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'