How to dance like nobody's watching

While working in the front at Shoebox,  there are a couple of questions/comments that come most frequently when we are having conversations with students:

• Do I have the skills to take this class?
• I'm going to feel like such an idiot because I don't know what I’m doing.
• People are going to look at me like I'm an idiot because I'm going to be awkward. 

 

Here's the deal.  People are too self absorbed to care about what you're up to. So many people are so into their process, they don't have time to worry about what you look like! And, the better the dancer they are, the more likely they are looking at themselves in the mirror, focused, making sure they are hitting their marks, learning the moves, and integrating the instruction, that they might not even know you're in the room.  So just take a deep breath and learn from that: look in the mirror at yourself, focus on the instruction and integrating it, and don't forget to have a good time!

Ten thousand hours to mastery

For anyone who has ever read Malcom Gladwell's Outliers you know where this is coming from. For those of you who have never read it, here's some highlights (we highly recommend the book).  While this isn't meant to be a book review, it really is meant to highlight some very important lessons that Gladwell explores about success. According to his observations, it takes about 10,000 hours to be a "genius" or “master” in your given field.  This is about 10 years of full time dedication. 

Here are a couple salient examples he notes:

• Its no accident the Beatles were the first boy band, and were more successful than other boy bands.  They put in more hours in their career before they got famous than most people do after they get famous.  (to be specific, they had 1,200 performances before 1964.  This is more than most people have in the entire span of their career).

• Bill Gates had 10 thousand hours of practice BEFORE starting Microsoft.  His genius was not random.  He didn't wake up at 18 and decide to create a vision for the personal computer and build Microsoft. He already knew computers, because he started programming in the eight grade.
• By the time Mozart had written a critically acclaimed concerto at the age of 21, he had been composing regularly for 10 years

The biggest takeaway is that it takes time to make a mark in the world, and it takes practice and dedication.  Talent is not inborn, its cultivated.  Gladwell is proposing that, "practice isn't the thing you do once your good.  Its the thing you do to make you good."  Success is not from a super genius gene, or necessarily from being from the right family. Its from time, dedication and hard work and focus.

Anyone has what it takes

 
Martha Graham started dancing at 22, and went on to change the shape of an entire dance genre.  You don't have to be brilliant, have the right body, or be the right age.  You just have to be dedicated and want it bad enough, and show up. In all honesty, most of us don't even want to go pro, or to change the world.  We're interested in learning a new skill set, we're interested in having extra exercise, we're interested in expanding performance skills.   You don't have to lock yourself away for 10 years for 40 hours to do your time just to have fun in a dance class.  You do have to get your butt into class and do the work though.  Don't discount yourself because you didn't do it perfect the first time around.  You'll never get to perfect, because there is no such thing. 

Suggestions for getting yourself to class

Class is a place to explore, to learn and to grow.  Not a place to perform.  Its the exact place to be messy, make mistakes, and learn and grow from them.  So if you're thinking about how you look or what people will think, its the wrong place to think that.  Here are the things to consider instead: 

 
Be honest about what your goals are: If your initial goal is just to get to class, that's a good start.  And if you get to class and you finish the class, then you've reached your goal.  And don't forget to celebrate small wins.  If the goal is to get to class, its self defeating to beat yourself up if you didn't understand a certain move - that wasn't your original goal (and its always pointless to beat yourself up for not understanding something).  Your goal was to just finish.  And you should celebrate that moment and congratulate for sticking it in, because 80% of the work is just showing up.

Put in the time to reach them: If your goal is to learn a particular new move, or to know a choreography, make sure that your time commitments are realistic for your goal.  If you've only got 30 minutes a week to work towards your goal, then its going to take you alot longer than if you've got 30 minutes a day, to put things into perspective.  If you're not happy with your progress, you may want to adjust the time you're putting in to make it happen.

Don't worry about who else is in the room: You came to class to learn something for yourself, not to see how good (or bad) anyone else is.  Just look in the mirror, focus on yourself, and have a good time!

Find a buddy to practice with: If you really want to see yourself accelerate then find someone else who has a similar background (even better if you can find someone a bit more skilled than you to up your game) and make a commitment to meet each other in class.  You're more likely to show up if you have someone to be accountable to.  And you're also more likely to practice if you have a buddy to get together with.

To your dancin'

~Da  Box

PS - If you haven't had a chance to register for the Jumps and Turns Clinic, its happening tomorrow, and a great space to get your practice on. There's a link here to still get in on the early bird pricing, which ends today. 

I've got turns on my jumps, I've got jumps on my turns

We got two words: Byron Seddens. (And for us, those are some pretty exciting words.)   Byron has performed, studied, taught and choreographed throughout the United States, Japan, and the Caribbean.  And now he'll be teaching in the heart of SOMA at Shoebox Studios on Tuesday nights from 7:15-8:45 PM.  But there's something else we're writing about here that we'd like to tell you about.  We'd like  you to come join us for a special event we've put together with Byron.  Please read on to learn more. :-) 


After some arm twisting, we've convinced him to do a Turns and Jumps clinic.  This is such an amazing opportunity to learn from Byron in an intimate setting, and we're not sure when he will be able to make time again in his busy schedule to do it.  If you've been thinking about a way to up your game in your dancing, this is a great opportunity to learn from a world renowned master.

Here are some of the deets:

Turns and Jumps with Byron Seddens
Date: Saturday, March 5, 2011
Time: 1:30-3:30
Where: Shoebox Studio, 864 Folsom St.

This class will focus on the mechanics of jumps and turns. In here we will focus on things such as alignment/placement, timing and those pesky “little” things that may be keeping you from that extra revolution or from executing that dazzling jump the way you wish! Byron has been analyzing and focusing on these areas with his students for years and aiding them in the techniques and “tricks” that help them achieve their goals!

Even more deets: 

• You don't have to be a professional ballet or jazz dancer. 
• You do need to know your left foot from your right foot.
• If you're a bellydancer or an ethnic dancer, it's an awesome cross training class.
• If you are of the ballet/jazz variety, it's gonna up your game. 

Curious to learn more? Click here. 

We also found this cool video that's an awesome inspiration for the workshop.  While we can't guarantee this is what your jumps and turns will look like at the end of the workshop, we still think its a cool video with some insane jumps and turns, and a great source of inspiration. 

See ya in the studio!


To jumping and turning~


Team Shoebox

New classes, and a new additions to the Shoebox Family!

We are so excited to announce three new classes at Shoebox!

Contemporary Partnering & Repertory (level 2/3) with Brian Gibbs (Saturdays,11:30-1:00)  
Starts March 5th

About the class:   Brian Gibbs will be teaching a brand new rep class designed to challenge the dancers to investigate weight sharing along with numerous contact improv techniques that will allow for smooth transitions into choreographed dance sequences in a fun open environment.

Jazz 2 with Byron Seddens (Tuesdays 7:15 - 8:45) 
Starts March15th

This class will focus on the art that is jazz dance.  Technique, versatility, performance quality and the nuances that make jazz jazz are what we'll be working. 

The class will start off with a thorough warm-up, an across the floor that will challenge the dancer and aid in the material at hand and then go into the combination where we will work it all!

Dancers should bring a great attitude and a readiness to sweat!

From lyrical to theatre dance, from Fosse to funk there will always be something to challenge the jazz dancer in you.

Partnering Salsa with Ashanti Altovese (Fridays, 7:30-8:30) 
Starts March 18th

Are you interested in learning how to Salsa dance socially at clubs, parties, and special events? Well instructor Ashanti Altovese can teach you how to do so with style and ease. Over 4 weeks, you will learn basic footwork, lead and follow technique, turn patterns, and simple styling in Salsa for fun. No partner is necessary and all dance levels are welcome.

To register for class click here. 

MEET THE NEWEST ADDITION TO THE SHOEBOX FAMILY - BRIAN GIBBS AND BYRON SEDDENS!

A bit more on Brian:

BRIAN GIBBS was born in Charlotte North Carolina. He studied visual arts for 11 years and was also a skateboarder. While attending North West School of the Arts as a visual artist he was invited to take dance class by one of the dance teachers. He went onto the Charlotte City Ballet School for classical training under Claudia Folts. Later he was accepted into the North Carolina School of the Arts college program where he continued his training in Contemporary, Ballet and Composition.

Upon graduation Gibbs moved to San Francisco to freelance and choreograph. His works have been performed onstage by world-class performers, projected during fashion shows and featured in a three-page spread in the summer issue of Movmnt Magazine, with the editorial by recently retired San Francisco Ballet principle Muriel Maffre. Within a years time his association The Artist Group (TAGsf) has accumulated over 30 dance films, shot by videographer Matthew Taylor.

Brian’s choreography is situated between classical technique and contemporary. Modern dancers appreciate it because the movement involves technique, while ballet dancers appreciate it because there is more freedom in the movement. Because his style cannot be grouped into anyone category, Gibbs calls it “Thirdstream” or “Progressive”.

More Brian Hotness found here:




A bit more about Byron:

Byron Seddens - Has worked with some of the best in the business! He has been a featured performer in long running productions for the legendary Jack Cole dancer and jazz dance
innovator Ron Lewis, Broadway and film great Tony Stevens, the award winning Michael Darrin, and for the very busy producer Greg Thompson just to name a few. He has performed for Kraft/
Oscar Meyer, Sorbie Hair Products, Clothestime, Expedia and many others.

More on Byron's Magic:

See you in class!


To your dancin'

Team Shoebox