Troupe

This semester was rough and winter break is much needed. Not only was I busy with school work, but I had rehearsals almost every night since August. I am a captain of the dance team at Manhattanville: Dance Troupe.

I have been on the team since freshman year and was appointed captain my Junior year. It was an honor to be appointed that title and I have had a blast this year. My team consists of 12 girls. We compete in competitions and dance at school events and sports games. Last year, we competed at 2 competitions. At one competition, we left with a first and third place trophy. At the second competition we left with two first place trophies and a bid for nationals. I was also offered a job with the NDA (National Dance Association) based on my performance at the competition.


Not only do we dance, but starting this year we have branched out into hosting our own events. We hosted a Sadie Hawkins in October that was a huge success! President Burman attended along with so many other students! We had a dj, fancy lights and refreshments. Everyone looked classy and danced the night away.


I am so proud of my team and would not trade them for anything. We have the best times and work so well together.

Malcolm X

“Policies change, and programs change, according to time. But objective never changes. You might change your method of achieving the objective, but the objective never changes. Our objective is complete freedom, complete justice, complete equality, by any means necessary.” This was a direct quote from Malcolm X himself in a speech given on December 20, 1964.

With these deeps words, it is easy to see how strong of a man Malcolm was. Malcolm realized that there are differences between people anywhere you go, but for you to be able to make a difference is something you have to work hard at. With the upbringing of Marcus Garvey’s ideas and the different world views Malcolm was exposed to through his mother, he had somewhat of a large sense of problems that occur in the world.

Malcolm X has always been a man of deep, passionate feelings, and strong words. There is no mystery when it comes to his views and goals for his African American brothers and sisters. Malcolm was determined to give his people the rights and lives they were entitled to have. While his people were being deprived of their lives, why give any enthusiasm to any other culture? Malcolm realized that there were many other problems in other cultures and races in the world, but that it was their own duty to take care of them. His relevance for non African Americans was as strong as his relevance for African Americans. As much passion he had for African Americans, he felt just as strong about having no respect for the “white” society.

Design for Obama

This semester I was enrolled in Computer Graphics I with Professor Frank. In this class I learned how to work with Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator and QuarkXPress. It is great to have the skill of working with these different types of software. During one of our classes, my professor showed us a website called Design For Obama.

It is a website composed of graphic designed posters regarding Barrack Obama. I thought it would be neat to share them on this blog. Anyone can submit a design, it just has to be approved by the organization. Here are a couple of my favorites among the selections:









My professor said that we have all the knowledge and skill to be able to make a poster like any of the ones presented on the website. When I have more time, I was interested in trying to create one. I think it would be really fun. I love the computer graphics class, it is just a lot of work and is very time consuming.

5 Friends Uncensored

This video was sent to me from a professor of mine in the Dance and Theatre Department. I fell in love with the fact that all these celebrities came together to send out this strong message. As sad as it may seem, I believe celebs like Usher or Leonardo DiCaprio may have gotten through to people my age with the message better than anyone in politics now. Many people my age do not fully understand the importance of registering and voting. I will admit that I have never been a fan of politics. It wasn't until this election that I actually started to pay attention to the news and what was going on in the economy.

The factors that lead me to be more conscious in the world were the poor state of the economy, the sacrifices made for this war that we are in, my future and Barack Obama. When I first found out there was a black candidate for the presidency I was happy, but honestly did not feel the country was ready for a black president. I knew I was ready and this election was especially important because it was the first would I was able to vote. When I turned 18, my AP Government teacher registered me to vote, so that was taken care of for years now. I really wanted to be aware of the situation and standings of the candidates because I actually had a say in the future of our country.

I cannot describe what I felt when Barack Obama was announced as our president. I am so happy and proud to call him our president and look forward to the next four years. I feel now that I may have a future.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is one of the best dance companies in the world. In my opinion, it is the best and I have been obsessed with them for years now.

Alvin Ailey created 79 ballets throughout the span of his life and is thought of as a genius. After his death, Judith Jamison took over as artistic director and keeps Mr. Ailey's ideas and dreams alive today.

When I was a senior in high school, I applied to Fordham University and auditioned for the Ailey program. (There is a partnership between the university and the theatre.) Walking into the building in NYC took my breath away. I auditioned and have never been so scared in my life. After the audition they conducted an one on one interview between you and some of the choreographers. They offered me a spot in their summer intensive! They could not determine whether or not I had been accepted into the program yet because I did not know whether or not I was accepted into Fordham University. I had to wait and see what would happen and I was a nervous wreck the whole time. Finally my letter from Fordham came, and I was not accepted. I cried for a while because that meant I was not able to dance with the Ailey Company. The intensive was so much money and when it came down to it, I could not do it if I wasn't going to be attending Fordham in August.


My heart was broken but Ailey was not out of my life forever. Last semester I was accepted into a performance project here at Manhattanville choreographed by a choreographer from Ailey: Earl Mosley. He gave me a solo in the performance and told me to attend his summer intensive in CT. The whole month of July I devoted myself to the intensive and it was the best decision of my life. I made so many great connections with Ailey and learned so much.

After the first intensive, I was offered a spot in another intensive in NYC run by Ronald K Brown(who I am also obsessed with). I do not live in NYC so Mr. Mosley let me stay with him in his apartment in Brooklyn during the week intensive. I have never danced like I did this summer and plan on attending both intensives again next summer. It was amazing to stay with such a respected people like Mr. Mosley and Mr. Ronald K. Brown. They were so good to me and I still keep in contact with them now. I plan on taking class from both of them whenever I have the chance and am so excited for it.

Did I mention I watched the summer 2008 Olympics with a principle dancer from Ailey? Clifton Brown. The amazing guy in this photo. I still can't believe it.

Dance Therapy: Mind and Body Connection

When I was asked the question: “What is Dance Therapy?” I had no idea how I was going to respond. The first time I heard about Dance Therapy I really did not know how to interpret the concept. Was it more along the line of technical dancing or no? If so, how is it therapeutic at the same time? I never would have guessed the journey I was about to take in discovering the meaning behind Dance therapy.

Marian Chace is known as the leading lady in the field of dance and movement therapy. The way she developed her concepts and methods towards her work is still used in groups today. Chace worked with patients who had disorders ranging from schizophrenia to bipolar personalities. With these problems, it was very difficult for them to communicate using their words. Marian developed a trusting relationship with her patients that made them more comfortable with being somewhat vulnerable with her. She gave them new means of communication through the use of their bodies. They moved in ways that they never knew was possible, while still having a therapeutic session. Ideas and feelings developed in the mind can be expressed not only through the verbal communication, but also through the body. Getting more comfortable with your body and recognizing the possibilities you have can help with your self esteem and confidence.

Four major classifications in which Chace used in her therapy sessions:
1. Body Action: Being able to recognize the body parts, stress levels and breathing patterns that may cause a patient to block out certain feelings and emotions without ever realizing it. These physical actions are seen as clues to finding the emotional feelings of a patient.
2. Symbolism: Through symbolism, a dance therapist and their patient can form a new type of interaction. If the patient is performing one movement, and suddenly holds back, the therapist recognizes this and is then able to suggest another image for the patient to follow. By doing this the therapist also begins to gain their patients trust.

3. Therapeutic Movement Relationship: This refers to the method of reenactment. The therapist may reenact their patients movements; not necessarily as a mirror(exact movement) but they may switch it up from time to time by making it broader, smaller, faster or slower. This gives off the feeling of acceptance. The patient can take risks with their movements and know they will have no judgment from the therapist because they are right there moving along with them.
4. Rhythmic Group Activity: “Rhythm permeates every aspect of human life” (Chace 80) Everyday life is revolved around rhythm. Chace looked at rhythm as being a key tool for communication through the body and as a perfect way to connect people because of the fact that it is used by everyone.

FLIK VS. MVILLE MEN'S SOCCER TEAM

An assignment in y Writing for the media class was to write a web-based feature story. I thought the topic of my story was pretty funny and thought it would be fun to put parts of it in a blog. The main problem in this situation is the battle between the Men's soccer team and the dining service at Manhattanville College.

On Thursday, September 25, 2008, the athletes on the Manhattanville College men’s soccer team were prepared to have a normal practice. This mindset changed when they arrived to the locker room and found a very unhappy coach.

For years now the dining service, FLIK Independent Schools by Chartwells, has had a problem with the cleanliness of the students of Manhattanville College. There have been many complaints from faculty and staff members referring to the way the tables are left in the dining hall. Many students leave their dirty dishes on the tables instead of bringing them to the trash conveyor belt. The problem is not only the dishes being left, but the combination of specks of food, spilt drinks and crumbled up napkins left on the tables. Tony Manucci, one of the managers of FLIK, had this to say about the mess:

Leaving this mess is not only disrespectful to my staff, but also to other students here at the college. Why should the students have to clean up after other people in order to sit down and eat? It is just common sense to clean up your own mess. My staff should not have to act like parents cleaning up after their children.

While many of the students here on campus can be looked at as less than tidy, there seems to be one group, or rather team, that stands out: men’s soccer. If you did not notice this characteristic about these athletes, FLIK made it clear. Posted on the television screens in the cafeteria every five minutes was a nice ad singling out the messy actions of the team. The ad read as the following:

“CLEAN UP YOUR TABLES MEN’S SOCCER!!!!!!!!!!!!”

This statement was accompanied with an animated picture of a soccer ball.
When asked about his feelings towards the ad Sebastian Chica, a sophomore on the team, replied with this statement:

At first it was pretty funny to see the ad up there about me and the guys. The majority of students here leave all their dishes on the table. It’s not like we are the only team that does it. I don’t know why we are the only ones being called out.

The television ad was used as warning to the team, but when there was no change in behavior, another measure was taken.

An anonymous tip was sent out to coach Didier Orellana about his team and their messy habits. When checking his e-mail, he came across one that included a picture of his soccer team’s messy tables with a passage telling him this was an everyday act of the team. Coach Didier had this to say about his team:

I am embarrassed and disappointed in them. The fact that this is even an issue blows my mind.

The team usually has practice everyday from 3p.m. to 5p.m., but on Thursday, September 25, 2008, it was somewhat different. As a punishment, the team was forced to go into the dining hall during their practice time, and clean all the tables and also wash the dishes. The team felt this punishment unnecessary for something that the rest of the campus does also. Jerry Tellier, captain and goalie of the team shared his feelings on this matter:

I am just curious as to who sent the e-mail. When I look around the dining hall I see all the tables the other teams sit at piled with trash on them, yet we are the only team cleaning the tables up. Granted, we did leave our dishes but FLIK needs to penalize the other teams for leaving theirs.

If you’re a student at Manhattanville College you know that all the sports teams sit together during meals at the longest tables. The long tables are designated to the baseball team, hockey, basketball and soccer. When walking into the dining hall now, you will see one less long table. The staff of FLIK have dissembled the usual men’s soccer table into four separate tables. Many have seen this decision as a bit extreme, but the workers of FLIK and Mr. Manucci see it as an action that needed to take place.

This separation of the tables has not broken the team’s spirits though. They choose their tables wisely now, looking for ones that are right next to one another and continue to eat as one team.