April to celebrate my 21st birthday and guest perform Les Sylphides with my old studio for a week. I also had two jobs in the summer to help make ends meet. I taught a 4 month long outreach program for dance at an elementary school and worked at a church daycare helping look after toddlers. The glamorous life of a broke ballet dancer... But I somehow managed to stay in shape and get some dance in before our season started.
Now that the 16'/17' season has started, the company is back doing class and rehearsal 5 days a week. (Plus 3 side jobs for me ;) ) I am really looking forward to performing Peter Pan in October and Sleeping Beauty in the spring; Daet, my director has some exciting choreography that is very challenging in the corps de ballet. I feel that I will improve a lot in his Peter Pan, it's also a very playful ballet so it's fun to act out all the pantomime scenes AKA being a pirate. Sleeping Beauty is one of the most classical ballets out there so I am definitely thrilled to do the full ballet in all it's glory. The company is also pretty small so for sleeping beauty that means each company member will have lots of different roles to rehearse. Which means I will be dancing a lot, which obviously makes me happy.
Hello TFDE members! I am excited to be a professional mentor this year and I hope what I have to share is helpful or at least interesting to you.
This summer was a little different for me because I didn't attend a ballet summer intensive for the first time in 7 years! YIKES! I would've like to have gone to another summer intensive but the truth was I couldn't afford it even with the scholarship I got. And I was already stressed since the Georgia Ballet ended in early march last season. (So I had a terribly long summer with no free dance in sight.) I ended up taking open class 2 times a week at Atlanta Ballet, student classes at my company, random hiking and doing yoga and Pilates in my living room. Thankfully I got to go back to Texas in April to celebrate my 21st birthday and guest perform Les Sylphides with my old studio for a week. I also had two jobs in the summer to help make ends meet. I taught a 4 month long outreach program for dance at an elementary school and worked at a church daycare helping look after toddlers. The glamorous life of a broke ballet dancer... But I somehow managed to stay in shape and get some dance in before our season started.
Now that the 16'/17' season has started, the company is back doing class and rehearsal 5 days a week. (Plus 3 side jobs for me ;) ) I am really looking forward to performing Peter Pan in October and Sleeping Beauty in the spring; Daet, my director has some exciting choreography that is very challenging in the corps de ballet. I feel that I will improve a lot in his Peter Pan, it's also a very playful ballet so it's fun to act out all the pantomime scenes AKA being a pirate. Sleeping Beauty is one of the most classical ballets out there so I am definitely thrilled to do the full ballet in all it's glory. The company is also pretty small so for sleeping beauty that means each company member will have lots of different roles to rehearse. Which means I will be dancing a lot, which obviously makes me happy.
September: Sarah Steinbacher
September: What did you do with dance this summer and what are you looking forward to most this year?
Hello TFDE Members! I can’t believe another year is here!
Time is flying by and I am so excited to be apart of your amazing organization.
This past summer has been a busy one, which is probably why I feel like it has
flown by us. You know how that saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun
and this summer has been filled with fun! This summer I finished my
undergraduate degree and walked the stage at Texas State University to get my
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Business Administration. Now
that I have my degree, I am in the process of getting my teaching certification
to be able to teach dance in middle school and high schools and have been
preparing for my content exam through out the summer. I am the Drill Team
Program Coordinator and the Director of Legacy Dance Company at Acrotex Cedar
Park, which means I have had a busy summer at the studio as well! With the
start of summer classes to choreography camps to conditioning a new team, I
have been kept on my toes in such a positive way! My competition team, Legacy
Dance Company, is in their third season and started their training this summer.
We started lots of technique work and endurance exercises to help them get
ready for the upcoming 2016-2017 competition season. Getting ready for this
season has been the most challenging for both the girls and me! The girls on my
team range in ages from 7 to 11 and have been working so incredibly hard. They
have won lots of awards at competition the past two years which include overall
high score, judges choice awards, and many others but this year we are pushing
even further to be greater than we have been. We have added in two extra
routines for them to perform at competition and most of them also have solos to
prepare for as well. While getting them ready for competition season meant a
lot of work for them both physically and mentally, it also meant a lot of
behind the scenes work for me including editing music, choosing costumes and
hairstyles for the company girls and soloists, ordering team gear such a
jackets and little things for costumes, getting payments and communicating with
parents and choreographing their upcoming competition routines and scheduling
all practices for the upcoming season to send out to parents. In the midst of
all the team to do lists, I also choreographed numerous solos for dancers for
this upcoming competition season and worked with numerous dancers one on one to
help improve their technique for the upcoming year. This upcoming year, as
cliché as it sounds, I am most excited to watch my students grow individually
as well as dancers. There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone
achieve his or her goals while watching them learn valuable lessons at the same
time. My favorite part of being a teacher is really building up each student so
they can not only crush their dance goals, but also crush every goal they make
for years to come!
Monday, June 27, 2016
Are you a working dance professional that would love to mentor young dancers? Our TFDE organization is currently looking for Professional Mentors for a monthly blog post as well as collaboration on any event planning/teaching you are available for. Please see our website for more information and to apply.
Friday, May 6, 2016
April: Heather Hardesty
April: What are you plans for this summer both in relation to your dancing and personally?
By: Heather Hardesty – Professional Mentor
Summer is almost here and I don’t know about you, but I’m
very excited. Don’t get me wrong, I love
my job and I love teaching but a break is sometimes needed. Quite a few years ago I made the decision to
not teach myself over the summer. There
are many reasons why which include:
1.
Avoiding burnout
2.
Creating extra time to go to conventions to
train
3.
Having more family time
4.
Enjoying not having a schedule
I’m very fortunate that I can hire teachers to teach for my
business so I don’t have to and that the studio I teach for understands my need
for summers off. My summer is jam packed
with things that are meant to nourish my mind, body and soul. This summer I will start with a week-long
singing tour in Canada with my choir. A
year ago we were asked to do this and now it’s just weeks away. This is one of those bucket list items for
sure! I’m excited to visit Canada (I’ve
never been there before) and I’m learning a bit of French to be able to converse
with the locals.
Following that trip, we
take our annual vacation as a family.
This year we are going to the Grand Canyon. We are also super excited as none of us have
ever been. This will be the first half
of our vacation while the last half will be spent in Scottsdale, AZ at Camp
Pulse Nationals. My daughter and I will
take part in 3 ½ days of dance training and the resort it’s at is super
nice!
Late in July my daughter and I
hope to make it to Dallas for Hip Hop Fest and from there we are traveling to
L.A. for a week at Monster’s of Hip Hop – L.A. Tour Finale. Hallie received a scholarship in January to
attend and while she’s in class I’m going to fit in some classes at the Edge. After L.A. it will be back to home and
planning for the new season and choreography camps. Although our summer is busy, there’s lots of
time for sun and fun! It’s just what I
need (as well as my family) to start the new year out fresh and ready to
go. Have a wonderful summer everyone!
April: Juwan Alston
April: What are you plans for this summer both in relation to your dancing and personally?
As my first season as a professional dancer comes to a close, I can only reflect at how much I have grown personally and artistically. I have been challenged to push myself even more. I have learned how to fuel myself according to the demand of what I am working on, after all our energy comes from food. I have learned how to soak everything in and the importance of paying attention to detail. But the most important thing I have learned is how to work smart and be patient with myself. Overall I feel that I have had a very successful year and can’t wait to see what next season has in store for me.
Check out this video on why I joined Charlotte Ballet:
Juwan Alston on Why He Joined Charlotte Ballet
This year my summer starts on May 1st, and boy am I excited for it. I will be taking some much needed recovery and rest time for my body. As many of you know, I will be returning to Texas to teach a series of master classes and spend time with my family. As well as doing some guest artist work. Then the company will begin rehearsing for our summer Chautauqua season in June, and I will be in Chautauqua, New York for a month. Following that I will be teaching at 3 different summer intensives. The grand finale of my summer, is just taking time to myself for relaxation and pure enjoyment of the summer weather before I go into hiding inside of a dance studio again.
I hope all of you have had an incredible school year! A special congratulations and shout out goes to the class of 2016. I wish you all great success in where the next step in life is for you. Have a wonderful and safe summer!
Monday, March 21, 2016
March: Juwan Alston
March: What does your professional schedule look like for next year, what kind of classes/event will you be taking/participating in and what are you looking forward to about next year?
Growth, Growth, and Growth
It has been a crazy time here in Charlotte. We just wrapped up The Little Mermaid which was absolutely incredible. It was such a visually compelling ballet, that it was truly enjoyed by everyone old and young alike. Being able to bring this ballet to life was truly an honor, the set pieces and costumes, choreography were all just right on the mark. Hering all of the laughs, gasps, cheers, etc. from all of the children made every single special and allowed us to continue to keep it fresh!
Now we are preparing to perform our final show of mixed rep. It will consist of George Balanchine's Who Cares?, Sasha Janes’ We Danced Through Life, as well as a world premiere by Dwight Rhoden.
Next year for me is going to be, yet again, a very exciting year. I will continue dancing at Charlotte Ballet in the first company, working hard and continue growing as an artist and a dancer. I am looking forward to the rep that we will be dancing. It is Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s last season as the artistic director of Charlotte Ballet, so I know the entire season is going to be exciting! I plan to spend the summer dancing with the company in our summer Chautauqua season, as well as exploring different teaching opportunities. So my new “year” starts in June!
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
February: Heather Hardesty
February: Who is your dance idol (dead or alive)? and why?
So this month we are asked to write about who is our dance idol and why. I feel as though I’ve been blessed to have so many over the years that it’s hard to choose just one. There’s one in particular that cultivated my passion to teach and for that I will be forever be grateful. Her name is Tracy Foster (now Tracy Foster Borschow). She used to own Strut’s N Company in McKinney, TX and I started at her studio in 1992 when I moved to McKinney to finish out my high school years. Not only was Tracy an amazing dancer, she was also a wonderful teacher. She never let a child leave class feeling bad or defeated. Tracy always encouraged and celebrated successes!
She approached me a few months into my tenure at Strut’s and Co and asked if I would assist her teaching a 3 and 4 year old class. I was super happy to. After assisting her for a few months, she started letting me teach parts of the class on my own. It was great to have someone there teaching me how to teach. By the end of the semester I was teaching the class on my own. My senior year of high school she put me on the schedule for classes and I had 3 that I taught on my own and then my freshman year of college I was given more classes to teach. I always enjoyed teaching younger kids and the baby classes were always my favorite!
After 24 years of teaching dance, I definitely will always remember who gave me my start. I hope that one day I’m able to show her what I’ve built on my own with Kinderdance Austin and I can only hope she is proud and knows that she had a big part in shaping the type of teacher I am today.
February: Juwan Alston
February: Who is your dance idol (dead or alive)? and why?
I want to sincerely apologize for not blogging last month. I will share my goal that I have given myself for the year. I want to continue discovering my voice as an artist and continuing defining myself and growing as a person. Ways that you grow, is by challenging yourself. When we came back from Christmas Break, we began working very hard on a new show (that included 2 world premieres), and we had 2 weeks to do so. It was a madhouse, but in the end it was so much fun.
Now onto February. my dance idol changes constantly. I love to find things about many different dancers that I love. My number one female would have to be between Evgenia Obraztsova and Natalia Osipova. They are both absolutely amazing dancers, and anytime they step on stage, they immediately capture your attention. Now when it comes to males, my top 2 are Leonid Sarafanov and Friedemann Vogel. These guys are simply beautiful and passionate artists. Other dancers i admire are Kimin Kim, Semyon Chudin, Artem Ovcharenko, Daniil Simkin, Maria Kochetkova, Gillian Murphy, Sylvie Guillem, Marianela Nunez, Steven McRae, Misty Copeland, Roberto Bolle, Mathieu Ganio, and Aurelie Dupont. And I will stop naming people because I could go on and on. I have never seen 2 dancers that dance the same. Even if the role and choreography are the same, every dancer approaches and executes the movement differently. The individual artistry is what makes dance and dancers so special!
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
January: Heather Hardesty
Happy New Year to all!
What a wonderful start to 2016 it has been. I know there was a specific topic for
January, but I felt drawn to talk about something different that I think many
fellow dance educators and dancers can relate to.
Over the past few years I have witnessed something that at
its core makes me sad. I have noticed
and been the instructor to children who at the first sign of “failure” have a
breakdown or retreat. I know that
getting upset with yourself if you don’t get something isn’t anything new, but
this is a bit different. We as dance
educators know that students will pick up things at different speeds and thus
grow in their abilities at different speeds.
We as educators know that, but do children and their parents know
that? The answer to that question is
both Yes and No.
I do think there are some children and some parents that
know this, but I think there’s a much larger portion of people today that do
not realize it. Why are children today
breaking down when they can’t get something right away or why do at the first
sign of things being challenging do kids run away or drop? I think there are many answers to this
question. First, in my opinion, society
puts an enormous amount of pressure on kids to succeed. Who doesn’t love it when your kid gets
straight A’s, places overall at a competition or gets an award for their
community service. I know as a parent
that I’m extremely proud when my child does these things. What I do think is missing is permission to
fail. I think we have to learn to be
better in that department. We need to
let children know that it’s okay if they didn’t master that new technique in
jazz class this week or that it’s okay that they got a B in a class as long as
they tried their best or that it’s okay if they don’t place overall at a
competition.
Second, I think kids put an enormous amount of pressure on
themselves. Kids today see shows like
Dance Moms, America’s Got Talent, American Idol, etc and dream of being like
those people on there. I think that we
live in an insta-world where we are used to having everything in a instant and
I think some of these kids who take class with us on a weekly basis think that
at the end of the semester they should be busting out double turns or switch
leaps. What I think has been forgotten
is the process. Most of those people on
those reality shows didn’t roll out of bed with all that talent, they worked
for their talent. Granted many have natural
ability, but hours were spent perfecting their craft. I try to tell my students all the time that
we all pick up at different speeds and not to be hard on yourself. We all get to finish line just at different
times. I had a child in my class this
year that burst into tears when we did a simple move across the floor because
she didn’t get it right away. I assured
her it was okay. I broke it down and had
her a few others do the movement a little slower. She was so scared to fail that for 3 weeks
she wouldn’t go across the floor. I
spoke to her at the end of each week to assure her that each week she was
getting stronger in her movement and that it takes time to master a new
genre. I also reminded the student that
she doesn’t need to give up. I might
also add that it was week 3 into class.
I had another student who every time we worked on turns (simple prep and
single turns) would have to go to the restroom.
I asked her a few weeks ago why she always needed to go to the restroom
when we started doing turns. I
encouraged her every week with what she was able to do and she was getting
stronger, but the pressure she put on herself to be just as good as everyone
else was too much and she dropped. I ask
myself as a teacher “Am I doing everything I can do to make sure every child
feels good about themselves no matter what level they are?” “Am I adding to
their stress and insecurity?” “Why are
parents not making children honor a commitment and allow them to quit something
halfway through and not seeing it to the end?”
I cite these examples because it scares me on some level
that we have a generation of children who are going to grow into adults and
anytime something gets hard they quit and walk away or hide under their desk
filled with such anxiety. So the
question I pose is what we as dance educators can do about this. I know for myself this is something in the
coming weeks I will meditate on. In the
words of my friend Darryl Retter – Dance is but a by-product of what we teach
within the studio. How can we use our
half hour or hour a week to positively influence a child?
Saturday, January 2, 2016
December: Juwan Alston
Dec: If you could ask Santa for something (real or imaginary) that would make your dance life or personal life easier, what would it be?
Christmas for a Dancer
Well, if I could ask Santa Claus for anything, I would probably ask him for more flexible ankles. I just feel that would make things slightly easier in truly taking my lines to the next level!
I do feel like, as a dancer, we spend all day in front of a mirror, so we search for flaws in ourselves. Or things that we want to change, especially because we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. So many times we get into the mindset of, “If only I was as flexible as Lauren,” or “I wish I could turn like Josh.” But where ever we go, there is going to be someone that can do something better than us. So even if we were to recieve this “gift” from Santa, we would never be truly satisfied and constantly want something more. So instead of focusing on what we could use to make our lives better, let's focus on the things that we already do well while acknowledging what we are looking to make stronger.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
December: Heather Hardesty
Dec: If you could ask
Santa for something (real or imaginary) that would make your dance life or
personal life easier, what would it be?
If I could ask
Santa for something that would make my dance life easier it would to be able to
take a yearly sabbatical for just 4 weeks so I could study, write lesson plans
and complete all choreography for an entire year all at once. I would love to go to a private island with
my cottage on the beach, with wi-fi of course, and just be inspired by the
ocean and beautiful surroundings. My
life would be so much easier if I started the first of the year with lesson plans
for all every week I taught. A girl can
dream right?
If I could ask
Santa for something that would make my personal life easier, it would be to
have a personal chef that cooked all of our meals. This way we would have the most time
available to spend with one another as a family and we would always have really
good food. This would also help because
I’m not the best cook.
Happy New Year and
may 2016 be your best year yet!
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