MarisaGrossbergHawkenProject2022

Growing up, I've always had a persistent thought in the back of my mind about what I want to do with my life, and I've always known deep down that I wanted to be a choreographer. What better way to get a glimpse into the future than to work as an intern at my dance studio? This way, I'll be able to see if this is how I want my future to be. In addition, due to the pandemic, my dance teacher has lost a lot of her staff, and I knew she truly needed the extra support. Going into this project, I had a few objectives in mind, including acquiring real-world experience, building relationships, lending a helping hand, and learning a valuable lesson. In the end, I believe I was successful in achieving all of my aspirations. First, I was able to put my abilities and talents to good use by assisting in the creation of combos for dancers of all ages. I was able to teach what I understood as a result of my dance education, making the dances appropriate but challenging for each age group...

Only a few days remain until tech rehearsal and the first recital performance on Saturday, and further recital preparation took place on Wednesday and Thursday. Michelle assigned me to work on the dress rehearsal change areas for all dancers. Backstage 1, backstage 2, auditorium center, auditorium front right, auditorium back left, and auditorium back right are the different types of changing spaces. Backstage 1 and 2 are made up of older dancers that have a variety of dances and have a lot of quick changes. The front right and left sections of the auditorium are made up of younger dancers under the age of eight who aren't in many dances and only have dances at the beginning of the recital. Adult classes are held in the Auditorium Center. Back left and right in the auditorium are dancers beyond the age of ten who aren't in as many dances and don't have fast changes. These arrangements are established in this manner to ensure that dancers are separated by age, number of danc...

This is the last week of classes before the recital on June 4 and 5. It's game time. Monday and Tuesday consisted of tech rehearsal preparation. We're doing a picture pose slideshow for tech rehearsal, so on Monday, I gathered all of the final pictures and assisted some of the other teachers with their picture poses. In addition, I assisted my friend Claire Li (who is also doing her project at the studio) make up a more advanced combo for our Monday contemporary class, which was a lot of fun. The video is linked here . Finally, all teachers and staff members at the recital are given clipboards to ensure that the show proceeds smoothly. I assembled the clipboards with dress rehearsal backstage directions, show 1 backstage directions, show 2 backstage directions, fast change sheets for the dancers it applies to, and to-do lists. I had to prepare clipboards for eight teachers, the lighting crew, the music crew, the dressing rooms, and extras just in case.  On Tuesday, I began putt...

I spent this past week helping the teachers with classes and other small tasks around the studio. On Wednesday, I offered to help with some additional cleaning at the studio. Because the kids frequently place their hands on mirrors, leaving handprints, I thoroughly cleaned all of the mirrors, making sure to remove any handprints. In addition, we had marks of tape down from the pandemic that required dancers to stand six feet apart, so I began removing the tape. Because the tape was two years old, I had to apply Goo Gone, which left the floors extremely sticky and slippery.  I assisted some classes on Thursday. I started my day with Michelle's jazz red class, which includes dancers aged 10 to 11. To avoid injury, I began by stretching the kids thoroughly with their regular stretch routine, making sure that all of the dancers felt loose and flexible. Then I gave them some across-the-floor combos. They began by doing a kick combo that included two front kicks and two side kicks i...

Yesterday and today, I spent more time preparing for the recital (show), and I was able to put my creativity and design abilities to good use. This year's recital theme is Monopoly, and my mentor Nina asked that I prepare slides to be projected at the recital. Each slide includes the title of the dance, the choreographer, the full names of each of the dancers, and a monopoly card from the game that corresponds to that dance. I had to do this for each dance in each show, copying the recital program word for word. First, I listed the dance's title, "Missed," as well as the choreographer, Emily Ragland (for the one pictured below). Then I alphabetized each of the dancers' names and placed a picture of a chance card on the monopoly game board that corresponded to this dance. I edited the photographs' saturation, contrast, and brightness to make the colors pop on the projector from the perspective of an audience in a large auditorium. Income tax, go to jail, and GO...

Today was spent preparing for the recital and learning from the teachers. Nina, an instructor at the studio, took me into her jazz class for kids ages 10 to 12. She told me that today would be a learning day for how she runs the class, but that I would have to teach the class the following week and the week after that. Nina demonstrated how they begin class by stretching and doing across-the-floor combos. She also emphasized that they need to run their recital dance a few times and begin cleaning so that it is in good shape.  This age group of dancers is particularly challenging since they often talk with each other. They don't seem to pay attention to the teacher, but Nina has a lot of patience with them, and I want to learn from her.  I believe that teaching this class for two weeks will be difficult since I am a quiet person who may find it difficult to get the kids to listen to me. Also, unlike Nina, my patience can be tested at times, so I need to use the tactics I've lea...

The first day of my project was today, and I arrived at the studio at 3:30 p.m. Michelle (the studio's owner) ran down a quick list of tasks that needed to be completed today, and we all got right to work. She first gave me the task of teaching a combo to the mini team, a group of kids ages five to seven years old. I made up a quick combo to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling," and the kids loved it! It was a lot of fun to teach a group of young kids who were so enthusiastic about learning. I could tell that the younger dancers look up to the older dancers in just one class session, and it made me really happy. A video of the combo is linked here . Michelle has had a plan in place to fix the sound issues in the three rooms, so she will have to select soundproof artwork to hang on the walls to absorb the loud music. Michelle asked me to choose ten different abstract dancer-themed pieces of art. These must be clear and able to be blown up in order to be hun...

When I'm not at school, I basically spend every minute of every day at my dance studio. It is an integral part of my life and identity, and I am certain that dance will play a role in my future, whether as a business owner or as a choreographer. So, why not discover more about what goes on behind the scenes at a dance studio?  I'm 17 years old, and I've been dancing at Dance Studio M since I was three years old. I grew up at the studio, and Michelle Sileo, the owner, has watched me change so much over time. Michelle has always been there for me, from my happiest memories to my darkest moments; the studio is my happy place. I've been a part of the studio ever since the beginning, and I've seen the business develop alongside it.  I've been offered an opportunity to work with some of the teachers at my studio, and I'm excited to take advantage of it. As I said before, I am interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes in addition to choreogra...