Dancing with the Stars

'Dancing With the Stars' is coming back for it's 20th season. This seasons cast is better then ever. Cast vary from Willow Shields who was Prim in "The Hunger Games" to Noah Galloway a Iraq war vet who is a double amputee. Also they have Patti Labelle, Rumer Willis, Suzanne Somers, Riker Lynch, Robert Herjavec, Michael Sam, Redfoo and Charlotte Mckinny. The stars will learn how to dance from their professional dance coaches/ partners, and will have to perform a different type of ballroom, along with contemporary dance, every week. 


The show is known for their breath taking choreography, and brilliant teaching skills. They show that literally everyone can dance, despite some not so good as others. When the  show comes back then the judges are along with it. The panel of judges are Len Goodman,Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba. There had been speculations  of Len Goodman retiring after nineteen seasons of the show,  but that is not true. 

Monday March 16 is the set date for the return of the show on ABC. The eleven celebrities  and dancers are ready and excited for the new season to begin. 

Work cited- http://tvline.com/2015/02/24/dancing-with-the-stars-season-20-cast-patti-labelle-hunger-games/

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Dance Intensives

Summer is approaching fast and for most people that means laying in the sun and relaxing but for dancers it means intensives. Dance intensives are a time for dancers to practice for hours. Most intensives are a couple weeks long from eight in the morning till six at night. But what intensive should you choose?

Depending on the type of dancer you are, the place to do an intensive will vary. The main types of dancing for intensives are ballet, jazz and contemporary. Some intensives will include all three and others will concentrate on just one. 

The Joffery Ballet School is known for their intensives. They are located in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Georgia, Chicago, Miami and Dallas. At Joffery the intensives are a good seven weeks, with grueling hours. But it is definitely worth it. There are many talented choreographers and teachers that come and help students be the best they can be. 

Auditions for this can be found on the Joffery Ballet School website: http://www.joffreyballetschool.com/audition-dates-and-locations.html


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Shen Yun

If you live in the Grand Rapids area you probably have heard by now about the Shen Yun Company. They have been advertising it everywhere, in the mall, at different stores and restraunts. If you haven't heard about this then you are at the right place.

Shen Yun company brings the Chinese culture out through dance. The performance uses beautiful tapestry and classical trained dancers. The orchestra blends both East and West, and they have amazing animated backdrops.

Chinese is known for their great spins, flips and peer grace. It is one of the most expressive art forms in the world. Shen Yun is a story-based dance. They protray stories from the past and present.

In 2006 a group of leading classical Chinese artists got together at New York to share the culture with the world. Many of the artist are winners of international competitions in dance, choreography and music.

So if you happen to live in Grand Rapids and want to see an amazing production check out Shen Yun at the DeVos on February 14 and 15. 

 Sources- http://peacecenter.s3.amazonaws.com/img/SY2015_Greenville_web-image_660x376.jpg

Sergei Polunin

You may have heard the new song "Take me to church" by Hoizer. But have you seen Sergei Polunin dance for it? He is a 25-year-old Ukrainian dancer, but he is also known as the Tatted-up "bad boy" of ballet and he is a former member of the British Royal Ballet. 

The dance was all improve and is quiet breath taken. It was posted just last week and has over 1.8 million views.  David LaChapelle directed this video and then uploaded it to YouTube. 

He's moves were flowing and went with every beat to the music. His grand jete's were so high and then his extensions just kept going. The emotion of the dance came off from his very first move and held out till the end. I am thoroughly impressed with how well this dance is and how many views he got in just a matter of a week. The "bad boy" of ballet defiantly  gave people who aren't even ballet lovers a look into what dance actually is, pure emotion. 

Sources-http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/moscow-ballet-star-sergei-polunin-in-stunning-hozier-video/515834.html 



The dance-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-tW0CkvdDI
http://cdn.designfather.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/sergei-hozier.jpg

Maddie Ziegler

You may know Miss Maddie Zieglar from the hit television show "Dance Moms" on Lifetime. She became a big hit on the show and then soon became a sensation. She had her first big break when she was the star of the music video "Chandelier" by Sia. The video got millions of views just in weeks. Sense then she has been in many interviews, some include, Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel. She was also in a new music video for Sia with Shia Labeouf called "Elastic Heart" which also got people talking.

The twelve year old  has become a social phenomenon. Her carrier has continued on television shows like "Austin and Ally" and "Drop Dead Diva". She has also had the opportunity to perform on "Dancing with the Stars" and "Saturday Night Live".

But what is so captivating about this little girl? Some may say it's her polished technique and her beautiful extensions. But the most captivating thing is her face. She knows how to pull in the audiences attention with her facial expressions. Maddie's acting on the stage is brilliant and she continues to wow people every time she performs.


Sources- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maddie_Ziegler
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Raise the barre.

Hi! I'm Lara and this blog will be about dance. I am a dancer myself and I have a true passion for the arts. Posts will be weekly updated with new things every week. It will provide dance tips, whats going on in the dance world, perks of being a dancer ect. I'm excited start this blog and start raising the barre for dance.

Health Benefits of Dance

There are many things that make people healthy. Eating right, taking vitamins, going to the doctor, working out, ect. One of the most health beneficial things to do is dance.

All the different types of dance have different advantages. For instance ballet focuses on strength, technique and flexibility, were as hip-hop focuses on popping and locking. Jazz is high-energy, leaps and kicks, and ballroom is about being close to your partner and working on extensions . Despite all the different types of dances there are out there they all have one thing in common, they benefit your health.

Dancing is a fun way to get and stay in shape. There has been studies done that dance will keep you young because of it's benefits towards your heart, cardiovascular system and lung capacity. There is an estimate that dance can burn 5 to 10 calories every minute based on the intensity. The balance that dancers need are crustal, and it helps with core and avoiding injuries.

Not only is dance healthy for the body but it's healthy for the brain. Dance helps to improve memory with the steps that are required to learn, this increases mental exercise. Dancers also are very creative, with making dances up and figuring out ways to do certain moves with their body.

So next time you want to loose a pound or two, or having a more healthy brain just get up and start dancing.


Sources- http://www.dancescape.com/health-benefits-of-dancing
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Dance_health_benefits?open
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/healthy-eating-funny-little-pair-dancers-made-orange-slices-35924231.jpg