I recently went to a class taught by my teacher Mr. Joe. Some background information on Mr. Joe is that he had won the title of being in Pittsburgh's top 10 most interesting people. He started his own dance company and also teaches at my dance school. He taught a class that is for performance called "performance class". Yes, the name is very creative.
What we did in class was learn a very simple combination. It didn't have any turns nor any leaps. However the moves were artistic and filled with passion. If it was performed correctly the sequence looked beautiful and interesting. This is what we strive to do. Reaching your arm a fraction further or pointing your toe a little more, even your facial expression impacts the dance more than doing thirty fouette turns in a row. Yes thirty fouette turns would be awesome but that isn't the point. What I am trying to get at is dance with emotion, and dance with all of it and people will enjoy the show.
"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" Hopi Indian saying
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
What it Means to Dance like a Hopi
My name is Marisa. I am 17 years old and have been a dancer since age two. It is what I consider to define me and my life outside of school and work. I have good days and bad, and I use these emotions to drive how i dance that day. I think of a situation that impacted me emotionally and I leave that feeling on the floor when I'm done with class.
I came across a saying "to watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" this is a Hopi Indian saying. I love this quote because to dancers you aren't as good of a dancer until you can dance with your heart. A dancer can have the best turns and the highest leaps, but without emotion they are boring. I didn't learn this until about four years ago. I had always thought that the girl with the most turns was the most beautiful. Don't get me wrong they are gorgeous, but if their faces are blank and there is no heart in it, then it isn't as good as it ought to be. My teacher Kayla is a student at point park that takes dance classes there. My class went on a "field trip" to see a show she was in, and it was a terrific performance by all the dancers. What we all saw however was that there wasn't as many crazy tricks as we expected. Every girl in my dance class could perform at least 70 percent of what was done on the point park stage. What we needed to work on however was how we performed it. That is truly what makes a good dancer. To perform for yourself and not for others, that is how the best dancer will come out if you believe that dance is what you really love to do.
"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" Hopi Indian saying
I came across a saying "to watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" this is a Hopi Indian saying. I love this quote because to dancers you aren't as good of a dancer until you can dance with your heart. A dancer can have the best turns and the highest leaps, but without emotion they are boring. I didn't learn this until about four years ago. I had always thought that the girl with the most turns was the most beautiful. Don't get me wrong they are gorgeous, but if their faces are blank and there is no heart in it, then it isn't as good as it ought to be. My teacher Kayla is a student at point park that takes dance classes there. My class went on a "field trip" to see a show she was in, and it was a terrific performance by all the dancers. What we all saw however was that there wasn't as many crazy tricks as we expected. Every girl in my dance class could perform at least 70 percent of what was done on the point park stage. What we needed to work on however was how we performed it. That is truly what makes a good dancer. To perform for yourself and not for others, that is how the best dancer will come out if you believe that dance is what you really love to do.
"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" Hopi Indian saying
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