Danza de los Voladores de Papantla means- Dance of Papantla’s Flyers. Paplanta is the name of a small town in Veracruz, Mexico. I was so excited to visit Mexico recently, and was curious to see this traditional Mexican dance and to find out what it was all about. Five men were dressed in festive, colorful clothes and had on colorful hats. Each was on top of a very long pole and had rope tied around one foot. As they sat on the pole various Mexican instruments were played such as, a carrizo flute, a tamborcillo, and maracas.

I must be honest, I was a little bored at first as I sat listening to the music, looking up at those men thinking, “Well are they going to do anything?” The fact that they were extremely high and had rope tied to one foot made me uneasy! Then the music stopped and shortly after that four men went plunging backwards, spinning down toward the earth as the rope unraveled. It was a very simple dance in terms of technique, yet quite over the top with regards to boldness.  

What’s the point? (That’s what I was wondering.) Well, I learned that each of the five men represented the five elements of the world- Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. The rope that was wrapped around the pole unraveled 13 times for each of the four flyers and is symbolic of the 52 weeks of the year.

I definitely got the sense that the tradition of this dance is important to the people of Mexico, because of the clapping and shouts of excitement that came from the Mexican residents. Later on that evening I went to a show and that same dance of the Papantla flyers was performed. I was just thrilled to be able to experience dance in another country! Check out the fabulous pictures taken by my friend Kandrea Higgins.     

I read an interesting article at NYTimes.com published on January 6, 2010- Well: Do You Overestimate Your Child’s Activity, by Tara Parker- Pope. The article is based on a study conducted in Norfolk, England of 1,892 children between the ages of 9 and 10, all of whom attend 92 different schools and their parents.

 The children were given accelerometers, which are gadgets that measure physical activity within a specific period of time. They participated in what is known as the Speedy study, which is an acronym for- Sport, Physical Activity and Eating Behavior: Environmental Determinants in Young People. Children were given exercises to perform and when the data was collected, it was discovered that most of them were getting a good amount of physical activity. On the other hand, 39% of girls and 18% of boys were not.

 Many of the parents of the children whose physical activity was insufficient thought that their children were in fact getting enough (according to published data in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.) Ironically, parents of slim girls were the most disillusioned about their children’s lack of physical activity. To read the full article go to: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/how-active-is-your-child/         

If you read my “Thanksgiving Spirit” post, you might remember that I said I would post pictures of  my performance with the Celestial Community Choir. I received the pictures and here are some of my favorite shots. All pictures are courtesy of the Celestial Community Choir.

I really hope that your holiday was everything that you needed it to be. Whether you needed fun filled action, lounging around the house, or maybe a little bit of both hopefully you are content. I am so happy that I was able to get away and visit family! We did the usual- ate a Christmas dinner so yummy I’m still thinking about it, hit the malls for the infamous after Christmas sales, and watched a lot of movies.

One of the things that I appreciate about this time of year is the great opportunity it brings to reflect on the year that is about to end, and to come up with goals for the coming year. I absolutely love goal setting, because it gives me something to work towards otherwise, I’d be all over the place. Here are some of my goals (professional and personal) for 2010:

• I’d like to nail down a schedule that works well for me in order to post more, at least 3 times per week
• For Urban Plie to conduct at least a year long dance program for girls/and or boys that builds self -esteem and develops creative expression through dance
• For Urban Plie to offer its first summer dance intensive
• To be committed to a healthier diet
• I’d love to move to a new home this year

These goals, as well as those I have not listed will keep me plenty busy. I would love to know what one of your 2010 goals is.

Hi all! I know there has been a huge amount of time since my last post. I am in my final year of graduate school and have been swamped with work. Well, last week was my last week of class for the fall semester. While I still have a few assignments to hand in, I am really happy about not having to run to class after having worked with my middle school students all day.  

I now feel like I can focus on Christmas, which is by far my favorite holiday! What is there not to love? the carols, the Christmas tree, family and friends. As a dance teacher I love working with my students around this time of year on a holiday dance. This year I focused on some of my middle school aged students. I taught them a tango piece using the jazzy music of Harry Connick, Jr. I am so proud of them all!      

The rehearsal process was a lot of work- to say the least. If you know anything about middle school children, then you are not surprised when I say that our rehearsals were full of drama (the good kind!), emotions and anxiety. They were excited yet really nervous about how they would look in front of their peers! Whenever my students have a performance, I am determined for them to perform well. More importantly, I want them to be proud of their hard work and accomplishments.

 The night of the show brought on even more anxiety and quite a bit of last minute changes. For example, I had dancers who had problems with their costumes, another dancer did not want to go on because, he was sure that he was going to forget the entire routine!! And, I had to replace one of my dancers at the last minute. The person who took that dancer’s place had to have a quick rehearsal. It just so happened that the new dancer sat in on many rehearsals, was attentive, and practically knew the dance. She got her moment to shine, and SHINE she did!! By the way, the fabulous christmas ornaments in the background were done by my friend and Visual Artist, Sean Council. They added that extra holiday flavor to an awesome performance!

IT’S SHOWTIME!

I think these two are ready for the prom! (Keith and Charity)

I know that today is Saturday, but I just wanted to share one of my favorite dance pictures with you anyway. This is me performing in New York City at my church’s praise and worship service.

My thanksgiving was quiet and restful, which was just what I needed! I must take the time to reflect on the fact that I am so blessed in many ways: God, family, friends, my health, truly the list could go on and on.                                  

 However, on November 21st I had the privilege of showing my gratitude for a community choir that has been instrumental towards my dance training. The Celestial Community Choir of Brooklyn, New York celebrated 30 years of inspirational music, community service, and youth enrichment programs. Under the leadership of H. Donovan Irons, the choir has performed in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and for many other community settings within the New York and tri- state area and throughout the country.   

The choir awarded me a partial scholarship when I was 18 to study at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center; therefore I was honored when one of the members of the choir contacted me a couple of months ago to dance for their 30th anniversary celebration.

I performed two pieces- one from my repertoire which is a modern/ballet style of dance, and the second dance was a ballet that I choreographed specifically for the anniversary performance. I performed the second dance with the choir as they sang ”Precious Prayer,” a song from their latest CD. In many ways the experience felt like the completion of a circle- I was blessed with their generosity at the age of 18 and in turn had the opportunity to share my talent with them as an older adult.

I am still waiting for pictures from the performance and will be sure to share them with you!

Despite my overwhelming schedule these days- working full time, last year of graduate school, a thesis paper that is nearly driving me insane- I am delighted that I will begin teaching at “Still Hip” in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.  What can I say, I love dance and I love teaching. It’s difficult for me to turn down what I think is a great opportunity.

I was introduced to Still Hip by a good friend of mine who occasionally takes her son to a music class at the facility. Actually, Still Hip is a clothing store that sells “hip” and “funky” apparel for kids. They also sell other items for babies and moms/ moms to be, such as, books and stretch mark oil.

Sectioned off in the back of the store is an open space where local families bring their kids for classes in Art, Music, and Dance. I am teaching Creative Movement for Kids for an 8 weeks session most Saturdays beginning November 21st until January 30th. I am going to focus on ages 3 and 4 for this particular class, because that was the age range of kids that attended my demo class a few weeks ago. Do stay tuned with me however, there is bound to be dance classes for older kids opening up soon with urban plie!

Many little girls have a desire to take dance lessons for a number of reasons: it can be a lot of fun, or they are physical and just need to move- a lot! From my experience having once been a little girl and from my experience as a dance teacher; I would say that many little girls have a desire to dance, because it makes them feel like a princess!

On December 11, 2009 Disney will present, The Princess And The Frog in theaters everywhere! This is the first Disney film to feature an American princess, who is also African American. I had the opportunity to see a short clip of the movie earlier this month at Blogalicious in Atlanta.

Set in New Orleans, this movie is about a beautiful girl named Tiana who embarks on her journey towards following her heart and living the life of her dreams. From the short clip that I was able to see, it was clear to me that Tiana exemplifies the courage and passion that many little girls have.  I cannot wait to see the entire movie, and get in touch with my inner princess.

In New York City public high schools the strong correlation between students’ academic growth and exposure to the arts has been proven successful. Based on a New York Times, Arts Briefly article titled- Arts Education and Graduation Rates by Rachel Lee Harris, it was founded that high schools with the highest graduation rates also offered the most arts education programs to students.  

 This data is based on a report issued in October 2009 by the Center for Arts Education. The report is quite dense so I’ve highlighted some points that I think are most significant:

• These schools had external funds to support the arts that were more than likely raised by the schools.
• Students in these high schools completed at least 3 types of arts courses.
• Students were offered a multiyear sequence in the arts.
• Students in these particular high schools had exposure to arts activities, such as: a dance recital, a Broadway performance, or the orchestra.

To read the full report go to www.cae-nyc.org.