Size Isn't A Problem

A dance theater is performing Nothing to Lose. Fat activist, Kelli Jean Drinkwater, collaborated with Kate Champion to work on this performance. They wanted to show that even people who are considered over weight can dance and make it mesmerizing. They want to honor all body sizes and break the stereotype. Drinkwater states, "As an artist and a woman of size my creative practice and my body politics are inseparable..."

The performances shows real bodies in motion, and each person is wearing bathing suits and lingerer to show off their whole body. The show premieres on 21-25 January 2015 at Carriageworks.

So if you are looking for something new in fresh, where all bodies are appreciated and welcome, you should go out and see Nothing to Lose.
As a dancer there are so many stereotypes about how a dancer should look.From experience I have seen dancers go to drastic measures to get the "dancer body". This show is about accepting who you are and being happy with it.


Sources http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/13/kelli-jean-drinkwater_n_6456750.html?utm_hp_ref=dance

365 Photos

Dance is an art. There are many aspects of it that makes it beautiful but the best part is a still picture of dancers. When a picture can capture the beauty of dance it is amazing. One dancer/ photographer, Mickael Jou, made it his mission to go out and take 365 photos of dance poses around Berlin.

His pictures are truly captivating. Each dance pose goes with the setting which makes him look like he is apart of the background. He is trained in ballet and modern. Mickael used to dance in the streets of Paris entertaining people passing by.


Despite the title being "365 photos" he will not be taking them everyday, it will take around 3 years.
He states "My self-portraits help me express the emotions that I feel while dancing," he explained. "Dance is a very powerful art form, and I try to translate my emotions into my photography."


Many dancers have this same feeling. The only difference is that he has the ability to get it on a photo. Each photo being edited makes it look very professional and makes the viewer not want to look away.


Sites-- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/mikael-jou-365-photos_n_6867080.html?utm_hp_ref=dance

Why I Dance

There are many reasons why people dance. To escape reality, to become something new to

express themselves. The Huffington Post went out to ask the top 39 dancers in the world why they dance. They asked dancers from the American Ballet Theater, Ballet San Jose, the Kansas City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Nashville Ballet, Abraham.In.Motion, the San Francisco Ballet and a children's studio in Hawaii.


To name a few of the famous dancers that took part in this is Maykel Solas, Alexandra, Basmagy, Kayla Rowser, Ommi Pipit-Suksun and my personal favorite Misty Copland. There answers were very true to the dancers they are. "I dance because I can become someone else on stage.", "I dance to be alive. Mind. Body. Spirit. And transmit that to others!", I dance because I want to make people FREE." and the quote that I liked the most was from Ryan Jolicoeur which said, "I dance because I have to.".


This dance campaign was really cool and I appreciate all the different responses that it got. All the answers show the influence dance has on people and how passionate a person can be about it. The 21st century gives dancers like me the ability to pursue it. There has been more and more opportunities for dancers with all the tv shows and the companies.


Sources- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/18/whyidance_n_6344090.html

Stay With Me

Youtube has been a big help to the dance world. It gives dancers a way to express themselves and share their talent with viewers from all over. The newest hit on Youtube has been the contemporary duo Emilio Dosal and Kelsey Landers. This dance is breath taken and has half a million views in not even a full day.

If the name Emilio Dosal sounds familar then you can probably remember him from the hit dance show "So You Thing You Can Dance." He was a contestent last season and got to the top 20. Emilio audtioned on the show with a hip-hop dance and this video is really suprising. We get to see him voulnerable and thats the beauty in it.

The video is to the song "Stay With Me" cover by Boyce Avenue. It was choregraphed by the two dancers, Emilio Dosal and Kelsey Landers. The video was done by John Shih, Gerald Nonato and Theerada Watcharaton.

The concept behind this video was to show love. It takes place in a apartment and the couple begins to argue sitting at a table and then dances through it. At the end of the video it looks like a happy ending and then when the music stops, the girl, Kelsey Landers, is seen walking with another guy. It is very emotional.

Dance part of the video is amazing. They manage to weave in and out of each other looking like they are one person and then away a second later. Kelsey's extensions are graceful and the way she dances with emotion is mesmerizing, which is the same for Emilio. I can't imagine how popular this video will be if in less then a day has half a million views.

Sources- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/emilio-dosal-stay-with-me_n_6848174.html

Dance Like You're Under Water

For most people dancing is a taught thing. You have to take classes to learn how to perfect the art. But there are always those talented few who are natrually gifted with the ability to dance. Adilyn Malcolm is an 11 year old girl who had put a youtube video up of her dancing, and she is one of those few.

She has never taken a class and is a self taught dancer. The way she moves looks like she is almost swimming. Her moves flow right after another, which takes true talent to do.

Dubstep is been becoming so much more popular lately, and it's people like miss Adilyn that make it mesmerizing. 

She has a few more videos on YouTube with many views and growing. If she keeps this up she will definitely be going places.

Sources: Selhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/20/adilyn-malcolm-dancing-dubstep-audacious-adi_n_6016678.html

Pointe Meets Technology

Over the years pointe shoes have developed greatly. More and more they have come out with new pointe shoes to fit and work with individual dancers. But now they have come up with a new pointe shoe called e-traces. These aren't your typical pointe shoes, they have built in technology to calculate and record movement. The things recorded goes onto an app that shows the mapping and choreography of the dancers feet. 

The designer of this, Lesia Trubat, appreciates the actions of dancers and believes that these shoes will transform the image of a dancer into a visual language. The shoe has electronic devices on the bottom and side of the shoe developed by "sewable electronics".

We have seen how technology has slowly been incorporated with dance. From solutes, to animations in the background. But Trubat combines both dance and technology allowing dance fans to interact with ballet in a new way. 

This is only the start to a new future for ballet and dance. I am eager to see what will come next. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/lesia-trubat_n_6148618.html?utm_hp_ref=ballet

http://www.self.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/e-trace-1.jpg