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Dance Festivals and Eisteddfods
You may have noticed that members of the dance school sometimes enter competitions. Any dancer at the school can consider entering a competition.
WANT TO TRY FESTIVAL DANCING? For dancers new to festival dancing, Longwell Green has two Novice categories, and so is a good place to start your festival experience. It is also a good opportunity to first experience on-stage solo dance, with its small community hall stage. The hall has a cafe facility and there is a general store with cashpoint facilities across the road.
The Dance section of the Longwell Green Eisteddfod takes place during Autumn half term. Longwell Green is between Bristol and Bath on the A431, and the venue is the Longwell Green Memorial (Community) Hall. The Weston Junior Arts Festival takes place at the Playhouse Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare, during Summer half term.
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL LONGWELL GREEN EISTEDDFOD WEBSITE.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE (Weston Super Mare) FESTIVAL LINKS
CLICK HERE FOR THE TILEHURST EISTEDDFOD WEBSITE
HOW TO BEGIN
- Let Miss Kate know that your child(ren) would like to take part. Miss Kate can then make sure you receive registration details etc. when she gets them.
- Miss Kate will discuss with you and your child the best type of dance to begin with, eg: National: (Danish, Bulgarian, etc.); or Modern Dance, Ballet, Greek etc. It is advised not to try to learn more than one new additional dance per festival.
- Festival practices are advertised in the half term before the event, and are usually on Saturdays or Sundays. A diary is kept on the stage for you to book practice sessions. Discuss with Miss Kate if you are not sure. Costs are kept to a minimum.
- Bring a blank audio tape to the first practice session. Once the dance music is recorded on it, make a second copy, as audio tapes are notoriously vulnerable. Bring the tape to every festival practice.
- It is suggested that parents/carers bring a notebook to the festival practice lessons to write down the dance moves. However, I take a camera that will record video and sound, because I'm useless at writing down dance notation. I then only need the note book for technique reminders, and to note when the next session is!
- Practice daily, even if only once. A novice dance only takes 90 seconds max!
AT FESTIVAL TIME
- Once you have the costume (Miss Kate has a selection, with a depreciation charge), keep it on a hanger in a suit/dress cover (or a large polythene bag over a hanger). If you get a bag with a zip, closed at the base, you can put socks/tights/small props etc in the bottom of it where they won't be forgotten!
- The times for all the festival dances will be posted up at the dance school as soon as they are available (this will be quite close to the festival date).
- Make a list of all costume items, props, shoes, hair and make-up items, (include both tapes on this list), and tick them off as they go into the car.
- You need to arrive at the festival venue at least an hour before your dance (half an hour for 9am dances). Allow for holiday traffic to Weston! Check traffic news for road problems. You don't want your child to arrive late and stressed.
Weston Junior Arts Festival
60th ANNIVERSARY SOUVENIR PROGRAMME - WERE YOU THERE?
Were you a prize violinist in the 60s, a dance diva in the 70s or a flautist in the 80s? Well the organisers of Weston Junior Arts Festivals want to hear your memories of competitions gone by, stories of those that have moved on to fame or fortune and see photographs from past contests.
A souvenir programme will then be produced for a special 60th anniversary concert taking place on October 7. The Weston & Somerset Mercury has dusted off its old photos to start the search. You can see pictures of the junior arts festival in 1967, 1968, 1977 and 1987 _HERE . If you recognise yourself in the photographs or have some of your own, send them to Junior Arts Festival, Weston & Somerset Mercury, 32 Waterloo Street, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1LW or email newsdesk@thewestonmercury.co.uk
Festival Essentials
After you've got the dancer, the costumes, the tapes (clearly labelled), the hair and makeup things and a picnic ready to put into the car, you might like to consider the following additional essentials:-
Absolute number one essential: a backup audio tape with all the dance pieces on it, in case the festival organisers' machine decides to eat the original. An extra precaution would be to protect the original from being accidentally wiped. You can do this by knocking the plastic out of the small square holes on either side of the thin end of the audiocassette (That's the non-business end - just push a biro into it). Until you re-cover the holes with tape, the cassette will not take any further recordings and cannot be wiped (though the machine can still eat the tape). For a safe backup, you could also look at software that converts audio tapes to CDs (here's one website)
Other essentials: A small sewing kit, several safety pins (for last minute disasters), spares of anything fragile or easily misplaced, eg: bun nets, thin tights, hair ornaments etc.
Also required for most dances: A smile.
- Bring a tape player: I've heard that some homes no longer possess such an antique; but audio tapes are still standard at most festivals (if that's you, grab one at a car boot sale if you see it). Tape players are useful for last minute practice of recently learned dances (though use considerately and remember to REWIND the tape after the practice, or better still, use your backup tape!).
Tap Bits
YOU'VE BOUGHT HEEL TAPS: Now, where can you get them fitted? I asked the Cobbler/Key cutter shop in Apsley Arcade on Wootton Bassett High Street, and they will happily fit taps that have been supplied by Miss Kate (for a fee, of course!)
Tap dance practice in a carpeted room: keep a bit of hardboard handy.
Tap Dance Association for adult tappers of all standards (older teenagers?). Danceweb entry. Associated Tap Dancers. More info: 01462 625259
Barefoot Dancing Blisters?
Is your barefoot dance routine lacking a few spins and turns because of sore feet and blisters?
Both Bloch and Capezio now produce a little elastic pad for barefoot dances, that clings to the ball of your foot, and costs somewhere around £6 - £7 a pair.
- The Bloch version is called Bloch Foot Thong, and is a suede pad which is secured to the toes with nude elastic straps.
- The Capezio version is called Footundeez, and actually looks like a mini pair of underpants. These are available in nude, with the jazzier colour versions being easier to get from USA suppliers. Your big toe fits through the smaller 'leg-hole' of the undeez, and the rest of your toes fit through the larger hole. These also have a suede pad for stage grip. (Warning - using them on carpet will wear them out prematurely; and they're not cheap!)
Here's a UK Google search for Footundeez, And another for Bloch Foot Thongs, to get you started.
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Dance Exam, Audition and Competition Survival Tips
Here are some tips on how to do your very best for your dance audition, competition or exam:
- Learn as much as you can about your kind of dance. Use the internet, and the links on this site.
- Practice regularly. If your dance requires a smile, practice with one.
- If you make a mistake during practice, don’t always start again, because you won’t be able to on the day. Practice carrying on and improvising until you get to a bit you can remember. (here's where learning about your kind of dance comes in handy).
- Get a good night's sleep (several, if you can).
- Get a good breakfast so you'll have energy, but don’t ‘pig out’.
- While you're waiting, don't panic. Go over your steps in your head and work on building up your confidence.
- Remind yourself that all you can do is your best. When you’ve done that, you’ve done well - whatever the outcome!
Performing
- Walk into the hall or onto the stage confidently.
- Greet the examiner with a smile – look as if you’re happy to be there!
- You will be given marks for your sense of performance. Dancing is more than just performing perfect steps; enjoy it from your heart and let it show through in your dance.
- Judges want to see people who look like they enjoy dancing ....If your dance calls for one - smile!
- Enjoy the experience, whatever marks you get. Even if you don't win a medal, you can't lose, because you are gaining valuable stage experience and advice for the future.
DUETS, TRIOS etc
Click here to DOWNLOAD MISS KATE'S FESTIVAL INFORMATION FOR PUPILS AND PARENTS
Don't have Microsoft Word? Click here to download a free Microsoft Word Reader.
Here is a WEBSITE Selling software to put your AUDIO TAPE tracks onto CD (you need a tape player; and a computer with a sound card and CD writer/burner, plus a cable to go between the tape player's headphone socket and the computer's audi input socket). I bought this software when my tape-to-tape recorder packed up.
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Dancer Food!
You are what you eat!!! (or so they tell us)
Here is a handy download for anyone who has to feed a dancer
( a bit technical !)
Nutrition is important.
File format: pdf. If you can't read it you need (Adobe Reader)
which you can download free on this link.
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BALLET - THE CECCHETTI METHOD
The Cecchetti method of training ballet students is a rigorous system devised by Enrico Cecchetti (1850 - 1928). The dancer learns how to move and use each part of the body in preparation for dance and, thus grounded in the basic principles, the dancer can then readily learn new routines and even choreograph them.
The Cecchetti method was devised with careful regard for the laws of anatomy. the method is designed to help the human body to attain all those qualities essential to the dancer...balance, poise, strength, elevation, elasticity, "ballon" and so forth.
The complete Cecchetti Method includes a very full vocabulary of movement, including nearly forty "adages", composed by Cecchetti himself for the development and maintenance of balance and poise in every conceivable position and in every type of movement, the body being supported on either leg. The eight "Ports de Bras", or exercises to develop the graceful movement and coordination of the arms, are generally admitted to be unsurpassed.
The prime purpose of the Cecchetti Method is that the student shall not learn to dance by trying to imitate the movements executed by his or her teacher as a model to follow, but shall learn to dance by studying and imbibing the basic principles which govern the art; in short, to grow and develop from within, and translating this into the outward performance. Thus the dancer can become completely self-reliant.
It's all GREEK to me!
You've decided to try out Classical Greek Dancing as a festival dance, and the adjudicator has told you to improve your frieze lines. WOT?? 
Classical Greek dance is based on the images and philosophy of Ancient Greece. Here are some pointers from 'the experts' that will definitely help...
- Read and get to know the stories of ancient Greek mythology; that's Zeus, Athena, Hercules, etc., (no, not Hercules the TV series - read the real story!).
- Read the story or stories relating to your particular dance (eg: if you're a satyr, find out all about satyrs! I'f you're Winter, read the mythology surrounding winter.)
- Look at some ancient Greek art, either on an internet image search, or somewhere like the British Museum.
If you can dance for the general public, and they think you look like something off the side of a Greek vase, you're well on your way. Here are some images from Greek friezes/vases that illustrate the point:
For more information on CLASSICAL GREEK DANCE, visit the UK website: http://classicalgreekdance.com/
BITS AND PIECES
LOANED COSTUME ITEMS
If you have borrowed any Dance School costume items that are no longer required (outfits, accessories, underskirts, shoes etc) please return them to Miss Kate.
USEFUL TIPS
- White dance shoes: scuffed through to the grey? Use tippex (typewriter correction fluid).
- scuffs on coloured leather shoes can be covered using a matching wax crayon (eg red). It may help to warm the crayon slightly, but don't leave it on a radiator - it will melt!
- Ballet Bun nets: Can't find any? Take a regular bun net and tie it in half, across the elastic. Tie a second knot next to the first and cut between them. You now have two nets, each half the size.
Trouble fixing a Ballet Bun? It's always harder for shorter hair, or long hair trimmed straight across at the bottom. Try the following:
- Comb the hair into a strong elastic at the back of the head (tip: old 40 denier+ tights, cut into 6 inch (15cm) strips and rolled into a circle, make excellent hair elastics with much less tangle)
- Going in your preferred direction, twist the hair into a sausage and coil it around the hair elastic. As you coil it, pin it with kirbygrips or hairpins, as this will leave your hands free-er. Don't make too tight a coil, as you want the bun to be more like a doughnut than a french stick!
- If the hair is short, tufts will soon try to escape. Tuck these under the coil as best you can and use more grips. Some hair types will need to be bullied into place with hair spray. If you need a lot of this, move somewhere else so the dancer can escape out of the spray cloud when you've finished; that stuff's not good for the lungs!
- Stretch a bun hairnet over the bun, smoothing any tufts in the direction that lies them flattest.
- Secure with two or three more hair pins/grips.
- Finish off with a scrunchie or ribbon to match the dancer's leotard (and a bit more spray if needed).
Note: Thinner hair (especially if quite short) can be plumped out by pushing the ponytail through a hair cushion (which looks a bit like a doughnut), then winding the hair around it and securing with pins or grips. If you can't buy a hair cushion, try making one by plaiting or twisting old tights together and sewing into a circle.
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