I have been very fortunate to have many exceptional artistic experiences in my life ranging from attending and performing in productions to unique training programs. As I was heading in to my senior year, I decided that I had to take an honest look at my performance skills and determine what I needed to do to take my work to the next level. Last summer I had the honor of attending three weeks of Broadway Artists Alliance (BAA) summer intensives with each week being selected to have a different major. BAA offers voice, acting, and dance majors and each week was a time devoted to honing my skills in that specific aspect of my performing while still focusing on mixing the other two in. These three weeks gave me many amazing opportunities to critically …show more content…
to 5 p.m. daily with the same group of people. I decided to major in dance during this week because I knew that it would push me out of my comfort zone. While I have had dance training and danced in shows, I have never been totally immersed in dance like I was during this week. The dancers were a very tight-knit community and the connection that we built was so strong that I’m still in contact with many of them. To me, the best part about my week as a dance major wasn’t learning awesome choreography from Broadway professionals and shows, it was getting up every day and dancing with a fantastic group of people. At the end of the week, we had our industry showcase for Broadway Agents, managers, and casting directors. I was able to do several dance numbers as well as be the lead soloist in our group musical number. At the end of the week I would say that I have much more confidence in dance and developed an understanding of what I needed to do to grow as a …show more content…
Just the idea of spending three weeks concentrating on performing in Ripley Grier Studios while great artists are auditioning and performing around you was off the charts amazing. During this time my instructors pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me to see new ways that I can grow as a performer. I really began to critically analyze my own skills and determine what I needed to do to continue to hone my craft and better myself as a performer and a person. Auditioning for casting directors was a humbling experience and they treated us like professionals with exceptional constructive criticism. All of our training during these weeks were designed to give us a true feel for what it is like to work and train on a Broadway show. Listening to lectures and performing for working Broadway actors demonstrated to us that it takes not only talent but persistence, dedication and the commitment to continually improve. For example, hearing what is required to be a working actor from the personal experiences of many successful performers, I decided that I needed to pick up more dance classes. During this academic year, I have been dancing more than ever, doing almost 10 hours a week with increased emphasis on ballet. The training from BAA has prepared me not for Broadway, but has trained me how to take the necessary steps to further my education as
You usually don’t get to make up your schedule, it all depends on your director and you better pray that if you get a lead role you won’t have to miss a day of rehearsal or else you’ll be spending two trying to make up for it. I think the best part of the day would be getting over a mental block you’ve been having, or the day everyone knows their lines. Another good part would be finally getting over the opening night nerves. The worst part of the day would be closing night, because that’s the day you realize it’s coming to an end and have to say see you later to everyone, but as Barrie said in Peter Pan “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” For me, the worst part of the whole thing would be learning new dances, mostly because I’m a terrible dancer.
Even if I didn’t make it, I don’t think anyone realizes what you learn when training in this profession. Musical theatre has allowed me to step up, commit to my work, become more confident and to have fun! You learn to become focused and pay more attention to detail. Building sets, reading scenes and learning music betters your communication and listening skills. All of these skills I have acquired over the last few years and I they are still helping me to grow. I think my biggest take away from this past summer is to become more confident as a person and in my work. Confidence is a big part of doing musical theatre. Some people having no confidence or a little too much. Trying to gain confidence has made me appreciate my body, the little things and what I do. I have already had many people come up to me at school and tell me that they’re loving my new glow confidence and love for myself. Overall, I see why people doubt the career, but they only consider the outside results. Musical theatre has made me the person I am today and I will never forget
What started out as a hobby transformed into a passion for an art form that allows me to use movements and expressions to tell a story. Whether I’m on stage in front of an audience of just friends and family, hundreds of strangers and a panel of judges, or the whole school, performing over thirty times, has helped me build lifelong
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
It is surprising for an individual to meet a famous person in the neighborhood or in a vacation resort, but how much more surprising it is for a person to get a job with a notable individual. I was shocked when as a new immigrant I got a job at The Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts and I was privileged to work with a Canadian choreographer, dancer and the Artistic Director, Anna Wyman. Through my work with her, I was able to explore the history of Canadian modern dance and to learn about my employer’s significant offerings to it. Wyman has made a great contribution to Canadian modern dance in the 70’s and 80’s with her dance company that was called- Anna Wyman Dance Theatre. Although, nowadays, we cannot admire her dance theatre anymore, the legacy resounds in her work as an artistic director, choreographer and teacher at The Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts.
This movie opened my eyes to how our two worlds, both ballet and color guard, are not so different after all. We are always willing to improve, even if we consider ourselves “professionals,” we are willing to adjust choreography without argument, as well as speak-up when
On a Wednesday night I saw Texas State Theatre and Dance Department's performance of A Chorus Line. The main plot of the musical entails the audition of 17 dancers for several Broadway roles on the chorus line. However, during their auditions the director Zach asks for personal stories of each dancer's life. Though the plot of this musical is seemingly simple in its twist on the traditional audition, it explores themes that reveal the human experience, the search for individuality, and the sense of self.
Betty had a good start to her career. She preformed at country fairs and rodeos. Betty learned that her talent isn’t enough to make her successful, and there was always more work to be done. Betty’s natural talent made it easier for her to learn ballet from her instructor. She hadn’t learned the basics right and she became very frustrated because she had to go back to the beginning and learn those basics.
Practicing three times a week for three hours was rough for the first few weeks, considering I was a beginner, but I didn't let that intimidate me, and so I continued. Making new friends, learning more about my Mexican culture, and boosting my confidence - all of these were areas that I had struggled with, but little by little, dance helped me accomplish such positive effects. With all the dedication I had since elementary school, I learned all the routines for our performance that would occur on December 12th.
I have been dancing since the age of four. I started my intense training with Tanju and Patricia Tuzer, Debra Bale, and Linda Brown at Tuzer Ballet. I developed as a dancer, attending every summer intensive performing in every show, advancing from intermediate to apprentice to junior company and finally to senior company. The dance studio became my second home. I took classes in ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, tap, jazz, lyrical jazz, theatrical movement, hip-hop, zumba, and African-Ballet, pointe, contemporary, and lyrical jazz being my favorites. Even w...
I considered myself a performer, and after years training as a classical ballerina I expanded into stunting and tumbling. While on tour, I developed friendships and bonds with dancers strengthened by a mutual love for dance, a commonality over the pain our bodies endured daily, and conversations on bruised and broken toes.
I have been a dancer since the age of 3. My earliest memory of dance was when I was too terrified to go on stage during a recital and I refused to go on no matter how much they tried to push me. Up until the age of about 12, dance had been just a hobby or an extracurricular activity. In fact, I didn’t even enjoy going to dance. I didn’t have friends there and I wasn’t that good of a dancer. It wasn’t until I participated in Dance Bermuda’s summer dance intensive in collaboration with the American Ballet Theatre in 2012, that I realized that I had a passion for dance. At the program, I was exposed to other dancers that were my age and older and most of them were much more advanced than I. So to avoid being the worst dancer in the program, I took to YouTube and watched hours and hours of dance videos. I researched all the ways to improve my ballet technique. I can remember trying to practice my pirouettes in the kitchen and falling onto the table and knocking a whole bunch of things over. I was determined to be as good as the other girls in the program. By the end of the two weeks I was fired up, motivated, and ready to get back to class after the summer.
The liberal arts curriculum UCSD’s Theatre & Dance department is designed to provide the educational experience of a small Ivy League college within a large public university and is consistently ranked among the top graduate theatre training programs in the country. The program also shares a close relationship with the Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse where both Caroline and I were part of theatrical productions featuring the work of undergraduate actors, as well has having the opportunity to take part in
Learning from last year in The Book Thief and midterm for this class, I realized going into this show that in order to succeed I needed to be continually on top of my due dates and assignments. With this in mind I was able to create a timeline for myself that lead me to have my lines memorized early on, and most of my portfolio requirements completed before week of show. In regards to my growth onstage, in this show I was able to gain much confidence in my acting abilities, something much needed to play a character like Abigail. Abigail as a character has this trust in herself that things will work out in her favor like no other. The trust Abigail has in herself allowed me to trust myself more, especially in scenes with only myself and another person, where it is most important to know what I am doing.
Last year had a huge impact on me. I made the decision to change dance studios. Although I've been dancing at studio 109 since I was three years old, I wanted a change. The reason for this was because of all the favoritism and the negative environment. I never wanted to go to dance, and it became a problem. I then pulled my hamstring in my duo and didn't end up finishing the season. They told me that I was faking it, so that's when I never went back. I wanted to try new things and have better opportunities. I wanted to improve my techniques and grow as a dancer. That’s when i made the decision to audition at Fusion Dance Academy in Dover. The thought of going to a new studio was nerve wrecking. I knew all the girls that danced there were incredibly