Bounce To The Ounce

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ISYS100Summer Assignment 3 - Bounce to the Ounce performing some trendy moves.

MACQUARIE UNI REPRESENT!!! 

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Having done a boy band routine, thought we should realise something. Matt Mansour = Nick Lachey Just sayin'. 

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Dance to help out

There are many organisations, social groups that look at enriching peoples lives through the form of dance. Its a fun entertaining way to fund-raise for  unprivileged children, people with special needs. There one

Dance Ability Australia Ltd

This organisation aims to motivate and encourage the lives if children/adults with intellectual or physical disabilities through the form dance and music. They provide a safe environment allowing children and adults to engage in activities. A fun caring environment is offered so the students are able to enjoy themselves. A wide range of dance styles are offered: hip-hop, jazz, line and ballroom dancing.

When I was on their website I was really connected to their idea of "enriching peoples lives through the form of dance". This particular organisation stood out for me as they fundraiser and take donations to help the students for a continual basis this way the students have something to look out for every week rather than a single basis dance ability mainly relies on the source of donations to continue and run the program. Please check their website:

http://danceability.com.au/

By Harika Achanta

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Dancing, my Mistress!

Dancing is one life’s most simple pleasures. Unfortunately, dancing can be really hard for some people. Entertaining creations like Youtube, ‘Funniest Home Video’ TV shows have given viewers the joy of appreciating how hard dancing can be.

It is times like these that people become self-conscious about dancing in public. However, these are the also sort of people who stand at the side of the club looking enviously at those drunk chicks dropping their bums ‘low, low, low’. Thank you Flo-Rida. Clearly, these people are missing out on the fun!

Some just don’t care, like this guy!

(Not on Youtube and embedded code doesn't work, so here's the link) WTF is he listen to

Whether it is confidence or a sheer disregard of public opinion, I wish there were more people like this guy. Recently, I had a friend tell me that a friend of theirs (a neighbour of mine, whom I’ve never met) knows me at the ‘dancing bus stop guy’. Excellent! Maybe.

I have been a hip-hop dancer for the past four years and I will admit I have absolutely annihilated myself on numerous occasions. The first dance style I learnt was Krump dancing where, when practicing, I have swung my arm at full swing into my dresser and head-butted a wall.

When alcohol has been in involved, flaws are magnified, but the show must go on! On my 19th birthday, my celebrations included doing a tequila shot then subsequently slipping across the centre of dance floor when “swagging” over to my friends. Pure class. Needless to say the girls were all over me that night...hmm, oh well.

Finally, one of my friends has managed to tear a roof fan clear out the ceiling during a Krump session, pulling it down to the floor by accident. I love dance. You should to. Come on now, your bus stop awaits...

by Alex Ong

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The Gif of Dance

Since the invention of GIFs (a moving picture composed of many pictures) online humour has taken a whole new format. There is something intriguing and even hypnotic about watching a GIF over and over again. I recently came across a rather mundane article about Gwenyth Paltrow’s mum, the article was composed of 8 GIFs of her dancing at a New year’s Celebration. Taking motivation from this, I am determined to make my GIF article actually funny and interesting.

Whether you dance professionally or just when your drunk, everyone loves a good dance GIF for a little inspiration and lols. While browsing other dance blogs I came across an array of dance GIFs and though why not compile a good list of dance GIFs (I promise no Gwenyth’s mum). So here’s my list of Dance GIFs, Some are crazy, some funny and some really quite lame!

Kicking it off with..

The Classic

Yo, Yo, YO!

For The Harry Potter Fans

For The Charlie's Angels Fans :)

Do The Batman

Touch Ma Body

The Hitler

SMANGIN

Aaaaaand....

The Gwenyth's Mum

Had to show you how boring and lame this was... now picture a whole article full of them!

By Elisa Mullen

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Just Dance 4

As a casual gamer, I have been playing the Just Dance games since it first came out on the Nintendo Wii in 2007. It is a great game to play at parties and social gatherings as it unleashes the true dancer inside of you and brings the family & friends together – seeing that it is suitable for all ages and players do not have to be experienced dancers. I personally have to say, if you get into it like I do, you’ll be able to learn some new moves and eventually becomes a workout HAHAHA.

For the first time, last weekend (20/1/13), I was able to have a hands on experience with Ubisoft’s new installment to the series – Just Dance 4, and boy have they come a long way.

There are a variety of songs available, some of my favourites that include Super Bass by Nicki Minaj, Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera and On the Floor by Jennifer Lopez ft Pitbull. It includes two brand new modes, Battle mode (two players from two various songs will dance beside each other) and Just Sweat mode (enables the player to design tailored workout programs). This is a game you must try out for yourself.

Overall, Just Dance 4 is very addictive and joyful party game that will make produce many smiles, laughs and memories. I rate it a 9/10 – MUST PLAY!!!

By: Niko De Leon

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Dance Your depression away

If your suffering from tension, fatigue and depression, proven results have shown that dance can slowly erase these symptoms. After reading several articles I can confirm that dance is definitely a cure in terms of elevating mood and providing inner peace. Another reason to why dance is considered to be a cure is due to the physical exercise it incorporates. And brisk physical excersie is proven to increase brain biochemicals associated with maintaining a sense of well being.

Research and study: A therapist named Anna Buberg from Orebro University Hospital conducted a study in Sweden. The study included 112 Swedish girls 13 to 19 years of age. these girls were frequent visitors to the school nurse for headaches, depression, anxiety and body pain. 53 girls were in a control group whereby nothing was involved and were just living with the same habits. and 59 girls were randomized into a group that involved regular dancing 2 days a week. From the study the girls from the dancing group had increased in self-esteem compared to the control group. After completing the program, 91 percent of the girls felt there had a positive experience/effect. Although a dance class would be ideal for the potential treatment of depression due to the social interaction involved, you can also use a dance video at home to help relieve your symptoms. Anything that gets you up off the couch and moving should have a positive effect on the symptoms of depression. Choose a dance video with lively, fast paced music to further help elevate your mood. It's important that you dance for at least thirty minutes in order to get maximal, mood elevating benefits. So if your on the down low lately, consider joining a dance class as it would be ideal for the potential treatment of depression or similar symptoms. It involves social interaction. Although you can still watch dance videos to practice. A fast paced or lively dance will definitely elevate your mood. Do anything to get you off the couch/bed, this is the first step into having a positive effect.

By harika

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German Style

Usually when someone says dance, we all think about dancing in a club, at a party or even taking dance classes such as jazz, ballet, hip-hop. But who ever thinks about the good old style traditional dances? I do J. Inspired by a recent trip to Germany, where I went to a traditional German wedding all the way down in the very south of the country - the land of tradition, I thought it would be cool to share with you a bit of traditional German dancing!

Haha, Okay jokes, I wasn’t talking about the drunk beer hall dancing (but that video was pretty funny right?). Here is the real traditional dance, with the leggings, suspenders and all...

While German traditional may look old school, it is actually still used a lot for things such as spring festivals, Oktoberfest activities and weddings. Most German traditional dances revolve around the idea of flirting with the women, so guys if you meet a cute German girl in the pub, you may want to pull out the suspenders and take her for a spin ;)

By Elisa Mullen

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Before Gangnam Style we Party Rocked

As many of you’s are aware of the current song “Gangnam Style” performed by PSY, which has gone viral with it’s famous move of riding the invisible horse, the society used to be influenced by the latest craze “PARTY ROCK”. The song “Party Rock Anthem” performed by LMFAO was released on January 25, 2011 and had reached number one in several countries e.g. Australia, Belgium, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition to the release of this song, it had caused worldwide pandemonium of individuals learning and performing the trendy move the “shuffle” – also known as “the running man”.

Even Will Smith does the shuffle :D

“Party Rock Anthem” and the shuffle had brought many “Party People” to life across all nations, with many broadcasts over the radio, commercials and videos of flash mobs, marching squads and spoofs/parody’s flooding Youtube. With the song having approximately 514 million views on Youtube and counting, it is a song that will never be forgotten. EVERYDAY I’M SHUFFLING!!!

By: Niko De Leon

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What Type Of Dancer Are You?

Ever wondered what style of dance you would be good at? Take this quiz to find out which style you might be best suited to! (P.s. It is just for fun!)

1) Which is your favourite song? a) Singing in the Rain – Gene Kelly

b) Jump Around – House of Pain

c) Skinny Love - Birdy

d) It’s Tricky – Run DMC

e) Get Low – Lil’ Jon

2) What do you like to wear?

a) A Suit

b) Track pants

c) Something small and simple

d) Singlet or a skirt

e) When did I get ketchup on my shirt?

3) What routines do you like learning?

a) Ones to a good beat!

b) Who needs routines? Make it up on the spot!

c) Ones that embody real emotions.

d) Something that gets the crowd going wild!

e) Bro. Nutbush! Omg, shopping cart!

4) When do you dance?

a) Only when I have the right attire.

b) When I’m hanging with my friends.

c) At class after a good stretch.

d) When we want everyone excited!

e) I swear, I’ll get her number after I do this.

5) What are you favourite shoes?

a) Leather

b) Adidas

c) I prefer no shoes

d) Trainers

e) Dude, I can’t find them!

Results:

Mostly A’s – Tap

Mostly B’s – Hip-Hop

Mostly C’s – Contemporary

Mostly D’s – Cheerleading

Mostly E’s – Drunk!

By Alex Ong

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Young Inspiration

The Young kids out there have so much talent and potential and watching them makes me realize how each generation is excelling with talent. While growing up I never had the drive to learn a professional dance style, my mum tried her best to put me into dance school, but she failed. she would go on about how dance would bring inner peace and it would be something i could cherish all my life but being a naughty child I couldn't careless :D. Honestly speaking now I would go back into the years and learn. I have these weird mixed emotions of jealousy, happiness and excitement when i see young kids perform. Lately on YouTube I've been watching dance videos by young kids. I came across a couple of videos that instantly caught my attention.

CHECK IT OUT

I am not sure about the type of dance, but my guess would be a bit of ballet, aerobics and contemporary. These two kids are amazing. Its not just because of the amazing lifts they do, but the body language they share. Even though they are young kinds they have brought in a romantic feel to this dance. And they receive great appraisal for their flexibility and coordination. Seriously these two don't look any older than eight and for them to pull off such a sequence is something to be proud off. This video hit 37 million views and the kids were participating in a dance contest.

Inspiration was what I received from watching this video,One could say it's jsut little kids dancing. But to me it was a symbol of hope and not giving up. I hope to start dancing and evoke a new passion within in me.

I feel dance has no age but to start at an earlier age certainly gives you an advantage. There are many platforms out there for young children to exhibit their talent in. They have so much talent in them and other children need the right opportunity to discover their skill. As parents or just simple viewers we should support them!!!  

By Harika Achanta

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Tap Dogs

Traditionally tap dancing involves rapid feet movement to a classical style music. But the Tap Dogs take tap dancing to a whole new level. The all boy crew originate from Newcastle, a city of the steel industry. Now a global sensation, that Tap-Dogs has influenced the perception of tap dancing world-wide. They currently have their own dance school – Tap Pups  - and travel the world performing their famous 80 minute show in club, bars, theatres and events around the world. In addition the Tap Dogs now have a North American Cast who perform around America. One major point in the Tap Dog’s career life was performing at the 200 Sydney Olympics, where their performance was representative of creating a ‘New Australia’ – of metal and hard work. The performance was raved about and certainly gave great publicity to the group, their school and career. After being on tour for 18 years, the Tap Dogs are still tapping strong. Currently they are doing shows at Jupiter’s Casino in Queensland. Further Plans for 2013 include The American Crew touring North America and South Africa.

By Elisa Mullen

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'The Absolute' - S**t Kingz

S**t Kingz are a Japanese Hip-hop dance group who work with a lot of American artists. The have a clean style of dancing with a focus on angles. This type of focus on angles with personality is characteristically S**t Kingz, who also played with concepts in this piece. Though there were other factors outside of their movements like clothing and concepts that contributed to this piece to make it such a success. Their clothing allowed them to be creative and interesting, with their hats allowing them to add an interesting concept to the routine. Dance by nature compliments the music, so when the hat choreography was mixed with the editing of the music track, it added a unique aspect to their routine. The long sleeves of their coats increased the clarity of their lines, also contributing as part of the atmosphere being created as the choreography went on. The black clothes also let the lighting emphasise movements and add another dynamic to the atmosphere on stage.

Wish I could dance like them! Inspiration indeed!

By Alex Ong

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Contemporary Dance

Last Friday, 11th of January 2013, our group had been celebrating Elisa’s Birthday at the Ubar – drinking and playing pool table. Whilst we had been socializing, we had been talking about ourselves – personal interest, favourite subjects and what we want to do after university. After learning that Alex and Elisa have a passion for dancing, I needed a clarification of what contemporary dance was. Their explanation was nice and short, but they influenced me to blog about it - to give it justice. So here I go…. In general, contemporary dance is a style that displays flexibility, creativeness and versatility of an individual as he/she blends other elements of dance e.g. classical ballet, jazz, lyrical and modern. A contemporary dance routine can be executed as solo or duet and must have numerous dance fundamentals that are to be observed by the audience/judges. These fundamentals range from: movements in the torso, fall and recovery and floor work. A performance is accompanied with music that contains a variety of styles, which enables the performer to incorporate their moves in terms of speed, rhythm and direction. As observed in the video below, the contemporary duet routine portrays Travis Wall's (the choreographer) mother struggles in life and the path that she has taken to overcome them. The song choice was so perfect, performing to "Fix You" by Coldplay, it enabled the duet to capture each moment of the mother's life through the use of the fundamentals stated above. This performance had engaged the audience and viewers online as it was very touching and emotional.

A MUST WATCH!!!

By: Niko De Leon

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Bollywood

So I've been watching a few Bollywood(Indian) movies lately, and I've come across a lot of dance based songs incorporated within the film. Its also known as the foundation for every great Indian Bollywood film. They actually feature some dance forms and create this fusion that's unique.

The dances are a mix of traditional and classical Indian dances with a blend of hip-hop, jazz and modern dance. A key to Bollywood dancing are the expressions and that influences the way the dance is performed. Timing, energy and rhythm are important aspects of Bollywood dancing.

So I thought id do some research and pick two of my favorite forms applied in Bollywood dancing

BHANGRA 

Bhangra is a Punjabi style dance and its the most widespread of Indian folk dances worldwide. Earlier this style was a folk dance conducted by Punjabi's to celebrate the harvest. The dance is based on bhangra musics and beats by the dhol (Instrument). It features heavy arm raising and bouncing feet.

DANDIA 

Dandia is a dance done by using short sticks carried by dancers. they strike the sticks in rhythm  It starts of slowly and builds as it progresses. Its done in garba ( a celebration for navratri). People dance in a circle and rotate dancing with one another and clink their sticks. while they are striking the sticks they also move their feet around similar to skipping and hopping.

Watching dandia and bhangra is fascinating, there is always something new every time I watch a video. I hope to participate in an Indian garba one day and enjoy the experience of dandia. Working your feet while concentrating on the beat of your sticks.

By Harika Achanta

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Brian Puspos - "Wet The Bed"

Brian Puspos’ “Wet The Bed” routine has over 5 million views on youtube. I absolutely love this routine! Puspos in the centre, with the other Movement Lifestyle studio dancers, is the choreographer of this piece. The group is so clean with their movements, very sharp and specific, which is a huge reason why it is so popular. Dancers appreciate the lines, texture of movement and the style, though the untrained eye can love it for the sheer quality of dance. Plenty of the moves were lyrical playing off the words in the song. The levels that the dancers use vary allowing the heights to add a different dynamic to the video. Sharp movements are mixed together with smooth and groove showing creativity and a feeling of unpredictability. Formations also contributed to the complexity yet were somewhat simple, making them easily acceptable to the audience.

Puspos has this innate ability and personality to have all the girls want to see him and all the guys want to be him. I am no exception! In fact, this particular Puspos choreography has inspired me to choreograph a sexy type of piece of my own which I performed with a friend of mine (who I’m in a dance crew with) late last year. Brian Puspos a true performer.

By Alex Ong

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Over the weekend, I had decided to watch Step Up Revolution – Miami Heat as I knew it would relate to our topic of choice - dance. Personally I would rate it a 6/10 as some scenes had been plateau, but the range of dance styles and choreography had made it an amazing movie.

With the movie being set in Miami, Emily (the protagonist) has a fantasy of becoming a skilled dancer, however she is swept off her feet by Sean - the head of a dance crew “The Mob”. As a result, Sean had Emily dancing with The Mob in no time. The Mob had performed several flash mobs all over town to protest and gain reputation/attention so they could win an online contest, whereby a dance video on Youtube with most views wins.

The Mob’s genre of dance range from ballet, break to street. The major genre being hip-pop, as the The Mob’s performances had consisted of the 4 main categories that influence hip-pop. These categories are: dancing, graffiti writing, DJing and rapping.

Overall, the movie is great for any dance enthusiasts or adolescent as it incorporates the latest trends in music and dance and portrays how to use technology to be recognized.

By: Niko De Leon