Saturday, July 30, 2011

Anne Polajenko: National Dance Day!!!


HOW ARE YOU CELEBRATING NATIONAL DANCE DAY JULY, 30th?
           When we were children, we all danced around to expend energy and express our happiness. Then, we "un-learn" this most basic means of expression and become self-conscious, awkward adults. It's a shame really. So many cultures cultivate the primal need to dance, indeed revel in it.

        
          They are the happier for it. Some of us are old enough to remember Anthony Quinn dancing in the movie "Zorba the Greek". Sheer joy, sheer abandon. Just dancing! That's what it's all about.

         
          Write us, let us know how you plan to celebrate this day. If you are a fan of "So You Think You Can Dance", you can go online to learn a specific routine that you might enjoy doing with your friends. But, if memorizing is a problem, then just get basic. After all, dance is a human instinct and you don't have to be a dancer to get up and dance.

          Just get out of your chair, dance a little happy gig of your own making. No one has to watch, you don't need applause. Just do it, and feel good about yourself!  Dance is the only way the human body knows to express itself. It is an instinctive physical expression of many things, especially joy.

                                               
                           --- Anne Polajenko
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    We hope you are having a fantastic Saturday, and a glorious Dance Day!
    
    Love from your humble blogger,

Friday, July 29, 2011

Guest Writer Steven Demmler: "Superman's Landlord"


Superman took up residence on the upper east side of Manhattan after a unanimous vote by the citizens of Metropolis forbid him from continuing to live or work in the municipality. As a former Metropolitan, and current New Yorker, I was conflicted– he once saved my father’s life but he also nearly breath-froze my best friend Jim to death when we were eight. Jimmy’s eyelashes never did grow back. Still, the cardinal rule of real estate during a recession says to never turn a renter with disposable income away. On May 5, 2009, I became Superman’s landlord. 

When I was seven years old my father, a detective, moved our family from New York City to Metropolis.  Being the budding economist that I was (my mother read my younger brother and me bedtime stories from The Atlantic, and The Economist), I queried my father, “Why give up a secure higher paying job and pension in the world’s greatest city to move us to Metropolis – a city that amounts to little more than a comic parody of our old home – and take a pay cut?” He replied, “Superman.”

You see, Superman’s popularity and effectiveness and sanity were still to peak at the time and my father, weary of a case gone wrong leaving his family without support but unwilling to ride a desk from nine to five, saw a solution in the red-caped hero. The frequency of injuries to cops began a steady and steep decline upon Superman’s entrance into criminal justice. Yet, because of a fierce union police salary remained level, even achieving a slight increase per year to accommodate rising costs of living. 

My father’s decision proved prophetic a year later. A couple of overweight, suited-up goons hired by a local mobster he was about to bring down tried to “persuade” him to keep his mouth shut. As one goons’ foot persuaded my father in the gut repeatedly, the other loaded his closing argument into a silver and black 9mm Glock. Hope drained from my father’s thoughts and his mind set to the required flashback until Superman descended as if from heaven to emancipate my father from his executioners. With a burst of laser from his huskie-blue eyes Superman dispatched the criminals before ever putting his feet to pavement.
“How can I repay you?” father asked.
 “Do not worry, citizen.” Sensing my father’s reticence to accept aide without offering some gift of gratitude he continued, “You can help me out next time I am in trouble.”
And with a smooth sane grin and wink – a grin and wink that eventually degenerated to cackle and twitch – he disappeared, a goon per hand, into the morning’s red sky.

Dad’s assessment of the quantity of injuries suffered by cops turned out to be too conservative. After almost a decade of activity in Metropolis, Superman had eradicated nearly all of the city’s crime. Not only were cops not being injured in the line of duty, they were being laid off or forced into earlier retirement with only partial pensions. A blanket of safety not experienced by any other city in history quelled initial frustration. Yes, a partial pension meant a smaller apartment, but our family made it work. We all made it work and we were thankful.

That’s when madness began to take hold.

Eventually, Superman cleaned up Metropolis so thoroughly that he resorted to forcibly thwarting the child’s game ‘Cops and Robbers’ to fulfill his insatiable duty for crime stopping.

At first Metropolitans said nothing – Superman had earned their indulgence, at least, for a time. After all, was he not the man who once repelled General Zed, outsmarted the devious Lex Luthor, and prevented Doomsday from wreaking destruction on the city’s gentle and otherwise helpless citizens? Not long after his digression into a tolerated super-bully, however, there were no more ‘Cops,’ no more ‘Robbers.’
Superman began spending a lot of time in court.
“Yes, your honor, Jimmy padlocked Timmy to a set of imaginary train tracks and strapped an inordinate amount of imaginary C-4 to his head, chest, and legs. I had to freeze-breath the eight-year-old because he was about to press the detonator.”
The judge replied, “The detonator was a Push-Pop, a piece of candy. Your ice breath left the child severely burned! He has to undergo months of painful medical treatment to replace the frostbitten skin.”
“Crime doesn’t pay. I don’t know about you, your honor, but I could not live with myself if I had to tell Timmy’s parents that he was turned into an imaginary suicide bomb and not only been exploded himself but was the instrument of death for every passenger on the incoming imaginary train.”
Despite the court ruling against Superman, indeed they declared him medically unfit to participate in society on numerous occasions, the Kryptonian continued to fulfill his mandate to eradicate evil wherever he saw it. The recession had hid Metropolis hard: the city overextended itself, ordering nearly forty new towering buildings – condominiums – all designed by Frank Owen Gehry; each a unique design. Barely halfway through the massive building project the housing bubble popped and the city’s funding dried up. Metropolis’s financial situation became even more dire when the fifteen completed buildings failed to secure even twenty-five percent capacity. So, despite the courts numerous rulings against their now mentally unstable former savior, the money to purchase the amount of Kryptonite needed to construct a cell capable of holding the domestic terrorist in place was unavailable.

Still, Metropolitan patience persevered amongst the childless demographics – singles and marriages consisting of a barren woman, impotent man, or both. Superman’s popularity during this period in fact grew amongst the curmudgeonly retiree demographic whose spokesperson was once quoted saying “those children deserved what they got. Freeze breath? If only my father would have just frozen me! When I was in ‘Nam…” When lack-of-crime ennui saw the Krypotinian take to bursting through suburban ceilings (lack of in-flight combat engendered severely diminished aerial precision) to rescue suburbanite’s from the dreaded “what is for dinner?” monster, however, the tainted memories of past heroisms faded into outrage for the childless. He lost the curmudgeons when he apprehended the actor playing Matlock for unlicensed construction of a bomb.

Several years later having returned to New York City and become involved in real estate I found myself flirting with financial ruin. When the housing bubble burst in late 2008 three of my properties – my nicest and most expensive - remained vacant. And it was right then that my childhood hero reappeared in my life. Thrice evicted from apartments all over the five boroughs Superman landed in my office, homeless. When it finally became clear to my father that Superman would be evicted from Metropolis, he befriended the mentally unstable hero and gave him my number.

Spread thin financially and in no position to turn away income, I offered him a spacious 500 square-foot studio apartment in an up and coming Manhattan neighborhood for $3,200 a month, which I assured him was a steal. He refused to steal. We reached an accord - $5,000 a month, provided I paid for cable and Internet. His negotiating skills were now as deft as his moral judgment. Am I proud of taking advantage of a madman and former childhood hero? No. Truth and justice were not present in our transaction but “the American way” was, and that did provide some comfort. So did the $5,000 cash per month.

I am not completely self-centered, though. In truth, I agreed to sign the lease partly in order to honor my father’s wish to repay Superman for saving his life years ago. After all, Superman, besides my father, was my hero as a child. So when he walked into my office on signing day adorned in cape, suits pants, and thick black-rimmed glasses calling himself “Clark Superkent” my heart broke. Maybe we asked too much of him, maybe he needed more time to himself. Where do intergalactic superheroes go on vacation? It is perhaps more likely that Krypton was never destroyed and he was sent to Earth for the same reason that deficient Spartan babies were sent to the bottom of chasms and craters. On May 5, 2009, when he signed the obviously used paper towel on my desk that I told him was the leasing agreement and subsequently burst through the ceiling of my office, I learned an important lesson: always ask for a double deposit.
 --- Steven Demmler

Steven Demmler received his undergraduate degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University in Philosophy. He has recently graduated from Harvard with his masters in Theology and is now pursuing his writing career with his lovely wife in South Florida. Look forward to seeing more works done by this brilliant rising star. Follow his blog HERE
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If you are a writer or an artist and wish to have your work featured here please shoot an email to news@sodanca.com 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
Love from your humble blogger,

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

An Evening With Anne Polajenko: "5 ways to ruin your pointe shoes"



5 WAYS TO RUIN YOUR POINTE SHOES:


  1. Leave them in your dance bag, nice and wet, until the next time you wear them.
Glue is what holds the shoe together. It softens with the heat of your foot but should be allowed to fully dry and harden before you dance in them again. That means taking them out and airing them overnight.

  1. Pour water over the box to break them in faster.
While this method can work, it often leaves the shoes over-wet. Try pouring a little bit of rubbing alcohol on the box instead. It works and also dries quickly.

  1. Walk in them outdoors, like in the grass.
Again, it’s an issue of dampness. You do not want the sole to get wet.

  1. Break them in by crushing the shoes in a doorjamb.
If you want to try this, you’d better have a lot of experience! Always better to soften the box by hand where you have control over how much pressure to put.

  1. Go up on your new shoes and bear down as hard as you can on the shank.
Store owners are driven crazy by dancers who try shoes by pushing over the box and bearing down as hard as they can in new shoes. This is not something you would ever do while you are dancing so why do this to a new shoe at all? You will only succeed in softening the shank before its time or breaking it altogether. 

        --- Anne Polajenko

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   Love from your humble blogger,

Monday, July 25, 2011

Anne Polajenko Speaks: "Dance Moms"


Anne Polajenko
        Everyone has an opinion about the Lifetime reality show, Dance Moms, so I guess I’ll add my five cents worth. 
Scott Gries, Dance Moms
        Amid the absolute outrage this show has caused (my own included) you have to realize that the more you email, Twitter, Tweet and blog about it, the more you are making the network happy. Talk, good or bad, is exactly what they want. 
Corporate Greed
        So, if you really want this monstrosity to go off the air, don’t watch the show. Let the ratings drop through the floor! And, if you really want some action, try writing the advertisers instead. They pay the bills.
Otherwise, your expressions of moral outrage are for nothing. 

Speak out!
         I, for one, will not give these wretched people a minute more of my time. 
             -- Anne Polajenko
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      What is your opinion about the show? Is it doing a ton of harm or not? Should anything be done about it?
Let us know what you think!


    Love from your humble blogger,

Friday, July 22, 2011

Google + And The War on Facebook


            We've recently done a post about the sale of Myspace for considerably less then it was bought for, and how much the market changes so quickly. Also we mentioned Google + and how it is now engaging in war with facebook for the social network standard. The war of the social network titans has begun, and it has been a fierce battle. Not that the other two titans in the industry mind of course.


             I got a Google + account about 2 weeks back and after playing around with all the features within it, I've become a very big fan of Goggle + fast. They won my loyalty over facebook by their slick looks, their security/privacy set up system (social network bubbles), no ads anywhere, and just information sharing at it's best. Plus it's invite only right now so there's only a portion of the populace exploring this new domain, thus so far rounds one through three of this epic titan fight go to Google +.

Goggle+ vs Facebook by Zirta
             Of course facebook will remain relevant for the years to come, it's not as if Google + will be successful in defeating facebook in a year or so, but maybe in two to three years either we'll be seeing some significant changes to facebook (in order to compete) or a massive amount of people flow leave facebook to join Google +.

 

             We've seen facebook battle many an opponents who were hungry for the title and win, but facebook has never come face to face with something as massively awesome and powerful as Google +, and thus I look forward to this battle continuing, in the end we are the ones that win, we get more content, better services, and a better social network, all thanks to competition.
Google+ by *Octans
         
          How do you feel about Google +, better or worse then facebook? Do you think Google will win in the end?

          Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and a glorious Friday,

   Love from your humble blogger,

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

An Evening with Anne Polajenko: "DMA NATIONAL CONVENTION"



DMA NATIONAL CONVENTION

An event I look forward to every year is the Dance Masters National Convention. The location changes every year and this time it took place at the Gaylord Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. So why on earth would anyone in their right mind give up their 4th of July holiday to spend about a week with approximately one thousand kids, their teachers, parents and siblings? Manning a booth at an event like this is no small potatoes. Yet there is an atmosphere, a certain something that makes it truly enjoyable.

DMA, in its long history, is very much a family. I have always been amazed at the grueling schedule these kids keep – master classes in all disciplines, scholarship classes, competitions and evening performances. Beginning early in the morning and ending late at night, it never stops. Yet, these young dancers (and some are very young) manage through it all with energy and grace. It’s nice to see them grow both physically and artistically over the years and is a true pleasure to visit with their teachers every time.

So let me tell you about Dina Nina and her success at DMA. She is like a magnet, a pint size ballerina, perfect in every way. The way kids talk about her you’d think she was a real person but in fact Dina Nina is a print on a T – shirt! Her creator, Breno Barbosa, is a Brazilian artist with an obvious eye for capturing movement. His work illustrates Dina Nina dancing her favorite roles, in perfect ballet positions that most of us can only aspire to achieve. She is a delicate swan or a fiery Carmen, a charming Giselle and a brilliant Esmeralda.. Dina Nina does it all with passion. She takes class daily of course (Dina Nina at the barre) and chats with her boyfriend (Hugo Nino) on the cell phone. Occasionally she will dance with her mentor, Dina Terezhina.

Dina Nina has legions of fans. Often, they are waiting for our booth to open to purchase the next shirt for their collection. It doesn’t take long for a crowd to gather. I get such a kick out of it. Dina Nina has truly taken on a life of her own. Her smallest fan is 18 months old, her oldest in her mid- eighties. Such fun!

So we packed our bags at the close of DMA, tired but always happy to bring smiles to so many faces. Dina Nina will begin touring again at the semi-finals and finals of Youth America Grand Prix before returning for an encore to DMA – Los Angeles. See you there!

     --- Anne Polajenko

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Love from your humble blogger,

Monday, July 18, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review


        I got the chance to watch the new Harry Potter film this last weekend and have to admit that though the movie provides us with a solid conclusion to the series, that it does not wow us in the way that it could have had. Don't take me wrong, the movie was great, good combat sequences, good acting (for the most part), and a good ending movie over all.
         The movie has you focused on the story from beginning to end, but it does not have the wow feature one could wish for while watching it. It felt like it was lacking something, like something was off about it, though it delivered a good spectacle over all, it felt lacking in parts. This mostly applies to those that did not read all the books and only watched the movies, so really this review will make a lot of sense to those that only watched the movies the most, but I think those book fans out there will appreciate some of these observations as well.
        *Warning Some Spoilers*
        Things That Would Have Made The Movie Great:
This is the look of doooooom....ummm, I mean love of course

1. Harry and Ginny

         In the movies we really are never given the chance and time we need in order to fall in love with Ginny's character. She gets introduced, they kind of get acquainted and out of no where Harry is macking on Ron's sister. It's way to sudden, there's little to no time for us to get to know her or care about their romance. With Ron and Hermione we have tons of epic build up, from the first movie to the last there are very systematic intentional moments of us falling in love with not just their characters but their love as well. Even in advertising, Harry and Ginny did not get the same luxury.

Classy couple really

         Even the kiss between Harry and Ginny in the final film is weird and awkward, lacking passion. Think back on the movies, you could put all of Ginny's lines into a two page script, what were they thinking? With more romance between them, character development and some more lines then we would have come to love Ginny and truly appreciate her screen time on the last film. As it stands right now every time we saw her this past movie we knew we needed to have this feeling of "Awwww" but instead could only have the *awkward silence* feelings.
        I'm sorry Ginny but you should have taken us on a few dates before thinking you would just steal our hearts.  

I do what I want, deal with it

   2. Dumbledore

      This is a significant major flaw in the film, we never get to truly care about Dumbledore and in the last flick we end thinking that he was a jerk at best, and that his brother is the man. This is not the case in the books, I know, but it is the case in the movie. In the movie we have a non caring Dumbledore in the possession of the elder wand who lets his first year students fight the most dreaded wizard of all. This doesn't get better in other years, the guy practically does nothing to aid the students. We're talking a super strong wizard, who runs one of the largest magic schools in the world, who doesn't do crap, he actually does more harm then good at times by withholding information and just plain not being there when needed.
      So in his demise on the 6th movie there really aren't a lot of tears to be shed for the guy. To make matters worse we find out he's a jerk in the 7th movie. Then we later on get a good interaction of Harry and Dumbledore towards the end of the flick but it still doesn't cure all the wrong he did in the past, which makes his badass brother the man. His brother did more magic then Dumbledore ever did in all 7 books and the guy was only truly present in the last book/movie.
      By giving us more action Dumbledore sequences and tying in some loose ends we would have cared more about Dumbledore, and it would have mattered more that he was there for Harry in the end.

I'll stay by your side....well sort of

   3. Hagrid

      This is a minor point but still a point none of the less. Hagrid is an integral character in the films, he is present in every movie and in every movie has an important role to play in aiding Harry, thus making us have a soft spot for the man. I mean he has an important role in all the movies except the one that matters most, the last one. We're talking end of the world battle going on and Hagrid is no where to be seen, the guy just up and vanishes, no explanations or anything.
      Tell me something, if you're about to take down the most evil wizard of all time would you not want to recruit the help of your friend that has an arsenal of monsters at his side that can aid you? We're talking a giant, a dragon, a three headed dog, and that's just the beginning. There's also the horse-men within the enchanted forest that Hagrid could have recruited. That is a huge hole. I'm sure that after the battle Harry had a few guilt trip moments toward Hagrid for being absent when the whole thing is going on.

Did we just forget about "The Goblet Of Fire"?

     4. The Final Battle

       Now that you can see how we got here, here is how the battle would have been 10 x more epic. If they had recruited the help of the other schools, if they had all of Hagrid's beasts to fight along side them. If they had gotten some dragons to aid them (if you can speak snake, I'm sure Dragon Lure wouldn't be too hard to learn), by getting all the parents of the students to aid in the battle, (sidenote: why is it that the only families that is fighting together in this whole mess are the Weasleys and the Malfoys?).
     Basically getting all the beasts and friends they met in 7 years of schooling to come and help defeat the most evil wizard of all. It just doesn't make sense to not do so. this would have made the battle epic and meaningful, it would tie it all together to a battle of good versus evil and we would have more stock on how the world would be doomed if they failed.

     Think about it, you know I'm right. There are several plot holes that needed to be amended and by following these simple logical steps they would have wowed everyone that watched the movie. As it stands now the movie was great, I agree, but it wasn't an "AMAZING!", it was a simple "yay, good movie".

      What did you think of the movie? Do you agree/disagree with with I think above?

     Love from your humble blogger,

Friday, July 15, 2011

Anne Polajenko's "In-House" Pointe Seminar!


      So Danca will be hosting a "in-house" pointe shoe seminar this coming sunday the 17th, presented by our very own Anne Polajenko, most of you know of Mrs. Polajenko but for education's sake here is a bio detailing her accomplishments and training. We will be having a series of events like this coming up at our home showroom in Deerfield Beach, Florida, these events are invite online and when a sign up is available it'll be for a limited number of people so be sure to keep your eyes open and sign up early!


        -----------Anne Polajenko Bio-----------   
           French born ballerina, Anne Polajenko, enjoyed a long professional  career with major European ballet companies, during which time she performed every classical ballet and had works created especially for her. She worked with such diverse choreographers as George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Nicholas Beriosoff and Serge Golovine. The culmination of her career came when George Balanchine became Artistic Advisor to the Geneva Grand Theatre Ballet and for the next four years she had the privilege of dancing 14 of his ballets, most notably such master works as “Symphony in C”, “Serenade”, “4 Temperaments”, “Agon” and “Concerto Barocco”. At the same time, she became company Regisseur and, under Balanchine's expert tutelage, she learned the intricacies of company management. Retired from the stage in 1973, Mrs. Polajenko devoted herself to teaching and coaching future generations of dancers. Her teaching credits include Point Park College (Pittsburgh, PA), Houston Ballet (Principal Teacher and Ballet Mistress), Ballet Florida, Harid Conservatory and Miami City Ballet where she was appointed Children’s Ballet Mistress in charge of restaging Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker.” From 1976-88 she was the Artistic Director of Houston Dance Center, a school and company she helped found and whose students joined such companies as San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Cleveland Ballet and Joffrey II. Mrs. Polajenko has been a guest teacher or choreographer for schools and companies throughout the Southeastern United States, as well as for Dance Masters of America. She has been honored by the City of Houston and the State of Texas for her commitment on behalf of the arts, and recognized by the National Foundation for the Arts as a Teacher of a Presidential Scholar. Her biography appears in the Cambridge Who’s Who.

 In 2002, Ms. Polajenko joined So’Dança, one of the world’s leading dancewear manufacturers, as Pointe Shoe Specialist and Public Relations officer for North American operations. In October 2002, she was invited to represent the United States on the jury of the 1st International Cecilia Kerche Ballet Competition in Brazil and again, since 2006, as a Master Teacher and Jury member for the Passo de Arte competitions. For several years she has been a speaker at the Dance Retailer News Expo in Las Vegas and at the Dance Teacher Conference in New York. She works extensively with dancers,  teachers and retailers and conducts professional company shoe fittings throughout the United States and Canada.
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       We look forward to seeing those are will be attending this coming Sunday 7/17/2011 for it's sure to be a fantastic event, 
   We also hope you all have a fantastic weekend and a glorious Friday, 

    Love from your humble blogger,

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Funny-Embarrasing "Hastings" Story


        There exists this video rental store by my house called "Hastings" where I rent everything that I cannot find on Netflix instant stream, I usually get all new movies or older stuff that Netflix doesn't have there. Hastings has this really convenient program where if you return a movie by the nest day that you rent it you receive credit to your account which you may use in your next purchase. This comes in really handy and makes renting there really cheap sometimes. So when you go to "check out" the cashier rings your movies through and the credits come up on the computer. Let's say for example you just rented Titanic and returned it the next day, so when you go to rent another movie and go to "check out" there will be a note that will pop up in the computer saying something along the lines of "Titanic -$2,50" and you'll receive that credit. K, now that we got that out of the way, on to the story.
       Though I don't like to admit it much I am a nerd, and one of the nerdiest qualities I have is liking anime. Hastings happens to have a significant collection of anime so I sometimes rent shows there that I can't find on Netflix. I happen to have seen an anime I particularly enjoyed called "Tsubasa Chronicles" and was told that there is a spin off anime that is called "Xxxholic" that was supposed to be even better then Tsubasa so I rented them from Hastings, keep in mind that these are both kids anime shows, like kids Japanese cartoons. I then while I was home realized that Xxxholic is on Netflix so I returned it the next day, just made sense to do so.
      So to sum up so far:


      So I go back a few days later so rent a few movies for the weekend. I find all the movies I was looking for and head to the cashier line, which happened to be really big that particular day. So this cute Hastings worker opens another cashier and signals me to head over to her line which makes me feel all awesome and such, "cute cashier is calling me over to the front of the line, this must be my day" I thought. So she goes about the regular process of scanning my card and scans the first movie, and guess what comes up on the computer screen, "Xxxholic -$1.50", to which she pauses, looks at the screen again, and looks back at me with judging eyes.
     At this point I realize that Hastings happens to have an Adult Movies section and that this girl thinks I rented one previously due to the title of this particular anime. I freeze at this point, not sure how to react, here is a really attractive girl looking at me expecting either some explanation or just a shrug, and guess which one I choose to do....I shrugged. Why? Because for that split second it felt that an attractive girl would be more ok with me renting an adult title then an anime. So in my head I came to the split second conclusion that Anime < Adult title, which seems all kinds of messed up as far as the world operates, but that IS how the world operates.
      Till this day whenever I go to the store this girl gives me the knowing look of doom, and I want to go explain what happened to her but restrain myself cause when you try to justify something it usually means you're guilty of something so it just makes sense to refrain from doing so. Cause something in me says that I would rather this girl think me a perv then a nerd. Now that's pretty messed up thinking, I know, but that's high school politics ingrained in my head, tough to get rid of it.
      This was a good laugh to all my friends though, they thought this whole story was comic relief to the max, thus I decided to share it with you all. 

      Well, this is my unfortunate embarrassing story, lol, hope it made some of you laugh,

         Love from your humble blogger,
     

Monday, July 11, 2011

An Evening With Anne Polajenko: "Pre-Arched Pointe Shoes"


Pre arched Pointe shoes:


What is a pre-arched shoe?

       These shoes are a fairly recent development in the construction of Pointe shoes. The pre-arch refers to

the type of leather shank which in this case is specially made to be very flexible and conform to the dancer's

arch. Once it has taken its shape, the "memory" arch remains the same.
      
       One advantage of a pre-arched shoe is that it breaks in more easily which makes it a good shoe for the stage.
       
       So'Dança makes a variety of styles in pre-arched shoes. These include styles for each type of foot:

Greek (with a longer second toe), Egyptian (toes slanting diagonally) and Square. There are style with "U"

shaped vamps as well as the very popular new "V" shape vamp.

                                --- Anne Polajenko
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    Hope you all had a fantastic weekend :)

       Love from your humble blogger,

Friday, July 8, 2011

Patriotic Movies We Love


    Fourth of July just left us this past Monday, in all it's glory and majesty, this day is a day to be celebrated above all others and will forever be in the heart of Americans in the generations to come.
    One of the ritual things some of us have within the 4th is to watch a patriotic movie which raises all kinds of emotional responses and gets us ready for some fireworks action.
    I've recently taken a poll and found a list of basically the most watched movies during the 4th of July and most patriotic movies of all time, here we go:

Forrest Gump
       
        Here's a movie about the simple everyday causal American, it's a story that shows the life of one man and his involvement within American history. It gives us a clear picture of what the American dream looks like, the idea that no matter who you are or what limitations you might have, that you can still succeed in life. In America the land of opportunity.

Rocky IV



     
            This movie puts us in the middle of the Cold War, with Stallone representing the American dream that will be fighting against Russia. It's a fantastic movie, there's a sense of pride that wells up in any American that watches this movie, a sense of "we must win" when Rocky is going through the toughest fight in his career yet. Of course only to have him leave the arena with the American flag raised, a nice touch in the end.

Independence Day



      So this one is my personal favorite, it encompasses all we love about America. Us going and kicking some Alien taint and saving the world, women working in the white house (not true in many countries), freedom of religion, it hurts our pride when the aliens destroy all our great American monuments, but our pride is reformed with the presidential speech, it's filled with American Dream icons from beginning to end. And honestly I don't care who you are, after you finished watching the presidential speech in this movie you can't help but want to join in and kick some alien taint.

Air Force One



     
          Harrison Ford is the president of the United States, he's on Air Force One and terrorists attack taking over the flight. What does the president do? He fights, of course, taking down the whole terrorist unit by himself, cause our presidents are amazing and awesome and can do anything. It's probably one of the 'brashest' movies in the list, specially when Harrison Ford looks at the head terrorist and says the epic cheesy line, while projecting a perfect man voice, "Get off my plane!". It's so ridiculous that it becomes awesome.

Any Alien, Monster, World Threat Movie




     
         For some reason when tragedy strikes it does so in the United States, and of course we retaliate back and destroy the threat, or lead the world in being able to destroy the threat. Think of any alien, monster or world threat movie that is not in America, where America does not save the day, yeah, I know, it doesn't exist. America is just that awesome, at least according to Hollywood (and they would never steer us the wrong way of course), regardless of semantics these movies are all a great 4th of July pick, anything that raises your American spirit will do I guess. And don't forget the coming movie Captain American which shows us what a real hero looks like in all its patriotic glory.

The Patriot (or other American War movies)




    
        There's something to be said about Mel Gibson with a tomahawk killing some Brits in the name of justice. A fantastic film that raises our American pride to the max, with a complete cast of amazing actors, which includes the late Heath Ledger, the movie is sure to blow you away. From beginning to end it screams patriotism, and will forever have a place on this list for years to come.

      So go and grab some popcorn, put on your America shirt or pajamas and go watch some good ol' American cinema, where the good triumph over the bad, the weak against the strong, all while raising that flag we love, in the land of the free and home of the brave.

     We hope you had a fantastic 4th of July and a great week,

  Love from your humble blogger,

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

An Evening With Anne Polajenko: "So Danca Presents"

 Hi All,
Here are a few photos you might enjoy of some So Dancers. All pics were taken at the recital of Southern Dance Theater in Boynton Beach, FL.,
June 11.


Anne with Leon Cobb, 18. Leon has just graduated high school. Unusually gifted, Leon began dancing only two years ago. At the end of his first year he was already accepted into the Alvin Ailey Summer Program in NY. He will be attending the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts in the fall. So Danca has been providing Leon with all his dancewear since he started dancing.

Anne and Tessa Bravata, 15, winner of the first So Danca Award of Excellence in Dance. Tessa is an outstanding student and richly deserves to be recognized for her talent and dedication. She wins one year of free dancewear and shoes, as well as the opportunity to model for us. She received her award at Southern Dance Theater's annual recital.

Two outstanding students together.

        -- Anne Polajenko
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     We hope you all had a fantastic 4th of July and enjoyed the fire works ^_^ for those in Canada have a happy belated Canada Day for last week ^_^
      Lots of celebrating, always a good thing,

       Love from your humble blogger,

Friday, July 1, 2011

myspace.com Sold!

     Myspace was the first big social media site to come out years ago, leading us to a new era of sharing information and being connected via the internet. Though it was the Godfather of social networks at one point, as of late myspace has been forgotten, not just forgotten but has become irrelevant. This is a scary thing about the internet, you're talking a site that got first sold to News Corp for $550 million has now been re-sold to Specific Media for $35 million, for those of you at home not wanting to do the math that is a $515 million dollar loss, truly a significant loss.
     The scary thing about the internet is how quickly it all happened, we're talking a 6 year period for myspace to not only devalue significantly but for it to become utterly irrelevant in the market. Which raises the question of is $35 million too much for a site that has such little traffic and customer loyalty?
     But there is another competitor on the horizon, Google has just recently released beta of their own social media program Google +, which is invite only for now, and looks fantastic. Everyone that has taken a look at it has only spoken kind words about the program. So is facebook in trouble?
     Facebook is an empire, true, I understand, but so was myspace and look at it now. Google is a big enough name and has big enough funds to take over the social network scene if they desired. Can anyone stand up to Google, well Facebook surely could, we are about to witness a battle between two internet giants, and also let's not forget that with myspace being sold, that this can only mean that Specific Media has plans of trying to get the fallen giant back in the game. Which brings us to a vicious battle that will soon take place between the industry Giants and the fallen underdog.
      This is not all bad, this is actually a very good thing, this means that Facebook and Google will both begin to evolve and offer us the consumer more options, better services and so on, in order to get our loyalty. Which is always welcomed, evolution is always a good thing.
        One big advantage brought up by XKCD this week is that our families are not in the Google social media, facebook has become so big that parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, all have accounts, meaning they all have access to your posts, pictures and so forth. The argument for different security settings can be made, but honestly, who even messes with that stuff anyway, a very limited amount of paranoid people, the rest of us just don't post very personal pics and posts there as to avoid being reprimanded by a family member or getting in trouble at work/church/school/etc.
       Phillip De Franco does a pretty good job covering this whole story too, check his Thursday vlog HERE
    
 What do you think about this whole social network battle that is underway?  Leave a comment bellow and let us know what you think :)

   Anyway, hope you all had a fantastic week and that this weekend is a great one,

      Love from your humble blogger,