NISD Dance April 2013 Volume 5 Issue 2 Newsletter for NISD Fine Arts Dance Teachers I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE 1 Partnerships 2 Competition Results 2 Music Ideas 3 Curtain Call 3 In the Spotlight 3 NISD Dance Performances 4 Dance Lessons "The body says what words cannot. -Martha Graham NISD DANCE FORMS NEW PARTNERSHIPS Students work with top-notch artists and companies It has never been a better time to be a part of Northside s Fine Arts Dance Department! This year we formed two new partnerships and maintained our ongoing relationship with Joffrey Ballet TX. Last semester, dance students from Stevens, Jay and Brandeis had the opportunity to take a master class given by Raul Salamancas, the ballet master of Ballet San Antonio. These students practiced barre and center exercises side-byside with a handful of Ballet San Antonio company members. The students were amazed at how fluid and effortless these professional dancers made their movements look. After the class they held a question and answer session discussing the life of a dancer, training, the audition process, nutrition, and career advice to name a few. In March, ARTS San Antonio brought several exciting events to Northside. The artistic director of The Joffrey Ballet, Ashley Wheater, visited Brandeis and spoke with their ballet students. He gave them background information on each piece and demonstrated the contradicting accents of the arms and legs in The Rite of Spring. Students, parents, and staff were then invited to attend the performance at the Lila Cockrell. Also, a handful of NISD dancers were invited to a ballet master class held on stage and taught by one of the Joffrey s ballet masters. In February, Buddy and Susan Trevino, directors of the Joffrey summer intensive held here in San Antonio conducted an audition for their program exclusively for NISD dancers. The eight students in attendance were from Jay, Brandeis and Warren. These students participated in a two-hour ballet class which included barre work, center, across-the-floor, and pointe work. Two of our students were granted a full scholarship and four others were given partial scholarships. Each July, spirit officers and advanced dancers have been invited to a half-day Joffrey workshop at Stevens High School where ballet, contemporary, modern, and character classes have been offered. We hope to continue this partnership with Joffrey TX. Joffrey Elite Ecole, TX auditions Joffrey summer workshop at Stevens
Page 2 Warm-up music ideas Update your class playlist with some of these song suggestions Ballet/lyrical warm-ups or combinations: Fade Into You- Nashville Cast Version Just Give Me a Reason- Pink Stay (clean version)- Rihanna Carry On- Fun. I Won t Give Up- Jason Mraz Paradise- Coldplay Stop and Stare- OneRepublic Skyfall- Adele Between the Raindrops- Lifehouse Give in to Me- Country Strong Soundtrack Jazz warm-up/ combinations: Feel Again- OneRepublic Alive- Krewella All Around the World- Justin Bieber It s Time- Imagine Dragons Anything Could Happen- Ellie Goulding Sweet Nothing- Calvin Harris Fade Into Darkness- Avicii Set It Off- Timomatic Love is Gone- Chris Willis/ David Guetta Pause- Pitbull Catch My Breath- Kelly Clarkson Competition Results NISD Dance As always, the spirit groups from Northside swept the awards at competition. Here are some of the results: Stevens High School- (ADTS Alamo Dance Classic)- Soaring Wings: Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award; Starlettes: Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award, Judges Award Pom, Judges Award Hip-Hop, Best Overall Presentation, Best Overall Precision, Best Overall Technique, Best Overall Choreography; Sky Dancers: Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award, Judges Award Jazz, Judges Award Kick, Judges Award Lyrical, Best Overall Presentation, Best Overall Precision, Best Overall Technique, Best Overall Choreography, Best In Class Medium Team, 6th place Best of Best; Sky Dancer Officers: Division 1, Judges Award Pom; Jennifer Tucker 5th Runner Up Solo Finalist; (ADTS Nationals) Officers: Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award, 1st Runner Up Officer Pom, 1st Runner Up Officer Lyrical, 4th Runner Up Officers in Medium Team category; Team: Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award, 3rd Runner Up Jazz, 2nd Runner Up Kick, National Champion Lyrical, 4th Runner Up in Medium Team category Warren High School- (ADTS Alamo Dance Classic)- Warriorette Pep Squad: Best in Class Medium Ensemble (Dream Team), Sweepstakes, Gussie Nell Davis, Judges Award for Team Prop, Judges Award for Team Hip Hop, Best Technique, Best Overall Choreography, 1 st Place Academic Champions, 1 st Runner Up Best in Class Pep Squad Division, Outstanding Director Award- Mrs. Pina; (Showmakers of America)- Silouettes Drill Team: Division I and Best Showmanship for Jazz, Judges Award, Best Showmanship, Best Choreography, Best Precision, 3 rd place Pom and Military, 2 nd place jazz, 3 rd place Best in Class, Line of Champions; Majestics Dance Team-officers: Division I, Best Showmanship, Best Choreography, Best Precision, Best Technique, 1 st place Jazz; Team: Judges Award, Best Showmanship, Best Choreography, Best Precision, Best Technique, Best Overall Entertainment, 1 st place Pom, 2 nd place Kick, 3 rd place Jazz, Line of Champions, Amanda De La Garza and Breanna Rodriguez 2 nd place duet, Christine Galapate 3 rd place solo, Jordyn Marsh 1 st place solo; (ADTS @ South Padre)- Gussie Nell Davis, Sweepstakes, Judges Award, Presentation, Precision, and Choreography for all routines, Dance Team-2 nd Runner Up Best in Class and 7 th place overall; Drill- 1 st Place Best in Class and 10 th place overall Taft High School- (HTE Dance Hill Country Regionals) Highstepper Dance Team: Team Super Sweepstakes, Jazz Champion, Kick Champion, Outstanding Presentation; (Crowd Pleasers Regionals): Team Super Sweepstakes, Best in Class for Jazz, Kick, and Pom, Overall Precision Merit Award, Choreography Award Team Jazz, Showcase Elite, Grand Champion, 1st Runner Up Overall Grand Champion (MA Regionals): 5th Overall Winner Circle, Officer Technique, Team Technique, Super Sweepstakes; (HTEDance National Championship) Varsity Medium Team National Champion, Varsity Medium Team Jazz National Champion, Varsity Medium Team Kick National Champion, Varsity Medium Team, Pom National Champion, Team Super Sweepstakes, 2nd place Officer Jazz, Team Showmanship Award, Team Choreography Award, Team Technique Award, Officer Technique Award, Officer Sweepstakes, 1st Runner Up National Grand Champions O'Connor High School- (Crowd Pleasers @ Canyon H.S.) 4 th place for Solo Senior Division Annie, 5 th place for Solo Senior division Kaelyn Miller, Officers Super Sweepstakes, Officer Jazz 1 st place (best in class), Officer Contemp 2 nd place (best in class), Officer Open 1 st place (best in class), Officer Technique Award, Officer Choreography Award, Runner Up Grand Champion, Winners Circle; Team- Pom - 2 nd place, Novelty 1 st place, Contemp 2 nd place, Jazz 2 nd place, Overall Precision, Runner up Grand Champion for Medium Team, Super Sweepstakes, Winners Circle; (Showmakers of America @ Texas State)- Officer: Sweepstakes, Judges Awards, Outstanding showmanship for all 3 routines, Outstanding Choreography for all 3, Outstanding precision for open and jazz, Outstanding technique for jazz and open, 1st place for Jazz, 2nd place for Contemporary, 1st place for Open, Runner up State Champs; Team: Sweepstakes, Judges Awards, Outstanding Showmanship for all 4 routines, Outstanding Choreography for Novelty, Pom and Contemporary, Outstanding Precision for Jazz and Pom, Outstanding Technique for Contemporary, 3rd place for Jazz, 2nd place for Pom, 3rd place for Contemporary; (Showtime Grand Finale in Dallas)- Annie Solo finalist; Officers: Sweepstakes, Judges Awards, 1 st place all routines, Champion Circle; Team: Sweepstakes, Judges Awards, 1 st place all routines, Grand Champions Jay High School- (Showtime International in Corpus Christi, TX) Sweepstakes, judges award, best in category in jazz, pom, and hip-hop, and Grand Champions
NISD Dance Page 3 Curtain Call- Special Appearances The Taft Highsteppers performed their National Award Winning Kick Routine at a San Antonio Spurs Game! Dance performances Lights, Camera, Dance Brandeis Spring Show April 18 th & 19 th $5 in advance/$7 at the door) The Brandeis Ballet Company performed with the NISD Harp students at the Secondary Educator of the Year Ceremony in March. In The Spotlight- Adriana Najera After high school and falling in love with dance, I joined Fiesta Noche Del Rio and also became a Kilgore College Rangerette. In Kilgore, I earned my associate s degree in Dance Education. I then transferred to Texas State University and continued to participate in the dance program while working at the University s Gym as an aerobics instructor and dance teacher. There, I received my bachelor s degree in bilingual education. After my college graduation, I was an elementary teacher but missed dance so much I decided to become a high school teacher so that I could teach and direct dance. I was hired at John Jay High School to teach Spanish and direct the Dance Team. There were no fine arts dance classes at the time, so I was able to start that up my 2nd year at Jay. I was at Jay for 3 years before I moved over to Brennan. It was exciting to begin traditions at a new school. I am very thankful for the opportunity to work in NISD where dance teachers are given the opportunity to do what they love and where we have a great support system that helps us expand our knowledge and skills. I also love working with the students and seeing them enjoy themselves as they learn to do things they didn't think they could do before. It really is a great place to be. John Jay Spring Show May 2 nd $4 in advance/$5 at the door Silver Pride Spring Show May 2 nd & 3 rd Warren Auditorium $5 in advance/$7 at the door) Dance Phenomenon Taft Spring Show May 10 th $7 O Connor Spring Show May 15 th $5 Warren Fine Arts Dance Spring Show May 17 th Free admission Stevens Spring Show May 18 th 5 pm $5
Page 4 NISD Dance NISD 2012-2013 Profession Dance Development Workshops a Success A Year In Review Our jazz workshop with Karin Our African dance workshop with Robin Our Hip Hop dance workshop with Adriano See You Next Year Our Flamenco workshop with Tamara Our modern workshop with Seme
NISD Dance Page 5 Some members of our NISD Dance Department at this year s TDEA Convention in Houston SPREAD THE WORD JOFFREY WORKSHOP THURSDAY JULY 18 8:30AM- 1:30PM Stevens High School More Info To Come
Page 6 NISD Dance Improvisation Games and Exercises Ideas for introducing improvisation to your students *play a game of charades- come up with ideas in the following categories: books, movies, TV shows, and songs; this game is a fun way to teach students to use facial expressions and body language to express an idea; it also forces students to be creative and think on the spot *mirroring- pair off students and have them face each other; one student leads with simple movements while the other mirrors the movement; alternate leaders *symmetrical/asymmetrical- have students create poses/positions that are symmetrical and asymmetrical; have them change levels or facings *creating poses- give students different adjectives and have them create poses that match (examples: angular, sharp, boxy, circular, curved, graceful, strong); have students select 4 of their poses (A, B, C, and D) and then create different transitions; start in pose A, then take 8 counts to move to pose B, then create another 8 counts to move to pose C, continue to pose D and end back in pose A *Exploring movement- have students perform different jumps that take off from 2 legs and land on 2 legs, take off from 2 legs but land on 1 leg, take off from 1 leg and land on 2 legs, and take off from 1 leg and land on 1 leg *Pedestrian Movement V. Dance Movement- have students travel across the floor first performing pedestrian movement (walk, run, slide, gallop, spin, etc), when coming back across the floor, have students transform that movement into dance steps (strut, jazz run, glissade, chassé, chainé, etc) *Exploring Movement Across the floor- name a quality, animal or type of food and have students explore traveling movement (examples: cat, snake, elephant, honey, popcorn, jello) Teachers E-mail your submissions to our Dance Editor: Jacqueline.Aguirre@nisd.net 2011 NISD Dance Department Fine Arts Dance Department Newsletter Fine Arts Department 5651 Grissom Road San Antonio, Texas 78251 Life isn t about waiting for the storm to be over, it s about learning how to dance in the rain. -unknown Phone: Fax: (210) 397-8814 (210) 706-7260