Final Blog

I enjoyed this class as a whole. I think that this class has allowed me to become a better writer and speaker. I never really enjoyed speaking in front of my classmates. However, this year, I have really enjoyed speaking in front of an audience. I have really enjoyed being able to share my aspirations and what I enjoy to my classmates. I think one of the most challenging thing is not having a lot of information to work with for every project in this class. It was difficult to have to be able to figure out what was being asked of me and my other classmates. I also think that maybe a grading system where we could see all numerical grades would be beneficial for future classes. It is kind of hard to understand why I have the grade I have, because I am not able to look on canvas or myuk to see the grades I have made throughout the whole semester. I think the main thing that surprised me was the fact that I actually have enjoyed speaking in front of my classmates. I also was shocked at how much my writing has improved and also my ability to be able to use pictures and other media types to portray a message I wanted my audience to understand. Overall, I enjoyed the class. I just think a more organized schedule of when and how the projects should progress would be beneficial as well as a more strict grading scale that allows every individual to see his or her grades.

    In the first scene I would like to open my documentary with pictures of dance classes and teachers. Dancing Feet Are Worth the Heat will come across the screen. In the background I will have segments of Abby Lee’s criticism from Dance Moms. Next will be a voice over of me saying, “Is it any wonder with shows like Dance Moms why parents wonder if Competitive dance or sports are worth it?” I would like the tone to be very heavy and mean. I would like the audience to feel shocked and kind of upset about the words Abby Lee is saying. Next, I will have a voice over saying, “During the 1980’s, parents began enrolling students in dance studios for physical fitness, creativity and team building activities for their children after school.  As the number of studios grew, production companies began dance competitions letting regional studios compete dances and win prizes along with bragging rights against each other.  As a result, dance evolved into a competitive sport with judges, trophies and all the aspects of any other youth competitive sport.” I will put up pictures of dance and place words of different styles of dance on the screen while talking about the history of competitive dance.
   For my next few scenes, I would like to talk about the positives of dance. I would like to incorporate a video of me and a group dancing on stage to try and show the audience the feeling of being on stage and performing. 


  I am then going to use this picture to show dancers standing in order at an awards ceremony to show that dancers do not only compete for their studio, they compete within the studio as well. I

will have a voiceover that says “that competition dance allows dancers to compete for better line placement and participation in small groups.” This allows dancers to learn how to work as a team and be okay with winning or losing. I would also like to talk about how competitions have allowed many dancers to become professional dancers all around the world as well as becoming better studio owners in the future.
   The next scene, I am going to use this picture to show the benefits of team work through competitive dance. This picture shows the individual role that each dancer must portray in order to create a cohesive picture to communicate a certain message to the judges and the audience. If every individual in the picture does not portray this message, then the judges and audience will not fully understand what the dance is about. I will have a voiceover with this pictures that says, “Being a competitive dancer allows every child to have a creative side and allows them to portray messages to judges and audiences.” “Dance all together helps children become well rounded mentally and creatively”. I also will talk about how dance allows each individual dancer to feel important and to feel like they are needed on every dance. Dance also gives a child the opportunity to express emotions through dance rather than the difficult way of talking them out. 
   My next scene will be the interview I chose to have with Mrs. Sue. I would like the mood of this interview to be very positive and up-lifting. I would like to talk about how she judges technique and how she feels she makes a good judge as well as what she feels are the benefits of competition dance. I would like to have a picture of Mrs. Sue and then a voice over of our conversation. I am not sure if I will include everything we discussed in the interview, but for the storyboard I put the whole script. I think for timesake, I should only include the most important questions and answers in my actual documentary.  I interviewed Mrs. Sue and this is what was said:

1) How did you get involved in competition dance?

I got divorced and moved to Atlanta and I was offered a job at competition studio.

2) You teach at some competitive and non-competitive studios.  What do you feel competition dance offers students that the recreational studios can not?

More performing opportunities, every child is able to learn all different styles of dance, they learn things a lot faster, and each competitive dancer is open to different teachers and chorographers.

3) As a teacher, what are the benefits of being a competitive studio?

Children learn how to work as a team. They gain discipline. Each dancer is required to learn time management with school and dance. They also are introduced to many travel opportunities that allow them to meet new people and learn different styles of dance all over the world. I also think each dancer learns how to be a great loser as well as a great winner.

4) What have you noticed are the benefits of competing for your students?

It opens doors for contacts, learn how to be a good loser and winner

5) Describe how competition helped one of your past students?

Professional career, on Broadway

6) What are some of the negative aspects of competition for students and teachers?

Drama, obnoxious parents and kids, financial issues

7) Do you think competition dance is worth the money, time and effort?  Why?

Yes, you know where your kids are all the time, keeps them active

8) What do you think makes you a qualified judge?

I have been teaching for 45 years, as well as being exposed to all styles of dance, I have trained with professionals, I have years of experience, I owned two studios, I have been on tv and film, I also have helped run dance companies.

9) In your experience, do competitive dancers have higher self-esteem than non-competitive studios?

No not necessarily, I think certain students do have higher self-esteem.  

10) After attending a competition, what do you say to your students in response to their placement?  

Some days it wasn’t fair, if we got beat we got beat, I would tell them to try harder next time

11) What students do you feel do not benefit from competition dance and why?

Students that don’t love it and don’t give 100% don’t need to be competitive, if student doesn’t want to work as a team they should not be put in competition dance.

12)  What criteria do you use to judge the art of dance?

Technique, choreography, how well the dancer tells a story, emotion, passion

13) If you could change one thing about competition dance, what would it be and why?

Its too much about tricks, not enough about technique. More like ice skating, I think there should be a code of principle

14) What do you tell parents are the benefits of competition dance?

I tell them that their child learns how to be a part of team, they learn how to win, lose, stay active, they eventually gain life-long friends. I also tell them that competition dance opens doors for many opportunities, well-schooled in forms of dance, competitive dance offers more career choices.

15) Looking back over your life, how did competitive dance personally influence who you have become today?

It opened up so many doors for me, I used to be so against competition dance until I worked there. I think I have become a much better teacher and met so many fabulous people. I also think that being a dance teacher has allowed me to become a better mom and grandmother for my children. Dance also has allowed me to travel all over the world and learn so many things. I think that a parent really should look at pros and cons before choosing to allow their kid to become a competitive dancer, but I think it is an amazing opportunity for every child.  

  I think that one of the most important things Mrs. Sue Bernath talked about was that competitive dance teaches children how to become good winners and good losers. Most people looking from the outside of the competitive dance world see competitive dance as just teaching kids to do whatever it takes to win. Later on in my documentary, I will discuss this topic.

I also would like to have an interview with an actual competitive dancer, Caleigh and her mother, Dona. I think the mood of this interview should be positive and make people see a different side to competitive dance then what is shown on television. I would like to talk to Caleigh about how she feels competition has benefitted her with life and why she would recommend competitive dance. I think I would like to ask Caleigh what her favorites parts about competitive dance are and maybe some ways competition dance has changed her life. I also would like to interview her mother to talk about how an actual parent of a competitive dancer feels about competitions and the views she has on the benefits and negatives of competition dance. I think a good question to ask Caleigh’s mom is how she thinks dance has helped Caleigh and if she thinks dance becoming a competitive sport is really a good thing for dancers. I think it would be very beneficial to hear from two sources who are on the inside of the competitive dance world because the know more than the people on the outside. I will use a video of that interview during my documentary.

For my next scene, I would like to introduce one article by the Brookshelf Ballet. I would like to talk about how this article expresses the benefits of competitive dance. The mood I would like to portray in this scene is a positive, uplifting mood. I want people to recognize the many great things about competitive dance. This article expresses that dancers learn life skills such as how to handle stressful situations, as well as team spirit, and increased self-esteem. Dance also allows dancers to find themselves through the movement of dance. Eventually, for some dancers and teachers, dance becomes an escape or a stress reliever. I would also like to express that competition dance allows for connections to the professional field of dance. I would like to have this picture pop up with the quote, “dance enables you to find yourself and lose yourself at the same time”. I think this will help me explain the fact that dance does help students find themselves as people and allow them to express words and feelings that they wouldn’t usually express out loud and/or verbally. I would like to have Sara Bareilles song “Brave” play in the background, because I think this song represents the fact that people can express themselves. The quote above states that dance allows people to find themselves, which the meaning of the song “Brave” is to be able to be comfortable with yourself and basically be yourself.

Unfortunately, all competitive sports have their negatives, and dance is not an exception. In order for me to actually portray the benefits of competitive dance, I thought it would help by stating the negatives of competitive dance. I think that by showing the many positives and the few negatives, it will help my audience realize that competition dance is not a negative thing. As discovered in the article,  ”Paradoxes of power in competitive youth sport: Florida junior tennis”, dance is a lot like youth tennis.   Both sports allow participants to make mind-body-spirit connection and ultimate control of the self, as well as exposure to new people and environments which empowers the athletes. This article expresses the fact that students become so invested in the competition aspect, that they miss out on other aspects of their childhood and their identity becomes wrapped up in or defined by their success in the sport. For this scene, I would like to talk about how children get so involved that it decreases their social abilities and can potentially affect their schooling. I would also like to talk about the financial burden that dance could potentially cause on the families involved. I would like the tone of this scene to be very heavy and negative.

My next scene I will introduce my next secondary source, The article:  Negatives of Competitive Sports. This article points out that if not monitored, the drive to win can soon change to a win-at-all-costs mentality that can lead to attitude problems. The attitude that you must win can encourage cheating and difficulty getting along with others on and off the field or stage.  For this scene, I would like to incorporate a video of Melissa from dance moms getting mad because her daughter did not win at a dance competition. I think this will help with the win at all costs mentality. This video will also help show how dancers become very wrapped up in dance that they will do anything and this causes unnecessary drama. I want this video to show a rougher side to competitive dance. I think people should be able to see that competition dance isn’t perfect and that it does have some rough sides to it.

Therefore, the research indicates that competitive dance instills physical fitness, team work, goal setting, self-expression and improves self-confidence.   However, as with any sport, the level of competition needs to be monitored closely by parents, teachers and judges because it can become a financial burden and lead to win-at-all costs mentality resulting in cheating and reduced social skills with peers.  So has the move from the art form of dance to a competitive sport been a good one for children?  The answer appears to be yes as long as the love of dance and appreciation for the art remains at the center of the hearts and minds of all involved.

For my last scene I would like to close with the line that moving from an art form of dance to a competitive sport has been good move for children. For my ending picture, I would like to use this picture with the quote, “It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer.” I think this quote pulls in my thoughts about the art of dance as well as the sport side of dance. I would like the tone of this last scene to be uplifting and positive. I would like people to walk away from this documentary feeling great and I would like them to fully understand that the benefits of dance are greater than the disadvantages. I would like them to hopefully want to put their children in a few dance classes and maybe even allow their children to become competitive dancers. I would like to end with a song from Meghan Trainor, “Better When I’m Dancin”. This song will be a positive ending to my documentary. It talks about feeling good when you are dancing. I think this song perfectly ends my documentary by talking about benefits of dancing and the upbeat song will make people feel good when they finish watching my documentary.

Work Cited:

·      Bareilles, Sara. "Sara Bareilles - Brave." YouTube. YouTube, 1. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4>.

·      Brooksherk, Natasha. "Competitions Pros & Cons.” Web. 28 Oct. 2015. http://www.brooksherballet.com/competitions-pros-cons/

·      Carey, Courtney R. “Photo 4 Judges and Dancers”.2013.Photograph.

·      Carey, Courtney R. “Photo 1 Line Up Of Awards”.2014.Photograph.

·      Carey, Courtney R. “Photo 3 Mrs. Sue”.2011.Photograph.

·      Carey, Courtney R. “Photo 2 Story of Dance”.2012.Photograph.

·      "DANCE MOMS- Melissa Gets Mad When Chloe Wins the Part." YouTube. YouTube, Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIQ04HP4Bk>.

·      Daya, Malika. A Personal Bucket List.1, 7 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. <http://www.youthareawesome.com/personal-bucket-list/>.

·      Fiers, Jennifer Joy. 2013. Paradoxes of power in competitive youth sport: Florida junior tennis. Ph.D. diss., University of Florida, http://ezproxy.uky.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1520192169?accountid=11836 (accessed October 28, 2015).

·      Huggins, Maurice. "Negatives of Competitive Sports." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 23 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015. http://www.livestrong.com/article/523284-negatives-of-competitive-sports/

·      LaFleur, Shanna. It Takes an Athlete to Dance. Digital image. It Takes an Athlete to Dance. 1. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

·      Trainor, Meghan. "Meghan Trainor - Better When I'm Dancin'" YouTube. YouTube, Web. 16 Nov. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkCyfBibIbI>.

·      Solomon, Jessica. "Facebook Logo." Facebook. 1, Web. 16 Nov. 2015. <https://www.facebook.com/jessica.solomon.9083/videos/t.1530322630/10151753190500424/?type=3&theater>.