Don't wait until a special day to improve what you are doing. Change does not stick because it is implemented on a particular day. Change sticks with nurturing a goal over time. I want to share this web site: http://www.newhealthyattitude.com/ to help us all become healthier over time. No matter where you are on your 'good health journey', making a small effort each day will add up over time.
Good health is defined in terms of fitness levels, diet, mental state, and so much more. Over time, you will improve in all areas if you simple start with one and allow it to evolve to other areas. Good health is a joyous lifelong pursuit. Do everything just a little healthier and soon you will be a lot healthier.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Dance Is For Everyone!
We often think that dancers need to be long and lean to dance. Parents often talk to me with doubt in their voice about their child's ability to dance simply because of his / her build. Sigh. Hearing this breaks my heart, however, I understand the worried parent just wants to protect his / her child from disappointment. In another place and time, that may have been true, but today people are returning to age-old-wisdom and realizing once again that dance is not only universal, but inclusive.
Dancers come in all sizes, shapes, and abilities just like mathematicians, lawyers, councilors, and any other professionals. True, dance is a visual art, but it is also a therapeutic art.
Dancers have varied personalities and may gravitate toward the performance aspect while others gravitate toward the therapeutic aspect of dance. Some may use their dance to expand their life, incorporating it with other aspects of their life. Others simply acknowledge their time spent in dance to be a refuge, allowing one to study the depths of his / her self without interference.
The first lesson my students learn is, the most important part of their body to dance with is their own heart. Anyone who is alive has a heart and therefore can dance if they learn to get in touch with it and develop ways to express what is in it. Dance is a language that everyone can understand. Anyone who has anything to communicate, can speak with movement. Even those who feel limited in range of movement, ideas or skill can learn to dance. Range, ideas, and skill can be expanded with time and experience in dance.
To dance is an exchange of giving and receiving even if the dancer is alone in his / her space. It is where the abstract becomes visible. It is when energy is transformed. It is how spirits become free. Dance breaks personal, social, and physical barriers. Do not let preconceived notions of body-type keep you from exploring its possibilities for you!
Dancers come in all sizes, shapes, and abilities just like mathematicians, lawyers, councilors, and any other professionals. True, dance is a visual art, but it is also a therapeutic art.
Dancers have varied personalities and may gravitate toward the performance aspect while others gravitate toward the therapeutic aspect of dance. Some may use their dance to expand their life, incorporating it with other aspects of their life. Others simply acknowledge their time spent in dance to be a refuge, allowing one to study the depths of his / her self without interference.
The first lesson my students learn is, the most important part of their body to dance with is their own heart. Anyone who is alive has a heart and therefore can dance if they learn to get in touch with it and develop ways to express what is in it. Dance is a language that everyone can understand. Anyone who has anything to communicate, can speak with movement. Even those who feel limited in range of movement, ideas or skill can learn to dance. Range, ideas, and skill can be expanded with time and experience in dance.
To dance is an exchange of giving and receiving even if the dancer is alone in his / her space. It is where the abstract becomes visible. It is when energy is transformed. It is how spirits become free. Dance breaks personal, social, and physical barriers. Do not let preconceived notions of body-type keep you from exploring its possibilities for you!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Arts Supprt Academics
Creativity and imagination add interest where students may not have it. Arts draw on additional senses to deepen and personalize understanding of complex subject matter. Arts offer additional ways in which students can realize success. When children are good at something their confidence rises and they become willing to try in other areas. When the art is dance, it taps into the kinesthetic sense which is so strong, yet under-engaged in children.
Incorporating dance into academic lessons addresses two contemporary issues: learning the subject matter more fully, and increasing the activity level of the students. Enhancing the established curriculum with personal movement is not only fun and keeps a student's interest, but actually teaches quantity, quality, and clarity of a concept. Plus, once students are more active in the class room, they are more comfortable using their body for other activities. Then the learning sticks and the physical activity increases. Win-win!
Keeping children physically present in school is less of a challenge than keeping them engaged in school. Transportation is often provided to insure arrival at school. Teachers take attendance to be sure the transition from the front door to the classroom is successful. What is done to be sure the mind is open, alert and productive other than explanations, discussions and worksheets? Art, and in particular, dance awakens more than the commonly used visual and auditory senses. Students who move while learning absorb information through the eyes, ears, muscles and more. Schools understand that manipulatives engage a better understanding of subject matter. As a society, let's go beyond the hands to include the whole body in the discovery of knowledge.
The old retort of "I didn't have art with my science and I'm just fine" isn't a good enough reason not to do better by this generation. Fine is the enemy of excellence.
Nervous tax payers worry about the added expense for complimenting the three "Rs" with art. Paying X amount for 'fine' may be adequate, but paying X plus a little more to achieve much more is the best deal. Who doesn't like to pay a little more for the best.
If we don't do our best for this upcoming generation, how can they? Reaching for the brass ring doesn't mean we will get it every time, but we are more likely to get it sometimes than if we don't reach at all. Ask your school system to employ dance teachers who can bring astronomy, math, chemistry, creative writing and other subjects to life, even if on a part-time basis. Then watch your investment blossom into more enthusiasm for school, and more success on the report card.
Incorporating dance into academic lessons addresses two contemporary issues: learning the subject matter more fully, and increasing the activity level of the students. Enhancing the established curriculum with personal movement is not only fun and keeps a student's interest, but actually teaches quantity, quality, and clarity of a concept. Plus, once students are more active in the class room, they are more comfortable using their body for other activities. Then the learning sticks and the physical activity increases. Win-win!
Keeping children physically present in school is less of a challenge than keeping them engaged in school. Transportation is often provided to insure arrival at school. Teachers take attendance to be sure the transition from the front door to the classroom is successful. What is done to be sure the mind is open, alert and productive other than explanations, discussions and worksheets? Art, and in particular, dance awakens more than the commonly used visual and auditory senses. Students who move while learning absorb information through the eyes, ears, muscles and more. Schools understand that manipulatives engage a better understanding of subject matter. As a society, let's go beyond the hands to include the whole body in the discovery of knowledge.
The old retort of "I didn't have art with my science and I'm just fine" isn't a good enough reason not to do better by this generation. Fine is the enemy of excellence.
Nervous tax payers worry about the added expense for complimenting the three "Rs" with art. Paying X amount for 'fine' may be adequate, but paying X plus a little more to achieve much more is the best deal. Who doesn't like to pay a little more for the best.
If we don't do our best for this upcoming generation, how can they? Reaching for the brass ring doesn't mean we will get it every time, but we are more likely to get it sometimes than if we don't reach at all. Ask your school system to employ dance teachers who can bring astronomy, math, chemistry, creative writing and other subjects to life, even if on a part-time basis. Then watch your investment blossom into more enthusiasm for school, and more success on the report card.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Holiday Dance Concert, featuring E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker
The libretto for "The Nutcracker" was adapted from the classic story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A. Hoffmann. It premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892–118 years, to the day, before the Dancing Arts Center performance–on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera, "Iolanta."
Don't miss it! Shows are at 2 and 7 PM at Mass Bay Community College McKenzie Auditorium, Wellesley, Ma.
Don't miss it! Shows are at 2 and 7 PM at Mass Bay Community College McKenzie Auditorium, Wellesley, Ma.
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