What Makes A Great Soprano?
Parlez Vous Ballet?
Is There A Link Between Music And Happiness?
Music activates so many parts of our brain that it’s impossible to say that we have a center for music the way we do for other tasks and subjects, such as language.
If the song has lyrics, then the parts of the brain that process language, Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, kick into gear. Researchers have found that songs can activate our visual cortex, perhaps because our brain tries to construct a visual image of the changes in pitch and tone. Songs can trigger neurons in the motor cortex, leading you to tap your foot and boogie. Your cerebellum gets into the act, trying to figure out where a piece of music will go next, based on all the other songs it’s heard before.
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Why Mediocre Intonation May Not Be a Practice Issue, But a Focus Issue
Have you ever found yourself worrying about a tricky passage a couple lines in advance? And totally flubbing it when you got to it, precisely because you started thinking about it?
An external focus of attention is not universally helpful. The research in this area also suggests that beginners or less advanced individuals, may perform better when using an internal focus.
In addition, and this is true at all skill or experience levels, there will be plenty of times when adopting an internal focus is more effective for learning. If you need to break down a skill, figure out what’s going on, and make technical adjustments, an internal focus often makes more sense than an external focus. Because if there’s a fundamental technical reason why your intonation or sound or rhythm is unstable, simply shifting your focus is probably not going to be an effective or stable long-term solution.
So an external focus is not a one-size-fits-all panacea – but then again, what is? Take a few days to experiment with different levels of external focus, and see what changes in the consistency, fluidity, and accuracy of your technical execution!
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Detect The Details – Reworking Technique In Class
How can we create a greater focus on plié in class?
Texture. We can play with different speed, rhythms and texture with plié in class. A slow, continuous, four count plié that has a melting quality will feel very different than a quick and light two count plié that has a bouncing quality. A dancer who understands the physicality of each will understand the reason why one might be better served than the other depending on the movement or circumstance.
Core Strength. To feel comfortable working in a deeper plié, dancers need to develop their core strength to easily maintain their posture. Once the dancer is connected to their core, they will have an easier and more enjoyable time working through transition steps with ease. They will also be more likely to take risks in how much they travel through the space and play with level changes.
Feel Their Feet On The Floor. The more a dancer can feel an even weight distribution between their feet, the more they will pay attention to the connection they feel from their core through their leg. The dancer who pliés while feeling their feet spread and open on the floor will have a different connection to their entire leg line through plié than the dancer who is gripping their toes. The dancer that can open their feet will also become more aware of how they are using them in other transitioning movements through plié.
Finding Opposition. A plié is a movement that expands in all directions, but many dancers think a plié simply goesdown. If the dancer has an understanding of the contrasting directions of a plié, they will find more length throughout their entire body to support their movement. By finding more length, they will be able to feel their lines differently and find more release and grounding.
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“Scam” Paid Auditions vs. Legitimate Acting Classes
Differences Between Paid Classes With Industry vs. Paid Auditions
Classes / Workshops:
A class for actors is one that is either held over an extended period of time (several weeks or several months) or in an evening. Beneficial acting-career skills are taught to the actor, and during that learning process constructive feedback is given to the actor by the instructor and/or invited entertainment executive(s). Entertainment executives may include: casting directors, talent agents and managers, directors, or actors with well-established careers.
Paid Auditions:
Actors pay a fee to be seen by an entertainment executive or panel via a monologue, or a hurriedly put-together scene. No feedback to the actors is offered. The session for each actor lasts several minutes. The session for the executive(s) is a duration of several hours as the actors are presented like cattle at an auction. These studios often herald in their advertising, or via email blasts, that the studio is responsible for every career advancement made by each actor who shuffled through their system no matter how long ago the actor was herded through the studio’s chute. Often the studio has no association with, or influence on, the actor’s toil in procuring the booking(s). Some of these studios now advertise “exclusive rights” to a casting director or talent agent as attending only that studio’s sessions. “Tisn’t morals, ’tis money that saves…”
Are Paid Auditions Valuable?
A good number of actors have formed professional relationships with agents and/or casting directors from these scenarios. More actors though have found the one-night stand paid auditions to be a frustration. The feeling disenfranchised actors are the most vocal in opposition to what is perceived as a paid audition.
A Love Supreme – by Rosas | Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker & Salva Sanchis