Caroleeena's Circles of JoyPoi
Dance Composition – An Introduction
“Choreography is simpler than you think. Just go and do, and don’t think so much about it. Just make something interesting.” – George Balanchine The following is a synopsis of several aspects of the choreographic process. Over time I hope to elaborate on many of these concepts. This is the framework I plan to work [...]
Choreography: Finding Your Hook, Crafting Your Dance
Dance tells a story through movement. When choreographing a dance, we are making decisions about which story-telling devices to include, how to order our story, where to start, and how to end. For this piece we will deal specifically with the first aspect of choreography, deciding which story-telling devices to include. In other words, finding [...]
Welcome To The Vegetable Circus (Triangle, NC)
We just started a chapter of the Vegetable Circus in Raleigh, NC. We present in-school, after-school, and kids programs that highlight healthy nutrition, movement, and play. Consider starting a Vegetable Circus in your community.
Honing Performance and Shaking off Anxiety
Someone recently asked me, “When did you stop being nervous before a performance?” I responded, “Stop? Maybe one day … but I don’t think they make calendars that far in advance.” I am always nervous before a performance or speaking engagement or even before teaching my classes. I’m a shy person who has to work [...]
A Short Building Posture Ritual
It only takes a second to reset optimal posture for movement arts, to build a posture of strength in your full range of motion. You start from the ground up: Feel your weight in your heels. Lift and then place the ball of each foot on the ground, one at a time, under the hips. [...]
Directed Gaze – Directing Energy in Dance
Directed Gaze is a dance concept, a way of directing focus, a way of directing energy. We can make people look at things by looking at them. Don’t believe it? Go out on any street, stop and look up in the sky. Watch what happens. By directing the gaze, the dancer directs both energy [...]
Fire Performance at the new Museum of Natural Sciences
I am very excited to be fire dancing with Mesmerizing Arts at the 24-hour grand opening of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on Earth Day, April 20th, from 9 pm to midnight. There will be bands and many other activities, including LED performances from midnight to 1 am. They are also unveiling the [...]
Sculpting a Performance
Performance is more than object manipulation. When paired with music it becomes dance, it becomes story telling with the body. Once we know this, we can create a more powerful performance by pairing it with story telling devices. In this class we discussed sculpting a performance, prepping for that performance, stage technique, and group number [...]
Music for Learning the Three-Beat Weave
When you’re learning the three-beat weave, whether it be with hoops or poi, it can be helpful to learn it to three beat music. Some slow waltz music is good but I have some personal favorites I thought I’d share. Here they are: · “Kiss Of The Rose” Seal · “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the [...]
Spins and Turns: How to Prevent Dizziness and Maintain Balance
Turns and spins are a beautiful part of hooping. However, there a challenges related to turns and spins — specifically, keeping our balance, staying in one location, and dizziness. Let’s talk a bit about each one. Sometimes in hooping it can be challenging to keep our balance. It can be even more challenging to stay [...]