Carol Dance & Music Academy

Here is where we will be posting updates about the ballet world, or random articles about dance/piano! We will update this section regularly, so keep an eye out in case we post an article you've been having questions about! ;)

 Character Dances & It's Origin

Part 3 - Polish

Well hello fellow dancers! It's been a good long while since we've posted anything in our website, and although it is a meek excuse, the admin as well as the teachers have been having a rather busy month. So without further ado, here's part 3!

Polish Folk Dances

Polish folk dances tend to be lively, energetic, and joyful. Hops, twirls, and athletic movements are common. Many dances involve a circle. Clothing is usually colorful. In addition, women often wear coral necklaces, particularly red ones. They also decorate their hair with flowers or ribbons. In some regions, women may wear a hat or a loose headscarf. These are sometimes adorned with flowers or ribbons. Mens' hats may also feature decorations, particularly in southern regions. The Polish national dances are the Krakowiak, Kujawiak, Mazurek, Oberek, and Polonaise. 

Some other dances in Poland include:

• cenar
  
• chmielowy
  
• dżek
  
• goniony
  
• kaczok
  
• kołomajka
  
• korkowy
  
• kosyder
  
• Krakowiak
  
• krzesany
  
• Kujawiak
  
• lasowiak
  
• Mazurka (Mazur)
  
• Oberek (also known as Obertas, Ober)
  
• olender
  
• Chodzony (also known as Polonez, Polonaise)
  
• ryz dwa (Kashubians)
  
• szot
  
• Trojak (Silesians)
  
• zbójnicki (from Podhale)

To learn more about the dances and watch videos of the different kinds of Polish national dances as mentioned above, click here!

Polish Folk Costumes in Different Regions of Poland - Past & Present

Every Polish region has its own folk traditions and costumes. The most popular Polish folk costumes are from Krakow - Bronowice, people in all regions in Poland would be able to recognize it. Other popular costumes are from Lowicz near Warsaw and also from Tatry Mountain area - especially Podhale. The most popular costumes for men are these from Krakow - Bronowice and also from Podhale. 

Now a bit about the history of the Polish folk costumes: Folk costumes were the most trendy in the second half of XIX century when cheap and massively produced fabrics become available. Besides, peasants were not serfs anymore and their economical and political status improved, so they could afford to buy more and they wanted to show their pride by wearing traditional costumes.

Girls in Zamosc folk costumes at the photo on the right. Click inside the picture to magnify. Some costumes became more popular than others because of a surge in patriotic feelings in XIX century after Poland lost independence. For instance, Krakow's costumes became a symbol of the fight for national freedom since peasants from Krakow region took part in theKosciuszko insurrection (uprising) for freedom of Poland in 1794. We were writing about Kosciuszko insurection in the article Poniatowski in Defense of Polish Independence, II. 

Quite a big number of peasants were among these who were fighting for independence. Polish peasants were called "kosynierzy" (scythebearers) since they were fighting with scythes ("kosa" = scythe). In famous Battle of Raclawice - won by Poles over Russians, some were wearing characteristic Krakow's folk costumes. In effect, folk costume from Kraków's area became a national costume. 

Do people still wear regional costumes in Poland?

Not really but there are some exceptions. People in the country still wear folk costumes, in some regions more than in the other. They wear it only on special occasions - Sunday church, church processions, village feasts and weddings. Mountainers (gorale) from Tatra region, especially men, wear folk costumes on a daily basis, especially if they want to attract tourists to their business.

If you want to know more about the Polish Highlanders in their Folk Costumes, click here to see pictures galore of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival on October 12-14, 2007 in Idaho - Hailey - Ketchum - Sun Valley! 

For info about Polish dances and their music, click here!

Original articles from: Wikipedia, culture.polishsite.us, and wilno.org.

 Character Dances & It's Origin

Part 2 - Russian

Russian Folk Dances

List of the popular types of Folk Dances from Russia:

• Khorovod
• Barynya
• Kamarinskaya
• Chechotka
• Karelian Dance
• Komi Dance
• Ingush Dance
• Chechen Dance
• Tatar Dance
• Bashkir Dance
• Chuvash Dance
• Kalmyk Dance
  

Compassion in the Russian folk dance and the Russian Folk Music

Russian Classical Ballet and Modern Dance

Dancing With Bears

Folk Dance Clothing

First Dance Troup

Moiseyev Dance Company

Character Dances & It's Origin

Part 1 - Hungarian Peasant

Previously, we've written about the types of Character dances in RAD ballet here. This time, we will be delving further into the origins of the inspiration for the chosen origin in the Character dances of the Royal Academy of Dance syllabi, and the newly added Ukranian style. We will explain each style in detail for each consecutive weeks; starting today, with the Hungarian Peasant.

The Meaning of Peasantry

Land Cultivators - The concept of peasant is not identical with that of land cultivator. There are and have been societies where those cultivating the land are not peasants, and there are and have been societies where peasants have done more that cultivate land. 

Villagers - There are people in villages who are not peasants, and there are peasants (such as those living in towns on the Great Plain) who do not live in villages.

Workers - It is true that peasants carry out much heavy manual labour, but their relation to capital and labour is different from that of the worker. Peasants, whether working their own land or rented land, or land received as part of feudal due, are workers for themselves.

The Folk - It is a romanticisation to see the peasantry as guardians of an ancient folk culture, or national characteristics. They live their own 'folk' culture.

The Lower Estate - The peasantry is the lower estate, but in a social sense rather than a legal-historical one.

The Meaning of Peasantry - simply putting these features together is not sufficient to encapsulate the meaning of the peasantry. We need to consider it from a social point of view. The socioeconomic position of the peasantry can be distinguished from that of slaves and workers. Peasants are not part of the larger society. They have a 'social contract' with the larger society, but live separately from it.

Evolution and Changes within the Peasantry

Societies which Create a Peasantry - Societies based on pure power relations or pure class relations or caste societies do not have peasantries. Only feudal manorial societies resulted in theevolution of a peasantry. The feudal system gave the possibility of service and subjugation, yet practical independence in everyday life.

Factors in the Creation of a Peasantry - The feudal form resulted in the fact that working peasants could become independent producers. Force was required in this process where the preconditions did not already exist. An important role in this process was played by the church. Priests mediated between peasants and lords.

Changes within the peasantry - Although it is true in general terms that the peasantry has continued to live its own life despite radical changes in the larger society, certain minor changes have occurred within it. In the early period, up until the development of the state, the position of the peasantry was defined more by personal ties. The period up to the great peasant revolutions was one of growing 'objectification'. Personal relationships are replaced by rights and duties. In the modern period, the fate of the northern and western peasantry and that of the east have differed greatly. In the former there was bourgeois development, industrialisation and the peasantry became increasingly insignificant. In the East, the position of the peasantry became more rigid. Its fundamental features have not changed despite the development of capitalist relations throughout Eastern Europe since the middle of the last century.

Hungarian Peasantry

Special Factors in the Evolution of the Hungarian Peasant - In each phase of this process there was something special about Hungarian development. The process of the creation of the peasantry started much later in Hungary than anywhere else in Europe. This meant that certain pre-peasant social structures did not disappear entirely. Second, because feudalism was brought in from outside and copied from the West, certain earlier, nomadic forms persisted. The peasantry was a separate and subordinate world to the noble, treated in the same way thatthe nomads treated their slaves and subject peoples. A further peculiarity was that a relatively large proportion of the land cultivating people avoided feudal relations altogether. In the Jaszkun areas and Transylvania, the peasantry is different because of this absence of feudalism. A final special feature is Hungary's backward industrialisation and urbanisation. There was no industrial and urban demand to pull people off the land.

The Peasantry in Hungarian Society - The special features of Hungarian social development resulted in two things: the nobility was overdeveloped and the peasantry was too inflexible. The nobility was overdeveloped in that there were too many of them (as in Poland), and in that they were overorganised and could continue to exist as a force despite economic and social change around them. The inflexibility of the peasantry was the consequence of the position of the nobility and its own extraordinary submergence. So despite a bourgeois economy and new technology, the peasantry still lives within feudal forms. The position of the Hungarian (and the similar Polish) peasant is contrasted to that of peasants in the North, West and Balkans. Only Hungary (and Poland) has experienced the final phase in the development of the peasant experience. In the West and the North those who cultivate the land are no longer peasants. In the Balkans neither feudalism nor a peasantry proper developed.

Peasants in Today's Hungarian Society

Peasant Farmers Landed Serf and Bourgeois Farmer - Despite all its feudal aspects, Hungary is fundamentally a bourgeois society. The feudal serf, despite his land, did not have the free independent existence of today's commodity economy bourgeois farmer. Farmers and their workers no longer share the same culture, although they live within peasant forms.

Serf Peasants - These are still present in areas where, despite the changed social environment and pace of life, peasants have not liberated themselves from feudal forms. They live in isolated villages in outlying areas of (the then) Hungary. The leading farmers of these areas are the most old-fashioned creatures in Hungarian peasant society. They have plenty of land and capital and family labour. But they do not produce for the market and do not specialise. They have a low level of consumption. Like the bourgeois farmer, however, they have a strong sense of ownership, but it is of an irrational kind. Land is not rented to others.

Noble Peasants - Individuals who in terms of their feudal estate ranked as noble, but whose economic position was similar to that of peasant, except that he owed no economic duties to a feudal lord. More likely to cope with the economic independence of bourgeois society than others who have kept strong feudal forms.

Bourgeois Peasants - The peasant farmers of the Small and Great Plains which were the first to undergo the bourgeois transformation no longer resemble feudal peasants. Their farms are agriculturalenterprises. They make extensive use of machinery. They specialise. Land has become capital, not the basis of peasant security. There has been a huge increase (especially in the last decade) in the renting of land. They employ labour. Some live entirely from renting their land and live in towns on the proceeds. In tanya areas the farmer may live in town and visit the tanya where the workers are based at weekly intervals. Their consumption does not follow peasant norms, but is totally bourgeois, sometimes to an exaggerated degree. They only socialise with their own kind. They plan non-agricultural careers for their children. The live-style in the agrarian towns of the Great Plain is more bourgeois than in the small villages of the Small Plain.

Small Peasants

Small Peasant and Petty Bourgeois - The situation of the small peasant has become more complex. Economically it is petty bourgeois. Socially it depends on whether they live in an agrarian town, bourgeois village, backward village or manorial estate. In agrarian towns and bourgeois villages they are a part of bourgeois society and their ideals are as bourgeois as those of farmers. In backward villages they are conservative and attached to peasant forms. The small peasants on the manorial estates are bailiffs, middle range employees, machine handlers and so on. They are in the middle of a feudal structure and wholly dependent on it.

Small Farmers - The small farmers of inter war politics are not the representatives of the small peasantry. Theirs' are only small in relation to the large estates. Small farmers constitute the biggest proportion of the landed peasantry. Their farms are the most peasant like in that they are not big enough to constitute capital, nor small enough to force them to enter commodity production, although there is always some production for the market. All family members work excessively hard in the desire to get more land and become more bourgeois. In backward areas behaviour is in traditional peasant forms. In the agrarian towns and bourgeois villages the ambition is to escape peasant forms. The work ethic is also less strong. Small peasants are caught between two worlds and there is nothing comfortable abouttheir existence. Hence many want to give up the life by going to the town, becoming policemen or other petty officials, or by exercising birth control.

Smallholding Tenants and Dwarf-Plot Owners - both are independent peasants who have to work for others. The former work full-time on their land, but have to give over about half of their produce to the owner of the land. The latter cannot live off their own land, and are obliged to work on another's farm. There are five variants of this group: enterprising dwarf-plot owners, backward dwarf-plot owners, small peasants of the Great Plain, independent small tenants and sharecropper tenants. All only survive by exercising the peasant commitment to ceaseless labour. Even where, because of the size of the rent, production has to be directed fully towards the market, the tenant family has to live a peasant life. Sharecroppers are in a worse position because they have less independence. A significant proportion of them are labourers trying to better themselves.

Peasant Gardeners - Market gardening is not normally performed by independent peasant farmers. The majority is performed by dwarf plot holders or manorial servants who want to maximise output from their tiny plots. Production is organised along peasant lines, but in response to the demands of a capitalist market, and by people who are developing an increasingly bourgeois consciousness. If they are successful, they do not become peasant farmers but bourgeois farmers. It is the most petty bourgeois group within the peasantry.

Peasant Craftsmen - Those who are part of the peasant world, but who do not cultivate land, such as brick makers, bricklayers and thatchers. They are usually landless labourers who have learned a trade and become the social equals of the small peasants in doing so. Peasant Traders - By the same token, traders as well as craftsmen can be peasants: market women, horse-traders, pickers, and shop keepers. They are more bourgeoisified in bigger villages and the agrarian towns.

Peasant Workers

Landless Peasant and Worker - The difference between workers and landless peasants lies in the fact that the latter are still tied to peasant society. Worker peasants are not contented, but their ambitions are to become independent peasants rather than workers. They are living amongst the same contradictions as the small farmers. Where they are still tied to the village or manor, their peasant ties have hardly been slackened. Where villages are more bourgeoisified social obligations have dissolved and they are changing from peasant to worker.

Manorial Servants - This is the group of peasant workers most tied by its environment to peasant forms. They are totally cut off from the rest of society and under the direct control of the lord. The attempt to get more labour out of the manorial servants has led to a decline in morale. Peasants no longer work hard voluntarily for the manor. They have adopted a proletarian attitude to labour. They are always at work, but they work at a slow pace. But this 'peasant strike' does not extend beyond the work ethic. They live an isolated peasant life in other respects.

Other Servant Peasants - There are two variants to this type, servants with peasant farmers and servants in bourgeois households. In the former both peasant servant and master live in the same world and the relationship is a patriarchal one. The servant is a family member. The master interferes with every aspect of their lives, just as he does with his family members. They sleep in the stable or in a corner of the kitchen. But the master also gives them presents when they marry and exercises responsibility for them. As servants begin to have independent demands, the peasant farmers complain, with reason from their standpoint, that you cannot get 'good' servants any more. The situation for servants of bourgeois farmers is very different. They live and work in a different world and begin to take on bourgeois norms. They demand more money and free time. Some who go as servants to big towns undergo a complete transformation and become urban workers. But their ambition is to live an urban bourgeois life, and their ideal is to marry a petty bourgeois man.

Seasonal Contract Labourers - These are half manorial servants and half village poor peasants. They live from Spring to Autumn on the manorial estate, and for the rest of the year in their village home. The manor is a feudal world, the village in a state of change, retaining some peasant forms. They are essentially wage labourers, but the wage is in a traditional form in money and kind. Unlike other workers, they do not do a specific job, just whatever hoeing and reaping is required. And there is no prescribed working time. They earn enough to feed their family during the winter. The winter is spent looking for work, but mostly unemployed. Each Winter they vow not to go back to the manor. Each Spring they go back, but with an increasingly proletarian approach to the work, and thus as increasingly 'bad' workers.

Peasant Workers - The largest proportion of the peasant poor are not in service but take on occasional work. The two most common forms of these are day-labouring and sharecropping. The tradition is that any work involving keeping animals, including animals under yoke, is done by servants. Sharecroppers work in wheat and maize growing; and occasional work is carried out by day-labourers. But these do not constitute different peasant strata. Poor peasants do each one of them at different times. Full-time day-labourers only exist in certain specialist skills. Wages in income and kind are decreasing. In sharecropping the share for maize growing has fallen from a fifth to a sixth or seventh. They are also the group that lives most fully in the larger society. It has gone beyond traditional ties and wants to live better. In areas with market gardening, wages are high and the possibility exists to get enough money to rent land and ultimately become independent.

Agrarian Skilled Workers - There are two groups of agricultural skilled workers in Hungary, navvies and gardeners. Navvies come from the villages of the Great Plain and are the children of estate servants. They have made use of the conjuncture of capitalist development to escape their fate to build roads and railways. Navvies have a skill that comes from peasant society, but they do not work like peasants. They have an existence outside work. Gardeners specialise in the product of their region. They are mostly day-labourers, except grape harvesters whoare sharecroppers. They are workers who do their work, get their pay and then leave. Their ambitions lies outside the peasant world, as an entrepreneurial market gardener or industry. Their wages are the highest in agriculture, on a par with those of the towns.

The Peasantry in Today's Society

Peasantry and Nation - It follows from the nature of the peasantry that it constitutes an autarchic world below the nation. It can therefore develop an autonomous culture. The peasantry communicates with higher strata in two ways. It pays taxes and fulfils its obligations, but in doing this it plays no part in national life. And it also takes things over from the external world and builds them into its life. The effect of the modern era has been to make the peasantry more and more part of national society. We have called this process, by which the peasantry replaces its feudal social status and cultural autonomy with bourgeois class position and bourgeois cultural ideals, embourgeoisement. Peasants who are members of the national society are not those who wear folk dress and sing folk songs, but those who don't do either, who use factory produced goods, who go to the cinema and read newspapers. The peasantry is now breaking out of peasant forms. The more successful part is reaching a more or less bourgeois level and becoming a factor in national society. The rest is trying to liberate itself by whatever petty bourgeois or proletarian means are available. Because these paths are difficult, ever more of them indulge in two forms of strike: not having children, and flocking into towns. Neither of these can be said to be taking part in national society.

Nation and Peasantry - Despite many actions to save the folk, serious 'folk' questions such as the right to vote and land reform have not been resolved. Attempts to freshen up the middle class with a smattering of peasant stock do not bring the peasantry in to national life, they simply open up national life towards the peasantry. Attempts to liberate the peasantry have remained a literary rather than a political action. Notions of peasant democracy in the 1920s proved a fantasy. Current policy is to raise the peasantry to a higher level but not to transform the peasantry. But, since this is an impossibility at the current stage of development, and since raising the level of the peasantry is synonymous with creating the preconditions for growing out of the peasantry, the policy will, contrary to its intentions, accelerate the process of growing out of the peasantry.

How To Stretch?

 

 Keeping Dancers Dancing: “Help I Have An Injury – What Do I Do?”

by Jan Dunn, MS 

So you have a dance injury?  What do you do….???? 

1. First off, you have to be sure you recognize that it IS an injury….i.e, knowing the difference between “good” and “bad” pain.  This may sound like first-grade language (it is), but it’s the easiest way to understanding the signals your body may be giving you:

-“good” pain is the discomfort we feel when we are doing a new activity our body is not used to, like taking a jazz dance class for the very first time, when all your training has been ballet.  It’s the normal response of our muscles / joints to the new movements, and is characterized by:

-a dull aching discomfort (not what we usually call ‘pain”) which is wide-spread through the body area you were using in a new way. For example, in a jazz class you use the ribs / pelvis in very specific non-balletic movements, and the next day you may feel over-all sore in those areas.

-“bad” pain is when your body is saying very clearly “STOP!  I am HURT!”, and  is characterized by:

-pain in a very specific place, much more localized than the discomfort described above.  It may be in that one spot constantly, or only when you use the body part / joint in a specific way.  It is usually a sharper type of pain than the “good”kind, but the key point is that it’s NOT wide-spread, but much more in one place.

2. Ok, so you’ve recognized that you have a “bad” pain, an injury —what do you do?  The very first step is often abbreviated as PRICED (we used to say “RICE”, but you’ll see below where the “P” is now added in:

-P = Protection: Protect the injured area from additional harm. Stop dancing, and remove yourself to the side of the studio.

-R = Rest the injured area —-don’t dance on it!  This is HARD for dancers to do, but so necessary, to aid in the healing process.

-I = Ice.  NEVER heat in the first stages (the “acute” phase) of an injury. Ice helps to decrease the swelling, which helps to decrease the pain, and helps speed up the healing process.  Heat early on can actually be detrimental to the injured area, increasing the swelling and slowing down the healing time. Points to remember when using ice are:

-on soft tissue (muscles), recommendations vary, but a good suggestion is either 20 min. every two hours, or 8-10 minutes every hour. A good guideline is to ice until the area feels numb to the touch.

-on bony areas, like ankle / elbow, usually about 5 minutes –or again, until it is numb.

-If the ice pack does not have a built-in fabric or protective coating (many do), be sure to put a lightweight cloth between you and the ice —i.e, never directly on your skin (it can cause an “ice burn”).

-C =Compression, usually with an Ace wrap. This is most useful with a limb injury, although ribs / hips can also wrapped.  The pressure from the bandage / wrap  helps to decrease the swelling and to speed up the healing process.  An important side note regarding Ace bandages that are pre-shaped for the knee / ankle, etc.:

These are designed for compression, not for support.  Dancers often put these on thinking it will offer support for a “bad” knee / sprained ankle, etc.  It doesn’t; if you have an injury which needs support, it needs to be professionally taped (with athletic tape).  The elastic knee / ankle variety are useful for compression only.

-E = Elevation.  This is for limb injuries, and the idea to is elevate the leg / arm above heart level.  This slows down the swelling, and helps the healing process.

-D = Diagnosis by a medical professional, if called for (see below).

Have you noticed a couple of common factors here?  1) decrease swelling, and 2) aid in  the healing process, are the two main things you may picked out.  The physiology of injuries / healing is complex and we won’t go into that —but the main thing to remember is that you want to keep the swelling down, because that will help overall for the injury to get better faster.

3. Your next question might well be: When do I seek professional medical help?  Here are some guidelines:

Any acute injury should be looked at by a professional, especially if it involves:

-immediate swelling or bruising

-joint pain such as in knee / ankle

-significant pain

-loss of function / inability to bear weight

-neurological symptoms / change of mental status

-obvious deformity

-uncontrolled bleeding

-no obvious improvement after 48 to 72 hours of doing the PRICE therapy

Other guidelines for when to seek medical help are:

-swelling that comes and goes with activity, even if there is no pain

-sharp pain that comes and goes with specific activity

-any injury that is being properly cared for (PRICED) and is not improving after a weeks’ time, or is getting worse.

4. Ok, so you know you need to see a medical professional – your next question is an important one:  Who do I go to ???  Here are some recommendations:

-your first choice should be someone who works with dancers /  is familiar with dance, whether this is an MD, PT, DC, or another healthcare practitioner.  An MD who is a Physiatrist (listed as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in phone directories) is often a good choice – these are non-surgical musculoskeletal specialists.

Most major US cities now have dance medicine practitioners; some examples:

-Harkness Center for Dance Injuries (New York City)

-Westside Dance Physical Therapy (New York City)

-Cedars Sinai / USC Dance Medicine Center (Los Angeles)

-Denver Dance Medicine Associates (Denver / Boulder, CO)

These are just a few examples; there are many individual practitioners as well, in addition to groups such as those listed above.  Many dancers and teachers are members of IADMS, which has been mentioned before in this column – the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science.  Becoming a member enables you to access the on-line membership list, where hundreds of dance medicine medical specialists are listed.  Other benefits of membership include access to discussion forums, and a subscription to the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, as well as discounted conference fees.

-If you are unable to find a dance medicine specialist in your area, your next best choice would be a sports medicine practitioner, who would be familiar with athletes (and dancers are high level athletes!)

And in conclusion:

An important piece to remember about being injured / seeking help:

Resting the injured body part is clearly crucial to a fast recovery and return to full-out dancing. That DOESN’T mean that you automatically rest the whole body and do nothing for six weeks, while your sprained ankle is getting better.  Keep everything else in good shape!  Otherwise you are setting yourself up to injure something else, when you return to dance. You can do so much during the healing period, such as:

-limited class work, depending on the injury / what is recommended medically

-floor barre (a GREAT way to stay in shape while non-bearing weight)

-Pilates (also terrific for injured dancers — and non injured!)

There are of course more ways to keep in shape than just those listed above, but whatever you choose – DO IT !

So – now you hopefully have more information on “Help! What do I do now?” than you did at the start of this article.  Till next month — keep dancing (safely!)!!

PS: IADMS has an excellent Resource Paper on First Aid for Dancers, available on line at www.iadms.org

BIO: Jan Dunn is a dance medicine / Pilates / Franklin Method specialist  based in Denver / Boulder, CO, and Los Angeles, CA.  She is Co-Director of Denver Dance Medicine Associates, and Adjunct Professor, University of Colorado – Boulder, Dept. of Theatre and Dance.  She has been active in Dance Medicine since 1984. Previously she was Coordinator of The Dance Wellness Lab, Dept. of Theater & Dance, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA , and has held dance faculty positions at Connecticut College, Florida State University, Hartford Ballet, Washington Ballet, and Colorado Ballet.  She has been active with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) for 22 years, serving as Board member, President, and Executive Director. Jan was Associate Dean / Workshop Coordinator at the American Dance Festival 1983 – 1991,  originated The Dance Medicine/Science Resource Guide; and was co-founder of the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science.  She has taught dance medicine, Pilates, and Franklin workshops worldwide, has published numerous articles, and presented at many US / international conferences.

Original article: Keeping Dancers Dancing: “Help I Have An Injury – What Do I Do?” @ 4dancers.org

 * Also, you may want to check out the contents in their Dancer's Wellness section. It contains A LOT of useful information about dance injuries!

 ** If you're looking about info on Pointes, go to their Pointe Shoes section.

Do you happen to be an adult who is thinking about taking up dance? A parent of a dancer, maybe, who wishes to share the joy of dancing and be able to give your child some hands-on experience? Well here are some tips for you out there who is thinking of dancing your way in life!

Tips For Adults Taking Dance Classes

There are many reasons to continue, or begin, taking dance classes as an adult. Whether your studio has adult-specific classes, or you will be included in student classes at your ability level, many studios offer excellent options for adult dancers.

Goal-Setting for Adult Dancers
Setting specific and measurable goals will help you get the most out of your classes. Your goal could be to perform in the studio’s summer recital, lose 10 pounds in the next two months, or be able to touch your toes. Goals that are specific, measurable, and have a timeframe associated with them are easy to track and achieve.

Writing down your goals before classes begin, or talking them over with your instructor, will help you stick to them. Your instructors will want you to be happy in class, and working toward a goal will help both of you keep your focus. It is a good idea to revisit your goal throughout the season, to make sure you are on track.

If you haven’t taken a dance class in a few years, or you have never exercised to this level, you will probably experience sore muscles at first. Your body will need time to adjust to the new activity. Muscles can be iced for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off after class to help with inflammation. If you find you are not stretched enough after the class warm-up, you may want to begin stretching at home before class to give yourself better muscle control. Over time, you will experience less fatigue after your body adjusts. Always see a doctor if you experience persistent or serious pain or injury.

Adjusting to Dancing with Younger Students
It is possible that the studio you choose may not have adult-specific classes. In these cases, they may allow you to take classes with their students, and they will match you with a class that shares your ability and experience levels.

When taking classes with younger students, you should try to pay attention to your body’s limitations. While the students may be able to stretch for longer periods of time, repeat floor work combinations over and over, or remember and pick up steps more easily, you must know when you need to stop, take a break, or modify a movement. This will not only help you to avoid injury, but will prevent against burnout. It is a good idea to tell your teacher ahead of time if there is anything that may prevent you from dancing “full out” with the rest of the class, such as a previous injury or exercise advice from your doctor.

If you feel that you are not up to the level of the students in your class, set up a meeting outside of class with the instructor and voice your concerns. He or she may feel that you are well-matched with the students and may ask you to give it some more time, or he or she may give you some different options of classes you can take instead. It is important to keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your instructors.

Communicating with Your Instructors
It is important to communicate openly with your instructors. Not only should you let them know of any limitations you may have, but you can also discuss your goals, your dance background, and your reasons for taking classes. Remember that your instructors are there to help you learn and to meet your dance and fitness goals. They can be great coaches and mentors in your journey.

Enjoy the Journey

Whether your adult dance experience is a new journey or the continuation of a lifelong love for dance, remember to take time to enjoy the experience and revel in the art form. Dance is a wonderful outlet for creativity as it challenges both the body and the mind in a beautiful expression of movement. Let your wings soar and have fun sharing dance with others in your class.

Original article: Tips for Adults Taking Dance Classes @ blog.allaboutdance.com

The Types of Character Dances in RAD.

There are 3 main sections of an RAD syllabus Ballet. They are: Classical, Free Movement, & Character. Here, we will talk about the different Character styles. They are: 

1.  The Hungarian Peasant
   
2. Russian
3. Polish

Hello lovelies! 

Hello Budding Dancers!

Adult Ballet

The Benefits of Ballet Lessons for Adults

 

Health benefits

Many of us who take ballet lessons know that it is a great way to keep fit.

Studies of professional ballet dancers in the United States have showed that what these dancers do is as difficult as what professional football players do. It is not hard, then, to imagine the amount of training the body gets when you do ballet.

In ballet, every inch of your muscles is actively engaged in movements. No wonder many ballet students find that they end up shedding some fat and having well-toned muscles after having started regular training.

Another benefit of ballet is that it does wonders to your posture. As the basic requirement of ballet is to have a neutral stance with the spine straightened and hips "squared" (meaning, parallel on both sides), this posture is going to have a "spill-over" effect on your day-to-day posture. If you work on it consistently, you will end up looking as graceful as Audrey Hepburn! No kidding. Hepburn had many years' training in a professional ballet conservatory, and this training showed in the way she carried herself on stage and behind the camera.

Besides the beautiful look, a good posture is extremely important in staying healthy. Many pain syndromes that people living a sedentary lifestyle experience are a result of poor posture and muscular-skeletal dysfunction. So if you don't have a good posture to start off with, ballet is going to magnify the problem - which is great, because you will now want to work on it and along brings the great health benefits of a correct posture. I will write more about ballet stance and healthy posture later.

Brain exercise

Speaking of sedentary lifestyle, ballet is a wonderful activity to get you off your chair. While many people choose yoga or Pilates these days to balance off the long hours of sitting and the lack of movement, some choose ballet for its high "fun factor". In ballet we get to move along with music and make beautiful patterns with our bodies. We use a lot of "brain power" to remember the steps and to coordinate the different body parts. For example, we exercise the left brain for getting the "mathematical" parts - the logic of the step combinations - right; the right brain for interpreting the music and expressing our body in an artistic manner; the upper rear portion of the brain for interpreting spatial relationships; and the lower part of the brain for memorizing the steps.

Since we do not use words to express ourselves in this art form, the part of ourselves that cannot be expressed verbally now gets a channel to come out. And the part that deals with language gets a welcoming "time off." For me, this is a wonderful form of relaxation. No need to find the right words when I dance. It's just direct, intuitive expression.

Classical music is most often used in ballet lessons. There have been studies that confirmed the positive influence of classical music, especially that of the Baroque era and that of Viennese Classicism (especially Mozart). It is found that such music stimulates the alpha waves in the brain. Alpha wave is the wave form detected when the mind is calm or in the meditative and intuitive states. Being in alpha mode would therefore enhance thinking, learning and intuition.

Artistic development

Ballet is a highly aesthetic art. In my experience, those who have picked up ballet as a hobby or as a way to keep fit usually end up being in love or even obsessed with the art form. In fact, cultural development comes naturally to any serious ballet students. The more you learn, the more you are likely to delve into the wonderful traditions behind it.

You will become interested in watching ballet performances, learning about all the current and past performers, and reading up on ballet history and other related art forms, especially music. You will start to learn about the different ballet composers and choreographers. Your musicality is also likely to improve over time, as you learn to move your body with music instead of just counting the beats.

Performance

Ballet is inherently a performing art. However, for most adult learners, performing for an audience may not be a possibility at all. Whether you end up on the stage or not, the ballet classes do provide a chance for you to "perform," even if it is only for the teacher, your classmates and yourself. You will gain a sense of confidence in your own ability to execute movements along with music. If you are a shy person, you might even overcome your lifelong shyness! And if you are lucky enough to go on the stage, the applause and recognition you'll get from the audience is worth gold.

If you are sold on joining an adult ballet class by now, I can guarantee that you will be reaping a combination of the above benefits, even if you simply start off with the intent of keeping fit or shedding a few pounds. And along the way, you will also get to make friends in a niche field - friends who are as misunderstood by their familiar circle and as obsessed as you are with this art form.

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy Teacher

 

Rethinking Stretching

By dvogel 

Dancers know that warming up before class will physically prepare their bodies for the work ahead. But are they practicing the most effective methods? Pop into your next class a few minutes early and observe the number of students passively stretching on the floor in second position with their feet on the barre or reaching down to touch their toes for 20 to 30 seconds. According to a recent study by Dr. Bill Holcomb, associate professor of athletic training education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, passive (or static) exercises are better suited for the cool-down portion of class, because they weaken muscles after stretching. Therefore, helping students revise their warm-up routine to include more dynamic movements will increase their flexibility and range of motion before class and decrease the potential for injuries during activity.
 
Dynamic stretches, or whole-body exercises, raise the body’s temperature, loosen muscles, lubricate joints and wake up the nervous system for better feedback. They also improve coordination because they require dancers to focus on controlling the stretch, while moving their entire body and maintaining a steady balance. (Think: leg swings, arm circles, ankle circles.) But before zoning in on working specific parts of the body, encourage students to do 5 to 10 minutes of jumping jacks, skipping or a light jog around the studio to increase their heart rates. Then, lead them into a 10- to 15-minute workout packed with dynamic stretches. Below you’ll find three examples of whole-body exercises to get students’ warm-up routines headed in the right direction.
 
Forward Leg Swing
In a relaxed front battement, students swing one leg forward while keeping the elevated foot flexed and opposite arm parallel for balance. Make sure students also keep the adjacent leg straight, not bent, for proper stretching. Next, drop the raised leg into a forward (or runner’s) lunge. Alternate between legs, doing eight repetitions on each side. This exercise will target both the hamstrings and the hip flexors.
 
The Walk-Up
To increase arm strength as well as leg flexibility, have students start in a push-up position and walk their feet in towards the hands. Make sure the legs are kept straight and encourage students to stop once they feel any tightening. Walk the hands out to return to the push-up position, and repeat this stretch three to five times. Students will need space to complete this exercise.
 
Inner Thigh Stretch 
Students start this exercise in parallel position. Then, they bend and step one leg into a wide yet comfortable second position like a side lunge, to nicely stretch the inside of the adjacent leg. Keep the opposite leg straight before switching legs and shifting to the other side. Repeat three to four times on each leg.
 
Easy Does It
Students will often stress concern about not feeling effects from stretching. So what is a teacher to do? First, discourage them from stretching longer and harder—this will lead to strained muscles—and advise dancers to reset their tension levels by exploring smaller movements. Here’s one way to help dancers determine the proper amount of force:
 
Have students sit on the floor with legs stretched out in front. While flexing the feet, tell them to decide which calf muscle feels tighter. They should slowly flex and extend this ankle—a few inches in each direction is plenty. If students feel a strong pulling sensation in any area, instruct them to immediately reduce the pressure. Using visualizations like oiling the joint or melting muscle tension like butter may help some dancers find the proper amount of force. Repeat 10 more times before fully flexing both feet. DT
 
Neuromuscular educator Deborah Vogel co-founded NYC’s Center for Dance Medicine and writes the Dancing Smart newsletter at www.thebodyseries.com. 
Photo of inner thigh stretch modeled by Ashley Rivers, by Emily Giacalone.

Original article: Rethingking Stretching @ dance-teacher.com