Hello, I am Mariana Parma, so out of my many discoveries during this time, I have concluded that dancers around the world have been transforming their living quarters into multi- purpose functional spaces and redefining their dance world one move at time. Since most of the theaters and dance studios have been closed due to the #pandemic, dancers and performing artists have converted their living rooms, bedrooms, kitchen's, or any open space to continue training, creating, and teaching.
This experience has given us a chance to get personal, by entering each others living spaces, and supporting one another. So what better way than to share with you the experiences from several of the most talented and versatile dancers, I have the honor of knowing to #inspire you by sharing their stories, tips, and clips of how they make use of their living spaces, to continue to teach, train, and create.
Buckle Up As we Travel the World Together meeting these divine Artists!
First Stop:
URUGUAY:
Approximately 5,343.34 Miles (8,599.27 KM) from #NYC. Officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in the southeastern region of South America. With an estimated population of 3.51 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital and largest city, Montevideo. It borders Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and east, with the Río de la Plata (River of Silver) to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Known for its verdant interior and beach-lined coast full of culture and art. And dear to my heart, for this is where my family is from.
Introducing Professional Dancer extraordinaire Rosina Gil:
Rosina Gil, is a dancer extraordinaire who trained in classical ballet in Montevideo, Uruguay and graduated in 2000 from the National School of Dances of Uruguay. Her experience traveling around the world with prestigious dance companies is vast, which landed her the opportunity of being a featured dancer and the artistic dance coach of Volta by Cirque du Soleil in USA. She has also performed in the Dance company Deborah Colker (Rio de Janeiro), Sodre National Ballet (Montevideo), Carmen Roche Ballet (Madrid), David Campos Ballet (Barcelona), and Uninorte Ballet (Asunción).
1. How has the pandemic affected your profession?
It affected me directly because I lost my job at Cirque du Soleil, which was not just a job for me, but a very different lifestyle, always surrounded by artists, traveling a lot and dancing 10 shows a week. Luckily, the whole pandemic caught me in my country #Uruguay and I can enjoy being with my family.
2. What (tips) can you share about how you stay motivated during this time in your dance and your life?
Do online classes (Pilates, ballet, Yoga)
Plan your day generating routines, that orders your mind and generates less anxiety.
Dedicate time to a hobby that you wanted to do for a long time and never had time.
Rosina Gil in action training in her living room in Uruguay.
3. Can you share a song that motivates you?
"Sing sing nun people" by Martinho da Vila
4. Some favorite meditation or mantra, or saying that inspires you?
"When the fisherman cannot go out to sea, he spends his time repairing the nets"
Introducing Professional Dancer Salsera Valentina Viré:
Valentina Viré, Uruguayan Professional Dancer, Instructor and Choreographer. Received her bachelor's degree in Movement Arts from the InDans school in Montevideo. She did her training in dances Latinos and Afro-Cuban in “Montevideo Mambo”, with Maestros Nicolas Marin and Vanessa Grossi. She trained with the great mambo legends in NYC, such as: Eddie Torres Sr, Eddie Torres Jr, Franklin Diaz, Delia Madera, Ernesto and Denisse, Griselle Ponce. And had the honor of being the first Uruguayan woman to perform a solo routine of Rumba Cubana. She has been a principal dancer in numerous dance productions. And has danced and trained with great dance groups, as well as has developed her own solo salsa routines and Afro- Cuban routines for incredible Nacional and International events.
1. How has the pandemic affected your profession?
The pandemic from one day to the next left me without work, I found myself leaving NYC returning to Uruguay to my parents' house, giving very few classes online, the preparations, the costumes, the shows and the stages could no longer be.
2. What (tips) can you share about how you stay motivated during this time in your dance and your life?
At first, it took me a lot to get get motivated, but then I understood that this moment it served a purpose for me, to empower myself, in every sense, professionally and in life itself. Two things that helped me a lot to find myself, my way:
Taking dance lessons online
Yoga classes online
Valentina in action @ home practicing her Salsa moves outside in her yard.
3. Can you share a song that motivates you?
Any salsa I swear moves my soul with happiness, but especially, “Otra Oportunidad” by Jimmy Bosh, after having the pleasure of listening to it live at “TAJ” in NYC, I still remember the whole band playing and singing with so much passion and emotion!
"Otra Oportunidad" by Jimmy Bosch
4. Some favorite meditation or mantra, or saying that inspires you.
"Do what makes your soul shine."
Second Stop:
Argentina:
Approximately, 5,503 Miles (8,856 KM) in air distance, from #NYC. Officially the #ArgentineRepublic (Spanish:República Argentina), according to #wikipedia is a country located mostly in the southern half of South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, the country is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south of South America, covering most of the southern portion of the continent. The world’s eighth largest country, Argentina occupies an area more extensive than Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas combined. It encompasses immense plains, deserts, tundra, and forests, as well as tall mountains, rivers, and thousands of miles of ocean shoreline. It's poputaltion estimated of 45,195,774 people, and it's capital Buenos Aires, the heart and birth place of the Argentine Tango.
Introducing Professional Argentine Tango Dancer Analía Centurion:
Analía Centurion, is a professional Argentine Tango dancer & teacher, born in #Chacabuco, a city west of the capital of Buenos Aires (the birthplace of tango). She began dancing ballroom and stage tango in 95, when she was 16 years old.
Her first encounter with tango was at the age of 6, while taking piano lessons Analía, had to practice one of the most well known Tango songs, La Cumparsita. From that moment she felt a strong connection to the music which later transformed into her choice of dance. Her first tango event, in which her family was present, the applause moved her and excited her, and ever since she hasn't stopped gracing us with her elegance and precision, dancing Argentine Tango. https://tangocenturion.com
1. How has the pandemic affected your profession?
It has affected me in not being able to share the hug, the meetings, the social in person contact directly with my friends, family and students. And not to mention the loss of jobs, performing on stages, rehearsals, and canceled work related trips. But despite all the bad things that are happening worldwide, I connected with new projects and with my personal home. This pause helps me travel and be in contact in other ways with my loved ones, creating new possibilities in my personal as well as in my career.
2. What tips can you share about how you stay motivated during this time in your dance and in life?
I remain enthusiastic about my passions, by promoting my online Tango Academy where I help and accompany women so that they feel more confident and elegant with their personal tango.
I keep re-discovering myself both physically, mentally and spiritually.
I have conversations and chat with friends from different fields.
I read the books on topics that contribute and enrich my life and interests.
I have more time for Meditations that keep me more positive and help me reduce the anxiety of these moments. As well as sending good vibes to the universe.
I do exercises in company since alone it gives me a bit of laziness.
Maintain high self-esteem through my hobbies and pleasures.
I enjoy the mornings, as well as taking naps.
A good Argentine mate cannot be missed.
Analía in action @ home with her daily rituals and training in Argentina.
3. Can you share a song that motivates you?
"Todo Cambia" by Mercedes Sosa
"Tristeza" by Chango Spasiuk
4. Some favorite meditation or mantra, or saying that inspires you.
I mediate a lot using "Metodo Silva- Control mental", (Silva Method- Mental Control)
Third Stop:
Brazil:
Approximately 4,049 Miles (6516 KM) in air distance, from #NYC. According to #wikipedia, Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America and population of over 211 million people. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). It borders all other countries in South America except Ecuador and Chile. Its Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. Brazil is also known for its original music and dance styles such as Forro, Samba, Bosa Nova, Samba de Gafieira, Carimbo, & Capoeira to name a few.
Introducing Brasilian Dancer Anderson Mendes:
Anderson Mendes, is a professional Brazilian dancer specializing in #Brazilian partner dance for more than 20 yrs, and has traveled to teach his dance style nationally and internationally. Currently, Anderson and his beautiful talented dance partner Brenda Carvalho, have created a dance program that focuses on the the therapeutic aspect of dance and its benefits. As a partnership, Brenda and Anderson are considered two of the best Samba de Gafieira dancers in the world and have been focused almost entirely on zouk for the last few years. They focus on themes that encompass dance as a whole, such as #connection, #energy through #touch, technique in body movement, and #flow. They divide their time between workshop preparation, concept development, choreography, and international tours in order to build a center of integration of #mind, #body, and #spirit that has been the main focus in their partnership. For more information follow Anderson Mendez:
Instagram: @andersonmendesrocha
Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/AndersonBrenda
Anderson in action @home dancing for pure joy.
1. How has the pandemic affected your profession? It has totally affected me on the financial side! The jobs I had for the entire year were canceled or rescheduled for next year! 2. What (tips) can you share about how you stay motivated during this time in your dance and your life? Not being able to work actually gave me many things, and what motivated me the most was:
To dance only for the pure enjoyment of my own body.
To dance more by myself instead of with a partner.
To look deeper into dance as something more therapeutic.
3. Can you share a song that motivates you? The current song today that moves me a lot is by the singer RAVEENA - Honey
"Honey" by Raveena
4. Some favorite meditation or mantra, or saying that inspires you. "Dance putting all the attention on my body and the parts of which I am focused!"
Fourth Stop:
India:
Approximately 7,302 Miles, 11,752 KM in air distance from #NYC, to Delhi, India. According to #wikipedia officially (the Republic of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the second-most populous country, the seventh-largest country by land area, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Seaon the southwest, and the Bay of Bengalon the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistanto the west; China,Nepal, and Bhutanto the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border withThailand and Indonesia. Aside from the traditional classical music and traditional classical Indian style dances, Bollywood is India's most famous form of music and dance. It is called the film music, influenced by the style of film #Bollywood. But in the mist of this popularity is also Argentine Tango.
Introducing Argentine Tango Dancer Vivek Yadav:
Vivek Yadav, One of India's leading Tango dancer, teacher, performer, and choreographer. Organizing and teaching Tango throughout India from 2010- 2019. As a teacher, he had founded two Tango Schools, one in Mumbai and the other in Goa, India. As a choreographer, he worked on various commercials, for Film, & TV. He also organized many successful tango events, including 6 Goa International Tango weekends. Vivek currently works with infrastructure in telecom in India, & is dedicating a lot of his time on his new found passion shoemaking. He continues to be involved with Tango organizing tango workshops occasionally & focuses on his new collection of hand crafted Men Tango Shoes that will soon be available for purchase.
Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoes_by_vivek/
1. How has pandemic affected your profession .
Professionally the pandemic did not affect me directly in my profession, since last year I decided to work in a different field, instead of solely in TANGO and dance. But losing the freedom of dancing at all, was not pleasant as it was not happening any where. Although, in a way it helped because it wouldn't have been easy to let go of Tango as my profession after 10 years of actively being a part of it . It gave me time and space to focus on my new profession and enjoy my new passion hand crafting men dance shoes.
2. What tips can you share about how you stay motivated during this time in your dance and in life?
Tango music is an area which I feel needs more work.
Listen to more and more music. I would advice to study tango music.
Discover things in the music that are not so emphasized in regular classes that tend to focus a lot more on technique and creativity.
Use this time to get to know the music better . Hopefully this will influence your dance when we all get together again.
I did a musicality class for my students during this time.
Our regular lifestyles have gotten affected by the pandemic, so try to indulge fully in what you can manage to work at. I enjoy working on shoes, so I have made 40 pairs & work on my musicality.
Vivek @ home in action working on his Dance shoe collection in India.
3. Can you share a song that motivates you?
"Bahia Blanca", from Carlos Di Sarli
"El Flete", from Juan D'Arienzo
4. Some favorite meditation or mantra, or saying that inspires you.
Meditation /mantra:
W&W: Walk a lot , Work a lot .
Walking keeps you physically healthy and active.
Work keeps you mentally active and healthy.
Final Stop N.Y.c, USA!
New York City, USA, abbreviated as NYC and my hometown! According to #wikipedia, NYC is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2019 population of 8,336,817 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, where I had the honor of teaching dance classes to the UN Dance Club. This beautiful and multi- cultural city, attracts artists from all walks of earth, and from all over the world. The heart and soul of the theater district and underground art, and the home to all dance forms. And also the hardest hit, due to the pandemic, affecting our Art communities as a whole.
Fortunately, we as dancers, actors, musicians, painters, writers, artists, during all these unforeseen changes adapt, re-invent, re-define, and continue to create, because there can not exist a world without art. So get inspired, re-define, re-invent, explore, and create ways to continue to dance, to create.
Take aways for me from these Divine Artists:
Plan your day generating routines, that orders your mind and generates less anxiety. Rosina Gil
"Do what makes your soul shine." Valentina Viré
"A good Argentine mate, (tea like drink) cannot be missed."Analía Centurión
"To look deeper into dance as something more therapeutic." Anderson Mendes
"W&W: Walk a lot , Work a lot ." Vivek Yadav
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Until the next time, Inspire On!