National Dance Day at the Orlando Ballet Central Campus.

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The National Dance Day free morning dance sessions consisted of creative movement in the Orlando Ballet Central Campus. Dancers lined up at the barres to warm up and stretch. Besides this main room, there were many smaller dance studios in the same building. By lunch time the place was packed. There was seating along one wall of the dance studio, and many of the sketch crawlers sat there along with the stage moms.

Some artists did gestural studies of individual dancers while others, like myself, focused on the overall scene. Dancers stretched not only on the dance floor, but in the hallways as well. The room cleared a bit when lunch time rolled around, but I kept throwing watercolor washes on the page until the afternoon sessions began.

A Day Devoted to Dance.

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Holly Harris, a talented local choreographer and dancer helped bring National Dance Day to Orlando.  National Dance Day celebrates dance by offering a whole day of free dance instruction to anyone who attends. This incredible event just happened to fall on the same day as the 48th International Sketch Crawl, so I contacted Holly, a she agreed to allow artists to sketch the entire day’s activities.

This year’s event encouraged families and friends to begin the morning of July 25 at the National Dance Day Orlando (NDDO) Community Celebration, located at Orlando Cultural Park, (the lawn in front of the Loch Haven Neighborhood Center) to participate in exercises, dance routines, and performances by Central Florida dance professionals.

Within walking distance of the park is the Orlando Ballet Central Campus where 30 free specialized dance classes will be offered throughout the day to ages 3-100, including special needs movement classes. Central Florida dance company directors, choreographers, and fitness instructors will share different styles of dance through body conditioning, dance technique, and choreography at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

National Dance Day Orlando desires to bring educational, community-driven dance opportunities to non-dancers and dancers alike! About six artists came out to sketch for the day.

The day began at 8:30am with  Stretches and Cardio

9:00am – 1st National Dance Day Routine

9:30am – Performances by Professional Central Florida Dance Companies

10:00am – 2nd National Dance Day Routine

10:30am – Performances by Professional Central Florida Dance Companies

National Dance Day with a Hip Hop flair.

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At National Dance Day, most of my sketches were done in the main rehearsal hall in the Orlando Ballet Central Campus. The room was always packed. Local artist and arts organizer Cole Nesmith was in the back row trying on the hip hop moves for size. The instructor slowly taught a entire dance routine by giving the participants new moves that built onto what they already had learned. I had already sketched an establishing shot that showed | entire rehearsal space, and now [ was loosening up and trying l catch the energy of the dancers gestures.

The woman right in front of me was having g blast learning the moves. She not only we learning the routine, but she gave it her own personal flair. This is what separates great dancers from goo dancers. They demand attention because they are loving an at they do. I’m sure that. true of any art form. In these looser sketches, I switched to using a pencil which gave the lines more life_

National Dance Day does Improvisation

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National Dance Day was a full day of free dance courses. The day began at Cultural  Park (lawn in front of the Loch Haven Neighborhood Center) y and then moved into the Orlando Ballet Rehearsal halls. Participants were encouraged to participate in exercises, dance routines, and performances by Central Florida dance professionals. In the Orlando Ballet Central Campus 30 free specialized dance classes were offered throughout the day to ages 3-100,  including special needs movement classes.  Central Florida dance company directors, choreographers, and fitness instructors shared different styles of dance through body conditioning, dance technique, and choreography at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.  NDDO strove to bring educational, community-driven dance opportunities to non-dancers and dancers alike!

This sketch was done in the Improvisational Dance Class. After stretches and warm ups, participants were encouraged to move freely and abstractly. No one moved the same way. Some of the exercises simply involved moving from one side of the room to the other. It looked like z whole lot of fun since the re were no fancy moves to memorize. This was one of the last classes of the day, so people were already warmed up, limber and ready for anything.

I was hosting a sketch crawl. There were about 6 artists to start, but by the en of the day, there were just four of us left. Being able to sit in and sketch so many dance classes meant that we got limbered up and loose by sketching so many gestures all day

National Dance Day brought out a huge crowd.

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On July 26th of 2014, National Dance Day hit Orlando. It was held at the Orlando Ballet Central Campus (2201 McRae Avenue Orlando FL). The Free event featured 15 classes with 13 styles of dance in 3 dance studios. This was the second annual
celebration that aimed to educate, inspire, and promote the Orlando dance
community. This event was specially designed to promote
progressive development of dancers, celebrate the diversity of Central
Florida’s dance professionals, and further connect the Orlando dance
community. This year’s event encouraged dancers and non dancers
alike to participate in a variety of 15 free dance workshops. These
classes were taught by local Orlando dance company directors,
choreographers and fitness instructors who lead participants
through body conditioning, dance technique and choreography at beginner,
intermediate, and advanced levels. National Dance Day Orlando brought opportunities
to those who love the art of dance by encouraging ongoing education.

I parked in the Theater parking lots on Princeton and walked towards the dance studios. I’ve never been inside this dance space before, so I didn’t know what to expect as I approached.  The dance studios are in a large building right next to the railroad tracks. There were a few dancers standing outside the entrance chatting. I was amazed when I entered. The entry hall was packed with dancers taking a break between classes. Holly Harris who was instrumental in organizing the event, welcomed me. She gave me a quick tour showing me the 3 huge dance studios. Every dance studio was packed. Hundreds of people had showed up to dance. To say that the event was a success would be an understatement.

I settled in, sitting in the back corner of a studio. Sketching a crowded group of dancers, all doing the same dance moves is probably the greatest sketch challenge there is. I contented myself with catching each dancers unique gestures and body proportions. The instructor further complicated the sketch by insisting that dancers in the back rows should move up while the front rows moved back. This allowed everyone a chance to see the dance moves up close and added a sense of panic and chaos to my sketch. I stayed for the duration of the samba class and then packed up my kit. I could have stayed all day capturing dancers but I keep my sketch habit to one a day. Otherwise I’d get lost in the process and never come up for air. Art requires some balance to work its way into becoming a life.

As I was leaving I bumped into Larissa Humiston who is the founder and lead choreographer for Emotions Dance. She was with Taylor Shepherd, who is one of Larissa’s incredibly talented dancers. On stage Taylor is fierce and commands attention. They were about to teach a beginning and intermediate Contemporary dance class. Larissa understands the advantages of collaborating with artists of all kinds. I worked with her doing a series of paintings that were projected before each dance piece for a show titled “Art Evolution“. It was a very rewarding experience.