Students, Teachers, and Parents are the focus of this dance blog. For each of the 12 months of 2009, there was at least one post for you. Below are 36 links (well, more than 36 actually) leading to the best I had to offer in 2009. What makes these posts the best? No real criteria. These are the posts that I felt most proud of, that I felt provided truly useful tips or knowledge, and those in which I felt newcomers might be most interested. I hope you'll agree it is a diverse collection that clearly illustrates the purpose of Dance Advantage.

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America's Best Dance Studio Contest 2010 wants to know what makes your dance studio unique, what makes it different from the other dance studios in your area, and from other dance studios across the country. You will have the opportunity to submit testimonials, videos, and photos highlighting all of the wonderful things about your dance studio - your teachers, your students, the classes you offer, your involvement in charities, non-profit organizations, and even dance competitions! Here's a chance to rally the community and make some noise in support of your dance studio.

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Dancers Responding to AIDS raises these important funds by producing events and conducting audience appeals in New York City and beyond. Special projects include the annual Fire Island Dance Festival, Dance From the Heart and Dance Student Outreach Project (formerly DRA Studio of the Year), which enables thousands of young dancers to actively involve themselves in helping those living with HIV/AIDS.

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A National Summit on Arts Journalism 10/02/09 12:06PM

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If you are an older adult and find these videos inspiring, let me assure you that it's never too late to get moving... literally. However there are some things you may want to take into consideration before diving into dance.

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Here is a fun little collection of videos featuring talented young dancers that are beyond the baby stage. Some are still pretty darn cute and a few are guaranteed to wow you.Dancing babies and YouTube seem to go together like peas and carrots. And there are some really funny and cute videos out there. Here is a fun little collection of videos featuring talented young dancers that are beyond the baby stage. Some are still pretty darn cute and a few are guaranteed to wow you.

YAGP [...]

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Patrick Swayze dies at 57. View one of his last true dance performances on film in One Last Dance.
A scene from One Last Dance – Swayze, his wife Lisa, and George de la Pena
click here to view on YouTube

Actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday (Monday, Sept. 14) after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
Go to the ABC News Story

One of five children raised in Houston, Texas, by Patsy, a dance teacher, [...]

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There are a number of codified floor barre techniques that are taught throughout the world. Most of the most well-known methods were developed during the mid-20th Century. Discover resources for adding floor barre to your repetoire.

Image by piotr.amigo via Flickr

All the way to the floor?
Absolutely! In fact, dancers benefit from regular practice “à terre.” Many professionals make it a part of their routine and there’s no reason you or your students cannot do the same.
Benefits

Translating technique and alignment principles to the floor can provide information which a dancer can use [...]

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Dance classes (and the experience of your students) can be enhanced with the use of props. This article lists products, links, and tips for various classroom aids, plus links and suggestions for homemade props.

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Focused work can certainly encourage awareness and therefore improvement of technique and strength. I am including some exercises that may help you develop such an awareness of the various muscles in your inner thigh.

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I had the opportunity in college to observe Merce in action with his company of dancers during a company class several years ago. At probably about 80 years old, he had difficulty walking and would instruct the dancers from a chair, indicating movements and instruction with his hands and only a few words.

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There's no questioning Michael Jackson's influence on our current pop music and dance culture. His life was somewhat of a tragedy but his talent was a gift. So, in honor of this icon, I'm taking a moment to celebrate that gift.

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When I'm not dancing, I'm talking about dance. I'm watching dance. I'm sharing dance. I'm thinking about dance. My other interests all have a way of coming back around to dance... even this computer sitting at my fingertips. But, why do I dance?

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A list of songs that might just be perfect for a father/daughter recital choreography, a wedding dance, or other performances. These range from sentimental to spirited. Hopefully you'll find something new or a song you've never considered before.

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One of the common struggles students face in class is recalling the sequence of choreography. Here are just a few techniques you might try the next time your teacher gives a combination.

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While many organizations focus solely on the performance, Anaheim Ballet has been prolifically creating video podcasts which feature way more than dance. t's relevant, it's entertaining, and it's smart!

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photo by snickclunk
Isadora Duncan was an American dancer born in San Francisco in the late 1800’s. Adopting a free-form, expressive style of movement which she performed barefoot and in loose-fitting tunics (a departure from the rigid attire of the time), she became one of the fore-runners of modern dance.
Her early public appearances in the United States were unsuccessful and, like many of modern dance’s early pioneers, Isadora traveled abroad to Europe. There, her work garnered recognition and appreciation by audiences. Her dances, inspired by ancient Greek sculpture and philosophy, were characterized by expressive and free-flowing movement and gesture. They captured the imaginations of those familiar only with the convention and structure of ballet, an art form which was experiencing a decline in the early 20th century.
A rebel at heart, Isadora defied social norms. She was outspoken in her disdain for marriage and even jazz music which was gaining popularity at the time, preferring instead the classics of Brahms, Wagner, and Beethoven. Her two children, who later perished when the car in which they were riding rolled into the Seine river, were fathered by two different men. Her choices garnered public and political attention. She was both revered and ridiculed, considered by some to be a revolutionary and labeled a harlot by others. In Russia she met a poet seventeen years her junior and married him in 1922 so that she could bring him along on tour to the United States. Accused of being a Bolshevik agent, Duncan fled America for the final time.
She lived the rest of her short life on the French Riviera where she died tragically when her trademark long, flowing scarf became entangled in a motorcar wheel, strangling her. An innovator ahead of her time, her natural and free dance liberated the dance formula and paved the way for the development and acceptance of the modern dance art form.
“Isadora Duncan.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009.

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