Haley Zdebski to teach new classes at EdanSe Company & Ballroom

Haley Zdebski will be joining EdanSe Company & Ballroom in Enfield, CT as their newest dance instructor. She will be teaching high quality performing arts classes:  ballet, modern, pointe, jazz, stretch and conditioning, in addition to the studio’s ballroom and latin instruction. Haley, originally from Somers, CT, brings with her a wealth of information and passion for dance. She believes that it is important for people to learn and gain full body awareness of not only themselves but also of others.  Haley graduated from SUNY College at Brockport with a BFA in dance. She was awarded a full tuition scholarship at the American Dance Festival at Duke University, NC, where she was honored to work with former Merce Cunningham dancer Andrea Weber.

Outside of teaching dance, Haley has been dancing professionally with Judy Dworin Performance Projects and DancEnlight Company since the fall of 2014. With these companies, Haley toured all over New England performing in festivals and in residency school programs, such as the REVERBdance festival in Boston, MA and at the Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA. Haley also has the pleasure of working with the Legible Bodies dance company under the direction of Noel St Jean-Chevalier. Haley is currently working as a teaching artist with Judy Dworin Performance Projects at the Hartford Public Schools working with the Movement Matters programs and Bridging Boundaries program working with kids with incarcerated parents.

Evgueni Chaoulski and Sara Schilling, owners of EdanSe Company & Ballroom, are thrilled to be having Haley join their team. “Haley incorporates exactly what we look for in an instructor: passion, warmth, positivity, lots of experience, and the continued pursuit of always wanting to learn more for their own dancing”. Evgueni and Sara aren’t new to dance either, being the only couple in CT to be 6 time representatives to the World Championships in ballroom and latin dance.  Dance is an art form and activity which they feel should not be limited to age, level, or dance style. They are one of the few studios to blend ballroom and latin styles of dance with performing arts. Dance, to them, has the same fundamental concepts of movement, body awareness, and development in the mental, physical, and emotional aspects in life. By offering performing arts classes, they are giving students the benefit of cross training and a more enriched well rounded dance experience.

When Evgueni and Sara first met Haley they knew she had the same passion for dance they had, which is paramount at EdanSe. Haley’s enthusiasm and warm energy make her a perfect fit for the studio. Outside of her friendly and approachable personality, she brings with her an extraordinary amount and variety of experience. EdanSe Company & Ballroom focuses on establishing strong technique, giving students the right foundation to develop their dancing wherever they want it to go, and Haley’s core principles are on point.

EdanSe Company & Ballroom teaches people of all ages, beginning at age 3 through adults and seniors. They welcome beginner dancers through advanced dancers. No partner is ever needed, making couples and singles feel at home learning. The studio is open 6 days a week and is home to social, competitive, and performance dancers. Haley will be teaching classes on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The studio is located at 127 Pearl St. Enfield, CT 06082. For more information on any of our classes you can visit our website, call (860) 265-7700, or email dance@EdanSeCompany.com.

Introduction to Wedding Preparation Event, November 14, 2015

EdanSe Ballroom and Company is hosting an Introduction to Wedding Preparation Event that is free for all engaged couples on Saturday, November 14th from 2-3:30 pm.  This is a great opportunity for those planning for their big day to meet some local wedding vendors and learn the basics of some of the most popular wedding dances, all at no cost.

2:00-2:30 – Network with local wedding vendors and enjoy light refreshments

Vendors include:

•                 NoRA Cupcake Company
•                 Make-Up Aristry by Vanessa Pergolizzi
•                 Styles2Go
•                 Ted Williams, DJ
•                 Nightingale Events

2:30-3:30 – Enjoy a complimentary group dance lesson taught by one of our world-class instructors!

All are welcome!

Please RSVP by November 6th:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wedding-preparation-event-tickets-18903330370

Gene Kelly: Rare Photos of a Song and Dance Legend in Paris

What a fantastic collection of photos! Gene Kelly was a truly talented man!

Great News! EdanSe Company and Ballroom Receives 2015 Best of Enfield Award

Today’s post is a press release issued by the Enfield Award Program:

Edanse Company and Ballroom Receives 2015 Best of Enfield Award

Enfield Award Program Honors the Achievement

ENFIELD August 12, 2015 — Edanse Company and Ballroom has been selected for the 2015 Best of Enfield Award in the Performance Venue category by the Enfield Award Program.

Each year, the Enfield Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Enfield area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2015 Enfield Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Enfield Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Enfield Award Program

The Enfield Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Enfield area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Enfield Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Enfield Award Program

CONTACT:
Enfield Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@awardcontact.org
URL: http://www.awardcontact.org

Moving Beyond Comparisons

A quote on Facebook caught my eye tonight:

“Don’t compare your progress with that of others.  

We all need our own time, to travel our own distance.”

For all that we do in life, not just in dancing, it is common for us to compare ourselves to others.  We measure the quality of our own work against that of others, and through that comparison, determine whether or not we are successful.

That kind of comparison can be flawed.  We are all unique, we all accomplish goals, create, and achieve in different ways.  Why, then, should we compare our talents, our abilities, to someone else’s?

There are healthy ways to look at others’ success.  We can admire a musician’s skill, we can be in awe of dancers’ movements, we can stand, speechless, in front of someone’s artwork, and we can take note of their expertise, the greatness of all of these artists, and strive to be not like them, but to hone and perfect our own skills so that we can achieve a similar level of ability and find our own strengths.

One of the lessons I learned as a child was that there was always going to be someone “better” at something than I was.  Rather than let that thought frustrate or depress me, I learned to accept that oftentimes, it’s true.  Only then could I focus on what was most important:  learning to work toward being the best that I could be.  That was an effective way to frame my personal quest for improvement.

So, instead of comparing ourselves to others, it might be better to compare ourselves to ourselves.  When we reach new levels of achievement, when we meet those goals, we become greater than we used to be.  We can measure our growth positively, always striving to do the best that we can do, constantly moving forward toward that ultimate goal, hoping that one day, we attain the same level of greatness that we were once (and still are) inspired by.  And it helps to remember when we do fall into those moments of despair and frustration that just as others inspire us, there may be others that we inspire.  Somewhere, there is a musician, artist, or dancer who looks up to us, hoping that with hard work, discipline, and passion, they, too, will achieve their personal best.

It takes time to get there.  If it were easy, it wouldn’t be as worthwhile, right?

Enjoy the journey!

Written by Amanda Daddona

Thinking Outside the Box Cultivating Well-Rounded Dance Students

Reflections in Sequins and Satin

These days, giving students a thorough and balanced dance education often means going beyond your regular curriculum. Since dancers are expected to be versatile, it pays to go that extra mile with special workshops and activities that will enrich them physically, mentally and emotionally. “The reason to have adjunct classes is to create the total dancer,” says Charles Maple, director of the Maple Conservatory of Dance in Irvine, Calfornia, and a former soloist with American Ballet Theatre. “And those who don’t become professional can be successful in other areas of dance.”

Here are some ways you can cultivate dancers who are well-rounded in body, mind and spirit.

#1 Weekly film series

Host a film series at your studio, and screen documentaries and performance videos to boost students’ dance history knowledge. Once in a while, throw in a fun cult hit like The Turning Point. Lucretia Lomax Alvarez, director of The…

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Thinking in Dance Vs Feeling

Reflections in Sequins and Satin

By Ian Crewe

I’ve heard it said that dance is motion and emotion. We think about the motions, then learn to feel the emotion that the movements convey. (Don’t think your movements can change how you feel? Try slumping in your chair and frowning for 60 seconds, then tell me you don’t feel sad.) Since we can’t simultaneously think and feel very well, what are the benefits and drawbacks of using one over the other?

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Thinking the Dance

Pros

1. More attention to detail – When we are thinking the dance, we can focus on each little movement, giving our dancing greater control and precision. Every brand new step needs to be thought out carefully to commit it to muscle memory.
2. Catch bad habits – Since you’re watching the movement carefully, you can also spot what is helping or hindering the movement. This allows you to start experimenting to see…

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Exciting New Opportunity at EdanSe Company: Performing Arts Classes!

EdanSe is very excited to announce that it is expanding!

The studio has proved to be truly innovative and will offer dancers of all ages an opportunity to participate in performing arts classes (contemporary, lyrical, jazz, ballet, pointe, broadway and stretching classes), on top of their already extensive selection of ballroom and latin classes.  EdanSe is the first ballroom dance studio in the area to include such a diverse range of dance styles in its monthly group class offerings. Owners, Evgueni Chaoulski and Sara Schilling, have endeavored to offer high-quality dance instruction in a warm and friendly environment. They dreamed of creating a studio that was not only world-class in its ballroom and latin instruction, but one which also offered performing arts and fitness classes. Chaoulski and Schilling believe that dance is in and of itself a unique form of art, that all dance styles lend themselves to one another and therefore should be included, together, under one roof.

EdanSe Company & Ballroom is home for students of all ages who share a common passion for learning and improving their dancing, all while having fun! These new classes will further the owners’ commitment to providing high-quality dance instruction and will be open to everyone from ages 3 through 103. All students may take advantage of a monthly group class membership, or try out the new performing arts classes at half-price for the month of June (only $5.00 per class).

These new classes will be taught by Lindsey Melville, an extraordinarily talented and successful dancer, who has competed both regionally and nationally for 15 years. She has been teaching for over 8 years, growing and developing as an instructor for children and adults. Melville started dancing at the age of 3, and has found dance to be a medium through which she can express herself and grow into her own unique personality. Her passion for dance is contagious and she is thrilled to bring her extensive dance expertise to EdanSe Company.

Melville will begin teaching ballet, jazz, lyrical/contemporary, broadway, stretching and conditioning classes twice weekly this June.  A daily summer program will begin in July, followed by the launch of a robust performing arts series in the fall.  All are welcome to come try these new classes out!  For more information please visit our website or call 860-265-7700.

Wedding Dances

Wedding season is quickly approaching, and so this week’s blog is all about wedding dances!

Dance has been a part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years.  Marriage dances were symbolic of a couple’s new life together, and some were meant to ensure happiness and prosperity, and the blessing of many children.  Some marriage dances represented transition, or the maturation of the individuals being joined together.

Throughout Medieval times and the Renaissance, dancing was a sign of refinement, and so the nobility often had training in dance.  It was often included in religious ceremonies, including, most likely, weddings.  In the 18th and 19th centuries, the minuet, which originated in France and became popular under Louis XIV, was often danced at wedding celebrations.

Other popular dances included the waltz, quadrille, and mazurka.  In the 19th century, it was considered to be “proper” to dance after weddings, but only in the evening.  Incidentally, it was also in the 19th century that composers like Mendelssohn and Wagner created their wedding marches.  Interesting fact: Queen Victoria’s daughter made Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March in C Major” very popular after she used it during her wedding ceremony; subsequently, it has been used in many wedding ceremonies since!

Dancing at weddings is still very much part of the event as a whole, and is a tradition that will likely not fade any time soon.  The style of dancing has changed somewhat, over time.  The mazurkas and minuets have transformed into waltzes and foxtrots, and group dances tend more towards the “Cha Cha Slide.”  The reception has formalized to include a number of traditional dances that take place before open dancing, such as the couple’s first dance together, as well as those for mother-son, father-daughter, and the bridal party.

Upcoming Studio Event!    For today’s wedding couples, families, and guests, there are definitely ways to learn to dance before the big event!  For our wedding couples out there, in addition to the many wedding packages EdanSe Ballroom offers, the studio will be hosting an Introduction to Wedding Preparation Event on April 20th, from 6:00-7:30 pm.

Dance Like No One is Watching…

Have you ever been on the sidelines at a competition, feeling those butterflies start in the bottom of your stomach?  How about shaking, cold sweats, and absolutely no recollection of what your routine is?  Not everyone feels that way, true, but for those of us who get the performance/competition jitters, one of our students offered some pretty great advice:  “dance like no one is watching you.”  Many of us are probably familiar with variations of this quote.  The sentiments are beautiful, and great advice!  She followed this up with another great thought:  everyone is probably so in the zone, so focused, that they aren’t even thinking about what you’re doing!  So, you suddenly have this amazing freedom to just dance, to do your thing, and to enjoy performing the steps you have worked so hard on.

Thinking about her advice, I am going to add a corollary, just in case you still can’t quite shake those cold fingers and queasy stomach:  embrace the jitters.

Personally, whenever I have performed in front of a group of people, I have embraced those butterflies and used them to expand outside of myself, become larger and more powerful. I have done things on stage that my teachers, friends, and parents (and I!) would never have thought possible!  When out there on the stage, you can be whoever you want to be.  Many of the people watching, surrounding you, have no idea who you are.  Anonymity certainly helps!  And so does treating a competition like a performance.

So those butterflies, inconvenient though they may be, can be helpful if you turn the tables and use them to your advantage.  Embrace the jitters!  And dance like no one is watching.  You’ll see, and hopefully feel, the difference!

Written by Amanda Daddona