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Theresa Ruth Howard Dancer/Writer/Teacher Theresa Ruth Howard began her professional dance career with the Philadelphia Civic Ballet Company at the age of twelve. Later she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem where she had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. She has worked with choreographer Donald Byrd as a soloist in his staging of New York City Opera's Carmina Burana, his critically acclaimed Harlem Nutcracker, as well as the controversial domestic violence work The Beast. She was invited to be a guest artist with Complexions: A Concept in their 10th anniversary season. In 2004 she became a founding member of Armitage Gone! Dance. As a writer Ms. Howard has contributed to Russell Simmons’ One World magazine (art), and The Source (social politics), as well as Pointe and Dance Magazine. While teaching in Italy for the International Dance Association she was asked to become a contributor for the premiere Italian dance magazine Expressions. Her engaging, no nonsense writing style caught the eye of both the readers of Dance Magazine and its Editor in Chief who not only made her a contributing editor and has collaborated with Ms. Howard in See and Say Web-reviews. Her articles about body image prompted her to develop a workshop for young adult (dancers and non-dancers) My Body My Image that addresses their perceptions both positive and negative about their bodies and endeavoring to bring them closer to a place of Acceptance and Appreciation. She recently launched a blog by the same name to reach a broader audience (mybodymyimage.com) As a teacher Ms. Howard has been an Artist in Residence at Hollins University in and New Haven University in addition to teaching at Sarah Lawrence College, Marymount, Shenandoah, and Radford Universities, and the historical American Dance Festival. As a result of her work at ADF Ms. Howard was invited to Sochi, Russia to adjudicate the arts competition Expectations of Europe and teach master classes, and in Burundi, Africa where she coached and taught the Burundi Dance Company. Currently she on faculty at The Ailey School but also extensively throughout Italy and Canada. Ms. Howard's belief in the development, and nurturing of children lead her to work with at risk youth. At the Jacob Riis Settlement House in Queensbridge New York, she founded S.I.S.T.A (Socially Intelligent Sisters Taking Action) a mentoring program for teen-age girls where she worked to empower them to become the creators of their destinies. In addition she developed a dance program, which lead to an exchange with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Through her teaching and travels Ms. Howard began to observe a universal disenchantment and disconnection in teenagers that disturbed her, thus she set out to address it. Combining her philosophies of life and teaching, with the skills she garnered through outreach programs with diverse communities, she developed the personal development workshop Principles of Engagement: Connecting Youth to the Infinite Possibilities Within which gives teens a set of workable tools to increase their levels of success at tasks, and goals not only in dance, and all aspect of their lives. Theresa Ruth Howard is certainly diverse and multifaceted as an artist, and is moved to both write and create work; however she sees every student she encounters as a work in progress, and the potential to change the world one person at a time. The only was to make this world a better place it to be better people in it!

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Dance Studio

Another Misty Moment- Lopez Tonight with Prince


Just ’cause!
I take that back. Though it is out of context in a way, the idea that a little brown girls somewhere can see this and begin to dream about being a ballerina is so vital. With the shut down of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company (the school IS still Active!) the visual presence of African American Ballet dancers has all but disappeared. Yes there are some sprinkled here and there but the concept of all those people of color in a classical (and neo-classical) context does not exist today. I can remember when I first saw DTH I was 8, I had already decided that I wanted to be a ballet dancer but when I saw those women in THEIR FLESH TONE tights and shoes, I thought, “Oh there really is a place for me. It’s not just a “Barbie Doll” dream” So that’s why I post this. I suspect that most little Chocolate Drops are in bed by the time Lopez tonight comes on so make sure if you have one or know one that you make sure they see this!!

I appreciate the fact that he introduces her!! that ‘s really important. Work it Miss. Misty Spreading Chocolate!!!!

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LOVE IS LOUDER than the PRESSURE to be PERFECT!!!!

Love is Louder than the Pressure to be Perfect

“Love is Louder was started by actress Brittany Snow, The Jed Foundation and MTV to build on the outpouring of support online after the lives of multiple teenagers were lost to suicide in September 2010. This movement strives to amplify the momentum of other inspiring online campaigns and invite anyone who has felt mistreated, misunderstood or isolated into the conversation. We are here to raise the volume around a critical message — that love and support is more powerful than the external and internal voices that bring us down, cause us pain and make us feel hopeless.” -Love is Louder website

for more information on the Love is Louder click here

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How Kimora Lee Lost 25 Pounds: ‘By Not Eating’


uh-oh that doesn’t sound good, it certainly doesn’t sound healthy.

here’s what she had to say:
Kimora Lee Simmons shocked everyone recently when she hit the red carpet 25 lbs lighter, but now she’s ready to really shock by revealing how she and other famous stars lose that kind of weight.

“I have shed the fat by not eating,” Kimora flat-out tells me. “But I don’t like to tell the kids that so they think they shouldn’t eat. No, I watch my portions, and I eat leaner proteins and vegetables and stuff like that.”

Well that sounds better, but here is some dish she dropped later in the story:

“I was out one night with two famous sisters” — Kimora asked that I not reveal the identity of the young reality stars — “when a bunch of burgers were being passed around. I went to grab one and the two of them looked shocked. They said ‘we don’t eat.’ Then after I grabbed a burger they said they were joking but I knew they weren’t!”

Move back EAST, ladies. Where NOT starving yourself is far more chic!

Who do you thinKK she could be talking about?

read the whole story here

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Ad’s Banned for Promoting Bad Body Image (or behavior)

The United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority has been cracking down on some fashion add that they feel are not sending the right message. Whether about body image or bad behavior they are taking steps to create boundaries where few exist.

They banned the Diesel “Be Stupid” Billboards saying they were indecent, and could be seen by children and might encourage bad behavior.

Now first of all I have to say that the slogan itself is just asinine the name of the campaign in Be Stupid. Seriously? Whoever thought of that and got paid an obscene amount of money for coming up with this tripe should be put in front of the that Lion in the ad.
“Smart may have the Brains but Stupid has the Balls”. Way to go! Balls without brains is just dangerous (I have two words for you Shock & Awe, got my point?) Clearly Stupid was in charge of the first ad because I can’t quite figure out why any of these things are sharing the same space. If this chick is on Safari, would she be in a bikini, out of the jeep snapping pictures of her crotch? And who does that anyway?

Now if the girl flashing the security camera had some brains she would have realized that she didn’t have to find a ladder drag it to a building and then risk life, limb, and possible arrest in order to flash a security camera. She might have realized that every bank ATM has a security camera and they are at ground level easy access. In the time it took her to set up that stunt she could have hit at least 10 ATM cameras!

The last thing I would like to say about this the fact that both of the subjects in these ads are women, so essentially this is Diesel’s message to women, it’s better to have (quite ironically) balls, then to have brains. And these great big balls that you have would have you doing things like physically expose yourself in a sexually provocative ways towards men, who since they probably have Brains will exploit you.

Yeah I think I have to go with the UK ASA on this one ban them, and burn them while your at it.

Then there is the Mui Mui ad that is was reviewed and the ban was vetoed.

The thing is this model is very thin- too thin, but it doesn’t look overly strange to the eye because most models are that thin or more so. Should this one be banned, I don’t know she has a dress on, there are some adds that show more of a model’s emaciated form that I could see being more harmful, but we have to start somewhere. Sure this is rather tame but if you ban something tame then it makes others know that you… What do you think?

This last clip is a YSL Perfume ad for Belle d’Opium this was banned because it suggests drug use (well uh the perfume is the Opium beauty or something) At a point the model gestures to her arm arm and drags her finger down suggesting an injection, then there is the simulation of being high and convulsing. That having been said it is beautifully shot and choreographically it is engaging and the French actress Melanie Thierry featured in the commercial is quite a good mover, I was impressed by that. But just because it is artistic, more so then something presented by Diesel does not mean that is could not be just as potentially harmful.

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Teachers Talking with Ana Marie Forsythe Parts 3-5


As if it weren’t juicy enough, hear what Mrs. Forsythe says when I ask her about teachers and ego! I with give a slight spoiler only because I find what she says so beautiful and a tribute to how she truly feels about dance, teaching and the Horton technique. She says that being able to teach a gift- that is is about sharing and love, she also gives some advice to students who encounter difficulty with certain teachers.

As a side note I would like to say to both teachers and students out there, that it’s important to remember that teachers are human, and make mistakes, and are not perfect- it’s a relationship that you work to build on that should start with a certain level of trust on both parts; students should trust that a teacher has the information and are trained to communicate it and teachers have to trust that students are there because they want that information. Both parties have to work to make that exchange at least possible if not pleasant!

Part 3

In Part 4 we discuss how throughout the years generations of students have changed, and thus the way each generation is trained must shift a bit to accommodate them. How has this paradigm shift effected both students and teachers, and what have we gained from it and what have we lost? I love that she talks about finding your fit when it comes to both your skills and your body type (it’s one of the elements in my Body image workshop! happy to know that a Master agrees!) She also answers the question: Is there a Horton body type? her response might surprise you!

Part 5
We discuss how Horton (or any “pure” technique) supports contemporary dance. This is a very interesting topic for our time as we as dance educators are charged with training and preparing the body to do this sort of work. We also get into a great analogy about dance and speech, and grammar….fascinating stuff, I could talk with her all day!!! Her passion left me invigorated and excited and proud to be a dance educator entrusted to prepare future generations to trip the lights fantastic!!

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The Scary Reality of a Real-Life Barbie Doll

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Scary! check this out!

By Galia Slayen Chinese and Government Major at Hamilton College

Some people have skeletons in their closet. I have an enormous Barbie in mine.

She stands about six feet tall with a 39″ bust, 18″ waist, and 33″ hips. These are the supposed measurements of Barbie if she were a real person. I built her as a part of the first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) at my high school, later introducing her to Hamilton College during its first NEDAW in 2011.

By Galia Slayen Chinese and Government Major at Hamilton College

Some people have skeletons in their closet. I have an enormous Barbie in mine.

She stands about six feet tall with a 39″ bust, 18″ waist, and 33″ hips. These are the supposed measurements of Barbie if she were a real person. I built her as a part of the first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) at my high school, later introducing her to Hamilton College during its first NEDAW in 2011.

When I was a little girl, I played with my Barbie in her playhouse, sending her and Ken on dates that always ended with a goodnight kiss. I had fond times with my Barbie, and I admired her perfect blonde locks and slim figure. Barbie represented beauty, perfection and the ideal for young girls around the world. At least, as a seven-year-old, that is what she was to me.

In January 2007, I was looking for a way to make my peers realize the importance of eating disorders and body image issues. I was frustrated after quitting the cheerleading squad, frustrated with pressures to look and act a certain way and most of all frustrated with the eating disorder controlling my life. I wanted to do something that would turn others’ apathy into action. That evening, my neighbor and I found two long pieces of wood and started measuring. With a little math, nails and hammering, we built a stick figure that stood about six feet tall.
Read how she built it

More “Get Real, Barbie” statistics:*

• There are two Barbie dolls sold every second in the world.
• The target market for Barbie doll sales is young girls ages 3-12 years of age.
• A girl usually has her first Barbie by age 3, and collects a total of seven dolls during her childhood.
• Over a billion dollars worth of Barbie dolls and accessories were sold in 1993, making this doll big business and one of the top 10 toys sold.
• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9″ tall, have a 39″ bust, an 18″ waist, 33″ hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9″ tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”

For more information, call the South Shore Eating Disorders Collaborative at 508-230-1732 or visit the National Eating Disorders Association at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.
* Source: Body Wars, Margo Maine, Ph.D., Gurze Books, 2000.

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Beyonce joins Michelle O.’s Let’s Move campaign!

I love the fact that our first lady has taken this platform on, we are losing our next generation the obesity and something has to me done. First we learned that former Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes was on board (check that out here) and now Beyonce has joined the campaign creating a new version of her hit “Single Ladies” to get kids dancing as a form of exercise. Collaborating with Swiss Beats the result was a “Move your body” remix. check it out here it’s great, love that they are in a lunchroom!

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Ana Marie Forsythe – Teacher’s Wisdom Dance Magazine Article

A group of Ailey students clad in the black-on-black modern dress code moves like a well-oiled machine through Lester Horton’s Fortification # 1. Ana Marie Forsythe meanders among the tilting bodies, issuing gentle but firm reminders, touching a rib cage here, redirecting an arm there. Her youthful form and infectious enthusiasm belie her 50 years as a teacher of Horton technique, the rigorous, athletic style that infuses Ailey’s classic works.

A former baby ballerina with the Garden State Ballet, Forsythe was introduced to Horton technique at age 12 by Joyce Trisler—a direct disciple of Horton—with whom she later danced. She is chairperson of The Ailey School’s Horton Department (where she has taught for 37 years), co-director of the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, and co-author of The Dance Technique of Lester Horton, the only published book documenting the form. Theresa Ruth Howard sat down with Forsythe to learn how she makes even the toughest fortifications a joy to struggle through.

Read the article here

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TEACHERS TALKING with Horton Master Ana Marie Forsythe

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I cannot tell you how immensely excited I was about starting this series. I got the idea after I interviews Mrs. Forsythe for Dance Magazine’s Teachers Wisdom section. Since we both work at the Ailey School we see each other almost daily but this was the first time that we had opportunity (and cause) to sit and talk about the work. We had such a great and dynamic conversation that neither of us wanted it to end. When writing for a periodical there is always that word count to contend with, all the great tidbits of your interview can’t make it to print. When I created this forum and it started to really take shape I thought back to my conversation with Mrs. Forsythe and immediately thought “This is the place for the extended remix of our interview!” It took a bit of scheduling but I am so proud and happy to bring it to you.

If you have encountered Mrs. Forsythe be it as a student, as a participant in her teachers workshops or elsewhere, you know how knowledgable and passionate she about the work, she means business. But what you might not know is that she is absolutely delightful. To see her light up when she talks about her favorite fortification, or how brilliant design of the Horton technique is incredible, she still loves, and is fascinated by it, amazing considering that she has been teaching for over 50 years!!!
Here is part one of our chat! enjoy and take notes!

Some of the great things in this next segment relate to teachers, Forsythe says to teachers, “You have to know where you are going in order to start”
She also elaborates on how Horton -“Was designed for any body type” and how it makes it a technique that anyone on any level can access.
The best part is what she reveals about the Horton School in California and what it DIDN’T have that might have been a key element in the structure and performance quality that is built into the technique. Well what are you waiting for watch it already!

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Ageless Living in a Culture of Youth

By Victoria Moran, Author, urban vegan, life and health coach

I had a birthday recently. I took the day off and worked out in the morning, and a friend treated me to lunch at Pure Food and Wine, a luscious raw-food restaurant here in NYC. I got a manicure and pedicure in the afternoon and dined that evening with my family at Zen Palate. Then we saw “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway, which was way more “South Park” than “South Pacific” but somehow uplifting and altogether satisfying. I’m ready for a great year.

And yet my culture tells me that I shouldn’t be. I’m over the hill, maybe even the whole mountain range, but I don’t see it that way even one little bit. One of my mentors on this issue is Cherie Soria, founder and director of the Living Light Culinary Institute, an academy for raw gourmet chefs in Fort Bragg, Calif. Cherie is a woman who defies chronological age, and people often comment on how well time treats her. “But that’s not it,” she says. “I’m aging normally: everybody else is aging too fast.”

She has a point. The lifestyle typical of most Americans couldn’t be more pro-aging. We’re stressed to the max and call that good — we’re going to succeed, by golly, and once we do, we’re going to stay on top! We don’t sleep nearly enough. We work at desks and entertain ourselves in front of computer and TV screens. We drink coffee and soda and dirty martinis, figuring our kidneys are stupid enough to accept these as water. Most of our food has been either literally slaughtered or simply processed to death, and yet we expect, either through good genes, good luck, vitamin supplements or cosmetic surgery, to get that full-of-life glow. It’s an illogical premise.

Enter the feel-great/look-amazing/age-later lifestyle encapsulated in the acronym M.E.N.D.: Meditation, Exercise, Nourishment, Detoxification. Anyone who incorporates these regularly into his or her life can make peace with the calendar. Here’s how it works.
Get the tips after the Jump