Benefits of Dancing

  There is an endless amounts of benefits to dancing. It has definitely improved my life. I would not be the same person I am today if it was not for dance.
Here are just a few of the benefits dance has:

• Dance helps for a greater self-esteem and self-confidence. It is an amazing feeling to execute a dance in front of an audience.

• It improves health. Even though some people may disagree, dance is very much a workout. Dancing can help improve strength, flexibility, and can help your heart and lungs.

• Dance also helps improve balance and coordination (such as being able to stand on point on the side of a fountain).

• Dancing can help you improve social skills and can easily make you new friends. When you have so many practices, you get to know the other people in your dances and you can bond with them with dance.

• Dancing really can just make you happy. When I came to college, I didn't dance for my first semester and that was the longest I had ever gone without dancing. I then joined the dance company and when I stepped on stage I lit up! Being on stage and dancing is a part of me and something I hope I will never have to be apart from.

Dance wear

Dance wear changes diametrically depending on depending on the genera. For example, for my jazz class, we were able to wear pretty much whatever we wanted as long we were able to freely move in it. This is a huge contrast from my ballet class where we were required to wear a black leotard, neutral colored tights, and our hair up, preferably in a bun, to every class.

Jazz vs Ballet

 On top of dress codes there are also a huge variety of dance shoes that are used for different dances. Here are the most common forms of dance shoes:

Jazz Shoes

Jazz shoes are flexible so they move with your foot as you are dancing. They also have traction but less traction than bare feet for turns

Point Shoes  

Point Shoes have a "box" in which dancers are able to stand on their toes. The box does not allow a lot of movement so it can be more sturdy when bearing the dancers weight. There are toe pads within the shoe to give some padding.

Dancing in point shoes takes a lot of ankle strength and training.    

                                          Ballet Slippers

Ballet slippers are similar to jazz shoes but are tighter to the dancers feet so you are able to see the dancers motion even better, especially when they point their toes which is a very important part of ballet.

 Tap Shoes                                         

Tap Shoes are specific to tap dancing where the sound is just as much a part of the dance is as the movements are. There shoes have metal attached to the balls of the shoes and the heels of the shoe

Ballroom Shoes 

Heels that are used in ballroom dancing are different than normal heels. They are normally more light weight, fit tighter, and are very secure on the dancers feet.

About dance gives more details about the types of shoes

Weird Habits Dancers Have

I have had people who have never met me before ask me if I am a dancer just because of some of the weird habits I have gotten from being a dancer. Here's a list of some weird habits dancers get have:

• Standing it 4th position 
• While most people stand with their feet parallel about shoulder width apart, but if you look at a dancer standing around they will most likely be standing in fourth position or a close variation.

• Whenever we find a wood floor, we have to practice spins on them!
• One of my best friends has a wood floor in her kitchen and every time I go over, Without thinking, I start doing turns and other dance moves across the room.

• Sitting in strange positions while sitting on the ground
• Whenever I sit on the ground, whether I'm studying or watching TV, I am always sitting in obscure positions or with my legs in the air.

• Cracking more than just knuckles on our hands
• A lot of people pop their knuckles but after years of dancing I also crack my toes, ankle, knees, hips, back, neck, and my shoulders. I also have times where my hip pops out of place and I have to pop it back in place. I'm not even 20 and I have joints of a 60 year old. 

• Going through dances in your head 
• Whether we have just learned a dance or it was years ago, when a song comes on that we know a dance to, we have to dance. If we don't have the opportunity to actually get up and dance, the dance will be going through our head and we might  be doing small dance moves with our hands.

• Break out dancing in random places
• My mom told me that when I was little she would lose me in Walmart because I would be dancing down the aisles. 

100 years of dance

Through out time, dance has evolved and changed in many different ways, even in the past 100 years. One hundred years ago, dance was a lot more proper but as time goes on it is becoming more relaxed with less rules. 

Here is a timeline of how dance has changed over the past 100 years:

1910-RAGTIME. 

  The most well known ragtime dance are the Waltz, Tango, and Fox Trot which is a strict partner dances.

1920-SWING

 The 20's where known for being the time of the flappers. This was also the start to swing dancing and dances such as The Charleston.

1930 

Swing started to evolve into different styles such as the Jitterbug and Lindy Hop. This is an example of Lindy Hop. It has a lot of fast movements and stunts.

                                             

                                                                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahoJReiCaPk

1940- JIVE

1950 

The 50's had many different dances arise such as the Cha Cha, Bunny Hop, the Pony, Line Dance, Hand Jive, and the Twist.

1960  

Many different dances also came out of the 60's such as the Mashed Potato, Go-Go, and the Jerk.

1970-DISCO 

The 70's had a very distinct style, both in clothes and dance. They were both very flashy.

1980-HIP HOP

 The 80's was the era of techno and was known for sharper dance movements such as the robot and was the beginning of popping and locking

1990-CONTEMPORARY

Contemporary dance became popular. It consisted of more lose and flowing movements.

2000

The 2000's has been filled with a good mix of dances such as Hip Hop and Lyrical which came from contemporary dance.

Through out the years many of these dances have lasted the test of time as others have fallen into the past but they will not be forgotten.

So You Think You Can Dance

Last week I talked about dance in pop culture and mentioned the show "So You Think You Can Dance". I would like to talk more about that show this week. For those of you who don't know what this show is about, it is a competition for dancers where they have to dance through different styles of dance and have the audience as well as the judges vote them through. Basically it's American Idol but for dancing.

I love this show because it gives armature dancers a chance to make it to the top. It also challenges my forcing them to do different genres and get out of their element.

I have found some of my favorite dancers and dances with this show. These area few of them-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do2vmsmdwlk

This is a very powerful dance. The story behind it is the man's mother has cancer and he is doing her best to help her through it. It not only has amazing technical skills but also portrays the story well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZQ42YbR8oc

This is my favorite dance! This dance is to this song collide and is the story of prom night. These are my favorite dancers Lauren and Kent. They have amazing chemistry on and off stage. They work so well together. When they have choreography where they are dancing together they stay in sync the whole time. 

This is an amazing show that produces a lot of amazing dances and dancers. I would recommend this show to anyone who enjoys dances.

Dance in Pop Culture

There has been a big shift in dance and how in it is thought of over the years. Dance used to be thought of as ballets put on for the rich and famous and was centralized around big cities with ginormous, beautiful theaters, but things have changed.

There has been changes in dance styles, the demographics of people involved in dance, and locations where dances are performed.

Dance used to be thought more of as an art form and simply a performance. This is still true today but it is also used for expression as an outlet to let emotions out.

TV shows dedicated just for dance such as So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Moms, and Dancing with the Stars have become widely popular. 

Along with TV shows, there are also many movies about dancing that have been made, such as the Step Up movies, Stomp the Yard, Black Swan, and even High School Musical. 

Another big form of dance through pop culture would be through video games like Just Dance.

Even with all of these pop culture influences, I think there is still one more that is even bigger than all of these and that would be pop singers and music videos. Who doesn't listen to Thriller by Micheal Jackson and start to do the dance along with it. There are even songs that are created specifically for specific dances the Cha Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle.

All of these parts of pop culture have helped to spread and shape dance into what it is now.

The Importance of Stretching

Just like in every sport of athletic activity, you need to warm up in dance. A main component in worming up for dance is stretching! To avoid injuries before practicing and especially before performing any dances, leaps, or extensions. By stretching, you are warming up your muscles and getting them prepared for strenuous activity. By not stretching, you are at greater risk of tearing a muscle or getting an other active related injury.

Stretching is also extremely important when it comes to flexibility. Most people can not just drop into the splits without ever stretching. There are many different stretches that can help you stretch the many different muscles in your legs. To be able to gain flexibility, you have to stretch regularly and more than just during warm ups. You must also keep stretching after you have reached the flexibility you want to be able to maintain your flexibility.

Here are some tips for stretching:

• Use different stretches
•  Stretch as many muscles as possible as to stretch your main muscles as well as your supporting muscles
• Stretch often
• Schedule a certain part of your day to stretch, such as when you wake up or go to bed. If you schedule a time to do it regularly, you are more likely to stick to the schedule and stretch more often  
• Hold stretches. By holding stretches they become more effective than short bursts of stretching
• Stretch through the pain of tightness. One of the reasons people don not stretch as much is because it hurts. This is because your muscles are tight. You need to stretch through the pain of tight muscles to be able to benefit from the stretch

This website gives many good examples and tips for stretching and improving your flexibility. Hopefully with these tips your are able to increase your flexibility and are more careful before strenuous activity.