This year marks the 27th Anniversary for National Dance Week, which was founded in 1981 with the mission to encourage the growth and development of Dance in America by raising the public consciousness to the values, importance and contributions of Dance to our daily lives and culture.
Here are a few NDW events that are happening in our neck of the woods.

Kirkland, WA
April 25 - April 26
Voyage to the Dance in Honor of National
Dance Week - Dance Voyage Studio; Contact - Lubov Yeremin
phone: 425 820 8939; email: info@dancevoyagestudio.com
http://www.dancevoyagestudio.com

Everett
Saturday, May 3, 2008
DANCE, DANCE, DANCE FOR NATIONAL DANCE WEEK - An Afternoon of
Dance - sponsored by Reflections School of Dance; Contact - Len
& Debbie Wiens; 13823 Seattle Hill Rd., Snohomish, WA. 98296
phone: 425-338-9056
website: http://www.reflectionsschoolofdance.com
Free event being held at
Everett PUD Auditorium
2320 California St
Everett, WA 98201.
Featured performers to include Cerulean Dance Company, Jr.
Performance Teams from Reflections School of Dance. Other
Special Guest artists from the area will also be appearing.

Spokane
April 26 - DanceFest for National Dance Week in Spokane 2008 -
sponsored by Inland Northwest Dance Association -
features all styles of dance and encourages participation with
people of all ages, cultures and abilities to appreciate dance
as wee as heightening the visibility of dance and the arts while
building a sense of community. Event Activities: Dance Showcase
featuring dancers of all ages, cultures & abilities: Health
Fair; Art Gallery; Arts & Crafts; Vendor Booths; Silent Auction;
Social & Kids Dance Area for public participation in learning to
dance. Contact - Isabelle M. Cook
4120 S. Sullivan Rd. Veradale, Wa. 99037
phone: 509-927-0972; fax: 509-927-9937;
email: isabelle@isabellesdancetime.com
website: http://www.indaspokane.org

Click here to learn more about National Dance Week.http://nationaldanceweek.org

Middle East Arts International (MEAI) is a nonprofit arts organization based in Seattle, whose mission is to promote excellence in Middle East inspired music and dance. It takes a staggering amount of time, energy, and money to produce the high-quality theatric events with internationally recognized instructors and performers that MEAI is committed to presenting, and so to raise money for future events, MEAI is organizing its first Shimmython! The prizes have been finalized:
Title: Shimmy Queen - the participant that holds out the longest!
We’re all-inclusive so we can certainly adjust the title to Shimmy King if needed.
Title: Jewel Award - the participant that collects the highest total of pledges.
the two title winners will receive:
* a certificate worth up to $100 (depending on the total number of participants - minimum of $30) good toward any MEAI workshop, show, merchandise, etc.
* mention on our website and in our show program
* an invitation to the after party for our october theater show
* bragging rights! admiration! and our eternal thanks!
in addition:
any participant who brings in $500 or more in donations will receive:
* a COMPLETE SHOW AND WORKSHOP PACKAGE for yousry sharif in october
* mention on our website
* listing in our show programs for the next year under the diamond sponsorship level
* our undying gratitude
and -
All participants will receive a 10% off coupon for any MEAI event or purchase.
Complete details and registration forms are at the MEAI website
http://www.middleeastarts.org/shimmython_information.html
ANYBODY CAN PARTICIPATE! We just ask that you raise a minimum of $40 (which you can solicit from friends, family and colleagues OR donate yourself).

Souk 2008 1-4PM
Bitter Lake Community Center
13035 Linden Ave N
Seattle, WA 98133

For more information contact elisagamal @ gmail.com

I was recently informed about a website that I thought might be a great resource for the dance community. The site is www.WonderHowTo.com, and it was launched by Stephen Chao, who rose to success as an executive and programmer at Fox Television. Competing against numerous other how-to video websites, WonderHowTo.com stands out by holding over 100,000 community-submitted links and reviews of how-to video from across the Internet.

On dance alone, WonderHowTo.com has around 500 videos, ranging from learning choreographed moves ( How to Dance the Choreograph from Ciara’s 1-2 Step Video) to specific performance skills ( How To Perform Pirouettes in Jazz Dance) to even the exotic niche categories (How to do the Back Hook Spin when Pole Dancing).

Enjoy!

Lisa Howell, author of The Perfect Pointe book, has written a companion manual for parents, and amazingly enough, she is
offering it to the world free of charge!

Here is what one parent has to say about it:

“Dear Lisa,

Thank you so very much for producing a wonderful tool for dancer and parents from your many years of working with dance students. Your insights and advice have proved to be invaluable to our family. Our teenage daughter has, more recently, been struggling with the many frustrations of ongoing injury coupled with the expectations of her dance school and the academic expectations of her parents. Your manual has proven to be, not only a fantastic resource, but an ally for me in bringing up the difficult subjects; Subjects such as the immense value of good nutrition & the struggle with not always being able to be perfect. Your manual has clearly and concisely explained how nutrition is so vital in the recovery of ongoing injury and given us guidelines to follow.

Reading “The Perfect Pointe Parents Manual” has also given me a valuable insight into the issues faced by all dancers that I had not considered. This again has enabled me to be conscious of the struggles young dancers face and has enabled both my daughter and I to have extremely proactive discussions. We are following a different pattern whereby we can discuss & resolve existing issues and be aware of others resulting in a harmonious outcome.”
(S.M)

Click here for your free copy.

For more information about the Perfect Pointe Book, click here.

“I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what it too deep to find for words.”

~Ruth St. Denis~

Dance schools are starting up again, and that means that a lot of dancers are going to be starting pointe for the first time. Along with this rite of passage in a young ballet dancer’s life comes the responsibility of caring for the pointe shoes. Not only will proper care prolong the life of the shoes, but the following tips will also lead to an overall more enjoyable pointe shoe experience.
• Always remove padding from shoes after wear. Otherwise the pads will prevent the shoes from drying out completely, and the pads will start to get stinky.
• Moisture breaks down traditional pointe shoes, especially shoes made with the English paste like Freeds and Gambas. Therefore is important to thoroughly air-dry the shoes before wearing them again. For example, Freed recommends a full 24 hours of drying after 1 hour of wear. Grishko recommends 3 days of drying.
• In addition to air-drying, it is good to loosely pack the box with dry paper towel so that the shoe retains its shape while drying.
• Shoes made of synthetic materials like Gaynor Mindens are not susceptible to breaking down due to moisture; however, moisture can still cause unpleasant odor in the shoes, so air-drying is a good idea with these shoes as well.
• Mesh bags are a great way of air-drying the shoes. These are available at Centerstage.
• Do not break in the shoes in any manner other than per your pointe teacher’s instructions.
• Stepping on pointe shoes, slamming them in doors, hitting them with hammers, etc. will dramatically shorten your shoes’ lifespan. Slow, controlled manipulation is a more effective way of breaking in your shoes.

Are you interested in working at a place where everyone is passionate about dance? Want to learn about the latest trends in dancewear before they hit the stores? Then maybe Centerstage is where you want to be.
We are looking for someone to fill either a full-time or part-time position (mornings 10AM-2PM). The position involves helping customers, answering the phones, processing orders, receiving merchandise and restocking shelves.
Some experience dancing on pointe is a must, and previous retail experience is a plus but not necessary.
Please contact Tina at centerstagedance (at) qwest (dot) net.

PNB has changed their dress code this year, and they are now requiring Mirella leotards in various colors and styles. Because this news came to us rather late, we have been trying our best to stock up on what PNB students will need for the fall. Overall, the availability has been pretty good, except for the Spruce leotards in the Pre-Teen, Adult Petite and Adult Small sizes. Unfortunately, these leotards will not be available until November. We have pleaded with Bloch, who owns Mirella, and various people at PNB have also pleaded with Bloch, but it just doesn’t sound like the production on these leotards can be accelerated. We spoke with Jody at PNB to see if we could come up with a Plan B because we understand that people don’t feel comfortable going to class without the proper attire. We did a color comparison and found that Reflextions hunter green is very similar to the Mirella Spruce. Although Reflextion’s short-sleeve leotard doesn’t have the same seaming as the Mirella 515 style, Jody mentioned that this would be an acceptable leotard for those who need the Spruce in the sizes that are on backorder.

July hosts a great tradition for the bellydance community here in Seattle, and this year it will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Babylonian Ensemble presents the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival–or MedFest as it is lovingly called by its devotees. The festival features two solid days of bellydance performance, an outdoor market (Centerstage will be there) with all things bellydance and more, Middle Eastern cuisine and bellydance workshops. This outdoor festival is free and open to the public, and it makes for great family fun!

Mediterranean Fantasy Festival 20th annual
July 21 & 22, 2007
Hiawatha Community Center
West Seattle, WA

To check out the dancer line-up and for more information in general, visit the Babylonian Ensemble website.

A question we get all the time when we fit pointe shoes is how long will the pointe shoes last. Well, the answer to that question varies wildly because there are a variety of factors that affect the lifespan of a pointe shoe. One unchangeable fact is that traditional pointe shoes are meant to break down. That is how they work. We recently looked into just how long pointe shoes are meant to last and were surprised to find out just how short the lifespan actually is. Freed of London says their pointe shoes are meant to last 6-8 dance hours, while Grishko says theirs last 8-10. Obviously the more the shoes are used, the more quickly they will break down, but the lifespan is also affected by the way the shoes are broken in, the strength of a dancer’s foot, and very importantly, the way the shoes are cared for.
Breaking in pointe shoes is a personal thing. Most professional dancers have their own way of breaking in their shoes, and some resort to extreme measures, which should not be copied by beginning or intermediate dancers. One thing to remember is that professional dancers are not paying for their shoes and don’t need to worry quite so much about making them last as long as possible.
Most companies recommend breaking in their shoes by gently using them at the barre. One thing that is uniform is that the break in process should be gentle. No slamming pointe shoes in doorjams, driving over them, clobbering them with a hammer, etc. Doing these things is a guaranteed way of killing your shoes. In our YouTube Fun category, we have a video by Lisa Howell on the break-in process. You can find it here. Keep in mind, that everyone is different, so this might not be necessary for everyone. Always be sure to have your teacher help you with the break in process.
As a dancer advances on pointe, she will start to go through shoes more quickly. There are some things that can be done to help prolong a pointe shoe’s life. This process often goes along with the initial breaking in of the shoes. Jet Glue is often used on the inside of the box to help keep the box strong. Freed recommends darning the platform of the box to help reinforce it and to aide with stability for pirouettes. Cutting the shank at the 3/4 mark (just under the heel) is another thing that can help keep the shank from breaking down as quickly by taking off unnecessary pressure on the entire shank. (This works very similarly to Lisa Howell’s break-in method). There are even more tricks that people use. If you have any that you would like to share, feel free to send in your pointe shoe tips!
Lastly, we want to discuss pointe shoe care. Whether you know it or not, feet sweat a lot - up to a pint of moisture a day. Moisture breaks down the glue in pointe shoes, so it is exceedingly important to let the shoes completely dry out in between classes. Some manufacturers even recommend letting the shoes dry up to 3 days in between uses. In order for the shoes to dry out properly, take them out of your dance bag and be sure to take out all padding such as Ouch Pouches in the shoes. (Storing your pointe shoes in a mesh bag is perfectly fine). In order for the shoes to maintain their shape, loosely tuck paper towel inside the box. If you have pointe class several times a week and are concerned about whether your pointe shoes are able to dry out completely between uses, you might consider buying two pair at a time and alternating pairs between uses. While this presents a greater upfront cost, this will help your shoes last longer and save you money in the long run.
With the many variables affecting pointe shoe life, it is ultimately very hard to predict how long a pair of shoes will last. Some students have reported having their shoes last for an entire year, and some some have said that their shoes broke down in a day. In any case, breaking in your shoes properly and treating them well will help you get as much dancing out of them as possible.