"I love to move people through the art of movement" - Instructor Emilio from Abby Bella

At Abby Bella, we believe everyone has a voice... We open our blog to anyone who wants to be part of it.. Emilio, an instructor for us has written this post... Enjoy!

What instructor would you like to hear from next? 

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Many people often wonder why I chose dance as a career. When I was a child I had my first school recital as a kindergarten and fell in love with performance. During one of my sister’s birthday parties, as the teenagers were dancing on the dance floor, I jumped in and started busting a move just so I could experience the thrill of having people watch me.

My freshman year in High School I decided to enter a talent show as a dancer, mind you, without any training or knowledge that there was actual training available. LOL... I didn't win. In my junior year in high school when I needed to attain a certain amount of PE credits in order to graduate, my advisor told me I could take Dance class as it counted as a PE class. The first week I took class, I wanted to quit because I was the only boy. My teacher Susan Brady, told me to stick with it, that I had a natural predisposition. After a month I was hooked and I have been dancing ever since.

Dance has taken me in many places and will take me many places yet to come. I currently work with a modern company, Center Dance Ensemble in Phoenix. We rehearse and perform for the better part of the year at The Herberger Theater in Downtown Phoenix.  I also co-star in a show called STRUT that showcases male talent in the valley including to but not limited to dancing, singing, and acting. I gogo dance and strip at different clubs in the valley.

In addition, I do self contracted work with event coordinators where I find dancers and choreograph pieces for various types of events in a variety of venues. I teach classes at Abby Bella on a weekly basis and I LOVE to move people through the art of movement.

Fashion meets dance in these summer styles

As television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars bring the art form to the mainstream, a revival of dance-inspired fashion is hitting the runways and streets.

Dance and fashion are about aesthetically celebrating the human form or molding it into an ideal of beauty and grace. There isn't much difference between sky-high stilettos and block-toed pointe shoes.

In spring ready-to-wear collections, 3.1 Phillip Lim sent models wearing palettes of pink, nude and white down the runway with tightly wound buns, while Diane Von Furstenberg's plissé wrap gowns echoed ballerina skirts caught mid-pirouette. Marc Jacobs drew heavily from the muscle-warming layers dancers don before classes and performances, evoking grace and movement if not tutus and pink slippers.

Beyond New York City, Milan and Paris, the exercise-inspired, body-conscious trend popularized by spandex mecca American Apparel is back in the spotlight, joined by knitted fabrics, shrugs and leggings tempered to skew a bit more Olivier Theyskens than Olivia Newton-John.

Hayley Cushman, owner of the eponymous, budget-friendly Hayley's boutique in Raleigh, has also seen ballerina-esque wrap dresses, off the shoulder necklines and one-piece rompers gain popularity locally. Cushman, who eschews denim in the summer in favor of bright prints on lightweight fabrics, has an easy formula for stocking the shelves of her Five Points store: "I just buy what I like," she said.

Virginia Cromwell, an intern for Durham's summer-long American Dance Festival and a dance major at Cornell University, has a similarly simple fashion philosophy when it comes to her clothing choices in and out of dance class.

"Most any trend you see in dance comes out of necessity, and as a dancer I feel like my relationship with fashion is different," Cromwell said. "For example, I received a lot of compliments on a pair of dance pants I had to tie at the ankles because they were so long, and I've just kept them that way."

Alyssa Schoeneman, also an ADF intern, notes that the knee socks, biker shorts, headbands and neon colors she often sees in dance class can be as much of an expression of individuality as comfort.

"In some dance styles, like hip-hop, it's as much about the clothes you're wearing as the movements you're doing," Schoeneman said. "For me personally, it's all layers, all the time."

Both Cromwell (who, when asked which ADF performances she's most excited about, gushed "All of them!" before begrudgingly naming Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and H. Art Chaos) and Schoeneman are busy this summer promoting performances by Pilobolus, Shen Wei Dance Arts and the Mark Morris Dance Group, leaving them little time to explore the Triangle's shopping scene.

So we brought the clothes to them near their offices at Duke University's East Campus, where hundreds of modern dance students have taken up residence for the summer. Along with fellow ADF staffers and dancers Nicolle Wasserman and Jennifer Antonosanti, Cromwell and Shoeneman took dance-inspired, summery clothes from Triangle boutiques and designers for a twirl.

Assistance on fashion shoots: Belem Destefani. Location: The Ark on Duke University's East Campus
Thanks to IndyWeek for letting us use their blog post!

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2706629/the-world-according-to-abby-bella?claim=p68g6d64czy

Dancing as Therapy

Another great post from the CEO of Abby Bella Dance Studio.
Teresa's blog: Dancing Queen AZ

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“I hope if given the chance to sit it out or dance, you dance…”

Many dancers come to dance at the studio when they are going through a difficult time or life transition. I have watched amazing transformations in women of all ages. I originally opened the studio  for “Women of a Certain Age” but I was surprised to find many different groups of men and women attending classes. One group that I didn’t expect was the young women and men who had danced in their youth and didn’t want to dance in children’s studios and now had no place to dance. I see them especially in the late night and technique, especially hip hop, classes.

The studio often feels like a therapy session with women and men, students, teachers and staff talking, laughing and dancing. Most of the classes require mind-body coordination leaving little room in the brain for sadness or pain. Dancing is truly transforming.

I saw this transformation first-hand when I witnessed the Dancing Classrooms culminating event at Lodestar at the Human Services Campus for the homeless near downtown Phoenix where homeless individuals learned ballroom dancing. The program, designed for children in elementary school, was adapted for use in this homeless program with great success. The instructors said that they encounter frequent emotional responses from the participants as they grow and become more confident as they learn the five ballroom styles of dance. After twenty classes over a ten week period the participants dress in their (or donated) finest and put on a show. I was privileged to attend the performance with Pierre Dulaine, who founded Dancing Classrooms in New York City and was immediately hooked.

Ballroom Dancing Program for Homeless at Lodestar Day Resource Center




Lodestar Ballroom Dance
Our Ballroom dance program is a pilot program developed in conjunction with Dancing Classrooms based in New York.  The first program developed by Pierre DuLane focused on inner city children.  This dance program is the first of it’s kind in the U.S. and we have seen tremendous results in a short amount of time.  Partner dance develops commitment and follow through,  helps reduce depression and stress, allows for self-expression and creativity, helps people how to learn again, develops communication skills, increases vitality and confidence and allows people to experience joy.  More about Dancing Classrooms  -> http://dancingclassrooms.org/

Belly Dance as Therapy
How does belly dance help healing the mind? Women (of all ages, shapes and sizes) have found that belly dancing is a genuinely useful way of improving ones creativity, femininity and self-esteem. Belly dancing can also play a role in releasing ones emotional health and many belly dancers have found that belly dance acts as therapy for them in helping them to deal with:

-Breast cancer surgery
-Bulimia
-Rape and/or sexual abuse
& various other conditions

We see people in various stages of life, sometimes broken, lonely, sad, unemployed, or going through mid (or any stage) life crises looking for a way to feel better. Dance Therapy focuses on body movement to music and, for me, nothing makes me feel better than that.

“I hope if given the chance to sit it out or dance, you dance…”

Thank you again Teresa, always so inspiring to read your posts.

When you guys are going through a hard time, what helps you get through it? Have you tried dancing to help?

Do you remember your first dance class? - A post from the wonderful Teresa!

Teresa is the CEO of the Arizona based, Abby Bella Dance Studio where the inspiration for this blog came from.  This post is taken from her blog, Dancing Queen AZ. She is an inspiring, wonderful women who we not only work for, but is also our friend. We are looking forward to sharing more from her, with you.

Do you remember your first dance class?

I found this photo today and a rush of memories came to me. I remember what it felt like to have on that tutu and OH HOW I WANTED TO BE A DANCER!  Soon after this picture was taken I had to quit dance classes and I was left with a void in my life that is now being fulfilled. I love being around dance and dancers (sometimes crazy but always fun).

I love to see the dancers who teach at Abby Bella perform. These past two weeks were packed with performances. Last weekend was the Epik Dance Company show – Common Ground and I was totally blown away by the talent of all the performers. Both Weezy and Adrian had leading roles in the show and, although I had seen them dance in class, this was vastly different. I had seen them both do hip hop and Adrian teach Zumba, but the beauty and grace I saw in this performance was amazing.

Then on Saturday this week, I saw Favorites by Center Dance Ensemble. Again I saw Abby Bella Dance instructors dance and thought to myself, “How did I get so lucky to be associated with all these talented dancers?” Amber actually brought me to tears when she first came on stage, she is just beautiful to watch. And Alan, the witch boy! Wow! His performance was mesmerizing – he cast a spell over the audience. I had seen Emilio dance numerous times and he never fails to amaze me with his style and flair.

I love my job and feel very lucky to have the chance, not only to see these performances, but to know the performers and work with them on a daily basis.

- Thank you for sharing Teresa!

What do you guys love about your job? Do you remember your first dance class? Did you have a void in your life that is now filled? Please share your thoughts, and remember... be yourself!

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