Find Your Groove

[alan gyllenhaal]

To be able to dance you need to be able to understand beat. The beat
is one of the few elements that carries through from classical to rap
music. Learning to move and finding classes is the easy part of dance.
Before you can find classes, you need to find the right style of dance
to suit you.
There is a selection of dance types to choose from, as well as
different types of levels. There are evening classes for those who
wish to dance as a hobby, and there are academies for those who wish
to create a life out of it.
The most classical version of dance is ballet. Ballet involves a good
sense of grace, elegance and focus. The traditional dress code for
ballet for girls is a pair of light pink ballet shoes, stockings, tutu
and a leotard. Generally, the colour theme for these items is in
shades of pinks. Men also have to wear ballet shoes, with stockings
and a leotard. Their colours are normally blue and black.
Ballet involves being able to stand on the very edge of your toes.
This takes years of practise and hard work to achieve. You also have
to be subtle, able to do the splits and have good balance. Some of the
movements include twirling, jumping and walking on you toes, sideways,
across the stage. In partnership, men have to have good upper-body
strength as they have to hold the girls by the hips, as they balance
in horizontal positions.
Unfortunately, being a professional ballet dancer doesn't only require
being able to move with grace. Your body type plays a role as well.
The ideal body type is slender and medium height (just taller then
5ft). Your legs have to be in good proportion to your upper body. To
be a professional ballet dancer, you need to start as soon as
possible, from the age of ten or less.
However, there are ballet classes for inspiring dancers who didn't
start young and want to do it as a hobby. Ballet is normally
accompanied by classical music, such as Beethoven. It was made famous
with dances such as "The Sugar Plum Fairy" and "The Nutcracker."
For those of you who lack elegance, but make up for it in passion,
look into modern dance. Modern dance has risen in popularity, as the
music is upbeat and there is a fair amount of freedom.
Unlike ballet, where dance moves are categorised and defined, modern
dance still allows for unexpected movement. It focuses on the motion
and rhythm of the music, rather than the style and positioning. What
comes across in modern dance is passion and ability to feel the beat
and rhythm of the music.
Ideally, modern dance should be started at a young age, but it isn't
necessary. A lot of dancers only truly discover their love for music
in their early twenties. Being flexible is an advantage, but not a
necessity. The dress code is generally casual. You can wear what you
want, as long as it doesn't restrict you in movement. Most modern
dancers are barefoot.
Once you have mastered the basics, dancers are encouraged to think of
different moves and styles to add to the group. Although there are
some solo modern dances, generally you dance as a group, in lines. The
movement is abrupt, quick and action packed.
Modern dancing became popular with music videos. The dance generally
incorporates the latest hits, or conversely back-up dancers for
popular videos use modern dancing. There have been movies such as
"Center Stage" which incorporates ballet and modern techniques
together.
If you prefer less elegance than ballet, but not the full body
movement of the modern dancer, then take into consideration tap
dancing. This is wonderful form of dancing that has rising and sunk
only to rise again in popularity. There are different forms of tap
dancing, ranging from street to formal.
Street tap dancing is where dancers are given more freedom to move,
flinging their arms and taking on one-to-one challenges. In the formal
version, arms are to the side, with backs straight. The formal version
only allows dancers to move their feet, whereas with the street form
dancers move their whole bodies.
Tap dancing involves wearing shoes with metal pieces on the tip and
heel of the sole of the shoe. By tapping with your feet, the metal
will create a noise against the floor. During training, you can
manipulate your ankles and feet to create a beat using this technique.
Generally there is no music with tap dancing. If there is music, it is
a track with no beat or drums, as the rhythm is tapped out by the
dancer.
Traditionally, tap shoes were created out of sophisticated closed
black shoes. Today, tap dancers are using hiking boots and other forms
of shoes, for a different feel and sound.
Tap dancing had a popular uprising due to "Lord of the Rings" as well
as Disney's movie "Happy Feet." There are academies that teach the
strict formal dancing style, but there are also classes that have
moved to trendy vibe, including steel drums with the dance.
There are many different types of dance, incorporating different parts
of the body, styles and taste in music. If you are interested in
taking up dance as a hobby or lifetime career, you have to first find
your niche in the market. By taking the type of music that you feel
most comfortable with, you can then decide what type of movement you
enjoy. For most dance courses you need focus, but before you can pick
the class, you need to find which type holds your groove.
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