Tapping is Love of Rhythm

I wanted to share how much I love the viral video where tappers interpret the Cups song. It's already been on the Web for a while and I'd be surprised if you hadn't seen it, but being a bit of a dance nut, I couldn't help myself.

I tap danced for years when I was younger and having tried to brush up on my tap skills last  year, I can only appreciate the high level of performance, ability and agility shown by this choreography.  As a dancer, I'm always listening to music to feel it and be open to how my body interprets the rhythm and the melody. 

As a swing dancer, I've been working on my musicality for as long as I can remember. It gives me goosebumps when I watch someone nailing just the right part in a song and it gives me a rush when I'm the one who just "got it in my bones". 

When I watch this, I'm amazed at the way the choreographers have absolutely captured the essence of the song and go beyond following it; they complement the song by adding character through tap. They own it - you can tell by their confidant movement and their smiles - and they say "Yeah, here's how we do it." Have you noticed how textured their rhythms are? That's understanding. That's love of the craft.

Watch this and tell yourself that these busy people have shared their love for music through their talent and their performance. This is beautiful.

There is also a great article, found on dance-teacher.com here.

Swing of Change: Animation and Jazz to Stop Racism

As I was  for music to listen to while working, I came across this video. I was actually quite happy to find that it offered many elements I like; it's animation, it's a short, it plays jazz and it has a good message.We are all the same on the inside!

It's an entry for a student film festival. How fun!

I hope you enjoy this bit of animation as much as I did.

Contributor For The Dance Current

July Issue - Cover

As usual, life got a little crazy; I blink and three months have passed since I last wrote a post. Fortunately, some of the chaos was created by exciting opportunities, such as reviewing a Propeller Dance show for The Dance Current.

Here's my very first contribution to the magazine.

Enjoy a beautiful summer!

Ballet in the Streets - At Le Troquet!

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé, 2012

I  might as well say it straight off the bat... #shamelesspromotion. My conscience is now clear and you were notified.

If you're (impatient and) looking for the event I'd like to which I'd like to invite you...click here.

If you read my blog, you'll have figured out the few things that make me tic. There's dance. There's photography. There are other artists and bloggers, and their awesomeness (in my world, that's a word). But once in a while, I like to combine those wonderful things - dance, photography, arts, literature - and share them with you and wrap it with a bow. Today, I'd like to tell you that one of those things became a photography project and it keeps growing, much to my astonishment.

You know, those things - art and people, mostly - that make my heart swell with so much joy and fill my head and (holy old school) notepads with ideas. These ideas often cause me sleepless nights, a few too many headaches than I think are worth the trouble and they cost me cups of java. Many cups of java, and tea, when I start shaking. Or you know, when I fear withdrawal. But back to it... 

These ideas that hit me and follow me around, they sometimes turn into great projects. Sometimes, people actually take me seriously, believe in me and say "let's do this!". Then I get caught in a bit of a whirlwind as I work at these projects. I listen to these projects, for their direction, because they're from ideas that come from dreams, that in turn, come from the bottom of my heart. I work so hard sometimes I even wonder what I'm doing. "Is this going to work? Am I really allowed to call myself an artist? And, let's be honest; am I helping anyone?" 

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2012

Once in a while, I look up from the grindstone and see that the pieces are coming together to form a "big picture" that is more than what I'd imagined initially. I am fortunate enough to see those pictures be hung for others to see as well and enjoy. And I wonder, if the people who joined in the crazy project ideas I've presented with so much enthusiasm, if they knew better all along, if they knew that my ideas would make sense. I wonder if they followed me blindly on faith. Regardless of why my friends, colleagues and strangers decided to support any of my projects, I am grateful. In 2011, I decided to find a way to join dance and photography. I wanted to help showcase dance in the national capital region. When I put it out there that I wanted this to happen, so many people came forward to model, to help find dancers, to offer advice or reference work, to critique and offer feedback. I cannot say how happy I am to have had these opportunities and met many new interesting people. The whole is so much more than the sum of its parts; that's what Ballet in the Streets means to me. That's the package, and the exhibit is the bow with which it's wrapped. With enough love and belief for the cause of dance, this beautiful project will continue to grow with dancers of many disciplines.

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2012

Join me for Ballet in the Streets, vernissage on March 11, 2013 at Le Troquet at 5 p.m. Also note that a few pieces are also on view at Levante Bistro in Ottawa.

Thank you to Ariane Y. Nazroo (Le Troquet) and to Candace Power (Levante Bistro) for their wonderful support in showing the exhibit!

Thank you also to Lana Morton, an amazing dancer, for your support and recommendations.

Stop Motion Ballerina

This is one for all of my fellow dance buffs and photography nerds.

This is work by photographer Katerina Bodrunova.

Work by Katerina Bodrunova

This photographer made this short "stop motion" project of a ballerina. It has a really fun vintage feel to the barre exercises in a cabaret-style practice hall. It's in juxtaposition with the walk in the field, where the focus is on the dancer's feet and legs, free of the shoes...

Dreams come true - Enjoy!

Which movies will you show your kids?

I watched this fascinating TED Talk by Colin Stokes on the influence of movies in social learning.

I agree that we need to continue to provide positive models for young girls, but also, start to provide a wider variety of heroes (and to show them with more depth) to young boys.

I loved Pixar's Brave. 

Enjoy the talk, click here!

Why Dance Is Good For You

Antonio Banderas sold us (well, I was already sold) on the personal and social benefits of dancing in Take the Lead. I've been reading many articles about studies attesting the health benefits of dance. I read another article today about a project in an Argentine hospital. Borda and Ramos Mejia hospitals in Buenos Aires, offer Tango workshops or "Tango Therapy" (in French). Silvina Perl, the workshop coordinator, works with patients with mental illnesses or disorders to treat their psychosis. At Ramos Mejia, Perl works with seniors who struggle with solitude and depression. Through Tango, Perl helps them reach out, reconnect and in some cases, relearn social interaction.

credit: lapresse.ca

LaPresse.ca (French) has also published an article on the benefits of dance on teenage girls. I've been a firm believer that dance, in all disciplines, brings much good and develops many skills. My friends at Swing Dynamite also believe, as Frankie Manning did, that Lindy Hop makes people happy. They invited me to blog about it! Dance sharpens the mind as well as the body. It also has many social benefits, especially if it is a social dance (obviously!), like swing (or ballroom). For instance, it develops a transferable ability, such as breaking out of your comfort zone. Moreover, if you work on contact improvisation, it can enable you to think on your feet (pun intended). There are many ways dance can have a positive effect on your life, whether you practice dance or observe and appreciate it.

Project: Ballet in the Street
Credit: Mercedes Déziel-Hupé
Dancer: Kim Ng

Earlier this Fall, I also read about the emotional benefits of ballet on girls. This is but one of many on the same topic, like these ones by Child Development Institute Parenting Today, Livestrong, Ehow Mom,  Suite101 or Girlsrcool.com. Many of them make some valid points, thus helping dance shed some of its bad rep (eating disorders ring a bell?). But few are "academic" or "scientific" and as with everything, it'll take years, many dedicated spokespeople and many more funky projects (such as the Ballerina Project, the Ruche En Pointe video or Levis commercials) to make dance alluring to pop culture (and of course, funders). I am also working on a project of my own to help promote dance in Ottawa, it's Ballet in the Streets (or the Galleries 1,2,3 of the project on my tumblr).

If only these studies existed when I was trying to write a thesis on a similar subject... before I "suspended my program until further notice". Perhaps academics in my immediate surroundings did not see the value of such a research. Or perhaps I felt so lost as to where to begin supporting something I knew deep down; dance is a language and it's good for the soul..

Maybe if we collectively start to recognize the value of dance, we'll foster creative endeavors, boost our self-esteems, feel great and look good while dancing to that Korean Top 40 song...oh, you know it.