Zombie Ballet/Dancergirl book trailer!

Check this out!  Author Carol Tanzman, whose book DANCERGIRL I loved and reviewed not long ago, put together an amazing book trailer using a portion of my Zombie Ballet and included my dancers too!

Zombie Ballet, performed at ArtNight Pasadena, Oct 14th, 2011

 

This is only half of it.  Once my Ninja Webmaster finishes cutting the other videos, I'll post the whole thing.

One-time only schedule change for Friday night

Please note: For those of you who take class with me on Friday afternoons or evening in Pasadena, there will be NO classes on October 14th, due to the Zombie Ballet performance. If you can, please come to my Saturday morning class at 10AM. Otherwise I will see you next Friday!

Zombie Ballet & ArtNight Pasadena schedule

 Since everyone's been asking (thank you!), here is the schedule for the ArtNight Pasadena events at ARC (A Room to Create) studio/theater:

 

ART NIGHT ARC PARTICIPANTS/Friday, October 14, 2011

 

6:00-6:15 Pennington Dance Group

6:20-6:30 Leigh Purtill and Dancers (Zombie Ballet!)

6:35-6:45 Pasadena Civic Ballet

6:45-7:05 Laurie Sefton-ClairobscurDance

7:10-7:20 Leigh Purtill and Dancers (Zombie Ballet again!)

7:25-7:35 Deborah Rosen Dancers

7:40- 8:10 Benita Bike

8:10-8:30 Danza Floricanto

8:30-8:50 Paula Present -Ptero Dance

8:55-9:05 Jessica Kondrath

9:05-10:00: Laurie Sefton, Pennington Dance Group, Deborah Rosen & Ptero Dance

 

As you can see, my group of 19 fantastic dancers is performing the Zombie Ballet twice on Friday night, at 6:20 and again at 7:10.  I am very excited to watch Pennington Dance Group and my friend Laurie's Clairobscur Dance.  Two amazing modern dance companies!

 

These times are approximate, of course.  When you're dealing with such a large number of dances and dancers, you never know exactly how long things will take!  My piece is under 2 minutes, just fyi...

 

Here is the address for ARC:

1158 East Colorado Blvd. (west of Michigan Ave and across the street from Michael's crafts)

Pasadena, California 91106 

http://www.arcpasadena.org

Entrance in back.  Parking on side streets or in the back of the theater.  There will be food trucks plus free shuttles to take people to other performance venues and galleries.  And it's all free! 

15 Truths About Being a Professional Dancer

I didn't write this but I wish I had.  Melanie at the blog, BalletPages, did and very kindly allowed me to reprint it here. As she noted at the top of her blog post, it was inspired in part by Marc and Angel of Marc and Angel Hack Life.  Dancers, please pay special attention to #3 and #8.  As a teacher, I know I need to absorb #5 and #11.  Thank you, Melanie!

1.                 Dance is hard. – No dancer ever became successful riding on their natural born talents only. Dancers are artists and athletes. The world of dance today is akin to an extreme sport. Natural ability and talent will only get us so far. Dancers must work hard and persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears and sometimes blood to have honor and pleasure of performing on stage

2.                You won’t always get what you want. – We don’t always get the role we wanted, go on pointe when we want, get the job we want hear the compliments we want, make the money we want, see companies run the way we want, etc, etc.  This teaches us humility and respect for the process, the art form and the masters we have chosen to teach us. The faster we accept this, the faster we can get on with being brilliant.  We’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but we can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work. 

3.                There’s a lot you don’t know. – There is always more a dancer can learn. Even our least favorite teachers, choreographers and directors can teach us something. The minute we think we know it all, we stop being a valuable asset.

4.                There may not be a tomorrow. – A dancer never knows when their dance career will suddenly vanish… a company folds, career ending injury, car accident, death…Dance every day as if it is the final performance. Don’t save the joy of dance for the stage. Infuse even your routine classroom exercises with passion!

5.                There’s a lot you can’t control. – You can’t control who hires you, who fires you, who likes your work, who doesn’t, the politics of being in a company. Don’t waste your talent and energy worrying about things you can’t control. Focus on honing your craft, being the best dancer you can be. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude.

6.                Information is not true knowledge. – Knowledge comes from experience.  You can discuss a task a hundred times, go to 1000 classes, but unless we get out there and perform we will only have a philosophical understanding of dance. Find opportunities to get on stage.  You must experience performance firsthand to call yourself a professional dancer.

7.                 If you want to be successful, prove you are valuable. – The fastest way out of a job is to prove to your employer they don’t need you. Instead, be indispensable. Show up early, know your material, be prepared, keep your opinions to yourself unless they are solicited and above all be willing to work hard.

8.                Someone else will always have more than you/be better than you.  – Whether its jobs or money or roles or trophies, it does not matter. Rather than get caught up in the drama about what others are doing around you, focus on the things you are good at, the things you need to work on and the things that make you happiest as a dancer.

9.                You can’t change the past. – Everyone has a past. Everyone has made mistakes, and everyone has glorious moments they want to savor. “Would you keep a chive in your tooth just because you enjoyed last night’s potato? Boston Common TV Series. Dance is an art form that forces us to concentrate on the present. To be a master at dance we have be in the moment; the minute the mind wanders, injuries happen. If they do, see #12.

10.            The only person who can make you happy is you. – Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy.  The root of our happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves, not from how much money we make, what part we were given, what company we dance for, or  how many competitions we won.  Sure these things can have effects on our mood, but in the long run it’s who we are on the inside that makes us happy.

11.             There will always be people who don’t like you. – Dancers are on public display when they perform and especially in this internet world, critics abound. You can’t be everything to everyone.  No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently.  So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right.  What others think and say about you isn’t all that important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.

12.            Sometimes you will fail. – Sometimes, despite our best efforts, following the best advice, being in the right place at the right time, we still fail. Failure is a part of life. Failure can be the catalyst to some of our greatest growth and learning experiences. If we never failed, we would never value our successes. Be willing to fail. When it happens to you (because it will happen to you), embrace the lesson that comes with the failure.

13.            Sometimes you will have to work for free. – Every professional dancer has at one time or another had to work without pay. If you are asked to work for free, be sure that you are really ok with it. There are many good reasons to work for free, and there are just as many reasons not to work for free. Ask yourself if the cause is worthy, if the experience is worth it, if it will bring you joy. Go into the situation fully aware of the financial agreement and don’t expect a hand out later.

14.            Repetition is good. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insane. – If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  If you keep doing the bare minimum of required classes, don’t complain to your teacher when you don’t move up to the next level. If you only give the bare minimum in your company, be happy staying in the corps. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must push yourself beyond your self imposed limitations.

15.            You will never feel 100% ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Dancers have to be willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it.

Book review: dancergirl by Carol Tanzman

(From Goodreads)
EVER FEEL LIKE SOMEONE’S WATCHING YOU?
ME TOO.
BUT LATELY IT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN MY ROOM.
WHEN I’M ALONE.

A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I’m no longer Alicia Ruffino. I’m dancergirl. And suddenly it’s like me against the world—everyone’s got opinions.

My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy—even he’s acting weird. And some stalker isn’t content to just watch anymore.

Ali. dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you’ve seen me online, I’ve trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life.(less)



Ali Ruffino loves to dance.  She's got lots of friends, lots of people who would like to be her - and she has a stalker.  But who is he?  And what does he want from her?

There are so many ways for me to read this book: as a dancer, as a teacher, as a YA writer. As a dancer, I loved Ali's passion for the art form.  Anyone who dances will understand and empathize with her need to express her creativity, her inner soul through movement, as well as the sheer joy she feels moving her body.  As a teacher, I feel like I got an insight into the many pressures a young dancer has in her life, things I may have forgotten about.  And as a YA writer, well, this was a page-turner from the opening chapter and that's the way I like my thrillers - unputdownable!

Our culture's current fascination with YouTube, with getting our 15 minutes of fame, with quick sound bites that we use to define people, are dealt with head-on in "dancergirl."  We see how Ali wants to have things both ways: popularity and fame as a dancer on the web, yet respectful privacy in her daily life.  As she soon finds, it's nearly impossible to keep secrets once you are in the public eye, for whatever reason.

Ultimately, beneath the trappings of the dance world, this story is a thriller, and it definitely thrills.  Tanzman keeps upping the stakes of the game for Ali, who indeed takes it as a game at first until things escalate beyond her control. I thought I knew who the bad guy was - and then Tanzman took it away - again and again and again!  LOL - I discovered it the same moment as our heroes, and it wasn't a "butler did it" solution either. 

You don't have to love dance to love "dancergirl" but if you do, I think you will find an extra layer of fun and self-discovery within its pages. Tanzman nails the details - the many hours of work and dedication required, the trials and troubles of choreography, the physical joy and pain dancers feel, and especially the competition and jealousy that go along with this very special world.

dancergirl will be available from Harlequin Teen Nov 15th but you can preorder at Amazon and other online stores now.

How much do I love dance? Let me count the ways...

Last night, I had a new student in one of my classes who told me she used to dance when she was younger. When I asked her what she'd like from class now, she mentioned better health, which I'm always happy to hear, but also that she wanted to move again.  For those of us who dance, whose lives revolve around dance, we completely understand and identify with this feeling.  Whether you've been away from dance for personal reasons or injury, returning can be a joyous occasion.

Recently I've had to step away from taking classes for myself which is a tremendous hardship because I find solace in a class both emotionally and physically.  Teaching, as much as I love sharing my knowledge and passion for dance, is simply not the same.  But there is a peril to teaching as often as I do and that is the overuse injury.  We tend to demonstrate steps using the same leg all the time (typically the right) so we can become injured in either the standing leg or working leg because we overuse it.  For me, it was a hip flexor issue and I have had to curtail much of my demonstrating on that side.

But after two weeks of being very good to my leg, icing it and heating it often, and keeping it low when I demonstrate, I was able to return to my own class this morning.  I was still careful, of course, but I did every exercise in class - and what a joyous occasion it was!  I wanted to shout out, "I love dance with every fiber of my being, every cell of my body!" This being LA, probably no one would have even noticed or cared that some middle-aged lady was yelling about ballet.

As much as I teach, as many hours as I spend in the studio, I still love ballet.  Love it.  LOVE.  IT. Returning from an injury makes me realize how important it is to me on so many levels.  I write this post not to caution you about taking care of yourself so you can dance til you're old ladies and gentlemen (although you should!) but to encourage you to come back if you've been gone for a while.  You will feel the joy in your bones.