Respect My Step

Respect My Step is a new social media network that expands the dance community to a global scale. It is a simple yet effective concept. Each dancer is asked to submit one minute of movement that expresses their unique voice, say their name and end with "Respect My Step". All they ask is that you be creative with a camera in a imaginative location and move. It helps to watch the already existing videos, give them respect and then build upon the collection of work.

Enforced Arch founder, James Koroni recently submitted a video to Respect My Step which is currently featured on the front page. Check it out and if you like what you see simply click Respect My Step and show some support. Here's the LINK!

Who started this project? About Respect My Step's creative directors:

The idea began to brew when an unlikely duo of choreographer, Jermaine Browne, and technologist, Edgardo Burgos, began to discuss the future of dance as well as advancements in technology.

“I wanted to give dance a bigger voice.” said Jermaine. “Get it to a larger audience and put a name to the nameless faces who share a passion for dance. A place to bring everyone together.”

“Technology affects every sector in life and culture,” continued Edgardo, “so I started thinking about how the dance community was affected. How can technology embrace the dance community?”

Together, they learned about each others fields, discovered and explored possibilities to make their vision come true, and created the perfect synergy of technology and dance. With a name like Respect My Step - everyone can relate. Jermaine explains: “Peoples passions are a part of them and they shouldn’t be judged for what they enjoy to do. You are who you are and you should be respected for that.”

For more information visit Respect My Step!

MOVE For KIDS

Broadway Dance Center is proud to be partnering up with Wellness in the Schools organization to get kids and family's moving! Join them for these fabulous classes and support the strive for healthy living! Ages 10 and up. Wellness in the Schools inspires healthy eating, environmental awareness and fitness as a way of life for kids in New York City’s public schools. All proceeds of these two classes will go to the Wellness in the Schools organization.

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Katherine Roarty Bas CONTEMPORARY JAZZ Sat, 9-10:30 am Jun 23

Jared Jenkins Bas HIP-HOP Sat, 7:30-9 pm June 30

'MoonShoes' 10% off

Here's a great opportunity to get yourself a good looking pair of sneakers for Hip Hop class and support an endangered species. I might get myself a pair of these good looking Hensley Sneakers from Macbeth Footwear (more from Macbeth). DETAILS:

Get your shop on for the bears with ‘MoonShoes’. On Saturday, May 12th 10% of all proceeds at MooShoes (online and in store) will go to Animals Asia and their work helping endangered moon bears.

Moon Shoes Facebook Event

Paris Journal 2011 Part 5

At the Grand Palais I stood in a line along with a thousand excited Parisians to enter and experience an evening of flash mobs, cultural dancing, free gifts and all at no entry fee! How is this possible? Never have I seen anything like it! In line I could have lifted my feet and floated along with the crowd into this event. I'm not kidding! Once inside I was given an umbrella and a T-shirt with a babies body on it! There really is no other way to describe the space other than a Grand Palace with a central dome and two vast wings that were completely open space, free from obstruction. The architecture was breathtaking with two staircases at the opposite end from the entrance. As you look up you're reduced to the ant you are. In that moment I lost and gained an equivalent amount of inspiration and desolation. Then my eyes reconnected with the presentations!

First of all there was 300 people at the main stage holding open umbrellas with the Baby T-shirt on, all participating in a follow my lead type of dance instruction.

Now when I said cultural dance I was referring to classes. Only the classes weren't taught to you live. There were 12 foot LCD screens lifted 5 feet from the ground with a repeating video with a master of each dance form helping you through the basics of each style. You could find anything from Ballet, Contemporary, Capoeira, Belly Dance, LA style(haha),  African, Hip Hop, Buchaechum, Bollywood, etc.

Then on either corner of the space were stages where performances from all these style were performed by dance artists from France. An invigorating experience!

Paris Journal 2011 Part 1 Paris Journal 2011 Part 2 Paris Journal 2011 Part 3 Paris Journal 2011 Part 4 Paris Journal 2011 Part 5 Paris Journal 2011 Part 6 Paris Journal 2011 Part 7 Paris Journal 2011 Part 8 Paris Journal 2011 Part 9 Paris Journal 2011 Part 10 Paris Journal 2011 Part 11 Paris Journal 2011 Part 12 Paris Journal 2011 Part 13

VEJA Collections

The NEW Veja Collection includes the handsome Mediterranee, made from organic cotton canvas and a wild Amazonian rubber vulcanized sole. Perfect accent to all commercial dance styles! Check them out here.

Lauren Cox: Arrest Yourself, Part 1 of 4

"Ignorance Is Bliss?" Arrest Yourself! By avoiding inconvenient and unpleasant information we hide from the worlds current state. Whether it be Factory Farming, Green House Gas or Social Justice we must understand and address these issues before it's too late. 'Mover,' James Koroni choreographed a piece entitled 'Arrest Yourself' to remind people that they are personally responsible for their own demise. To properly present this as a performance piece his dancers also shared their opinions on how this issue is prominent in their own lives.

LAUREN COX, "I've noticed that we walk around day to day bombarded with opinions from our peers, media and limited by our own comfort zones. We allow so much of it to guide our steps and we are often afraid of embracing new information because somehow it will disrupt our current state of heaven when, in fact, it’s the contrary that leads to the path of happiness. And we all do it! We all struggle to find our own happiness outside of ourselves…this makes absolutely no sense, so 'Arrest Yourself!' Hold yourself captive, if only to give way to the inevitability of change. By being an active participant of my own dream and staying open-minded to the dreams of others I sew anonymous benefits upon the world. It is through collective dreams that we realize we are all deeply interconnected and can progress for each other on our short visit to this earth. It is a daily choice…carpé diem!!"

She is a lifetime student and teacher of dance and movement. Starting at the age of 6, Lauren trained rigorously and competed as a passionate Rhythmic Gymnast around the U.S. for 11 years with the aid of ballet, modern dance and pilates, eventually achieving 4th in the nation for level 9 and 20th for level 10. During college she discovered a love for Sociology, hip hop and youth advocacy through Culture Shock Dance Troupe in Oakland, California where she received training with prominent guest choreographers such as Nappy Tabs, performed at events such as S.F. Aids Walk, Monsters of Hip Hop and the ACL Championships with LL Cool J & Amerie and was a part of their competition team, CS Allstars, winning consecutive silver and bronze metals at the U.S. & World Hip Hop Championships in Los Angeles. After co-founding and dancing for Groove Against the Machine San Francisco and exhibitioning annually at events like World of Dance and Battlefest Bay Area she set out to learn yet another style in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she studied Samba, African and Street Dance for one year. She returned to the States to accept Broadway Dance Center’s Summer Intensive Internship and has been training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and freestyle for the past 7 months in order to converge and solidify her deep passion for the universal language of music through dance. She is now the Portuguese translator for Broadway Dance Center, teaches Hip Hop at Center Stage New Jersey and has just started a choreography project called “The Ladies Freedom Party” bringing conscious light to music & movement.

Performance of Arrest Yourself, February 19th 2011 @ 7PM!

Kumble Theater- One University Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201

TICKETS Discount Code: BeKind

SCOTT HAMILTON: Arrest Yourself, Part 2 of 4 KIET LAM: Arrest Yourself, Part 3 of 4 JAMES KORONI: Arrest Yourself, Part 4 of 4

It Gets Better

I met talented 'Mover,' Tracey Katof shortly after she had the opportunity to dance and choreograph for comedian, Rebecca Drysdale, on a music video called "It Gets Better." In a short interview with her, this is what she had to say:

Q. Why do you dance? A. Language barriers exist between communities worldwide. I choose dance as my form of communication and self expression because I feel speaking through movement is the natural global language. Even the most simple movements, such as a smile or a frown, can be understood regardless of where someone comes from or what language they speak.   I dance to promote efforts of human welfare and social reform.  If I can spark an emotion or idea in an audience member that leads to a positive change, then I have accomplished my goal.

Q. How does this influence your dancing? A. My dancing is driven by my devotion to a cause and a desire to express truth.  In addition, I hope that my body and movement can serve as a vessel for social change and awareness.  In a sense, I dance to be larger than myself.

Q. Tell me about your experiences with "It Gets Better." A. Working with Comedian Rebecca Drysdale was a fulfilling experience. She put forth an immeasurable amount of time and effort into creating her vision. I thought it was an innovative idea to produce a music video and use humor to get the message across and to reach a large audience.  Through the Internet and social media, the video has already been viewed 100,000 times in just 2 weeks!

Q. How has dancing for this social issue enriched your life as an artist? A. From choreographing for humanitarian causes, I have learned that no matter how foreign the topic is to me, I can always relate.  That is what I want for the audience as well.  I am not a part of the LGBT community, yet I have related to the pain caused by feeling different and being teased. The "It Gets Better" campaign is about accepting each other for who we are.  I support this project because I want to spread the message that even in the most disheartening situations, there is always hope.

Tracey was the first to tell me about "It Gets Better." After I watched it for the first time I thought, I wish this was around when I was 14 so I didn't have to watch "Undressed" on MTV to feel normal! I recall being afraid to simply think thoughts of homosexuality, for fear that I would be, "condemned to hell." Add any level of physical, mental or emotional abuse to that kind of existence and it would be very difficult to know what I know now, which is, IT'S SOOO MUCH BETTER! This campaign has become a worldwide movement and is helping troubled teens look to a brighter side. For this I thank Tracey for lending her talents in Rebecca Drysdale's video.

Tracey is committed to many social issues. I'd love to share them all with you now but I look forward to seeing how she plans to illustrate them herself! Keep up with Tracey Katof's moves here:

http://TraceyKatof.com

http://www.doyoubuzz.com/Tracey-Katof

Wildchild Nation Inspiration

Luam Keflezgy is one of my most inspired mentors. Her style is confident, grounded, classic, smooth, edgy, and for her, all this is seemingly effortless. However she taught me effort and intention is everything!

She once said to me after a rigorous class, "It's where the movement comes from, that makes a statement." This has always rang true in my life as a dancer concerned with ecological and social issues. With her inspired statement I have been able to add quality to every movement I make, whether it be in class, choreography or with the clothing I wear!

Wildchild Nation offers a few alternatives to support my active and compassionate dance lifestyle! I even noticed a few eco-friendly materials such as Tencel! Hopefully she will expand upon these options in the future!

Check it out!

LUCKY for us there's a phenomenal clearance sale. Don't miss it!

MEN WOMEN

Leave a comment. Tell Enforced Arch how Luam Keflezgy has inspired you!

Stands Not Within the Prospect of Belief

Macbeth Footwear is know for having an isolated page on their website for compassionate soles. This hardcore shoe company makes durable, cruelty free and handsome footwear for musicians, artists, dancers and hardcore kids alike. I frequent MooShoes in the East Village of NYC where they have a charming selection from this socially conscious shoe company. Check out a few of their Fall 2010 season.