DanceCoreif

DanceCore Photos (by Brian & Kristy)

2010-08-30T07:31:00.001-07:00

New Dance Photos with Emteriors photography

2010-08-30T07:08:00.001-07:00

Registration forms:

2010-06-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

anceCore Studio is at

1748 Cabellaro Dr. Ammon, Idaho

Now Registering Friday August 27

3:00-7:00 pm

Contact

Kristy (208) 206-2087 or

Brian (208) 206-2429

Send registration to:

DanceCore Registration

2200 S Ammon Rd #2

Ammon ID 83406

(the pre-teen dance packs are $115, the Jr. Ladies is $282, & Y Ladies is $292. Sorry for the miss-print)

2010-2011 Weekly class schedule

This in an excellent and easy read on athlete neurology.

2010-05-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

The Brain, Why Athletes are Geniuses

For those unwilling to take the time to read the article I'll paraphrase it.

Athletes are more efficient in the neurons they use. They have this skill because the brain is maleable and when it sends a command it takes into account the response. It improves the efficiency of its commands with each outcome.

Athletes who are more practiced perform better and are better able to anticipate an outcome with only seeing the beginning movement.

Athletes with less experience in practice can only guess what outcomes will be.

"These studies are beginning to answer the question of what makes some people great athletes: They are just able to rewire their brains according to certain rules. As neuroscientists decipher those rules, they may find ways to give people better skills."

They tried out a theory of using an electrode whenever patterning a new skill. Those with the electrode remembered better how to do the exercise after months of not practicing.

It definitely questions what is the future ethics in sport training.

Dance Packs for Ballroom Men

2010-05-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

The Youth/Junior Men pack includes a warm-up jacket with the DanceCore logo and their name on it.

Ladies Ballroom Dance Packs

2010-05-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Dance Congress March 12, 2010

2010-03-18T18:31:00.001-07:00

Each year on the Wednesday evening before the U.S. National Amateur DanceSport Championships, sanctioned by the NDCA, BYU invites ballroom professionals to teach for half an hour each.

This year we were given the pleasure of listening to Ron Montez talked about important technical and non-technical aspects of Ballroom. Olga Foraponova, who spoke brilliantly on connection and how to define and take care of your partner. Wendy Johnson who said quote "I can talk the leg off an iron pot!" just after she explained that Ron had given her half hour of instruction first. At the end we listened to five of the judges answer questions that the audience had requested earlier.

I wrote notes as quickly as I could. Most of the information Brian and I know, we simply think of it as common knowledge, but we want to make sure you know all the little things as well. I sometimes wonder if Brian thought I was crazy to write most of what I recorded. Chuckle. I think you'll benefit anyway.

Ron Montez

2010-03-18T18:30:00.001-07:00

Ron Montez-US Latin Champion
Ron asked the BYU college students what technical and non-technical aspects of dance are there. He also asked what makes people win.

Judges look and perceive different [things. They have] subjective views. When it comes down to it there are obvious things sometimes that set people apart; but when there are four phenomenal couples at the professional American Championships it becomes subjective. Ron has many years of an accumulated idea of what a good dancer looks like.

Non-technical
What inspires you to hypnotize?

Technical aspects:
Footwork-how you use your foot in relation to the floor.
Posture-#1 "Dictates just about everything. How you look how you move. Everything."
Timing-"If you're not on time to the music it is really hard for the judges to see what are you doing."
Position-How you hold your partner and yourself.
Body flight-Standard dances-quality of how you fly.
Balance-It is difficult to do these things without balance.
Floor-craft -You run into people-not changing position all the time (Meaning at BYU they notice that people are running into each other and when you don't change position they can't see your number.)
Performance-How you relate to your partner. You can be so absorbed in what you are doing that you ignore your partner.
Relationship with the audience. Present. Perform. Share.
You can be so concerned that you cover up and hid faults that you don't do. There are so many tricks and such. The judges just want to see "Simple done really well."
Energy-"Energy applied in the right amount and in the right direction."
"Proper energy and calmness" with out freaking out.
Choreography-is a little lower than you think. It is important that it suits you, suits the dance, is well done and not over done. Still, the judges only see you for 1-3 seconds, so just do everything very well.
Costume-that is appropriate
Makeup-"makeup on a guy-that is noticeable-is not a good thing."
Girls-It is distracting for a judge if part of your costume is not holding together or your makeup is too much.
Problems-they are all good

Olga Foraponova

2010-03-18T18:28:00.001-07:00

Olga-US Smooth Champion
It was amazing to watch her teach. She was honest. Honest and intimate with the students. I saw her strength, her sincerity, and also her directness. It was inspiring for both Brian and I.

She began with asking a few Smooth competitors to the floor. Naturally she picked out the national amatuer champions. Ironically, she didn't know who they were. She worked with them individually and together. Jaime was better at understanding the core principles she talked about; although Travis was right there learning as well.

She spoke of Connection and asked the students what connections they thought of:
Hand to Hand
Body
Visual
Hand to body
Floor connection
music connection
Relationship

The first one she jumped on was the connection with the floor through the center. She spoke of how the hand or elbow connects to the center. She used an exercise we've used in teaching leading in Swing/Lindy. Yet, she took it a step further. I'm sure you can guess Brian and I were both writing furiously.

In Connection there is one stable partner- You move through your center to your partner, to arm, to body, or to past his body. Yet the connection of the hand does not differ. The hand stays in the same position with the same amount of resistance/connection. "Maintain tension in order to not fall over and to keep from running onto your partner."

There are three dimensions.
up/down: Vertical
left/right: Horizontal
forward/back: Lateral

Know where your are going and know where your partner is going. What is the location?

Vertical rotation- as he takes the arm up the connection continues.
Maintain hand positions-maintain same type of energy. "No surge of energy."

"Know where your partner is, and trust you will have someone to take care of me."

Connect in rolling connections
Don't have loose connection in the middle
"Organize your action"
"Allow your girl to be balanced and stabilized."

Brian and I were so joyful about what she taught. It reinforced our faith that what we have is so useful and it deepened our understanding. What a phenomenal class.

Wendy Johnson

2010-03-18T18:27:00.001-07:00

Wendy Johnson-She was a New Zealand Champion. She had three partners. One of them acted like she didn't know anything when she did. Then she went and danced in Europe with a new partner and learned that she really didn't know anything when she was in New Zealand. It is amazing how our perspective changes.

I love Wendy. She was an adjudicator that Brian and I got to know while we were at BYU during medals exams. She also had the pleasure of know our sweet children. It was nice to chat for a few minutes with her. Her class was simply delightful...but I'll let you decide for yourself.

It is interesting to hear what judges have to say. We think they are chatting about our dancing when they are really not. So it is interesting to go to a congress and hear what other judges think.

Look at you first-make sure you look good.

Beginning to high level-Dance choreography suitable to yourself.
Give something for the entire minute and a half
Jive comes about at the last and they peter out at 45 seconds.
Demonstrate the job, don't act cocky. When dancers come onto the floor walking with a swagger and acting like they are "all that" Wendy's thought is "I'm so over you." These Judges see world champions.
"Don't give them a reason no to like you."
"Come onto the floor humble yet confident."

Artistry is still dancing, listen to your mood.
Samba: Party
Cha Cha: flirty
I like my men to look like men.
Smile. "If you took a look at your partner and you might smile."

"Projection is what you create together."

Make others a part of your relationship.
You must stay in time to the music.
Have a good time with it.
American Rumba: This is fun.
Rumba: Dance of Seduction "maybe I will, maybe I won't"
Bolero: is "Yes! Yes! Yes!" (Ironically I don't like American Rumba much, I feel like most choreographers/dancers overdo International Rumba, and I have always thought that Bolero is the most romantic of all the dances.)

Put classical steps in Paso Doble-do a dance in its own style.
Jive-let it all go. Endurance.

Rythm and artistry are sacrificed in Speed.
"The music will tell you what to do."
Pre-Champ/Novice-use "recognizable steps and routine."
"Earn the right to do complicated choreography."
Don't keep smiling at the judge the whole com. Turn around so they can collect a number.

"Make it real, not fake."
Don't be dramatic when there's no music.
"When there's no music on it's not your show."
"Get in the mood off the floor."

She's never liked the Standard dances because the lady is looking to the left and the man is looking to the left. Yet, they have an epiphany for all five dances. He raises his hand and she runs to him and takes position. All with never glancing at each other.

She has also wondered if the men felt as much pain as appeared on their faces while they danced Standard. Then she demonstrated it. Yep. It really was as painful to make those faces as she had thought!

Waltz: Romantic dance of all dances
Foxtrot: More Smultz
Tango: You can tell when you listen to the music
Viennese Waltz: Happiness dance, Prince/Princess

Face is really important.

Questions asked at the end of the Congress

2010-03-18T18:11:00.001-07:00

Tanning?
Doesn't come off on the boys
Too much is not attractive
Sometimes the tan is "orangy"
A good Spray on tan usually isn't as orange
Look healthy and normal
Ron wondered why all of our dance studios were not in South America where everyone is naturally tan.

Are there rules about talking to judges?
Don't ask a judge how you danced, they don't remember anyway.
Don't ignore them if you saw them in the hall. Common courtesy.
Be personal.
Olga said that only one judge had marked her consistently low so she and her partner talked to the judge and basically took a lesson from him to discover why he had not liked their dancing. After that their scores from him improved. Part of it was simply because he didn't notice them as much before.
The basic message is be tactful and respectful.

How do you deal with fighting in your partnerships?
If you fight with partner (or they are fighting with you) just go to the toilet in your brain and flush it. (get over it.)
Wendy-Don't try to look for the best partner, try to be the best partner
Ron-"Establish habits" "if they are inspired by goodness." "When the bad habits creep in-forget it." Ask them "what is it I can do to make this better?" "It takes two people to make things right, it takes two people to make things wrong."
If two teachers say different things just make it work and both teachers will be pleased it looks good.
Never, ever, ever, let anyone see you argue.
Practice your footwork, connection.
Layers of practice worked for that couple. (Linear learning)
Plan of what you are going to do in a practice session
Thinking alike
Come in with a great attitude
Be on time
Enjoy yourself, enjoy the music, have a good time.

Click on the image (Hyperextended knees, Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology, Karen Clippinger)

2010-03-06T09:39:00.001-08:00

DanceCore

2010-03-06T09:35:00.001-08:00

DanceCore is a primarily ballroom dance based instructional studio as well as teaching contemporary dance.

We base our teaching in kinesiology, anatomy, movement analysis, and several posture and relaxation techniques such as Pilates and Alexander Method. With this background we also teach movement training to other forms of dance, athletes, singers, actors, or anyone that moves. The instruction is based on principles of movement that create the foundation of stability, flexibility, strength and quickness.

We currently teach private lessons in both competitive and social ballroom dance, traveling workshops, as well as coach the competitive medley ballroom team at Hillcrest High School and run a supporting after school program at Sandcreek Middle School and the elementary schools in the district.

How to ice swollen body parts

2010-03-06T09:33:00.003-08:00

If you have a swollen body parts you want to follow a simple recipe.

72 hours of a major injury: Ice only

Ice 3 times a day for 20 minutes at least

After the three days are over you want to heat it to bring blood to the area in order for the oxygen to heal it.

When you have continued swelling you want to ice 20 min, heat 15 min, then ice 20 min.

I had Tendonitis, Fasciatis, and Tarsal Tunnel in my left ankle. Notice the past tense. Had. I have discovered much in fighting with this in my body and the antagonistic dancing.
1. I warm up before I stretch or dance
2. Consistently do anaerobic or aerobic exercise (3 days a week: 30 min or less or aerobic benefit, 30+ minutes for weight removal.)
3. stretch and make sure I am cool when I finish

When I do these things the Tendonitis and Tarsal Tunnel don't resurface. Fasciatis is one of those things that requires you stretch and play with your skin. It is demonstrated on an earlier post.

Knee pain stretches and anatomy-ish

2010-03-06T09:33:00.001-08:00

Somewhere hidden in our computer are some lovely images that we took before our macbook crashed. It happens to have our only camera, so....

Anyway.

Knee pain:

ABOVE THE KNEE - most usually means that your quadreceps are tight. They connect in front of your hip and go over the top of the kneecap and attach onto the Tibia.

Remedy:

Get down on one "bended knee" as if proposing. With your body upright bend the front knee and feel the stretch on the knee that is on the floor. You will feel the stretch on the front of your quad that is pointed to the floor.

I suggest putting something soft under your knee until your quads are more loose. Any floor will feel hard until your quads consistently release their tension.
(If you don't feel the stretch tilt your pelvis to the "ceiling" or as far as it will go.)

OUTSIDE OR BELOW THE KNEE - most usually means that your Ilio-Tibial Tract is tight. Otherwise called your IT Band. This band connects on various muscles in front and behind your hip bones, gathers and runs down the side of your thigh. when it reaches your knee it attaches itself in several places starting with the outside of your knee and going around to the inside on the bottom.

Remedy:

Sit on the floor with STRAIGHT legs. Roll up on your side and take your head toward your knees (for one portion of the IT Band). Stay up on the side of your leg and hold your body up as if you were a mermaid (for another portion of the IT Band). Now roll your hip forward while keeping your body up to the side (the last main portion of the IT band).

I will try to take images of my kidlet doing the stretches. If she can do it so can you.

Long Beach California Ballroom Competition.

2010-02-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

This is Aydin Aksoy, a new friend of ours. He is the Vice President of the USA Dance chapter we joined. It was due to his and others' hard work that this competition in Long Beach was so successful.

He is awesome. We had a great time talking with him. We must have charmed him. He said we were his "favorite couple" and he was so sincere we know it's true. Just don't tell anyone else. :) He also gave us a nifty device that allows five headphones to connect to one Ipod, or two ipods to connect to four speakers. Talk mixer fun. Mmmmmhmmmm.

The pictures are from Aydin. Isn't he great?

This is a great shot of the new dress Kristy Made. Brian is also sporting the Shirt Kristy made for Smooth. It works. We think next time he'll use the vest as well.
Check out those Jepp/S pants. Nice eh?

This is Kristy's favorite part of the new dress: Swish, Swish.
The weight of the fabric bounces off of my knees and gastroc. It's very fun.

We made a few lovely friends at this competition. It is so nice to meet such wonderful people when we travel so far from home.

2010-02-02T16:29:00.002-08:00

Gift Certificates

2010-02-02T16:29:00.001-08:00

Social dance couples will have the opportunity to spend two hours with individual time learning steps and technique.

Contact Brian for certificates- (208) 206-2429

We also do analysis and exercises to improve movement for their varied activities.
We have personally worked with Gymnastics, football, basketball, wrestling, ballroom, Jazz, and voice students.

When to call a doctor

2009-04-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that I don't have an affinity to doctors.

You probably ask why? I went to doctors for years and they said that my foot problem could be taken care of by stopping what I love...dance. My doctors tried to figure out if I was anemic, low in Vitamin B12, or simply allergic to the dirt in the air. One doctor was too embarrassed to tell me what my symptoms would be if I were Lactose intolerant, so he sent me guessing for 7 years.

Well, my Dance therapist is the one who figured out I probably have hypoglycemia. Afterward, I spoke to a doctor, explained my symptoms, then received a "he's probably right but it's very difficult and expensive to truly diagnose."

I am the one who figured out that I am allergic to Soy, (not milk, although many cows eat soy meal which means fatty milk bothers me some), raw onions, Brazil nut protein, and Peanuts (after I bore Katelyn). So they were right the allergy was making me sick. They were just wrong about the allergy.

Oh, yeah, and my Dance therapist also explained how to treat my Tendonitis and Fasciatis that had made it so I couldn't walk for two weeks. Now I simply have to treat occassional Fasciatis. My "Tendonitis" is completely gone.

90 % of injuries are preventable by stretching? Yup. I learned how to address and fix injuries not from doctors, but from my dance trainers and professors.

So, when do I go to the doctor? I go when I feel a SHARP pain. Sharp pain suggests that you didn't just pull something. It suggests torn soft tissue or broken bones. No fun. That is what doctors can do for you. They are also the only ones that can give you a prescription.

So if you wonder if it's bad enough to brave the doctor ask yourself is this a sharp pain or a dull ache?

Alleviate back pain and strengthen it at the same time

2009-04-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

This five and a half minute movie is to help you isolate your Psoas and over-ride the instinct to use your Abdominals and Quadratus Lumborum to hold your posture.

I need to point out that Brian had his arms high to be out of the movie...which pinched his Scapula and splayed his ribs. A better way to do this exercise is with your ribs relaxed on the floor.

With that said:

It is very difficult to have a neutral pelvis. The best way to find out if your pelvis is neutral is to mark on the front of your hip (the Anterior Superior Illiac Spine) and the back of your hip (the Posterior Superior Illiac Spine). Then use a straight stick/ruler/level to show if your two Illiac spines are level with each other OR spilling one way or another.

After personal dance accidents and uneducated instructors I recovered from an anterior pelvic tilt only to fall into a posterior pelvic tilt. These exercises, done for two years, have created an equilibrium. I now enjoy a neutral pelvis and less Lumbar pain.

Begin: (Always check with your doctor to make sure your personal body ailments can withstand new exercises. If you're poor? Avoid sharp or needle-like pain. No pain? You gain.)

Start by laying on the ground with your arms to your sides. Raise your knees (like those old fashioned sit-ups) with your feet hip width apart. Check to make sure your back is spread on the floor and your lower ribs are pressing into the floor as well (not raising to the sky).

Now rock your hips back and forth. Anterior, Neutral, Posterior, Neutral, Anterior, etc. Try to keeps your ribs down while doing this.

If this causes pain? STOP! Go to a Chiropractor or Sports Therapist. They have the technology to take X-rays and see what your personal ailment includes. (Sorry to all those doctors...I never had much help from you in this regard.)

From neutral press your lower back into the ground (posterior pelvic tilt). Lengthen the angle from your hip to your thigh. slowly roll up to a plank position. Do this one vertebrae at a time. You can use the image of your hips trying to reach the top and your ribs being too comfortable with the floor to comply easily.

When your reach the plank or diagonal hold it there for a few seconds. Make sure that your back is not curved to the sky. If it is you went too far. Your body should be flat like a board.

As you roll down try to leave your hips in the air as long as possible. Your ribs will start and try to reach the floor first.

Stretching? Watch the movie for some lower lumbar stretches. Another, not included, is to sit and stretch your body directly to the side. Do it in both directions.

Be gentle. Be careful. Repetitions. Patience.

Correct procedure(s) for stretching

2009-04-03T20:07:00.001-07:00

First it is important to understand that to correctly stretch you need to be warm. There are a few ways to resolve this:

WARNING!
Flexibility is not a contest! If you are normally able to touch your toes, yet are sore from over-exertion, you may not be able to touch your toes for a few days hence.

Stretching should not cause sharp pain! Your Golgi tendon sensors are put in place to protect your muscles. If you stretch your muscle too quickly or too far these sensors scream "STOP!" and refuse to relax their grip.

Ligaments are not elastic and will not return to their original size! If you do stretches that compromise your ligaments you must take into consideration that they will remain that way for the duration of your life. Grande plie's and hyper-extended knees are commonly producing pain in the now as well as the future lives of dancers.

Word to the wise? Ronald Nuttall, dance trainer at BYU Provo, stated that the quickest way to flexibility is frequent gentle stretching. Dr. Zanendrea (Dr. Z), flexibilty instructor and former US Olympian, confirmed this fact.

Early Morning stretching:
To warm up your muscles and help your body come into consciousness gently stretch your muscles for, at most, ten seconds at a time. Repeat five or six times on each stretch. If you repeatedly do this you will not injure yourself.

After shower, or other warm up that makes you sweat:
stretch your muscles gently. After 20-30 seconds you should feel a gentle release in your muscles. At this point you may go deeper into the stretch for 10 more seconds. (This takes longer than it seems. If you don't know how long 20-30 seconds are keep one eye on a clock to keep relative track. Your body should be the top-priority on indication.)

To use as a cool down:
Stretching can be a cool down (but is not the only option). I have noticed that as I repeat the above instruction on stretching I tend to need to cycle through the stretches that affect my warmest muscles. Depending on the intensity of the exercise I may only need to stretch each muscle group once (and in rare instances twice).

This is not the end all on stretching. It is simply a start for you in your own flexibility quest. Dr. Z attests that flexibility, nutrition, hydration, and health can prevent most of the ailments of age. I hope you discover the same.

Breath

2009-04-03T19:47:00.001-07:00

I think that breath is a fundamental of movement that is often looked over in dance. I can not count how many times I have heard someone comment on how they forget to breathe while dancing. Breath is the fundamental process of life and movement. It might be surprising how much this one simple thing can affect one's dancing.

To get the point, breathing not only supplies oxygen, which is an obvious plus when dancing, it also helps to stabilize the core. When inhaling, the muscles that are used help to align the posture of the neck and head, when exhaling it helps to engage the lower core muscles, such as the transverse abdominus, and helps to ground us. An important thing to note is that this will only really make a difference if the dancer is relaxed enough to allow the body to align itself. If the dancer is tight and holding themselves out of alignment the breathing process can only do so much. The dancer needs to relax as much as possible and only use the muscles absolutely necessary to the movement to experience the true aid of breath, and to achieve better movement overall for that matter.

A more technical and detailed explanation will probably follow in a later post or on the our website when it is finished, but if dancers remember to breathe when moving, they will experience more stability and freedom.

Weak ankle exercises.

2009-03-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

Do at least five reps in each direction (preferably ten). Make sure you stretch after finish.

Weak neck exercises / tight skin

2009-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Slowly go from low to high as you do each exercise. do three reps in each position.

These are the exercises to help you strengthen your neck. It is even more affective when you are laying on your bed and your head is hanging off of the side. Make sure you stretch your neck afterward.

The last images are to help your skin be released. Fasciatis is when the strong wrap around your muscles fibrils gets so tight it pulls on your skin. this makes your skin burn when it is disturbed. It is painful to rub out Fasciatis, but it is well worth it. It is only after you get rid of the Fasciatis that you can rub out your muslces.

Push down to Go Up

2009-03-24T09:12:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I witnessed Brian wrestling with one of our students. He was explaining a few things that he had learned in his wrestling years of high school. I was next to the wrestling mats instructing a student so I wasn't always aware of what was going on.

Every once in a while I was distracted by how deeply set Brian was in his center.

Now Brian's legs cannot straighten. That has a ripple affect through his body making it very difficult to stay in his center. This is why I was surprised. While he was wrestling he was unconsciously and continually in his center.

Later we discussed this amazing feat. How could he be so steadfast in his center while wrestling and not find the same ease while dancing.

I think this kind of led to a quest. Last night he came home with one of his dance "aha!" moments.

When he was wrestling he was constantly pushing into the ground. That is the only way to keep yourself aware and ready for what your opponent will do. This pressing into the ground requires the use of Hamstrings, Psoas, Lats, and the Transverse Abdominus.

During dance Brian would start trying to present and it would pull him out of low and high center.

After realizing this he demonstrated a before and after. Using the ground created an astounding difference. Without it his movement was flying all over and looked out of control. With the grounded appearance his muscles were toned and his movement was more efficient, it also grabbed the eye while creating interest.