Logan

Email: logandanceacademy@bigpond.com.au

Dance

Classical Ballet

Nothing makes you feel more alive than the beautiful art of ballet. Ballet encompasses a mixture of technique, co-ordination & musicality. It is a fantastic way to get in shape, improve your flexibility, core strength & posture. In each ballet class we do technical barre work & strengthening exercises, adage work to improve balance & allegro to get you jumping & working up a sweat. So if you want to have some fun, get a great workout & feel graceful all at the same time, ballet is for you!

It can be fantastic exercise and hone your body like no other dance can.  It can also injure you in a variety of ways, some of which you can only imagine and all of which are howlingly painful.

It’s a lot of sweat and hard work. But is it worth it? Absolutely.

And are you ever too old to learn Ballet? NO! But the younger you start the more flexible you stay.

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General Ballet class etiquette tips

You must turn up on time.  Ballet class starts at the barre and if you’re late, not only will you have missed vital exercises but you’ll have to squeeze yourself into a space on the barre causing those in front and behind you to have to shift their positions, which isn’t fair.  There are some Ballet teachers who, once the class starts, shut the studio door and that’s it.  There’s no entrance for any latecomers.  You’ve been warned.

There’s really no talking in Ballet classes, whether you are a kid starting out, a teen studying for exams or a grown-up there for fun. It’s an hour to concentrate on the teacher and on your own body, and your dancing improves with no distractions like comparing yourself to or gossiping with the person next to you.
It’s the same quiet calm as a yoga class, although a good teacher will include a few well placed laughs.  A good Ballet class has a quietly courteous atmosphere.

Be respectful of the floor, particularly if it’s wooden.  Don’t wear your outdoor shoes into the studio.

When you move into the central space of the studio, again, make sure you have enough room around you – don’t crowd other people or allow them to crowd you.  You should have enough space around you to stretch out your arms and not touch anyone or the walls.

A Brief History of Ballet

Ballet, as we know it today, began during the Renaissance around the year 1500 in Italy. In fact, the terms “ballet” and “ball” as in masked ball, come from the Italian ballare, to dance. When Catherine de Medici of Italy married the French King Henry II, she introduced early dance styles into court life in France.

At first, the dancers wore masks, layers upon layers of brocaded costuming, pantaloons, large headdresses and ornaments. Such restrictive clothing was sumptuous to look at but difficult to move in. Dance steps were composed of small hops, slides, curtsies, promenades and gentle turns. Dancing shoes had small heels and resembled formal dress shoes rather than any contemporary ballet shoe we might recognize today.

The official terminology and vocabulary of ballet was gradually codified in French over the next 100 years, and during the reign of Louis XIV, the king himself performed many of the popular dances of the time. Professional dancers were hired to perform at court functions after King Louis and fellow noblemen had stopped dancing.

A whole family of instruments evolved during this time as well. The court dances grew in size, opulence, and grandeur to the point where performances were presented on elevated platforms so that a greater audience could watch the increasingly pyrotechnic and elaborate spectacles. Jump ahead 200 years and take a look at the proscenium stage at the War Memorial Opera House–the elevation of the stage and dramatic height of the curtained opening will remind visitors of this development first hand.

From Italian roots, ballets in France and Russia developed their own stylistic character. By 1850 Russia had become a leading creative center of the dance world, and as ballet continued to evolve, certain new looks and theatrical illusions caught on and became quite fashionable. Dancing en pointe (on toe) became popular during the early part of the nineteenth century, with women often performing in white, bell-like skirts that ended at the calf. Pointe dancing was reserved for women only, and this exclusive taste for female dancers and characters inspired a certain type of recognizable Romantic heroine – a sylph-like fairy whose pristine goodness and purity inevitably triumphs over evil or injustice.

In the early twentieth century, the Russian theatre producer Serge Diaghilev brought together some of that country’s most talented dancers, choreographers, composers, singers and designers to form a group called the Ballet Russes. The Ballet Russes toured Europe and America, presenting a wide variety of ballets. Here in America, ballet grew in popularity during the 1930’s when several of Diaghilev’s dancers left his company to work with and settle in the U.S. Of these, George Balanchine is one of the best known artists who firmly established ballet in America by founding the New York City Ballet. Another key figure was Adolph Bolm, the first Director of San Francisco Ballet School.

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Jazz Dance Classes

Sick of going to the gym? Want a work out that stimulates your mind as well as your body? Then Jazz dance is for you! Jazz is a funky, fun style of dance that has you leaping across the room, doing fancy footwork & using your arms to frame the movement. In jazz we work on strengthening & stretching techniques, turns, leaps, kicks & fun combinations. This energetic dance style is the best way to get a sweat up & have some fun at the same time!

Jazz dance is shared by a large range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance related to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. Jazz dance was an integral part of jazz until the end of the swing era in the late 1940s.  In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance — modern jazz dance — emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance. Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins. Jazz was a big hit in the early 1950s and it is still a well-loved style of dance all over the world.

Tap

“What is Tap Dance? It’s the most fun you can have. Ever.”

That was how a great teacher introduced his class to a bunch of complete beginners. And he’s probably right.

Tap dancing is one of the greatest feel-good dances you’ll ever encounter.

It makes everyone smile and is enchanting when it’s done well.

And the greatest thing about it is that you can learn it surprisingly quickly.

Even by the end of a couple of well-taught classes, you will be able to dance a short, simple routine that will sound ‘right’.

Because, that’s the thing with Tap; it’s all about the noise! It’s very evocative – it feels (or more pointedly, sounds) like ‘proper’ dancing. So, it’ll very quickly make you feel like a proper dancer.

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Make Some Noise

Somehow, we all seem to have a good ear for Tap and know what it should sound like.

That means that if you are prepared to pay close attention to your teacher, you will be able to monitor your own progress after a fairly short space of time – your built-in Tap dance ear will be a constant tutor.

The music played in Tap lessons helps a lot too.

It’s usually great big show tunes. You know the stuff we refer to as toe-tapping? Well, there you go! It’s ideal to Tap dance to.

So any big band numbers or tunes from the hit jazz shows like Chicago will be bellowed out in your class just to add even more drama and theatrics to the proceedings.

This is a big dance. Although it has some soft taps and tiny moves in it too, it’s generally lively, boisterous, and uplifting.

It sizzles with fun and energy.

It’s just a great dance for making you feel like a dancer on stage in front of a clapping, cheering audience.

Practicalities

Not only is it easy to learn, but it’s easy to practise too.

It’s possible to practise Tap surreptitiously – we’ve seen people tapping out their practise routines under their desk while they are working.

And it’s great to practise your basic tap dance steps on the hard floor of your kitchen, while you’re waiting for dinner to cook.

But with all that enthusiasm comes a little word about exercise content for beginners.

We’ve talked about it needing to sound right.  That means you have to start small and quiet, giving great concentration to learning each step well, so it sounds (as well as looks) accurate.

So, our only slight caution about Tap is that it’s not so good on the workout front until you’ve been doing it a little while.

For your first few lessons, you may not use anything other than your feet to tap with and your hands to clap with.

If you are looking for a good cardio workout from your dance class, you won’t get it from Tap until you are a little more proficient and are leaping all over the place.

But fear not, after just a couple of lessons, you should at least be doing routines that last long enough to get the heart rate up a little.

On the plus side, it’s a great toner for those calf muscles and much more exciting than a boring old step aerobics class.

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Contemporary

Contemporary dance began at the start of the 20th century when US dancer Isadora Duncan (1878–1927) broke away from ballet and developed her own, more natural style. Contemporary dance has many different styles, some of them closely linked to music, such as jazz, rock and roll, and hip-hop.

Contemporary dance is a catch-all phrase used fairly indiscriminately, meaning many things to different dance communities across a wide range of cultures. In fact, it’s probably easier to say what contemporary dance is not than what it is.

But a good place to start is by thinking of it as a genre in its own right, with different styles that can be housed under one roof.

Hip Hop

Compared to many other dance forms, hip hop has a relatively short history. The beginnings of this dance form date back to the 1960s and 70s, but of course the movements and the music have roots dating back much further in time.

Hip-Hop Dance Steps

Hip-hop dance steps require skill and experience to perfect. Hip-hop dancers practice a lot in order to master basic steps and movements that appear simple when performed. Dancers with a good sense of rhythm find it easier to learn hip-hop steps.

Early History of Hip Hop Dance

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Hip hop dancing is thought to have officially begun in New York City during the late 1960s and early 70s. During this time, individuals without professional dance training but with a natural instinct for movement, brought dancing to the streets. A dance form meant to be popular in the original sense of the word, meaning that it was for the people and not for the academy, hip hop moves were inspired by complex rhythms and the down-to-earth movement style of African dancing. Music and movement came together to form a new art. While vestiges of modern, tap, swing, and African dancing can all be found in hip hop, this dance style is really in a class of its own when it comes to improvisation and an edge of competition.

The roots of hip hop on the East Coast are widely known, but there is also a West Coast hip hop history from which many of the most well-known hip hop moves originated.

The commercialization of hip-hop dance continued into the 1990s and 2000s with the production of several television shows and movies such as The GrindPlanet B-BoyRizeStreetDance 3DAmerica’s Best Dance CrewSaigon Electric, the Step Up film series, and The LXD, a web series. Though the dance is established in entertainment, including mild representation in theater, it maintains a strong presence in urban neighborhoods which has led to the creation of street dance derivatives Memphis jookinturfingjerkin’, and krumping.

1980s films, television shows, and the Internet have contributed to introducing hip-hop dance outside of the United States. Since being exposed, educational opportunities and dance competitions have helped maintain its presence worldwide. Europe hosts several international hip-hop competitions such as the UK B-Boy Championships, Juste Debout, and EuroBattle. Australia hosts a team-based competition called World Supremacy Battlegrounds and Japan hosts a two-on-two competition called World Dance Colosseum.

What distinguishes hip-hop from other forms of dance is that it is often “freestyle” (improvisational) in nature and hip-hop dance crews often engage in freestyle dance competitions—colloquially referred to as “battles”. Crews, freestyling, and battles are identifiers of this style. Hip-hop dance can be a form of entertainment or a hobby. It can also be a way to stay active in competitive dance and a way to make a living by dancing professionally.

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Acrobatics

Acrobatics is a physical art that deals with the body in space. Acrobatics is a type of performance that includes an artistic composition of dance, costuming, and apparatus for the purpose of entertainment both on the stage and in the street.

There are many different styles of acrobatics that have been created over time to suit different tastes, but most include some form of juggling, balancing or jumping. Acrobatics has been shown to have been practiced since ancient times and is believed to have originated from tribes performing on horseback.

Acrobatics can be practiced by anyone at any age for fitness reasons or as a competitive activity.

Acrobatics is a great way to get in shape and have fun. Logan Dance Academy has a class for 10 years old and up. Acrobatics teaches you how to strengthen your muscles, improve your balance, and increase coordination.

Musical Theatre

Logan Dance Academy is expanding its Musical Theatre Classes to include students aged 10 years and older. The academy offers classes in tap, pointe, jazz, ballet and modern dance to students of all ages.

This is an exciting development for the Logan Dance Academy as Musical Theatre has become more popular over the last decade.

The classes are designed for intermediate-level students who have a passion for performance or just want to be part of a performing group.

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