Congratulations to COLLEEN WATSON, winner of a free lesson in her choice of yoga, pilates, dance, or fusion. She gets to bring up to four friends to share in the fun – I can’t wait!
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Win some holiday zen!
Contest continues until Dec 27th! Like & Share to win!
Like & share or Favourite & retweet and I’ll put your name in a draw to win a free lesson at my home studio. The winner gets to choose the style (yoga, pilates, dance, fusion) and bring up to four friends to share in the fun! Look for the contest image on Twitter @bizzvarty and Facebook/yogabizz
You can enter once a day on as many days as you like. Contest ends at midnight December 27, 2015.
For sale details visit the Fees & Registration page.
Guidelines for Dance Improvisation
- Relax – there is no ‘right way’ to move, you are expected to experiment, no judgements
- Respond to instructions with your body, not your brain (don’t overthink)
- Take chances, do things that might look silly or weird
- Physically commit, do your chosen moves with enthusiasm
Use the images in your head to inspire your next movement
DIY Dance: Dance Blender
Inspire some creative dance fusion moves in this mini dance-off.
• Students will form groups of three. In each group, students will determine who will play the roles of Muse 1, Muse 2 and The Blender (the roles may rotate if desired)
• Muse 1 will begin by demonstrating a simple dance move
• Muse 2 will then demonstrate a second simple move
• The Blender’s job is to quickly find a way to fuse both moves into one new dance step (use a timer if necessary)
• The Muses will then join in, copying the Blender’s new step
• You can use the deck of dance cards created in Name-A-Dance to inspire the Muses
DIY Dance: Youtube playlists
Check out these playlists I curated on youtube:
- Improvisation Examples
- TED Talks with Dance
- Dance Around the World
- Games and Inspiration
- Classic Dances
- Hip Hop Basics
- Dance Mix 2014 (Fun Music for Teaching Dance)
*Please note: not all videos may be suitable for all age levels, please review the videos before showing your class!
Elements of Dance
Here is my personal “cheat sheet” for the Elements of Dance. Click here for a PDF version.
BODY
Body awareness (body position, where one is in relation to people and objects)
Body parts (muscles, bones, joints, organs, breath, head, shoulders, arms, hands,
back, ribs, hips, legs, feet, fingers, toes, face, elbows, knees)
Shapes (big, small, angular, stretched, twisted, curved, open, closed)
Non-locomotor mvmts (plie, rise, stretch, grow, spin, fold, bow, hop, jump, turn,
lift, pull, march, wave arms, twist, rock, shake, sway, collapse, stretch)
Locomotor mvmts (run, gallop, skip, roll, crawl, creep, leap, dart, walk, slide)
Body bases (seat, back, side, knee)
Body zones (upper, lower, right, left, front, back, lateral, cross-lateral)
Symmetry vs Asymmetry
Geometric vs organic shape
Curved vs angular shape
Isolation of body parts
Weight transfer (lunge, leap, roll)
SPACE
Levels (low, middle, high, expanding, contracting)
Size of movement
Pathways (straight, curvy, zig zag, in air, on floor, circular)
General vs personal space
Directions (forwards, backwards, sideways, turning, diagonal)
Focus (direction of gaze)
Positive vs negative space
Proximity of dancer to one another
Various group formations (circle, square, tiangle, semi-circle, pairs, trios, clumps)
Use of performance space (large, confined)
TIME
Tempo (slow, sustained, fast, stop/start, sudden, quick)
Rhythm (even, uneven, steady, regular, irregular, erratic)
Pause
Stillness
With vs without music
Duration (short/long)
Acceleration/deceleration
Pattern (combinations of time)
ENERGY
Effort (pressing, gliding, attack, heavy, light)
Force (lightness, strength, tight, loose)
Quality (melt, twitch, slump, explode, bounce, shake, smooth, delicate,
cautiously, erratically, percussively, sustained, punch, thrust, float, collapse, wiggle, explode, vibrate, slash, press, shrink, open)
Inaction vs action
Percussion
Fluidity (glide, slink, fall, shiver, wring, dab, mould, flow, bind, balanced)
RELATIONSHIP
Dancers to props/objects (in, on, around, etc)
Opposition
Meet/part
Follow/lead (partners, groups)
Emotional connections between dancers
Groupings (large & small groups)
Group conventions (unison, cannon, levels, facings, call & response, variations)
Only one more sleep til you, too, can jo
Only one more sleep til you, too, can join the Family. Need tickets? A few left, so get at me! Here’s a peek at the last one to get you…
TBT: The first time Dad and I shared a s
TBT: The first time Dad and I shared a stage was on “Take your kid to work (day) night” in grade 9. After that I could be found at Old Chicago’s blues jam most Tuesday nights. http://ow.ly/GTk35
This Saturday we’ll be joined by specia
This Saturday we’ll be joined by special guest Deborah Zuskan on vocals and harmonica. Plus me, my dad, Ryan Spong on bass, Ted Peacock on drums, and Teddy Leonard on guitar. ROCK! http://ow.ly/GTlc5 http://ow.ly/i/8auaQ…
The Family Business 2 Concert
The Varty Party returns!
Sat. January 10th at 7:30pm
at the London Music Club
470 Colborne Street
$10 before or $12 at the door.
Dance the night away to rockin’ blues and funk music that’ll cure your winter blahs in no time. See me (or my Dad) for advance tickets!
More info on the Facebook event page.
Featuring Doug Varty, Bizz Varty, Ryan Spong, Ted Peacock and Ted Leonard, with special guest Deborah Zuskan. The LMC serves dinner and drinks all night.
Check out these videos from the first Family Business concert in April 2013:
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine
[youtube http://youtu.be/zMSzGDk-M1U]
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
[youtube http://youtu.be/Pxj12CFY6lU]
Tell Mama
[youtube http://youtu.be/keY1vMnCXMU]