Dance Fest a Success!!

Dance Fest 2010 definitely set the bar high for future dance performance events, by having the most popular and creatively enhanced dance groups perform while also taking the time to inform prospective dance students about their organization. This informative entertainment driven event was a huge success spoken by those who attended.

The crowd got a taste of what the dance teams had to offer by physically meeting the members of the groups and seeing clips of their past performances. The group members passed out information about their organizations which contained future try-out dates that the students may attend. This gave the students all of the info that they needed and allowed them to ask questions to the groups that they were most interested in. The time finally came for the dance concert to begin and as the lights lowered and the crowd hushed the dancers lit up the stage one by one. The Strikers, DIVAS Dance Team, House Arrest 2, Mahogany, Star Status and many more showed the audience what they were truly about.

Students flocked to the dancers as the space was transformed into a party for everyone to show off their skills. Dancers helped students learn different dance moves that they could show off to all of their friends and would potentially give them a better chance of joining their favorite dance team. Smiles lit up the space as students and dancers danced until 2a.m.

Due to the success and closure of the event I will no longer have this blog, but I would just like to close out this experience by thanking all those who made this event possible; Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped to set up the space and do clean up, the dance groups, and all of those who attended the event. Keep a look out for Dance Fest 2011!

Style of Dance

Dancing is the hidden language of the soul, it has the ability to move and adapt to its surroundings while mentally speaking to the artist who performs its movements. With every genre of dance a story is to be told that informs its students of how the art has transformed as years come and go. I decided to enlighten my readers with three different dance styles; ballet, hip-hop, and tap dance.

Ballet is a form of theatrical dance that involves all of the muscles of the body. These muscles must be trained with long, strenuous hours of vigorous exercises and instruction of stylized movements to make the body flexible and disciplined. These specific movements can be placed together to form a theatrical performance worthy of an encore. Only the most dedicated can make it in this field of dance.

Hip-hop dance is not only a form of expression, but a way of life. I know that I live for this style of dance because it is deeply rooted in the African American culture. Hip-hop dancers use their creative minds to “invent” different styles of hip-hop dance. These inventors combine break-dance, body popping, ballet, and any other style of dance they can get their hands on to reinvent the traditional movements into an eclectic array of aggressive movements. Those who yearn for free expression and want to make use of all of their senses should engage in hip-hop dance.

Isolation of the different parts of the body is important in all dance genres but it is with the feet that these dancers are able to graze across the stage. Tap dancers encompass the ability to use their feet to create dance and music. This type of dance calls for total control of your feet in order to move them in such a way to make a certain sound. With all of these dance styles it is important to see which once speaks to you because everyone can dance. So ask yourself this, which one is your favorite?

Embonner.blogspot.com

After visiting my fellow classmate's blog, Elliott Bonner, I was left feeling as though there should be more. His page was plain and didn't really match the theme I thought he was trying to portray. The event seems, to me, as an upscale event but you can't really tell from the blog site His entries read more like a homework assignment than a blog. I think that if my dear friend Elliot would put just a little more effort into his blog than it would be awesome.

His event, however, sounds like a lot of fun. Its been a long time since I had to pay to go out but I might pay for this event if I had to. This event is a big deal. A special drink for Tallahassee is something you wouldn't think to hit our little city and its very exciting. Absolut sponsoring this event reassures me that this event will be something worth seeing. Liquor companies are known to host the most lavish events, so I have no doubt that this event will not disappoint.

Although I would most likely attend this event, I don't believe we could partner as it applies to Dance Fest 2010. Dance Fest is for college students of all ages where the Absolut Exhibit is for adults 21 and up. We want students to be sober because alcohol can make you disoriented and tired and we want the students who attend Dance Fest to have a clear mind and the ability to function at their full potential because of how interactive we plan for this event to be. When Packaged Image PR plans an event that will cater to an older crowd I think a collaboration will lead to a very creative and extravagant party.

Helping to Realize a Dream

Students sometimes feel inadequate, like they should be doing something else or they could be doing something else. I will use my story for example. In High School I was always the girl who did everything. I was in the Band, Student Government Association, Key club, French club, National Honor Society, the club for students aspiring to be doctors, student body Vice-President, you name it I did it. I never thought, however, that I would be talented in anything other than great time management. Dance has always been an art form that I have always admired, I would watch T.V. shows like "So You Think You Can Dance," and imagine myself being able to do the things they did.

When I came to Florida A&M University I was peer pressured into auditioning for DIVAS Dance Team. I thought that it was a hopeless effort because all I was used to was band and whatever moves I picked up from partying with my friends. Because I was such a fan of dance I decided against my conscience and went anyway. It turned out that I was great at it, I was a hip hop dancer and I never knew it. After convincing myself to try-out, with the help of my friend, I have spent the past two years doing something I love. Ofcourse my talent was raw and undefined but DIVAS has molded me into what I would like to think is a good dancer. Since then I have gone on to take ballet classes and I am on my way to becoming like those performers I admire.

I believe Dance Fest can aid in helping another student realize the reality that I am living now. There are many different forms of dance that are celebrated on the campuses of FAMU and Florida State University and students deserve the option to explore them, and ultimately exploring a talent.

Students have come away from dance teams like Mahogany, Strikers and DIVAS Dance Team and pursued fufilling careers in dance. They have shared their talent with the world as apart of basketball dance teams, performers for various dance companies and even on national television shows like "America's Best Dance Crew." Imagine how colorful the world would be if everyone discovered their creative talent. All it takes is a simple introduction to something you've never thought of doing or never tried, and it can lead to a multitude of possibilities.

For me an introduction to PR lead to an amazing career change and an introduction to dance lead to what I hope to be a live long passion.

Party for the Georgia peaches

Last summer I was interning with April Love, a Florida A&M University alum, whom is also a publicist for BRAVO T.V. Not even a week into my internship she tells me that I am going to help her plan the season 2 premiere party for the Real House Wives of Atlanta. Right away I was in contact with vendors; persuading them to provide us with free flowers, gifts, liquor you name it I did it. I even made sure the vendor who designed the step and repeat you see behind the ladies had everyone of the sponsor's logos. There is one part of the event planning that I will never forget: I was trying to get the ladies guest lists together and one housewife in particular expressed her dislike for me very clearly... but that's an entirely different story.

Before the party began I was able to walk around the ballroom of the W Hotel in Buckhead and admire my work. It was amazing! The power point I designed to give a little extra recognition to the sponsors was playing on about 12 different LCD screens leading up the hallway to the party and then right before you reached the red carpet, rope and stanchion and the step and repeat there it was playing again on a large screen. The flowers we ordered were lining every table and we filled bowls with peaches for extra flare. People were asking me questions on what to do and I knew the answers, I felt so empowered.

Then reality hit as the event was about to begin I got placed on guest list check in, talk about your nightmare. "Be like a Bull Dog," April told me "Don't let anyone in who isn't on the list and make sure all celebrities are escorted in immediately." I saw a lot of people that night, and even more people who sworn they were on the list that weren't. However, security had my back when a very large man tried to push by me and overall the night was a great success.

Packaged Image PR Firm

After I graduated from Florida A&M University I worked with BRAVO T.V. as a junior publicist; after some time I started to pick up clients of my own, people who would ask specifically for me. I started branding myself and before I knew it I had a team and we developed our own PR firm. We named ourselves Packaged Image Public Relations Firm, and in what seemed like no time at all we were booked to plan about 60% of the events in the Hollywood, California area.



Packaged Image has traveled the world and worked with celebrities from Denzel Washington to Brad Pit. Although we specialize in over the top celebrity extravaganzas, the Packaged Image team is trained to handle any event you send our way. Now, Packaged Image has settled in the Tallahassee community and we are bringing school spirit in a big way.



Florida A&M and Florida State Universities are trying to get an increase in student involvement with campus organizations. The schools are teaming up and hosting a series of events that will showcase the various clubs and organizations on campus. After the president of FAMU, Gina Kinchlow, approached us with the opportunity of planning the event I all but jumped at the chance. Florida A&M taught me so much and to be able to give back to my school in such a big way was a chance of a life time.



The first event will focus on the universities' dance teams; it will be called Dance Fest 2010. This show will be shutting down the North Florida Fairgrounds on August 28th.

Introductions

My name is Shari Monae Baron I am a 3rd year public relations student with a concentration in Graphic Design. I am from the diverse city of Hollywood, Fl. I was reared by my father from the time I was in the 4th grade. After my tenth birthday whenever I asked him anything, my father would always say "Figure it out." This may seem harsh but it taught me the most important lesson of all... Nothing in life is handed to you, you have to go out and get what you want. I came to Florida A&M University with every intention of studying medicine but after two semesters I realized my heart was no longer in it. After an amazing internship with FAMU Alumnist and publicist for BRAVO T.V., April Love, I decided that I wanted to follow in her footsteps.

Currently I am taking Public Relations Methods. Public relations writing is the foundation of this course. During this term we will be learning how to use the tools for involving media with various events we are promoting. For our final project we will create a ficticious event and turn in a complete media kit that corrospondes with our event. Our media kit will hold media tools such as: Media alerts, pitch letters, special event fact sheets, Event Backgrounder, News releases, PSA's and many more. On the last day of class we will give our final pitch presentation.

Dance Fest 2010 is an event that will combined every college dance team in Tallahassee under one roof in an exclusive concert for Florida A&M University and Florida State University students. This event will be the first of many these universities will put in place to encourage student involvement on campus. This event will take place at the North Florida Fairgrounds the concert will start at 7:00 p.m. after the performers have fininshed the fairgrounds will turn into an all out dance party until 2:00 a.m. The goal is for students to be inspired by at least one of several groups enough to want to join one.