A Goodbye

I had a lot of fun this semester following the steps of The Rowan Dance Team. After going to practices and events I can safely say that this is an amazing group of girls truly dedicated to the art of dance. Not only do they love all the forms of dance including jazz, modern, hip/hop, ballet… (the list goes on),  they incorporate them into each dance they perform, making them a unique and inspiring force to be seen.

This is my last post of the semester but I hope that after seeing this site you might be able to get a small glimpse into world of The Rowan Dance Team, the friendships that are born here and the talents that are cultivated..

There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.  – Vicki Baum

To dance is to be out of yourself.  Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.  – Agnes De Mille

Dance till the stars come down from the rafters.
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop. – W.H. Auden

A Special Thanks go out to Brianne Crines and Samantha Caltabiano for all the help they gave me with the website!!

DANCE LOVE

This is a video of practices and pictures of the girls at games, rehersals, parties and just hanging out together.

It is appropriately named : Dance Love <3

When they were young…

Rachel Gogliormella, Courtney Mackey, and Megan MacDonald

Profile: Jessica Donovan

A beautiful girl, with a beautiful talent and soul.

Jessica Donovan, a Rowan University senior has been dancing for 19 years. She started dancing at the age of 2 1/2 at Bright Beginnings dance school and went to Chez Dance at age 3&1/2 and continued to dance at Chez, in Turnersville, for 15 years before coming to Rowan.

It’s tough for Jess to choose which style is her favorite, “I’d have to say one of my favorite styles of dance is Tap because it’s so fun being able to make sounds and rhythms with your feet. I also love hip hop and modern because these two styles are very open to individual interpretation and creativity. I feel that I can express myself the best through these styles.”

She has danced in both Universal and Disney’s MGM and has danced as a part of the Aveners the annual Mummer’s Day Parade in Philadelphia. She was involved in the dance program at Washington Township High School for all 4 years, co-choreographing the Mr. Washington Township show her senior year. During college she went onto join the Rowan University Dance Company for the past 3 years and has been on the Rowan Dance Team since her freshman year.

After college Jess plans to attend grad school for Biomedical Engineering while continuing to dance, of course! “I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t dance anymore. I enjoy it way too much and never ever want to stop! It makes me so so happy and keeps me in shape at the same time!” When she gets stressed out with school work and other things, there is nothing she would rather do thn dance. “I just dance and everything seems to slip my mind for a few moments. I don’t think about anything, I just dance.“

The World of Hip Hop.

The hip-Hop dance is first broken down into combinations, Then each combination is broken down into counts, and each count into movement. In the end all the moves and all the combinations are put together, and the dance is formed. In order to learn Hip-Hop, you must learn step by step how to create combinations, and then put them together into dance.

A combination is a collection of set movements which are performed continuously. Hip-Hop music is broken down into beats. Hip-Hop combination is broken down into 8 beats, we have 8 moves that are built on each one of the beats. You can think of a combination as a sentence in a song, or a short musical section. You can count the beats yourself. The 8th beat is usually the end of a sentence in a song, when you can “feel” a new section of the song is coming up, just like in a chorus.

The combinations really break down the hip hop beat of the song into smaller sections, so that if we put them together a whole dance will be created, like a song.

In the music world, a song is built one sentence after another.
In the dance world, the dance is built one combination after another.

If we “count” the rhythm, attach each count a single move, connect 8 of these, we have a combination- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

So how do we dance a fast dance?
For a fast dance we just double the moves. We count with an “and” between each beat:

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5,….

What do we get? On every eight beats, instead of 8 moves we have 16.

And if we want to slow down the beat we just do one move on more counts, and that lengthens our movements and slows down our rhythm.

Profile: Renee Arochas

Young and talented dancer with a sassy spunk and a love for the classics

Renee has been dancing since she was 2 years old‚ giving her 16 years of experience starting at her aunt’s dance studio Let’s Dance in Old Tappan.

Growing up‚ dance was very important in her life and she developed strong feelings for classic dance. “I love love love ballet,” she says and to her “there’s nothing like a graceful classical ballet.” Renee also has a fond appreciation and love for  jazz/hip-hop, like the dances and cheers they perform at games. The routines and moves give her a sense of joy “They makes me so happy!!”

Renee was on her dance team in high school and she admittedly was thrilled to hear that there was a dance team at Rowan University!  She immediately knew that it was only natural that she try out and of course‚ she was accepted to the team.

She is a freshman at the time and is enjoying her first year on the Rowan Dance Team. After graduation she is excited to experience life and says “The sky’s the limit!! I have soo many ideas about what i want to do, my family will tell you that my plans for the future change like the weather, but my plans always do and always will include living in France” (studying abroad in spring 2011).

The exuberant dancer absolutely plans to keep dancing throughout college and beyond. She is the happiest when she’s dancing, “Its a creative and physical outlet for all the stresses in my life.”

Studio Session: Where they started

View Larger Map

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To Team Captain

Brianne Crines!

Some members of the team were able to help Brianne celebrate her 22nd birthday this past Saturday night.

The girls had a great time and all wish Bri all their love.

Dance & Happiness

After talking to members of the Rowan Dance Team and asking them about what dance means to them in their lives I began to see a pattern:

“I absolutely plan to keep dancing, I am the happiest when I’m dancing” – Renee

“I love to dance. I feel like i can express myself best through that movement because i can use my whole body” – Samantha

“I love dance so much because I get so so so happy when I’m dancing… I almost cant explain it… its like inner bliss!” – Brianne

The girls of the Rowan Dance Team absolutely LOVE dance. It brings a kind of joy that nothing else can replace. Some people go their whole lives looking for something that makes them happy. Luckily‚ not only did these girls find their happy‚ they found a group of girls who share their love for dance.

Season Finale

The Rowan Dance Team is gearing up for the upcoming game this Saturday November the 14th at 1:00. The football team will go up against TCNJ (The College of New Jersey) in the season finale. Currently the team has an overall 6-3-0 record. With a little work they are sure to come out on top this game‚ and have 7 wins this season.

GO PROFS!!