always been the stage. And for those pursuing a degree from The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance, their home, their stage does if fact span all the world—to performances of Hamilton and Kinky Boots and standing ovations at productions in Scotland and Ecuador. “We have been on a great run these past few years,” Bill Teague, professor and chair of UA’s Theatre and Dance Department, said. “Our students really have major accomplishments in the entertainment business, and…
Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed was a delight to experience, no matter the gruesome aspects of the show. Overall, the production was fantastical because of the cast cohesion, the non-linear plot structure, the variety of set choices including the scale of them, and the range of technology used throughout it. As a theatre student, however, much of this was a learning experience to watch the puppeteers, looking for the production characteristics of the piece: how are they creating a…
technique can compromise the whole joint, making it weaker by applying pressure to places that are not meant to handle it (Eigner). As dancers become more serious with their training, they begin to dance more often, this can lead to overuse injuries. Pre-professional and professional dancers typically dance at least 20 hours a week. Dancing every day can put a lot of stress and strain on the dancer’s body, leading to injuries such as pulled muscles, tears, and stress fractures. Another…
My dance team has always been a family to me. From the inside jokes to the never-ending laughter during practice, there was nothing that I ever wanted more than happiness and contentedness for the team. That being said, it takes a lot to create a harmonious setting for a team of 14 girls. As a captain, you do a lot behind the scenes, often without the team even knowing. I created practice schedules, planned out competition and performance sets, and set up fundraisers for our expenses. Along with…
wear. They were obviously bought for me by my parents who signed me up in classes based on my mom’s love for dance when she was growing up. I loved them, I was so excited about dance and getting to see my friends and teachers every week. Graduating into my next pair of soft leather ballet shoes was still exciting, and to go on from there into split sole and the canvas, and even onto other dance shoes, was all apart of the progression. However, that first pair of soft leather ballet shoes will…
Ever since Annie premiered in 1977, it has brought a smile to the entire audience’s face! Now, the Tony awarding-winning production of Annie is coming to the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles (LA) this year !Two movies of the show have already been made, so now it is time to see the musical! Taking place in the 1930’s, this musical follows the story of a young orphan named Annie, who lives in an awful orphanage run by a Miss Hannigan. Her life changes drastically when she is chosen by assistant…
located in one of the many French Polynesian islands. On this island, people dance the beautiful art of Tahitian Ori (dance) with the sound of the Tairi Pahu (known as Tahitian drumming; meaning ‘the one heartbeat’). I have grown up with this part of the Tahitian culture and have spent many years dancing it. Through the years I have fallen in love with the culture, so I have chosen to study the history of Tahitian dance and drumming as my topic for my senior project. Through this journey I have…
It's Friday night, I've worked all week. What better way to unwind or should I say treat myself, than to head over to Angel's Rock Bar in Baltimore, MD to check out hometown legends Silvertung on the first night of their headlining North American Tour " Hit The Pavement". Oh wait, did I say unwind? Well I meant to say wound up. But not before supporting act VIA took to the stage with their gritty vocals and down & dirty lyrics. Who would have known they drove 26 hours straight from Minneapolis,…
times. Other athletes like football, softball and soccer players, wouldn’t really consider dance a sport, but believe me, it is. Training to be the worlds best will be worth the pain, tears and sweat in the end. Butterflies circle around in my stomach as I think about the plane ride to Florida! On April 25th, my team and I will take the worlds stage, to compete to become the worlds best open coed hip-hop dance team. This Monday is not a normal practice; we compete in Orlando, Florida, in 5…
The short interview with Lauren Anderson is so inspiring that gives me an insight into passion and success as well as motivates me to persist in following my dream. Anderson’s story of her career as a principal ballerina seems quite simple and typical as she started early at seven, soon became a principal dancer of Houston Ballet, and then now is giving back to the society by teaching ballet to children of “underserved” community. However, I believe behind that story are all strenuous efforts…