Misty Copeland

Due to the fact that Misty Copeland is coming to the area soon with the American Ballet Theater, in a performance of The Sleeping Beauty, I thought I would dedicate a blog post to her. 

Misty Copeland is actually one of my favorite dancers and a real inspiration to me. She started dancing very late in the world of dance at the age of 13. In her book "Life in Motion" you will see that the journey to earning her position as soloist with the American Ballet Theater was not an easy one, but she had the drive to push through and achieve her dream. 

She is an inspiration to me for that reason. Much like her I too started dancing very late, but I have not let that hold me back. She just proves that if you have a passion and a dream for something you can achieve it. This ideal doesn't just apply to dance either. If you have a passion, go after it.

On a side note, Copeland has not only had feats in the ballet world. Like I mentioned early she has written a book, which I highly recommend, appeared in commercials like Dr. Pepper and did a campaign with Under Armour.



Below I have placed a few of her performances.
Enjoy. :) 

Misty Copeland in The Nutcracker

Misty Copeland at age 15 performing 

a variation from Don Quixote.

Her ad campaign with Under Armour.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

What is the best way for a dancer to prepare for the RAD exams?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

The best way for a dancer to prepare for their RAD exams is to know the assigned syllabus and vocabulary well.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

The best way for a dancer to prepare for the RAD exams is to train in multiple genres of dance in order to add your own personal style to the set exercises.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

1. During an exam an examiner looks for fluidity and facial expressions, while performing other genres of dance you learn different facial expressions and movement fluidity that could be applied to your exam work.
2. When learning different genres of dance, they each have their own “personality” if you will, that might fit you better that you can add to your syllabus work.
3. Taking different genres of dance can also help increase flexibility and turn out, which can help your exam work a lot.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

Life in Motion By: Misty Copeland

Copeland, Misty, and Charisse Jones. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. New York: Touchstone Book, Published by Simon & Schuster, 2014: 23-28. Print. 14 Nov. 2014.

A Little of This  By: Karen White

White, Karen. "A Little of This." Pointe June-July 2008: 45-46. Print.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

Dance Styles in Alice and Wonderland (Video) By: Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House. "Dance Styles in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - The Royal Ballet." YouTube. YouTube, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.

First Position (Video)

First Position. Dir. Bess Kargman. Perf. Aran Bell, Miko Fogarty, Jules Fogarty, Michaela Deprince, Joan Sebastian Zamora. 2011. DVD.

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.

Having your own personal style in dance is very important. It not only makes the movement appear more smoother and qualitative, but it also separates you from a crowd of dancers.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I plan on using the dance team to further my research for my second answer of my EQ, which is that dancers should find their own style.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will be taking class with the dance team, choreographing dances and performing.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

While dancing with different people you start to develop a certain style by taking a certain style from other people you dance with.

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
• (a) Write: “I, Cheyenne Jarman, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 41 hours and 30 minutes of work.”
• (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
• These two books helped me through my independent component.

The Royal Academy of Dance. Vocational Graded Examinations in Dance. Female Syllabus. London: Royal Academy of Dance, 2003. Print. Intermediate Ballet.

The Royal Academy of Dance. Graded Examinations in Dance and Presentation Classes: Set Exercises, Studies and Dances. London: Published by Royal Academy of Dance Enterprises for Royal Academy of Dance, 2008. Print. Grade 6.

• (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.
• (d) Explain what you completed.

I completed more mentorship hours and am learning more on my topic and getting closer to finding my best EQ answer.    

• INTERPRETIVE
• Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  

My place of mentorship.

What my dance studio looks like prepped for exams.

My dance studio in the Covina Parade.

• APPLIED
• How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this.

Since my component was more mentorship I found that I was constantly learning new ways to memorize movements, perform them, learning new movements and getting closer to my best answer for my essential question. When going to my mentorship on Wednesday, my classmates and I have an open class. An open class is when the choreography of everything is taught on the spot, forcing you to memorize the exercise and perform it well. In an open class the teacher usually teaches us at least one new movement per class to challenge us and expand our movement vocabulary. At mentorship I also am taught a Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, so I need to be able to memorize the movements and perform them properly. My mentor will provide me with corrections on my technique to ensure that I am performing to the best of my abilities. For example, in the Intermediate syllabus, the adage has quite challenging music to count, so my mentor just had me and my classmates just listen to the music a couple of times and count it out loud with her to make sure we knew what the counts were. She then had has roughly perform the exercises or mark through the exercise to make sure our arm placements were correct and that we were on the right track with the movements and music. She lastly had us perform the exercise full out and made minor adjustments to our movements, but no major corrections.