The Downside to the “New Dance Industry”

     While in general, I am a supporter of the direction the dance industry is going in there are several negative aspects to it as well. There are shows out there that make a mockery of the dance industry, and make it seem much worse than it is. These shows are riding the coat tails of the positive shows out there that are truly relevant. The show Dance Moms is one on the top of my list. While I will admit I have not watched this show very often, seeing an episode or two was all I needed to have a negative opinion about it. The little girls on the show are fantastic dancers, but there are many inappropriate moves involved in the choreography as well as costume choices that are not age appropriate. ( Here's an article that discusses this..) Their teacher, Abby Lee Miller, is also incredibly hard on these young girls. The show makes the dance competition industry look completely ridiculous and encourages little girls to be put in these terrible positions. I spent five years competing in the same scenario as these girls, and will admit that there is drama and some “Dance Moms” out there that make things complicated. Luckily for me, I was not under such pressure. I feel that this show is giving some dance studio owners and Moms of young dancers the idea that this kind of behavior is ok, and I just don’t think it is.

       The absence of ballet in the industry is also a worry of mine. I do understand that in order to get a considerable audience on television, entertainment value is crucial. I also understand that ballet is not necessarily as exciting to watch for most people (especially for non-dancers).  That does not take away the fact that ballet is extremely important fundamentally for dancers. In this article, Jeremy Mcqueen, a dancer and choreographer discusses the importance of ballet. Contemporary has become today’s most popular style of dance. It allows choreographers the ability to tell stories, and is very out-side of the box. I am a fan of this style but I think that many Contemporary dancers are forgetting that ballet is still important. It is my hope that the relevant dance shows out there will emphasize this importance. If not, I fear that ballet will twindle in importance for dancers and in ten years we will have lost a certain amount of quality. Dancers make things look effortless, but even a fall or drop to the ground needs technique behind it to look graceful. Even Travis Wall agrees, he spoke about technique in the class I took from him. Denise Wall, Travis’s mom, also taught a technique class, which was probably the most important class of the workshop. It’s dancers that have ballet technique that are truly the best.

These are just a couple of the concerns that are possible, because with change there is always positives and negatives. I will discuss more of these negative periodically throughout my blog.

This is a subject I especially would like feedback on. Do you agree with me? Do you think I am base? Either way I would love comments.

<3 Samantha

 Julianne Hough - Triple Threat

     There are many triple threats out there, those that of course can sing, dance, and act. We see many celebrities that sing attempt to act (Justin Timberlake and Madonna). We also have seen many actors attempt to sing. However, dance has always been the third, lesser important “threat” to have when it comes to celebrity and industry. In the past you may have needed to be able to dance a little in a movie or in a music video, but it wasn’t anything to sweat over. However, dance is moving into the spotlight and is starting to become more respected like the music and television/movie industries. It’s turning into a prosocial behavior, which is something that society approves of and encourages people to get involved with. Julianne Hough is someone that started off her triple-threat career with a little show called Dancing with the Stars (I’m a little obsessed with this show if you cannot tell). As one of the professionals, Julianne scored five, yes I said five, mirror ball trophies. She won her last in season 8 with Chuck Wicks, and sadly decided to leave the show to pursue other career options in film, country music, and workout DVDs. Before she left the show,  she already had a very diverse group of fans that were sad to see her leave. This was a brilliant tactic, because the fans that were sad to see her leave would want to watch her in a movie, or listen to her music just to get a glimpse of her. Julianne has released a great workout DVD that teaches dance combinations, however, even if you aren’t an experienced dancer, you can still get a great workout. Anyone who has seen her dance wants a body like hers, so a workout DVD is a great marketing technique. She has also released a self-titled country album, that has been relatively successful with several singles including, That Song in my Head. Her biggest endeavor so far has been starring in the remake of Footloose. Here she was able to make use of her dance talent, and show off some serious acting chops. 

     Her career is still blossoming, and I truly believe it is just the beginning for her. She has made extremely smart careers moves so far, and continues to make smart choices. Her relationship with Ryan Seacrest, who is quite the successful television/radio host and producer, has without a doubt helped her career. Being able to stay in the public eye, is sadly, important for staying in this business. That being said, she stays in the headlines quite a bit, and in my opinion being with him certainly helps. She also uses her facebook, twitter, and myspace pages to stay connected with her fans. Lastly, Julianne has done a fantastic job of staying connected with her roots, DWTS, which is what made her famous. She periodically appears on the show, whether it’s a dance on the results show with her brother, Derek Hough, or an endorsement of her own. She has sung singles from her album and promoted Footloose on the show. Staying connected with the show is critical for her career, because those fans that helped her become famous, will stay loyal the more they see her. It’s quite exciting to me that dance has become appreciated in the last few years. Julianne is just one of the dancers that will benefit from the changes in the dance industry. In my next post, I’m going to take a broader looks at things, and discuss how the industry in some ways has been negatively affected as well.

Here's a clip from Julianne's workout DVD.

Keep the feedback coming please!

<3 Samantha 

     

     Travis Wall

     I’d like to dedicate this post to someone I have idolized since I saw his first audition on So You Think You Can Dance on Season 2, Travis Wall. At just 18 years old, he auditioned for SYTYCD and then proceeded to take the runner-up position (which was a bit depressing to me). The dance below is my favorite dance of all time, it’s famously known in the dance community as “The Bench Dance” and was choreographed by another one of my idols, Mia Michaels. Mia won an Emmy in 2007 for this dance, which officially is named “Calling You.”

 This is just one of the many amazing performances from Season 2. That season of SYTYCD certainly helped Travis with his career, but this was just the beginning for him.

Ten years ago, a contemporary dancer would not have come close to having the fan base and wide-spread career that Travis has been able to obtain since he was a contestant on SYTYCD. Travis has become more than just a contemporary dancer, he is a well-known and acclaimed choreographer, with his own reality show and dance company in the making. Travis has come back to So You Think You Can Dance as one of their seasonal choreographers and has been nominated for multiple Emmy’s thanks to this show alone. He also helped bring contemporary dance to the VMA stage thanks to Florence and the machines. This article: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1647698/florence-machines-triumphant-vma-performance-making-show.jhtml gives a break down of just how amazing that performance in part to Travis' vision. He has made use of social media outlets in order to stay connected with his fans. I’m one of his 62,610 followers, to follow him: @travISova. Here he announces any news he has about upcoming performances and new projects he is working on. He also will just post funny comments about things going on during his day, which makes him seem more personable. The idea of allowing celebrities to share their lives with fans is what makes twitter unique, and is a key tool to use in order to keep yourself out there and in the spotlight. Travis also uses Facebook as another social media outlet. His current profile picture is of an advertisement for his new reality show, All The Right Moves. This television show centers around Travis and three of his best friends who are also dancers: Kyle Robinson, Teddy Florence, and Nick Lazzerini. The show will appear on the Oxygen Network and follows the boys as they begin to form their first dance company, Shaping Sound. This is a fantastic strategy for Travis to use, because he is not only earning income from the making of the reality show, but is increasing the hype for his dance company. By bringing the dance company to reality tv, which has turned into a dominant programming style, there is no doubt that ticket sales will be improved and the overall success of the company will be greater. Also, Travis makes use of another communication outlet, vlogging (video blogging). On his website http://www.traviswall.tv/, he posts updates about what's going on and what he's working on, whether it's choreography, dvd's or his own performances. 

I could not finish this blog post without discussing a personal experience of mine. In January, I was fortunate enough to take two dance classes from Travis. As if he doesn't have enough going on in his life, he is also one of the instructors for the dance convention and competition Nuvo. I also was able to take a technique class from his mother, Denise Wall at the convention. His mother owns a studio in Virginia and has produced some absolutely fantastic dancers, her two sons included. Being able to take class from him was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. 

This is a picture of my friends and I with Travis after a great class. 

This a video I found on youtube from the convention in Orlando I attended.

This is the combination Travis taught us!

What are your thoughts about Travis and his career? I'd love to hear feedback!

<3 Samantha 

Lauren Froderman during the audition process.

So You Think You Can Dance

       The extremely popular dance competition show, SYTYCD is the “American Idol” of dance shows. While I do think Dancing with the Stars brings a broader audience because of the celebrity aspect, So You Think You Can Dance brings an amazing amount of talent. For someone like myself, who has grown up dancing, I much prefer the set up of this show. Like AI, auditions are held in major cities across the country, and the judges pick their favorites. Through several phases of auditions, they narrow down to the top 20. Then it’s America’s turn to vote. The top twenty tends to be a mix of styles and talent categories. Some of the dancers have amazing technique and others have amazing performance quality. The true test for the show though, is who can do it all. Can the ballet dancer pull off hip hop? Can the tap dancers do a samba? The basic concept of the show from my interpretation is that the best possible dancer is limitless. In order to pull through to the end, the contestant must have an immense amount of confidence, and must be able to handle the type of pressure that comes along with it. The show has allowed America to understand more about what makes a “good dancer” like AI has helped America understand what makes a “good singer.” Of course, anytime America is involved in picking a winner, they are going to be subjective. In many cases, the person that wins is not necessarily the BEST dancer, but they give America what they want to see. (The issue of negativity to the dance world due to reality TV is a subject that deserves a deeper look. This is something I plan on blogging about in the future.)

       It seems to me that SYTYCD over all has had many positive affects on the dance industry. They have given ballet, jazz, modern, and hip hop dancers the opportunity to have careers of a much higher magnitude than in the past. The show has brought many choreographers that are incredibly trendy and popular into the light. Sonya Tayeh, Stacy Tookey, and Shane Sparks are a few of the popular choreographers that appear on the show. The choreographers are dancers themselves, and they all bring a different flavor to the show. The dances that are performed also typically carry a certain amount of acting, with many different types of emotions. This gives America the opportunity to see that dance is truly a remarkable art form that is mind, body, and soul.  The show has also formed a tour, bringing the top dancers from each season to cities around the country to perform. The fact that a show purely based on dance talent has turned into a national tour is absolutely amazing to me. Overall, this show has had a positive impact on the dance industry, and along with Dancing with the Stars has helped transform dance into a mainstream art form. My next post will discuss Julianne Hough and Travis Wall, two dancers who have turned into mega-stars thanks to their appearances on DWTS and SYTYCD.

 

The only proper way to end this post is to ask one question: So you think you can dance?

 

<3 Samantha

 

                                                    Dancing With The Stars 

     Exploring this evolution of the dance industry cannot be touched without bringing up one of the most popular television shows currently holding a prime time slot. While there have been many dance reality television shows, the show that seems to bring about the most diverse audience is the ABC mega-hit, Dancing With The Stars. I will break down the basic concept of the show incase you’ve been under a rock for the last 13 seasons that have aired since 2005. Celebrities are paired with professional ballroom dancers and each week the couples compete doing different styles such as the Samba and the Cha Cha. Each week a couple is eliminated and the winner gets the famous “mirror ball trophy.” The concept is truly brilliant. Celebrities of many different calibers have appeared on the show, from football players like Emmitt Smith, to Soap Opera stars, to Pussy Cat Dolls like Nicole Sherzinger. By inviting such a diverse group of celebrities each season, the producers have been able to create a large and widespread audience. After all, who wouldn’t want to see their favorite celebrities “attempt to dance.” Some dancers are amazing and some are absolutely terrible, but either way it is entertaining. The fact that DWTS is incredibly entertaining does not take away from the credibility of the show, which is something that is a typical concern when “Hollywood” is involved. The professional dancers are all immensely talented and knowledgeable in their field. Many of them are winners of the most respected ballroom dance competitions in the World. The show also does a great job of educating the audience about the dance process. Before each performance, a clip is shown from the rehearsals. The clip gives a glimpse into the process, and allows everyone to see that practice really does make perfect (or at least practice create large improvements). The pros typically explain in the clips a little bit about the style they are performing, and where the idea for their choreography came from. The judges also are technically trained dancers themselves. That being said, they do a great job in describing what the dances SHOULD look like, and give great critiques. The professionalism and talent that is displayed along with the celebrity factor that draws so much attention has allowed for an amazing show. This hit has also done wonders for the dance industry and for the stars on the show. It has introduced so many Americans to dance. Many people that had no interest in dancing at all are now huge fans of the show. I also think this creates an overall appreciation for the dance industry in general. It has without a doubt helped dance studios, because, for example, seeing a football played become a great dancer encourages so many others to try it too. In many cases, the stars are on the show because they may have fallen off the radar, and this is a perfect PR strategy for them. Not to mention it has turned the professional dancers that are cast members on the show into recognizable, tabloid stars in their own right!

So as a dancer myself, I would like to personally thank DWTS for making dance “cool.”

 <3 Samantha

P.S. I had the privilege of taking a dance class from Alec and Edita, both pros from DWTS! 

(They were great teachers and I was quite "star struck.")

Myself and Alec

Posing with Edita 

Welcome to my blog Dance Trendz!

I will be using this blog to explore to how the dance industry has changed over the last several years. Dance has truly become a mainstream art form, allowing dancers to become “celebrities” like singers have with the music industry. I have been dancing now for 17 years (if you count my 3-year old ballet and tap classes). Spending the majority of my after school years at a studio, and many weekends at dance conventions and competitions, dance has always been an important aspect of life for me. I have always appreciated this beautiful art form. However, it is exciting to watch the rest of America fall in love with dance as well. Some of the most popular reality shows on television center around dancing, and have helped dancers become famous in their own right. The dance industry is becoming much more profitable, and has also helped even the smallest dance studios become more successful. I hope you enjoy reading my perspective on this evolution of industry. Feel free to comment, I would love to hear what others think, both dancers and those that just enjoy watching. 

<3 Samantha (That's me >)