Comments for Julie Salk

Comment on Journal by Monica Hernandez

Monica Hernandez — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:50:29 +0000

For a couple of weeks in dance we spent the time to learn different choreography from the Orchesis show. I thought that this was so much fun. There were several dances that I saw being performed that I thought would be so much fun to learn and here was my opportunity. I think that my favorite piece that we learned was Nikki’s dance. I really like the song and learning the movement from the performance made it even better. Now whenever I listen to the song I have to do the movements. I really would like to see that next year if possible. This year I also really enjoyed the Yoga and Relaxation times. These exercises were a chance to get away from all the stress that we have in school and reflect on ourselves. I felt that they were very relaxing and calming and were a way for me to get away for 40 minutes before the chaos started again.

Comment on Orchesis Performance Reflection by Caitlin Huff

Caitlin Huff — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:19:57 +0000

I really enjoyed this Orchesis show, as usual. But i especially liked that i knew alot of the girls this year and having nearly all of the compositions be by senior girls. It was really neat to see what girls my age could create and put togather in this show. I also really enjoyed the music selection for this show, i thought that the dances were all very good as well as being very unique and interesting. There was really a wide variety of types of dances, costume, rhythm and sound within them as well as within the show. I enjoyed it very much it was another well done show.

Comment on The Last Lecture by Caitlin Huff

Caitlin Huff — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:15:45 +0000

My childhood dreams were alot like Tessies which isnt suprising because Tessie and I are alot alike. I didnt have any extreme dream like being a doctor or a firefighter, i just wanted the people around me to be happy and i especially wanted to help animals. For the first part of that i just try to do all the little things i can for my friends and others and try to be a nice person which deffinately rubs off on the people around you. The second part of that i have taken more specific action towards i suppose, i have volunteered for fur keeps animal shelter and citizens for conservation, as well as becomming the well known one in my neighborhood to bring any found baby birds, mice, and even raccoons. Although it is not much i am still working towards it and finding other ways to achieve this dream and iknow that i have helped in a small way at least to the kittens, birds, turtles, rats, mice, skunk and raccoons that i have aquired in various ways.

Another thing that stuck with me was the critique part, because i know that i am someone who often times does not take critique that is meant to be helpful and constructive in that way. As my dad says i often take it to personally or as an insult instead of listening to it, but i am learning, slowly but learning to realize that it is intended to help me and that i need to stop being so stubborn, and it helped to hear it comiming from someone else.

Comment on Improvisation: partners, flocking, platforms by Michelle Taylor

Michelle Taylor — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:38:57 +0000

I really loved being able to explore the platforms and the different levels. It really helped me inhance the way i think when i choregraph. it was also really fun to see what other people thought of and branch off of there ideas. I also really liked when we made up the deuts and blended the two different movements between eachother. It was really fun to work with someone new and share our movement and then create a piece of work together and making something completely new.

Comment on Kelly MacMahon - Hip Hop artist by Michelle Taylor

Michelle Taylor — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:35:03 +0000

kelly was awesome! I really liked kelly because it was a very different from the stuff that we normally do and it made everyone go outside of there comfort zone and try something new. Kelly is also an amazing teacher. She was really patient with us and always asked if we had questions. I have taken class with her at bataille and it was really nice to take class with her again. It also got our heart rates up and it was a very good work out. I hope that she comes back next year cuz i have a great time!!

Comment on Orchesis Performance Reflection by Michelle Taylor

Michelle Taylor — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:29:19 +0000

This past orchesis show was one of my favorites. It really meant alot to me because it was my last one and i felt like the seniors got so close. One of my favorite dances was katrinas because i felt like the choregraphy was beautiful and amazing. She also had a great motif and climax to her piece. I also thought that there where a lot of lyrical pieces in the show but it didnt get boring because each one was very different and unique.

Comment on Kelly MacMahon - Hip Hop artist by Natalie Horween

Natalie Horween — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:07:42 +0000

I really liked Kelly! her dance was challenging, but not so much that I couldn’t catch on. I’ve never really learned hip hop from a teacher, and it was so much fun! Breaking away from our traditional jazz stuff was a really nice change of pace. The music she picked was really good to, the tempo with the movement worked really well. Her energy and simple comments really helped to learn her choreography. This is definitely not my strongest form of movement, but it was so fun to do I found myself really trying to learn it, and not just letting the movement slip through my fingers. I was working so hard the two days, that I woke up the next morning so sore. I really had fun with her, if I was going to be there next year I would want to learn a whole dance from her!

Comment on Bartinieff Fundamentals by Natalie Horween

Natalie Horween — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:00:49 +0000

I really liked the guest artist, she really interacted well with us, and was very informative. Her energy made it a lot more interesting. I think that Bartinieff movement to the eye seemed really simple, but when we began to learn about all of the connections and where to place the “energy” in our body it became much more intense. I really enjoyed how she was explaining to move, it made me really focus on what my muscles were doing. Being more conscious of my body while I dance; or move in general will incorporate the techniques that she explained to us. The concentration on breathing really helped me, I have a tendency to not focus on my breathing. When it is your main focus to supply oxygen to your body it really keeps you more energized, and being winded is not as much of a problem. I really enjoyed how we began slowly and worked into the fundamentals of the technique, but she didn’t move so fast that we couldn’t remember what we had done the day before. It was really well taught, and it helped me with my presentation of pieces afterwards.

Comment on Footworks Dancers and Musician by Erin Hallerberg

Erin Hallerberg — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:10:03 +0000

I thought this company was very energetic. I felt the show was geared more towards younger kids, but the dancers were very into what they did and they seemed to really enjoy being part of Footworks. The fact that they used their own percussion sounds and beats that they made themselves to dance to was very new and intriguing.
I agree with Leah when she says that they could have gone further with the trash piece. There was so much potential there, but they didn’t use a lot of the trash, at all. It seemed like it was just there for decoration. I would have liked to see more of the trash used, and in different ways. Also, the bottles weren’t that loud, so it was hard to make out the beat when all they were using were the bottles.

Comment on The Last Lecture by Tessie Herbert

Tessie Herbert — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:26:00 +0000

What are your childhood dreams? do you have an “action plan” to achieve them? If so, please share.
My childhood dreams were always really simple; I wanted everyone to like, I wanted to smile at least once a day (my mom says I used to go up to her each morning and remind her to smile), and I wanted to work with animals. I don’t really know if I have an action plan to achieve these because they’ve changed a bit. It’s okay if not everyone likes me, it’s impossible to go through a day and not smile, and, though I love animals, I don’t necessarily want to work with them anymore. I don’t know if I’ve changed my childhood dreams so that they’re more realistic or just that I’m more easy-going.

Comment on randy’s Brick Wall theory. What is it and how does he use it as motivation?
Randy said that brick walls aren’t there to keep us out, they are there to show us how badly we want something. I’m not really sure what I think of this theory. I believe that if a door or opportunity is closed, there is a reason for it and something else will come along (the time-old if one door is closed, another is opened). Sometimes I think it’s better to accept it when a wall stands in your way. It’s not necessary to get over every wall that stands before you, some of them are there for good, to help you grow and such.

What was Randy’s view on critique vs. no feedback at all? have you experienced this?
I felt this was a really effective point in his talk. What I got from it was you have to be happy with what you get. It’s sometimes hard for me to take critique, but I should be happy with it because that helps me to better myself.

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”… Please comment on this, have you “experienced” a moment like this? If so, how did you deal with it?
Of course I’ve experienced a moment like this! I think we all have. There have been many, MANY times when I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, and that’s okay. Not getting everything I want has helped to show me what I have and to take advantage of that.

What did you gain from listening to Randy’s lecture? How will/can you apply this information to your world?
Randy’s lecture was really inspirational. I gained a lot. I think the most important thing was kind of unsaid by Randy, but this really showed me to be positive. Here he was, terminally ill, and he was laughing and sharing the stories of his life. I was sincerely impressed. This can be easily applied just through watching myself when I get grumpy because I don’t get what I want. Who cares?! Life should be lived, and happily at that.