Certificate Presentation 2013

The certificates and medals have arrived from the UK- Congratulations again to all our pupils who took exams in June!

Rainbow Award- Certificate- Junior Medal
Candidates are awarded the grade of PASS, MERIT or DISTINCTION

Exams were taken in:

BALLET- marks are for Technique at the Barre, Port de Bras (use of the arms), Technique in the Centre, Presentation and Sense of Performance, and Theory (i.e. those French words!!)

Grade 1 Ballet candidate

NATIONAL TAP- marks are awarded for Rhythm and Timing, Clarity of Beating, Arm lines and Style, Presentation and Sense of Performance, and Knowledge of the steps and routines being performed

Grade 2 Tap candidates

MODERN STAGE- marks are awarded for Rhythm and Timing, Arm lines and Style, Presentation and Sense of Performance, Ability to Turn, Kick and perform other various Dance Movements, and Knowledge of the steps and routines being performed

Intermediate Foundation Modern candidate

RAINBOW AWARDS and MEDALS- a short exam where the candidates are marked mainly on their Style, Performance and Presentation, as they perform a routine and a dance in full costume and make up.

Rainbow Award candiates (look at their colourful strips of Rainbow!)
They performed a ballet dance and a tap dance in this session

What is Modern Stage?

So far, we have taken you through two of the three types of dance that are taught here at Body Works- Ballet and Tap. The third one is Modern Stage.

The question 'What is Modern Stage?' is answered very well on the NATD website, so we're going to take some information from their page- http://www.natd.org.uk/exams/modern.asp

• "The Modern Stage branch has a syllabus which helps prepare children in the basic modern technique. The exercises within each grade are devised to prepare the body to stretch, limber and strengthen so as not to cause injury when attempting the more difficult movements, eg. splits"

• "Each grade is divided into sections for:

Rhythm...

Essential for keeping in time with the music and with other dancers on the stage,
 for example in the big group numbers in 'Cats'!
http://www.catsthemusical.com/the-show/synopsis/

Use of Arms...

Jazzy arms from the 2002 movie 'Chicago' starring Catherine Zeta Jones
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299658/?ref_=sr_2

Limbering...

If all parts of the body are well limbered (i.e. if the muscles, ligaments and tendons
 of the legs, torso, back and arms are flexible) the dancer can
make movements look impressive but effortless

Turns and Kicks...

BodyWorks students Anushya and Ashwini pirouette on stage in our 2012 school show 'Kaleidoscope'

Dance Movements and a Dance."

Dancers in the musical 'The Lion King' use leaps to represent gazelles moving across the African plains
http://www.thelionking.co.uk/about-the-show/

• "As the children progress to the major examinations, a higher standard of performance prepares them for entry to full time vocational schools or auditions for the professional stage."

• "Modern dance in any form, Jazz, Lyrical, Funky etc. can also be used as one of the dances in our Theatrical and Cabaret Awards, again working on the performance as well as the technique."

Exam Session 2013

Well done to all of our dancers who took their exams last Sunday. The results will be out next week... Now we can all relax! (until rehearsals start for our show in October...)

Prelim ballet class ready for their Russian doll dance

Grade 1 Tap

Grade 1 Tap dancers ready to do their medal dance

What is Cardio?

Cardiovascular- or aerobic- exercise is any movement that increases your heart rate and keeps it elevated for a certain period of time. Not just running and cycling, but also swimming, dancing, a vigorous yoga class, and sports such as tennis or badminton.

Some of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise include...

- Weight loss
- Strengthening your heart muscle, which helps lower blood pressure
- Improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels, which help prevent type II diabetes and strokes
- Prevention of osteoporosis due to the weight bearing nature of most cardio exercises, which helps strengthen your bones
- Development of the core muscles while maintaing good posture helps to manage back pain
- Release of endorphins- the feel good chemical that can help manage stress, anxiety, depression and increase your self esteem

Of course you must exercise regularly in order to gain these benefits, the recommended amount being 30-60 minutes, 3-5 times a week.

BodyWorks Fitness Studio has three cardio machines available. They can be adapted to suit any fitness level, and all have a screen that displays the time of your workout, the distance and the number of calories burned.

Treadmill

-Have a smooth running surface, which is easier on your joints than running outside on the pavement
-Speed can be changed manually, or set into a program of your choosing so it changes automatically as you run. You can either have it at one speed for your whole run, ensuring you stay consistent, or you can start slow as a warm up, increase speed in the middle, and slow down again at the end as a cool down
- Incline can be changed to simulate running up a slope

Cross Trainer

- Less impact on your joints, as your feet stay on the machine throughout the workout
- Works multiple muscle groups at once (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and arms)
- Resistance can be increased to improve muscle tone while also providing a cardio workout

Stationary Bike

- Very low impact on joints (even more so than the treadmill or cross trainer)
- Resistance can be increased, either manually or set into a program that changes it automatically, making it harder to pedal and providing a more intense workout

What is Tap Dancing?

Tap dancing earns its name from the metal plates that are fixed to the bottom of the dancing shoes. Dancers use these as percussive instruments to tap out rhythms as they dance.

Tap dancing has developed from several different sources, including:

- English Clog Dancing (http://www.clogfest.org/Home.html)
- Traditional Irish Dancing (think Riverdance!- http://dance.about.com/od/typesofdance/p/Irish_Dance.htm)
- Spanish Flamenco (http://dance.about.com/od/typesofdance/p/Flamenco.htm)
- African Welly Boot Dancing (http://www.zumazuma.com/shows/south-african-gumboot-dancers/)
- African American Soft Shoe Dancing

These have evolved into the two main types of tap dancing that we know today.

Hoofer or Rhythm Tap

  

Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson

 

Ivory Wheeler and Dianne Walker in the 1989 Broadway musical 'Black and Blue'
http://valeriekthurston.weebly.com/week-of-december-4-black-and-blue.html
Dianne Walker's interview in Dance Magazine, Feb 2005
http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/February-2005/Teachers-Wisdom-Dianne-Walker

This kind of tap is danced very close to the floor, with a lot of emphasis on the footwork and very relaxed upper body and arms. It is often danced a capella (i.e. without musical accompaniment) and improvisation is relied upon rather than choreographed movements. This style was originally developed by the African- American slaves and is considered part of the jazz movement.
 

Savion Glover- the choreographer behind 'Happy Feet'
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/movies/28happ.html?_r=0



Broadway Tap

Also known as Show Tap, it has more emphasis on using the arms and body along with the rhythms and footwork. This style gained prominence when it was performed on Broadway and in movies. Perhaps the two best known examples would be: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who had a ballroom-style of tap dancing...

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in the 1935 movie 'Top Hat'

...and Gene Kelly, who's strength and flexibility gained from ballet training allowed him to perform very athletic tap routines.

Gene Kelly, famous for the 1952 movie 'Singin' in the Rain'

Eleanor Powell in the 1936 movie 'Born to Dance'

What is Ballet?

Vadim Muntagirov, Daria Klimentova and the English National Corps de Ballet in Swan Lake.
Photography by Helen Maybanks.

A quick Google search gave us these answers from...

• The Australian Ballet- "Ballet is exciting to do, and to watch. It is an entertaining theatrical art, performed on stage to an audience. Ballet is about art, but it is also about life."
  https://www.australianballet.com.au/education/about_ballet/what_is_ballet

• The American Ballet Theatre (about their dancers)- "Their bodies are instruments of profound drama. Trained to deliver emotion through intricate yet beautiful movements and choreography. Precision. Grace. Versatility. That is where their talent lies." http://www.abt.org/dancers/default.asp

• The English National Ballet- "...we reach for innovative collaborations, creative excellence and bold ways of honouring, but adding to, traditional ballet. We dance to conjure wonderful, beautiful visions and because we have something to say." http://www.ballet.org.uk/about-us/

Marcelo Gomes and Sascha Radetsky from the American Ballet Theatre

'What is Ballet?' is a very broad question that is hard to answer in a short sentence. There are so many aspects to ballet that, when trying to think of a simple answer to put in this blogspot, more questions came up instead! Ones such as 'Where did ballet first originate?', 'How has ballet developed over the years?', 'What goes into the production of a ballet performance?', 'How do you train to become a ballet dancer?', 'What should you expect from your child's first ballet class?' (as you can see from our previous post, we have already started to touch upon the grooming aspect of ballet with 'How to put your hair into a BUN!')

Over the next several blog posts we hope to give you the answers to some of these questions, plus any more we think of along the way! Hopefully while reading these nuggets of information you will be inspired to do some further research, go and see a performance, or even join in a ballet class or two yourself!

Australian Ballet rehearsal of Wa, Feb 2008.
Photography by Dallas Kilponen.

How to put your hair into a BUN!

With the dance exams fast approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to produce a handy step by step guide (complete with photos) to putting your hair into a bun.

You will need:
- Hair brush and comb
- Ponytail holders (same colour as hair)
- Bun nets
- Hair grips
- Gel and hairspray

1. Brush hair off face and apply gel- hair should be smooth and flat before doing the actual ponytail and bun

 

 

2. Pull hair back tightly and secure in a ponytail that is level with the top of the ears. A neat and tidy ponytail with the hair drawn snugly back is the key to making a good ballet bun

3. Twist hair and coil around the ponytail holder

 

 

4. Use hair grips to hold everything in place. Ensure that the grips hold the hair from the head and hair from the ponytail- this keeps the bun secure and flat to the head.

 

5. Wrap bun net around the coil of hair and add a couple of hairgrips to keep hold of the hairnet.

 

 





 6. Pin back any stray hairs then use hair spray to fix in place

 

 





Be sure to follow these steps before your next ballet class and on exam day!

Thank you to our model Lharanya, for helping us with these photographs!