Arts Articles

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Robert L J Bloom @ Wednesday, 8th October 2008 @ 12:16 PM

Salsa is a vibrant, stylish, and fun dance, which could be a passion that will last for a lifetime. It could also bee seen as a demanding sport that requires endurance, good breathing, fast feet and the needed coordination. Salsa gives a physical exercise form that matches your level of skill and fitness. Salsa dancing has now reached almost every major city, in all countries. Salsa dancing can bring tons of excitement into your relationship, and reawaken a relationship that may have los... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Bowe Packer @ Sunday, 28th September 2008 @ 9:45 AM

There is something very magical about Broadway. You will find many different people who act in various roles on Broadway musicals and shows. For these people there is nothing more exhilarating than to be in one of these productions and to know that a show is in great demand. The people who can be seen the most in these various shows are the Broadway dancers. The many different Broadway dancers are chosen for different shows based on their ability to perform in the auditions. Now as there... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Thursday, 25th September 2008 @ 8:02 PM

We're all familiar with the idea of a sportsperson or singer or band exploding onto the scene and making a big impact. Dancers and choreographers tend to be more behind-the-scenes than a footballer or music artist but when a choreographer makes it big, it can have just as big an impact on the dancing community. A choreographer's role is to devise dance routines and sometimes entire dance performances for dancers to perform. They often get the opportunity to work with the best da... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Wednesday, 24th September 2008 @ 9:51 PM

When you walk into an open dance studio where dancers go to practise it's very easy to separate the hip-hop dancers from the ballet dancers and the hip hop dancers from the b-boys and b-girls from the way they dress. The hip-hop dancers in their baggy shorts or pants and cool caps. The ballet dancers in their perfectly arranged outfits and the breakers in their loose clothing, hats and protective pads. If you want to be taken seriously as a street or hip-hop dancer is it impor... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Tuesday, 16th September 2008 @ 1:28 PM

When doing any new activity or embarking on a new journey it's always nice to see people we can relate to or that are similar to us. Which is why boys and men are always more keen to go to dance classes if they know they won't be the only male in the room. Sadly I've never heard of a boys-only dance class and even if they do exist they would be the exception rather than the rule. I have seen a few dance classes for girls-only but these are very sensual classes which explore... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Sunday, 14th September 2008 @ 9:06 PM

If you want to become a backing dancer one thing should be clear - you better start practising your dancing. Whereas average dancers or even deliberately bad dancers sometimes get jobs as a backing dancer it is not as common as good dancers usually get the job. When you see the backing dancers on TV you need to be able to dance as good as them. Different jobs ask for different skills but if you are as good as these dancers currently doing backing dancing for the stars you can bet that you... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Friday, 12th September 2008 @ 3:10 PM

Dancing should be one of the most enjoyable things you can do. We've all had that moment where our favourite tune comes on the radio, we're in our bedrooms and freak out in the craziest of dances. But the moment people step into a dance class many people lose this feeling. Many people who go to dance classes on a regular basis obviously do enjoy it. But are they stopping themselves from enjoying it as much as they should? The thing that most people are worried about in a... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Tuesday, 26th August 2008 @ 7:07 PM

Many great and famous dancers and choreographers have released a dance video or dance DVD teaching their dance moves and dance routines. Are dance videos and dance DVDs the best way of learning to dance? Well 1 thing's for sure, many people are grateful for such videos because there aren't a lot of opportunities to learn to dance where they are. Imagine living in a small rural village and wanting to learn break dancing or urban dance moves. Next to impossible! These d... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Tuesday, 26th August 2008 @ 6:53 PM

Every now and again a dance workshop or master class will pop up with an expert choreographer or dancer. Are street dance workshops a good way of learning to dance? Better than dance classes? Street dance workshops are very good because you learn a lot of skills from someone who will be able to dance at a high standard and also teach you how to do it too. Often these will be expert dancers so you can learn things that you couldn't learn from an average dancer. The thing with d... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 5:32 PM

To become a backup dancer is a field with a lot of competition. The thing is most people aren't aware of what it takes to become a backup dancer. The tips below will show you what it takes to be a backup dancer for music artists and bands. It shows you the skills that will help you from the initial stages of auditioning through to actually getting booked for the job. Follow these tips and be ahead of the pack. 1. Talent: That's right talent is one of the most important th... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 5:24 PM

Dancers don't get every single job that they want to. There can be a number of reasons for this from their dancing not being up to scratch to having the wrong image or personality. But are they really being rejected? Of course not and seeing it that way can ruin your prospects of a successful career! A successful dancer knows that sometimes they are just not right for the part and they decided to go for someone else. Many times it won't even be about dancing skill. An int... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Sunday, 24th August 2008 @ 11:59 PM

There are many dance studios that you can go to learn dance. Every one's heard of the best and mainstream ones where all the top dancers, choreographers and pop superstars go. But in many large cities there are a number of underground dance studios quietly doing their business with very high standards of dancers. So how can you find out about these dance studios that not many people have heard about? Well for the most part you find out about them by getting involved in the dance indu... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Friday, 22nd August 2008 @ 7:34 AM

A beginner's dance class can have a funny feel to it. There are the dancers who've been there for months and seem like pros. And then there are always the first-timers and you can feel their nervousness in the air. When walking into a beginners dance class for the first time it can take the warm-up to really settle and start to feel more comfortable inside the class. Sometimes you won't even be able to do the warm-up and wonder how you're gonna cope once the dancing ac... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Kevin Shwe @ Tuesday, 19th August 2008 @ 6:56 PM

It seems that street dance is becoming more and more popular in the UK. Lots of dance styles have had their turn in the spotlight over the years and it looks like it is the turn of street dance at the moment. But what exactly is street dance? And what can you expect to learn in a street dance class in London? The London scene is very different to many other countries and it's worth exploring. Street dance classes often teach street dance routines which loosely take dance moves... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Tuesday, 19th August 2008 @ 8:16 AM

Backing dancing is one of the most exclusive career paths for a dancer to go down. Even if you're a dancer whose main interest is theatre, who wouldn't say yes to dancing for Justin Timberlake? Well-paid, high-profile and all your friends will probably recognise you on TV. But what happens when you get offered the role of backing dancer and it's not your favourite artist? Are you confined only to dancing for one artist? Luckily the answer is no. You can dance for as ... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 11:05 AM

Many dancer's dream is to do be a backing dancer for their favourite music artists and bands. Whether it's just to be able to meet them up close and personal or just being able to say you're one of Britney Spears' dancers! How is it possible to dance for your favourite artists? Well you could try the luck route. Wade Robson won a competition to meet Michael Jackson as a kid and when Jackson saw his moves he decided that he wanted to do some backing dancing for him. Luc... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Ryan Heddik @ Friday, 15th August 2008 @ 7:24 PM

Being a naturally talented dancer has its benefits as well as downfalls. The benefits are that you can of course already dance your own way without needing too much help. The downside is that being naturally gifted stops many dancers from going to dance classes and learning other skills. Many dance jobs and auditions specify for the dancers to be skilled in particular dance styles whether it's commercial dance or breakdance. So if you're self taught and learnt all your moves by ... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Jay Sankey @ Monday, 4th August 2008 @ 12:45 AM

My advice is, if you don't already do SOME kind of sponge magic you are NUTS! Almost nothing is stronger than when people open their hand and those extra sponges appear. It always takes them "right back to wonder." I worked with classic red balls for years, but I got sick and tired of playing hide and seek with them when they rolled off the table. I also got sick of the clown nose comments. This is why I further developed sponge magic. I have spent many years ... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Jay Sankey @ Monday, 4th August 2008 @ 12:38 AM

I love the intimacy of close-up magic and especially the challenging work of maintaining a variety of relationships with several people at the same time. This maintenance is achieved in many ways, though ultimately much of it comes down to sigh, sound and touch. Glances, words and physical contact. Of course, very few routines are constructed in such a way that you touch every member of the audience (without going to jail.) Though you can direct your comments towards a single member of... more...

Recreation and Leisure » Entertainment » Arts | By Jay Sankey @ Monday, 4th August 2008 @ 12:26 AM

A lack of understanding does not necessarily create a sense of mystery. A confusing magic effect is a perfect example of this. (Though "a confused magic effect" may be a more accurate phrase because there are far fewer inherently confusing effects than there are confusing ways of presenting effects.) If you share an effect with your audience and unintentionally lose them somewhere along the way, perhaps because you raced through an important part of neglected to clarify an initial condit... more...