Called the Anthony Robbins of dance, Bobby Boling has a unique way of inspiring and motivating dancers by sharing stories of adversity and how he and other dancers overcame the obstacles of professional dance. This inspiring book offers tips, tricks, experience, wisdom and personal stories with advice on exercise and health.A Dancer's Manual teaches young dancers how to take class more effectively, how to avoid and treat injuries and how to perform and rehearse more effectively. Professionals will learn how to audition and how to use exercise and weights to enhance their ability. Bobby Boling also offers advice to young dancers and old on alternative careers in the industry if they can no longer dance.A Dancer's Manual will appeal to any young person interested in dance, adults and teachers of studios and parents of dancers interested in helping to guide young people.
Finalist, the Arts Club of Washington Marfield Prize A look inside a dancer’s world Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, Being a Ballerina is a firsthand look at the realities of life as a professional ballet dancer. Through episodes from her own career, Gavin Larsen describes the forces that drive a person to study dance; the daily balance that dancers navigate between hardship and joy; and the dancer’s continual quest to discover who they are as a person and as an artist. Starting with her arrival as a young beginner at a class too advanced for her, Larsen tells how the embarrassing mistake ended up helping her learn quickly and advance rapidly. In other stories of her early teachers, training, and auditions, she explains how she gradually came to understand and achieve what she and her body were capable of. Larsen then re-creates scenes from her experiences in dance companies, from unglamorous roles to exhilarating performances. Working as a ballerina was shocking and scary at first, she says, recalling unexpected injuries, leaps of faith, and her constant struggle to operate at the level she wanted—but full of enormously rewarding moments. Larsen also reflects candidly on her difficult decision to retire at age 35. An ideal read for aspiring dancers, Larsen’s memoir will also delight experienced dance professionals and fascinate anyone who wonders what it takes to live a life dedicated to the perfection of the art form.
A New Classic for Today's Dancer The Ballet Companion is a fresh, comprehensive, and thoroughly up-to-date reference book for the dancer. With 150 stunning photographs of ballet stars Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Millepied demonstrating perfect execution of positions and steps, this elegant volume brims with everything today's dance student needs, including: Practical advice for getting started, such as selecting a school, making the most of class, and studio etiquette Explanations of ballet fundamentals and major training systems An illustrated guide through ballet class -- warm-up, barre, and center floor Guidelines for safe, healthy dancing through a sensible diet, injury prevention, and cross-training with yoga and Pilates Descriptions of must-see ballets and glossaries of dance, music, and theater terms Along the way you'll find technique secrets from stars of American Ballet Theatre, lavishly illustrated sidebars on ballet history, and tips on everything from styling a ballet bun to stage makeup to performing the perfect pirouette. Whether a budding ballerina, serious student, or adult returning to ballet, dancers will find a lively mix of ballet's time-honored traditions and essential new information.
Details the entire process of how to become a dancer. Based on more than twenty-five years of experience in the performing arts as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, director, and producer, Mande shares her vast knowledge and experience. This definitive and comprehensive guide teaches the ins and outs of show business: how to get the most out of your training; audition dos and don'ts; where and how to find work; managing the business aspect of your talent; how to sustain longevity in your career.--Publisher's description.
This book is a general How-to about becoming a professional dancer. The term "Professional Dancer" is an all-encompassing term, used to describe individuals who are currently using dance training and dance performance to make a living. Professional dancers perform in Musical theater, on television shows, on cruise ships, in ballet companies, and many other venues of performing arts! The dance industry is a small and challenging segment of the entertainment industry, and it can be hard to navigate at times. It is our hope that this e-book gives you a glimpse into the necessary steps dancers take to perfect their art and acquire jobs! We walk through the steps of acquiring training, reaching outside of your comfort zone, preparing for an audition, and booking a job. When reading this book, remember that there are no sure paths to success. It will take hard work, and many trials and errors. Everyone's journey to achievement is unique, but these general guidelines will give you a rough outline or how to reach your dreams. About the Expert Elly Sarfert is a professional dancer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After many years of dance training at In Motion Dance Center, under the direction of Michelle Nicholson, she went on to study contemporary at The University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance from Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts. At Point Park Elly majored in jazz dance and minored in Psychology. Currently she is pursuing a dance career all over the country, while also teaching at many dance studios throughout the North-East area. HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.
Ballet dancers have the strongest, most beautiful, probably the most envied bodies in the world. How do they stay slender and willowy while maintaining the extraordinary energy it takes to perform night after night? Can a nondancer or an amateur attain a dancer's figure and a dancer's vitality? And keep it? Here, in The Dancers' Body Book, the legendary ballerina Allegra Kent discloses the health, weight-watching, and relaxation secrets of some of the world's greatest ballet dancers -- from Suzanne Farrell and Fernando Bujones to Darci Kistler and Madame Alexandra Danilova. Combining them with two well-balanced diets -- one to lose weight by and one to live by -- and an exercise regimen that can be tailored to the individual, she provides a fabulous fitness program for everyone who longs to be slimmer, healthier, and more energetic. Fourteen varied menus incorporate delicious recipes from the dancers themselves (such as Jacques D'Amboise's Wonderful Dinner Salad and Dierdre Carberry's Almond Meringue Kisses), along with calorie guides and advice on how to create additional menus using your own favorite dishes. Helpful discussions on sports and exercise systems -- ranging from jogging and swimming to the sophisticated "Pilates" workout -- are also included, and in a special chapter entitled "A Healthy Outlook," the dancers talk candidly on such issues as smoking, anorexia, vitamins, doctors, massage, junk foods, fad diets, and injuries. Dancers take meticulous care of all their equipment because training and performance depend on it. Of course, the most essential piece of equipment, the body, needs the most care of all, and that is what this book is about: how to take care of the world's greatest machine. Allegra Kent joined the New York City Ballet at the age of fifteen and was a principal dancer with the company for thirty years, during which time she created a number of starring roles in ballets by Balanchine and Robbins. The mother of two daughters and a son, she is also the author of Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book.
This book is a general How-to about becoming a professional dancer. The term “Professional Dancer” is an all-encompassing term, used to describe individuals who are currently using dance training and dance performance to make a living. Professional dancers perform in Musical theater, on television shows, on cruise ships, in ballet companies, and many other venues of performing arts! The dance industry is a small and challenging segment of the entertainment industry, and it can be hard to navigate at times. It is our hope that this e-book gives you a glimpse into the necessary steps dancers take to perfect their art and acquire jobs! We walk through the steps of acquiring training, reaching outside of your comfort zone, preparing for an audition, and booking a job. When reading this book, remember that there are no sure paths to success. It will take hard work, and many trials and errors. Everyone’s journey to achievement is unique, but these general guidelines will give you a rough outline or how to reach your dreams. About the Expert Elly Sarfert is a professional dancer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After many years of dance training at In Motion Dance Center, under the direction of Michelle Nicholson, she went on to study contemporary at The University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance from Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. At Point Park Elly majored in jazz dance and minored in Psychology. Currently she is pursuing a dance career all over the country, while also teaching at many dance studios throughout the North-East area. HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.
Dancing to Learn: Cognition, Emotion, and Movement explores the rationale for dance as a medium of learning to help engage educators and scientists to explore the underpinnings of dance, and dancers as well as members of the general public who are curious about new ways of comprehending dance. Among policy-makers, teachers, and parents, there is a heightened concern for successful pedagogical strategies. They want to know what can work with learners. This book approaches the subject of learning in, about, and through dance by triangulating knowledge from the arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and cognitive and neurological sciences to challenge dismissive views of the cognitive importance of the physical dance. Insights come from theories and research findings in aesthetics, anthropology, cognitive science, dance, education, feminist theory, linguistics, neuroscience, phenomenology, psychology, and sociology. Using a single theory puts blinders on to other ways of description and analysis. Of course, all knowledge is tentative. Experiments necessarily must focus on a narrow topic and often use a special demographic—university students, and we don’t know the representativeness of case studies.
THE DANCER HANDBOOK teaches dancers to be more, know more, and do more in today's time. It offers strategies and tools that will immediately change a person's quality of life. It is the most relevant and complete guide to contemporary life as a professional dancer! These days the opportunities for dancers are massive and the next generation of professional dancers is being discovered every day. Do you have what it takes to join them? From dancing with the best in the industry at the Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood, California to integrating into the global dance network--including international dance studios, worldwide competitions, and conventions--THE DANCER HANDBOOK gets you plugged in!Have you ever wondered how you can dance on a TV series, at award shows, in music videos, in films, and tour the world with celebrity artists? From shows such as Jennifer Lopez's Dance Life to movies like the Step Up! series; from working with artists like Usher, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift to Beyoncé; from getting hired for the American Music Awards, to the BET Awards; from dancing at the Hollywood Bowl to the Super Bowl; Every future opportunity like these will be accessible to you after reading THE DANCER HANDBOOK. Whether you're a breaker or a ballerina, making it as a professional dancer requires a lot more than just being good. You have to be exemplary. And you have to be able to live the life. Joseph De Las Nieves, a former professional dancer takes you through every aspect of life in the dance industry. Through extensive research and his own experiences he lights the way to success--and helps you avoid the pitfalls that have caused so many dancers to give up on their dreams. This book is a comprehensive guide, filled with insider information. With The Dancer Handbook you will be prepared for every eventuality, giving you your greatest chances of success as a Professional Dancer. Nike says, "Just Do It." THE DANCER HANDBOOK tells you how!
