Monday, June 4, 2007

Dancing "Goodbye"

Dancing now comes to an end until the leaves on the trees become orange, and the weather is chilly while your parents rake up the leaves- the beautiful season of Fall. It isn't fair the time that I can be dancing I have to play soccer or watch my little brother. But everywhere people are going on vacations, and sadly can't dance.

"Ugh, isn't there any thing exciting to do." Then when I was reading Arthur the big Volcano to my brother the phone rings, "dring, dring." As I pickup the phone my little brother starts balling like there is no tomorrow, so i put down the phone in frustration to calm my little brother. It was all a scheme from my 2 year old brother to stay by his side the whole day because the phone goes down and suddenly he has stopped. This time when the phone rings I pick it up in the other room for my him not to see.

"Hello" I say as the yellow phone has reached my ear.
"HI"greets Leha from the other side of the line, my dance partner.
"Guess what I just heard from mom, Ms. Dish has died yesterday in a car accident"
I fall to the ground in shock still holding the phone to my ear "What"
"Yes it is true" she reply.
"I can never dance again"
"Why?" she asks slowly.
"Ms. Dish was a huge part of me, she was the one that influenced me to dance"
"Oh, bye" Leha says as she hangs up.

The rest of the day I had tears coming from my eyes. Then I finally made my final decision and told my mom "I am never ever dancing"

Friday, May 25, 2007

the dance performance "Help me"

The day had finally come for them to perform. The dancers were waiting so long and now it was here. Hoping news reporters would take their picture, and post it on the front cover of the New York Times. "We have to practice in 5 minutes on the stage" says the dance teacher who is in her early 20s, Ms. Dish as the girls continue to put on makeup.. "Nobody needs to practice , I have a good feeling about this, and even my toes are tingling" says the sweet dancer who gives it her best, Rachel. Ms. Dish frantically worrying about the choreographed dance she says "I don't care, we have the stage for a few minutes before the show and we still need all the practice we can get." "Okay" the girls groan.

In 5 minutes the girl trot out the Green room looking exhausted from putting on make-up. "Get in positions and smile" Ms Dish says in a I don't care mode. "Well" Rachel begins to wyne, " there is no audience so that means, wait a minute. Do you want me to smile for the curtain. not happening." Ms. Dish knows arguing with Rachel is a lost cause, so is like "do whatever, ok from the top girls" Ms dish exclaimed. "Keep your hand straight Neha, go down all the way, Lila, and Rachel spin faster" she said. "Ms. Dish stop being mean" the girls say as they stomp off the stage.

The show begins without a sound. Their group is #2, but right now # 1 is going. The girls take the stage" The dance begins when behind the curtain they can hear " big smiles, girls" from Ms. Dish. The audience starts to clap it's over. The girls run to the green room where they exclaim in happines that it's over. Coming over Ms. Dish ready to insult them screams " Good Job" It was over the dance performance.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

how to dance the basics

`````The basics in the north Indian classical dance I do, kathak, is 1 footwork step. It is not even very tough, you just got to stay focused and practice at any time you can possibly practice. After you learn this step, all the complicated steps get easier. This piece of footwork is the root of all the other kathak steps you will ever learn. After you discover the step Thatkar, the rest of kathak is the a very simple dance. Thatkar will even help you keep the beat of a 16 cycle rhythm, Teentaal.
`````How to learn Thatkar while standing in the lunch line. Today I will teach you how the footwork to Thatkar goes. Personally I think starting out slow is better so you cannot make as many mistakes. You legs have to be strong and not weak because you can't stop until the 16 beet cycle, Teentall isn't over completely. There won't be any shoes worn so you have to set your flat foot to the ground without getting hurt.
`````First, you have to learn how many movements before you stop. Thatkar is a repetition twice of 1-2-3-4 and again 1-2-3-4. Though it is not stomping your feet one after another. It is right- left-right- left and again but starting where you ended, left- right -left -right. When got the hang go faster. Instead of taking 2 full beats take 1.
`````Once you got the hang of step, right-left-right-left, left-right-left-right, right-left-right-left and so on. Focus on the beat of the music which is the beats Teentall. Which goes 1 2 3 4 rest 5 6 7 8 rest 9 10 11 12 rest 13 14 15 16. The beat is extremely slow, so don't worry. You have to count out the beets once completely and then begin on 9Th beet. So you cannot stop counting or you will lose your place. I lightly hit my toe to the ground to keep the beet. The beat is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 right on the 9Th beat begin, you'll have to be ready a 9 because if you don't start at 9 it throws the other dancers off.
`````Next all you have to learn is how to show you expressions while learning how to do Thatkar. In Kathak it is very crucial at every moment to be showing your facial expressions. Kathak is all about how you feel inside while you are dancing. So as you've repeated the cycle at least twice start using your face. When it is a soft melody and your feet hit the ground gently have a huge smile with the teeth showing and your eyes wider than bowling balls. As the music gets louder and the feet start stomping put on a mad, bunched up face with the eyebrows arched in so they together give the angry look. When you are at a steady pace just smile and show how proud you are of yourself. While you are learning this step smile feel happy.


~ Enjoy the experience

Monday, May 21, 2007

The simple art of Bharatnatyam

The dance of Bharatnatyam is a classical south Indian dance with more feet movement than anything. In South India this dance is a celebration of beauty one holds inside. It is an artistic yoga to reveal the spiritual body to movement. It is a play to show the struggles between god and goddess's' throughout a rhythmic dance. Bharatnatyam is considered to be a fire dance — the mystic manifestation of the physical element of fire in the body. Bharatnatyam is a very complicated , but pleasurably beautiful dance.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Springtime to dance

`````It was a warm day in early April when finally it felt like spring. I was playing outside with my brother getting him ready for the baseball finals when it started to drizzle. Everyone on the street ran inside their cozy homes to be shielded from the rain that came down hitting the pavement one splash after the other. As I ran inside,I forgot my new leather baseball mitt outside. After 5 minutes of spying at the rain from my house I realized my brand new mitt was decomposing in the rain. I run outside hoping to save the glove when I felt the wet grass tinkle my ankles and my hair getting all soaked. My spirit excited with energy about to burst.
`````My skin feeling clean as I was sticky from the humidity. At that moment I sensed this inspiration to dance. I started to dance with my feet slamming the concrete driveway and feeling regenerated by the cold hard rain. My face with expressions of my emotions throughout the dance. The trees started to move side to side as the wind blew like they were dancing along. Showing my face expressions as I danced to the music of the birds. My soul felt alive as I soaked in the water moving around. I hope that day comes again.

Friday, May 18, 2007

The inspiring dance class story! Ahh! (just at first)

---- "Ouch, mom I am so sour that it hurts to move." "Stop complaining, you wanted to learn dance in the first place." "Mom I can't go to school because of the pain!" "Get up, nothing is wrong!” All the mother can hear for a while is that "I hate dance, I hate dance!" This is the conversation that any mom can count on, when her daughter begins to take dance class,but as soon as any girl performs for an audience it is all worth it! As soon as the mother sees her wearing a fluffy, little, pink tutu and then her cute smiling face, she becomes the most precious thing in the universe. Thankfully, the toughest step is finally over.
----Now comes the pretty part. The little girl enjoys dancing once a week in class. The pain fades away as she gets used to the Rond de Jambe. At the recital it suddenly happens, the girl becomes a sparkling star. Every single step is crisp, the hands are firmly straight, and the legs aren't wobbling. The dance is perfect showing all the moves gracefully placed.
----As soon as the mother gets excited with the progress the girl has made, and already has hopes for her to become a dancer it all ends. This girl has stepped all over the hopes and dreams. Next thing you now it is over, she has quit dance and started music. The mother goes with the daughter and now is happy for the music, but in her heart feels the daughter should go back to dancing. Everyday to music class the girl goes not showing enthusiasm.
----Finally the day comes when her daughter feels that dance was the thrill in her life and wants to go back. The mother shows her pleasure in her smile hoping for her daughter to become one of the mice in The Nutcracker Ballet. Dance becomes harder, with catching up with the other girls and learning the new twirl, demi monde. The mother knows her daughter will quit with the stress, but the daughter proves the mother wrong by sticking to dance in this rough patch.
----No matter what happens the mother is proud of the strength her child has gained from dancing. The daughter is happy her mother is proud, and works harder. By the following year the daughter is Clara in The Nutcracker Ballet in Boston. Not finished the girl keeps trying her best and becomes a dance teacher! The passion she had for dance!

~ Dancing can be the best gift if you try

Dancers Look! OOH LA LA!

Dances are going on all around the world at every second of everyday. All dancers have their own types of cultural background which have a totally different style of dancing their feelings. Africans wear beautiful, colorful costumes which have small designs. They are barefoot and are clapping there hands in joy. Indians wear colorful costumes that are dresses with a light scarf on the head and have expressions on there face to show the emotion .Some kids in India dance on street corners for money and entertainment. Americans can dance many dances of tap, jazz, ballet, and etc. The dancers wear mostly stretchy spandex to show the movement in their steps. Dances are everywhere, people like to pour their hearts out by moving.