The Lorax Loves Trees And So Should You

     Every year or so we get a movie about protecting nature, about 20 years or so ago this was a norm, we used to have a ton of movies about how mother nature is dying and we need to stand up and do something about it, we even had a TV show who's soul purpose was to raise awareness of this fact "Captain Planet". For this new generation though the whole "save the trees" movement has toned down quite a lot, which is good in a sense for it has allowed for other issues to surface as well and make themselves known, but bad in the sense that saving trees is still a big deal and something we must always teach the next generation, hence the importance of the movie "The Lorax".

     "The Lorax" has stolen the box office from "John Carter", to no surprise, it is a great movie about a town that doesn't have any more trees, about the fight between materialism and greed versus nature and moderation. The "Lorax" is the one who speaks for the trees in the movie he is the one who educates our main character of all the things that have occurred in his town. This is a cute movie, it isn't the most fantastic animation ever but it is a good movie with a good message. It's no "Wall-e" for sure, but it is still a movie worth watching.

     The "go green" movement was an interesting thing to us at So Danca, for we have always gone green, since we first built our factories we have always cared about the environment, so when we heard about the "go green" movement our hearts were warmed for now more people were beginning to see things like we and others had thought for a long time. Caring for nature is an extremely important thing, if we do not care about mother Earth then what will be left of it when our kids are growing up?

     Technology and nature can co-exist, isn't that the true meaning of being an advanced technological society, taking care of Earth while progressing in our inventing? There are dreams that we must always keep intact, dreams that we must always pass on to the next generation, for if we do not then the chances of the nightmare returning are high. We must not let the mistakes of the past repeat themselves, so we must educate the next generation about what was happening to our world when we weren't taking care of it properly and how long it took for us to correct some of the atrocities that we had committed. We must always speak about respecting nature, about loving where we live and preparing it for the next generation, we must prevent history from repeating itself, and education is the key to it all.


    "The Lorax" is in theaters now and we recommend that you go see it, it was a cute movie, one worth checking out. We hope this week has been amazing, and pray that this coming weekend will be even better,


Love from your humble blogger,

"Bully" Is Being Bullied, Oh The Irony

      We've gone to great lengths in previous posts describing the horrors of bullying, it is a real problem within schools, it's a problem that has existed for a long time and has been ignored for a long time. It is interesting how bullying has become a norm, how we just accept it as a fact of life, something that cannot be changed and therefore we rarely address or even attempt to do something about it. If we were to make a list of all the movies that include bullies within them this post would go for quite a while, there have been a ton and only a few talk about change, a movie like "Charlie Bartlett" does cover both the bully and the process of change for a bully, but that is one movie among a list of few that do take it to the next level.

      In the last few years we have seen a shift occur, it is no longer the bullies that rule over society but those that were being bullied, hence the shift in attention towards bullying, this has been a fight that many ignore still, but it is a fight that has been brought to light, raising awareness to this horrid ignored problem. There is hope, there are some out there who are fighting for change, and though it is a tough battle, through the power of technology we can raise awareness, and maybe one day we can end bullying. Recently a team got together to do a documentary on bullying called "Bully", it is directed by the great Lee Hirsch, and depicts the lives of various youth who go through bullying and their struggles, he puts the truth out there right in our faces in order to raise awareness to this problem, in order to do something to try to end this disease.

     But, yes there is a but, the MPAA decided to give this movie an "R" rating, when fought on it they threatened with a "NC17" rating, here is a movie that all teens should watch, a movie that needs to be passed around in order for the problem to be understood, for teens' eyes to be opened, and see what bullying really does and the MPAA decides to bully the movie that is trying to fight bullying, no wonder the world reacted negatively to this. So a fight broke out, it has been a very interesting few week, how countries have stood up against the MPAA, Canada for instance gave it a PG13 rating, Europe the same, and more countries are standing up and defending this movie, the reason is simple, bullying is universal, it is a universal problem, an epidemic that needs to be fought and this movie is one of the few ways by which this can be done.

    For more information on "Bully" you can click on the picture above which will lead you to their site, or click here and you'll be taken there. This is a documentary that we recommend to all, that we feel everyone should watch and learn from, this is a cause we all should be aware of and fight against. We should stand up against those that are trying to hide the problem, and educate the future generations of this epidemic, the dream of a world with less bullying is no illusion, but a reality, in a sense some will always be bullies, but in another sense we can reduce those numbers. Evil can always be fought, though it may always remain present it can be reduced and that is something worth fighting for.

    We hope you have been having a great week, and pray that your week finishes well. For all those that are in Spring Break right now we pray for your safety, have fun, enjoy yourselves but please be safe.

Love from your humble blogger,

Joseph Kony 2012 Raise Awareness!!

     Sometimes the internet comes together to fight a cause or to raise awareness about a cause, these are times where we see what the internet could be, the tool it can become, and it brings a smile to our faces. Joseph Kony is not a name known to many, those that had political science in college might have heard of him, he is a modern day terrorist, the worst kind of terrorist, preying on kids and families. Here is a man who must be stopped, but has had years of bad deeds go unanswered by the world. Part of the problem is that most people do not know who the man is, another is that there has been no outcry about this massacre by the people and therefore no action has come, thus the importance of this movement, a movement that will raise awareness and tell the people that can do something about it that we, the people, care and want this guy taken out. Here is the video that has been circulating with this movement, we recommend you watch it and pass it on:

      There comes to a time to stand up and raise awareness for a cause, there are some out there that have begun to focus on "Invisible Children", who is the company that released this video, and have begun to deface the group "Invisible Children" with all sorts of accusations. We are not here to defend "Invisible Children" , you never know who is doing what is this world, but what we are here to do is defend the cause, the cause here is simple "Raise Awareness on Joseph Kony", that's the cause, that's the fight, not who put out the video and whatnot, the point here is that we need to be united and remember that together we can accomplish great things and that Kony must be stopped.

     It has warmed our hearts to see the amount of people that have come together to fight this cause, it is always a beautiful thing when the world stops and joins hands to accomplish what was thought impossible to accomplish before, we hope that this is just the beginning, one of many causes we all fight against together.

Love from your humble blogger,

The Hunger Games who is Brave and loves Snow

    It saddens us a bit to report that there are just a few movies coming out (that have been announced so far) that contain a strong female role within it, but we are happy to report that these movies all look amazing. This year we are blessed to have various interesting characters making an appearance or re-surfacing with a new look, did someone say reboot? Yeah, not all reboots are bad, let us hope that more great titles surface as the year progresses and we see more movies like "The Help" or even something like "Columbiana" surface, both of which, in their own styles, hosted strong female characters and were good movies overall.

     Starting with the reboot, or should we say the competing reboots, one cannot start a post about changing the scene without talking about "Mirror Mirror" and "Snow White and the Huntsman" which both look promising in their own way. "Mirror Mirror" is taking the more light hearted approach but still offering a different take on the story, one where Snow White isn't helpless and weak but knows how to hold her own, this movie not only has an amazing cast but is attempting to change the game a bit by offering a new perspective and bits of fun in between, a sure one to look forward to. Our other contender is "Snow White and The Huntsman" which is appealing to the mature ambiance of the story, still hosting a very strong female role and keeping a dark atmosphere about itself. Both these movies will give us a new twist in the story, but the most important part is that both of these movies are hosting a strong female figure instead of the helpless princess, it's about time, we were starting to think that "Mulan" was going to be the only one.

         We know we covered this already but it bears mentioning again that Pixar's new movie "Brave" will be coming out this summer and it will surely blow our minds. A point that we felt we should make about our post on Monday is that we are not saying that being a "stay at home" princess is a bad thing, no, what we are saying is that we as a society should support all roles of women in society, we should affirm everyone by what they choose to do, but at the same time we should encourage people to strive for excellence. So we felt that the latter side, have not really had a lot of movie inspiration going their way, thus the importance of pointing out that "Brave" is doing just that. We should always strive to affirm all people and everyone deserves a voice, we should strive to encourage people to pursue their dreams, whatever that might be, and hence the importance of the message of the movie "Brave" which is exactly that, that we should strive to aid one another to reach our goals instead of putting each other down, encouraging one another to aim for the sky, and be all that we can be.

   This brings us to the last movie that you should check out, this is one that we are very excited about, "The Hunger Games". We mentioned "The Hunger Games" in December and boy does it deserve to be talked about more and more, this movie is pushing the boundaries, it is giving us something we have never seen before, and is showing us a strong "everyday" girl who through willpower overcomes great obstacles. We were excited about this movie months back but with the recent previews that have been coming out for it, our excitement tripled if not quadrupled. Here is a story of love and loss, of courage and fear, of pain and regret, of courage and cowardice, this movie has it all and more. If you didn't have this movie in your "must watch" list before then do yourself a favor and do so now, this is the "must watch" movie this month, and if you find yourself with some free time do pick up the books, you'll love them, they will surely entertain you intensely.

     We hope that you have had a good week and pray that you have an even better weekend,

Love from your humble blogger,

Reality TV Shows That Are Ruining The Next Generation

    No matter how you spin it, TV shows do influence those that watch it. This can be a negative influence or a positive influence depending on the show. For guys we have had great male role models and some horrible ones as well, but the balance is towards more good guys than bad. Think every major TV series, most are lead by good standing guys, thus boys grow up looking up to these figures, while understanding the difference between what is success and what is not. When it comes to lead female roles within television we have seen a shift happen, and more lead female inspired shows are coming out, which we think is awesome, but the dark side of the matter is that for every good TV show influence that comes out, there are five bad influences that surface, this is a cause we must begin fighting against.

   Let's start with an obvious show, "16 and pregnant", here girls learn that having  a baby at 16 might be tough and the guy that you slept with might leave you, but you can do this and it is accomplishable, and that bad guy might just come around  and become a good guy, do give it a shot yourself. Ok, maybe we're exaggerating a bit, but this show is not about preventing girls from getting in this situation, at best it is giving an example of someone who is doing it and surviving, so providing someone with the justification to go through doing such a thing. The point here is, that the show should emphasize the reality of the situation, attempting to spread a positive message of abstinence, and encourage teenage girls to have a future, be successful and aim to the heavens, instead of their message right now which is "aim low, you can do it, she just did, so can you :)", it's sickening when you realize the kind of garbage the next generation of women are being influenced by.

     Where is the TV show that hosts the successful women in the world, where is the show where we have good messages being sent out? We're not talking about having a reality show with "perfect" people in them, no we're talking about putting a cast together of women who are making a difference in this world and providing the next generation with positive influences, with women they can look up to. No one is perfect, that is truth, so the show would be funny, and there would be drama, and fights, but it would be hosting a series of accomplished women, women who's goal should be encouraging fellow women in the world to succeed and rise to the top.

    Think about all the reality shows about wives even, which one of those actually hosts a decent human being? It's sickening, the equivalent for guys is a gladiator match, this is what these shows are, these shows are basically featuring the scum of the earth, the worst type of people, the people you don't want to be but enjoy watching, fighting against one another to determine who is the worst of them all (i.e. gladiator match). We love watching people self-destruct on television, every year there is a celebrity we follow that does so, and every year we all watch it with eyes open, be it Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or Charlie Sheen, we love it all. This in a sense is another conversation for another time, but the point here is that for every bad guy role model there are five good guy role models pushed upon us by television, but when it comes to women those numbers are reversed, and that is a disgusting fact.

    There is so much that could be going on there, from TV networks trying to manipulate girls into becoming the people they are watching in order to continue the cycle that the TV networks originally initiated, to men being scared of a female take over and therefore trying to pass on the false message of "non-success" in order to encourage the next generation of women to accept defeat and not strive to reach the heavens. God knows what is going on behind the scenes, no one does really, but one thing is for sure, we need to start fighting for more shows displaying successful women, in order to encourage young girls to succeed in the word. A good example of a strong female character in a mostly men show is the character of Joan Holloway in "Mad Men" played by Christina Hendricks, here is a successful woman who holds real power in the office and over most of the men she comes in contact with, there are many other examples we could site here, specially if you take "The Closer" into account.

     This goes both ways of course, the next generation of boys also needs those good influences, the argument here is that they have them, and have them in abundance, but the girls do not. Think with us for a second about every movie that is coming out this year, for every 10 guy lead role based movies there is one girl lead role based movie to counter it, this is the reality we live in today, one we must fight against. Isn't it about time that we started to get closer to equality? Isn't about time that we at least start hoping for it and fighting for it? We believe so, we believe that we must constantly be thinking about the future and striving to bring one forth that all of us can be proud of. 

    There are many ways that we can all fight this, one of the most important things you can do is raise awareness of the problem, talk with your friends, spread the word, and maybe soon we'll see change occur. We need to start thinking about the future and we need to start fighting to bring about one that we are all proud of.

 We hope you have been having a fantastic week, and pray that it may end well,

Love from your humble blogger,

Pixar's "Brave": Why It's A Big Deal

    We all love Pixar's films, from Toy Story to Up Pixar is constantly wowing us with their amazing story telling and masterfully crafted animation, but even though all their movies have been epic they have never had a movie hosting a female main character, there have been female side characters but never main characters, this is something we are glad that they are finally redeeming. Its about time that we saw more movies come out that features female characters leading the story, thus "Brave" is a big deal, the first Pixar film centered around a girl instead of a boy.

    The newest preview for Brave has just recently come out and it looks great, we are all looking forward to Pixar's latest original work with anticipation. From what we can tell from the preview this is a reversed princess story, here is a princess who does not wish to be a "stay at home princess" but wants to be able to venture into the world, go in adventures and fight, instead of staying home and learning to be miss perfect and wait for some prince to come take her away. Of course her parents oppose it, specially her mom, but she will go out anyway and prove to the world that a girl adventurer can be more qualified than their male counterpart, this is a good message, one that needs to be shared more, the restrictions placed on people because of them either being male or female is prejudice and something we should constantly work on fighting against.

  We live in a world where there are more girls going to college than guys, where women have become presidents of corporations and countries, where we have more female workers than men in various parts of the United States, this is a big deal, it is something that  needs to be broadcast to the new generation, telling them that it doesn't matter what you see in magazines or TV you are good enough, you are smart enough and you can accomplish anything no matter what your gender is, so don't let the media fool you into thinking you can't be successful in the world.

   Think about all the animated movies that have come out as of late, now try and remember which one of these movies was lead by a female character, maybe one or two, and to take this thought even further, think about those movies that had leading female roles, which one of those was targeted towards everyone versus the ones that were targeting only the female population? What we mean to point out here is the fact that Pixar is releasing a movie that has a female leading character that is being targeted to all audiences and not just the female population, this is a big deal. Here is why, this is Pixar making the stand in saying that its about time we embrace the female lead character and stop being scared to have a girl win the battles instead of a guy.

    This is not a new thing here, even in other movies we see this phenomenon happening all the time, think "Transformers" the only reason there is a girl included as a character is sex appeal, that's about it, in a sense it sells, but in another sense the whole formula is disgusting. Let's think of another movie, how about "Lord Of The Rings", notice there are no female characters within the party that sets out to destroy the one ring, and don't say "that was another time, he wrote it forever ago" cause we can always counter with "Narnia" which hosted some strong female lead characters and was written around the same time, C. S. Lewis is the man, let's be honest. 

   The point here is simple, we need more movies with strong female characters, we need to encourage the new generation of women to aim for the heavens, to surpass their male counterparts, and achieve that which we have thought to be unachievable. This year we do actually have some good movies coming out hosting strong female roles, we'll be featuring a few of those on our Friday post, so stay tuned for that. On Wednesday we'll be talking about some reality TV shows that are nothing but negative influences on the next generation and how we need to start fighting against such shows.

     We hope you are as excited as we are about "Brave" and hope that this Monday will be a great one for you. To all the Mass Effect 3 people out there, be sure to get some sleep tonight.

Love from your humble blogger,

So Danca Presents "Calling All Dancers!!"

        If you wear So'Dança dance wear or shoes, we want to hear from you! Send me an email at anne@sodanca.com and tell me a little bit about yourself. Are you a dance student? Professional dancer? Teacher? What product of ours do you use and how long have you been using it? Do you own a dance store and have a customer you are particularly proud of?

        So'Dança provides clothing and shoes to thousands of dancers in the U.S.A. alone. We are a very large family and would love to include you and your news on our Internet social network pages. Have you received an award, a scholarship? Taken any memorable dance trips? Do you have photos or a video of a performance you'd like to share? Send it on to us and we will be happy to include you in our So Dancer news.

        Bringing the world closer together, one dancer at a time! So'Dança is always there for you!

anne@sodanca.com

  --- Anne Polajenko

       Anne Polajenko is So Danca's (USA) personal pointe shoe expert, she is known around the world for her performances throughout the years. Mrs Polajenko gives pointe shoe seminars every year at different shows and at our HQ in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Anne has been a guest writer for our blog and is constantly reaching out to the public in order to grow our So Danca family. She is a mentor, a teacher and an overall blessing within our So Danca family. 
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  Thank you for everyone that already got in touch with us! Because of the positive response these last few months, we felt like we should re-post this entry every few months or so in order to let everyone that didn't get a chance to be involved a chance to participate. <3


      Love from your humble blogger,