The Secrets of Musicality For Dancers


Book Description

It doesn't matter what you dance. Couple dance or solo, salsa, hip-hop, tango or contemporary. It doesn't matter what level you are - beginner or advanced. If you are a dancer and you want better musicality - this book is for you! Musicality can seem a bit of a mysterious art. What is it, really? In this book we break it down into nine different skills, with focus on the two core elements of musicality, perception and expression. How we hear the music and how we express it. These skills are: Dancing to the Beat Dancing to Different Tempos Finding the Dominant Feeling Expressing Specific Sounds Dancing to the Silence Prediction & Preparation Dancing to the Vocals Breathing with Musicality Putting it all Together There are exercises for each skill, but there is no silver bullet, no ready made recipe you can just follow. If you want better musicality you have to do the work. You are the one who have to interpret the music. But you get the tools. You get a lot of tips on what to listen to and how you can interpret it. Music is a universal language we all understand. And dance is just another language. We only have to practice how to translate it the best way possible. So that it keeps all its beauty.




Tango Stories


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Dynamic Belly Dance


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Conditioning for Dance 2nd Edition


Book Description

Eric Franklin’s first edition of Conditioning for Dance was a bestseller—and it is back and better than ever, offering state-of-the-art conditioning exercises for dancers. An internationally renowned master teacher, Franklin has developed a science-based method of conditioning that is taught and practiced in companies and schools around the world. In this new edition of Conditioning for Dance, he integrates the latest scientific research on strength, flexibility, and conditioning into his dance exercises.




Quick, Before the Music Stops


Book Description

A one-time competitive ballroom dancer describes how she left performing to raise a family and pursue a more "suitable" profession, until twenty years later she rediscovers the joy, confidence, emotional security, trust, and wonder that dancing evokes.




Tango Tips by the Maestros


Book Description

What if you could get the advice of 40+ tango maestros in one single book? This book brought together for the first time in the tango history icons of tango, judges of the World Tango Championship (Mundial de Tango), world champions, and experienced teachers from around the world, and asked them one question: If you could give a few pieces of advice that you consider extremely valuable to a few tens of thousands tangueros and tangueras, what would you say? The maestros covered topics from musicality to elegance, from connection to balance, from embrace to trust, from body awareness to the difference between good and great dancers. Together, they tackled questions such as developing a personal style, reducing tension, creating warmth, dancing more, learning faster, breaking through the plateau that keeps some people's tango the same (hint: your technique is rarely the issue). The purpose of the book is one: to help the eager tanguero and tanguera enjoy tango more and discover actionable, clear, and simple advice to develop further the necessary skills of this beautiful dance. Disclaimer: This book is not intended for readers who haven't had any tango classes. It is intended as a powerful supplement for those who are already learning and dancing argentine tango. A book by Dimitris Bronowski and Tango Argentino Festivals (.com). Our vision is to make tango empowering.




The Ballet Companion


Book Description

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.




Tango Endings


Book Description

Just like a gymnast needs to stick the landing at the end of the routine, a well-timed and executed ending is essential to dancing Argentine tango. This unique book unlocks the secrets to tango endings that have consistently frustrated beginner and intermediate dancers. After years of searching in vain for a class on endings, Steve Darmo took it upon himself to learn everything he could on the topic. Realizing that the music drives the steps, he extensively researched the best music from the Golden Age. He studied over 1700 tangos recorded by the 20 most popular dance orchestras in order to prepare the most comprehensive work ever written on the subject.This book gives everything you need to become an expert at tango endings and greatly improve your dancing. It is packed with tips and is written in an easy conversational voice.




I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine


Book Description

Neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author of This Is Your Brain on Music Daniel J. Levitin reveals the deep connections between music and healing. Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He brings together, for the first time, the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain. Levitin is not your typical scientist—he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today’s most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. The result is a work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and jubilant celebration. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord highlights the critical role music has played in human biology, illuminating the neuroscience of music and its profound benefits for those both young and old.




CelloMind


Book Description

CelloMind is a two-part pedagogical method book that focuses on intonation and left-hand cello technique. The coauthors of the book are Hans Jørgen Jensen, Professor of cello at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University and Minna Rose Chung, Associate Professor of Cello at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. Part I: Intonation. The mystery of intonation is revealed by defining and explaining the scientific principles that govern it. To know and understand how to combine the three primary intonation systems has never before been expounded in a methodology publication--and for good reason. Playing with exquisite intonation has mostly been reserved for those who possess a strong intuitive sense; however, CelloMind breaks down this taboo using a systematic approach with a highly attuned manner. The three systems of intonation that string players most commonly use today--equal temperament, just intonation, and Pythagorean tuning--are each explored and explained in great detail. All chapters in the book include many practical samples and listening exercises that bridge the gap between the theory and its application. The chapters on intonation conclude with practical examples from the following repertoire: "Intonation Performance Practice in the Bach Solo Cello Suites" and "Intonation Performance Practice with Piano." Part II: Left-Hand Technique. The left-hand technique chapters in this section complement the study of intonation by providing a solid foundation of skills for essential cello playing. The topics and exercises have been selected to cover a wide range of technical skills that include playing with a light left-hand touch, speed, coordination, balanced vibrato, agility, finger independence, and efficient shifting. Original exercises developed for students over many years have also been incorporated into these chapters, as well as studies from Julius Klengel, Bernhard Cossmann, Louis R. Feuillard, Jean-Louis Duport, Yakov Rosenthal, and Fritz Albert Christian Rudinger.