Tag: ilovedance

For the love of jazz. My current dance crush: Holla Jazz!

Posted on by Sandy in torontodance

Sometimes dancers catch your attention in ways you can’t quite explain. I mean there are  a lot of great dancers out there and we have access online to take in a lot of amazing movement art and of course being in Toronto also means tons of live shows and events to witness it in person. But there’s something about this crew…

 

Lately I’ve been rather infatuated with Holla Jazz, a local group of dancers that are indexskilled in a variety of genres but gather in this group to showcase vernacular jazz. With social media being a way artists can connect with audiences and fans, I came across their page on facebook and my interest in solo jazz was re-ignited. I haven’t done a ton of solo jazz since my time in the flapper troupe Sugar Shakers but it holds a special place in my heart –and feet!

In March I attended a vernacular jazz workshop with Natasha Powell, the founding artistic director of Holla Jazz and had a really amazing time. She taught the group of eager movers some fun combos,  with focus on bringing our own flavour to the movements. After all, we’re talking social dance here –there is so much room for playfulness and to bring your own mood and authenticity to the dance.

Lucky for Toronto, Holla Jazz has a full length production Floor’d coming up later this month! I’ve had it in my calendar for a minute and then in early April, I won tickets to the show through Turnout Radio on 89.5 (if you haven’t tuned into this dance show on our last remaining community radio station, you should!). I was so excited when I called into the station to find out I’d won — and the day before my birthday, so it felt extra special…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhJqePrgNGn/?taken-by=the_strange_dame

I’m super looking forward to the show, here is the choreographers statement for more info. Whatever genre of dance you’re into, this show is one not to miss, it runs April 25-28th. See you there!

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108 Days of Dance: Insights from the almost halfway point

Posted on by Sandy in bellydance, Mindful movement, Torontobellydance, torontodance

 

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108 Days of Dance

It’s day 47 of 108 Days of Dance, my own personal challenge to dance each day. For a few reasons: general enjoyment of dance and movement aka FUN!, also to up my practice game, to work on technique refinement as well as improvisation. I had intended to document at least once a week on my blog via video, and write my insights along the way. Yet here I am at almost halfway, having done the practice, foregoing the documentation. Begging the new cultural question, if it wasn’t posted online has it really happened?

This challenge for me has been a mostly solitary process, though much of my dancing is just the opposite: for and with other people. Filming oneself practicing is a strange thing. See, I practice to practice (and perform to perform)…I mean, I’m already looking at myself in the mirror which is in and of itself a type of performance. But enter the camera, recording for the purpose of sharing through social media, and another layer of awareness inserts itself into the process. Case in point: yesterday I posted a poorly-shot video of myself doing sun salutations to a favourite community radio show: Groove Concept Radio. Grainy and ill-framed, I wobbled sideways in my transition from downward dog to warrior…immediately my mind wandered to the edit, or maybe I should re-shoot that sequence? Instead, I left it as is. Yoga as any other form of dance/movement is imperfect, as we struggle through visceral experiences of this mortal coil (aka the meat suit) and the fluctuations of the mind. Not to mention the emotions that arise through movement, for better and worse!

So all of this is to say that I mostly prefer to be alone for my movement practice(s). Or at least with others who are focused internally yet also fully entrained in our collective experience (aka dance class).

In conclusion friends, I have in fact been dancing each and every day for this 108 Days of Dance. A few insights have been around the power of solitary practice, like the solitude of most creativity and innovation (at least the root of a new idea or creation, even if later collaborative, happens for most people in a solitary moment). During this time I have added a new class at Dragonfly to my schedule, tofu-ing (no beefing for this vegan!) up my home practice (mostly tribal fusion and cabaret styles) and weekly troupe rehearsals (shout out to my Serpentinis!). I guess what I’ve realized so far is that its not too far a stretch from my regular practice to dance each and every day. Though, it has created a new level of discipline, with the goal of maintaining a daily practice with this challenge, as I did with yoga in the wake of my teacher training a couple of years ago.

How about YOU? Do you prefer to practice movement alone or with others? How is it helpful (or not) to post your practice on social media?