°°THE MOTHER OF MODERN DANCE°°

,,Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion." 

This quote is from Martha Graham who we usually hear as the Picasso of dance.

          

           She was born in 1894 in Pittsburgh.  She began her studies in Los Angeles in Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts. She not only created a big part of Modern Ballet but also established the biggest dance academy ever, The School of Contemporary Dance around 1920. For first time they didn't let her dance because she was too short for dance(I find it weird). Then after a long time she got a role which meant the start of her career in a team. She left this place after a short time because she didn't want to dance this ,,lie of art,,. Her ideas were much different from the classical ballet. Martha started use the floor and she danced barefoot.       
       The technique of hers was a really big novelty for the world of dance. She created a rule of right breathing, new charming movements, easy figures and the Graham-technique. 
          Approximately she has created 150 choreographes from which the most famous is the Appalachian Spring. 

Little about the Graham-technique

       
         The main thing in this technique is the work on the floor. She was the first who started warm up on floor, because her conception was to warm up the ,,centre of the body,, the back bone for the first time and the limbs will be ready for the dance effortless. Graham also made an own ,,dictionary of dance,, about her new figures and techniques with a lot of new and unknown words.

       

Concentration        

With the Graham-t
echnique

         

Next time I will write about more great dancers who gave something awesome to modern ballet. 

Thank you,
Szabina :)

  

~AN UNOFFICIAL COURT~

How many times have you formed an impression of someone even before you got to know him well? 
How many times did people who barley know you judge you?
How many times you felt bad because you were judged or misunderstood?

AT LEAST ONCE.

Today I read a very interesting article about this topic so I thought I will share it with you all. Let's see! :)

10 Reasons To Stop Judging People

Despite our best efforts, we all judge others. It might be over small things, like a co-worker who took too long of a lunch break. Or it might be over bigger issues, such as a person who behaves selfishly or hurts our feelings. 

Psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach(link is external) frequently tells this story: Imagine you are walking through the woods and you see a small dog. It looks cute and friendly. You approach and move to pet the dog. Suddenly it snarls and tries to bite you. The dog no longer seems cute and you feel fear and possibly anger. Then, as the wind blows, the leaves on the ground are carried away and you see the dog has one of its legs caught in a trap. Now, you feel compassion for the dog. You know it became aggressive because it is in pain and is suffering.

What can we learn from this story? How can we become less judgmental? 

1. Don’t blame yourself. We are instinctively hard-wired for survival. When we see a dog (or a person) that might bite us (literally or metaphorically), of course we feel threatened. We go into fight-flight-freeze mode, and are unable to see the myriad possible reasons for another’s behavior. We get tight and defensive. This is a normal first reaction. The key is to pause before we act out of this mode.
2. Be mindful. Although judgment is a natural instinct, try to catch yourself before you speak, or send that nasty email and do any potential harm. You can’t get your words back. Pause. See if you can understand where the person may be coming from. Try to rephrase your critical internal thought into a positive one, or at least a neutral one. After all, like that dog in the trap, we really don’t know the reasons for someone’s behavior.
3. Depersonalize. When someone disagrees with us or somehow makes our life difficult, remember that it’s typically not about us. It may be about their pain or struggle. Why not give others the benefit of the doubt? “Never underestimate the pain of a person," Will Smith said, "because in all honesty, everyone is struggling. Some people are better at hiding it than others.”
4. Look for basic goodness. This takes practice, as our minds naturally scan for the negative, but if we try, we can almost always find something good about another person.
5. Repeat the mantra, “Just like me.” Remember, we are more alike than different. When I feel critical of someone, I try to remind myself that the other person loves their family just like I do, and wants to be happy and free of suffering, just like I do. Most important, that person makes mistakes, just like I do.
6. Reframe. When someone does something you don’t like, perhaps think of it as they are simply solving a problem in a different way than you would. Or maybe they have a different timetable than you do. This may help you be more open-minded and accepting of their behavior. The Dalai Lama says: “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.”  
7. Look at your own behavior. Sometimes, we may be judging someone for something that we do ourselves, or have done. For example, the next time you find yourself yelling at someone while you’re driving, ask yourself, “Have I ever driven poorly?” Of course, we all have.
8. Educate yourself. When people do things that are annoying, they may have a hidden disability. For example, some people with poor social skills may haveAsperger’s syndrome. So if someone’s invading your personal space (as someone with Asperger’s might), remember again, it’s not about you. Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 
9. Give the person the benefit of the doubt. Someone once told me, no one wakes up in the morning and says, "I think I'm going to be a jerk today." Most of us do the best we can with the resources we have at the moment.
10. Feel good about you. Brene´ Brown says: “If I feel good about my parenting, I have no interest in judging other people's choices. If I feel good about my body, I don't go around making fun of other people's weight or appearance. We're hard on each other because were using each other as a launching pad out of her own perceived deficiency.”

To sum up, remember that judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are.

Thanks for reading,
Szabina from TT Team :)

Paranormal Activity

Hello everyone. I like paranormal activity films, so I give a little information about it.:)

Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror film series , currently consisting of five films. Created by Oren Peli the original film was released in 2009.

The films are based around a family haunted by a demonic entity. The demon terrifies and ultimately murders several members of the family, and other bystanders, during the course of the films.

The series uses of camcorders, security cameras and other recording devices, presenting the films as found footage.

The series received mixed reviews , the first and third films receiving generally positive critical reception. The second films received more impassive receptions and the fourth received mostly negative reception.

The series is a strong financial success, making strong profits based on return on investment.

I like the horror films so much.  Maybe this film is not the scariest film I have ever seen , but it was very interesting about the story and the characters. I would recommend this cliff-hanger , if you like the horror films . :)

Enikő D. 

~SHAKE , INSPIRE , CHANGE THE WORLD~

Hello everyone , this is a new week and here comes a new post. It's not my turn , but I'd like to share with you something what is very important nowadays.
P.S.: the post contains PP.

      EMMA WATSON 

THE FRESH FACE of feminism

I think everybody heard about the HeForShe campaign , but there is someone who actually know about this in my generation? I don't think really. But why? Because most of the teenagers are no interested is politics , or other serious thing. Unfortunately , I'm in this way too. But I realised that this should change , because there are lot of important things is the world , what should be known.

One of these things is the HeForShe campaign , which was hosted by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson. The campaign seeks to gender equality , and trying to involve the whole world in this case.

I think this campaign represents a very important goal. Because not all women in the world have as much rights as men , and this is terrible. This month's issue of Elle magazine , I read an article , which talked about that in some parts of Nepal and India how  horrible things to whistand the women just because they are menstruating. The local people believe that menstruating girls and women are unclean , so they sent them from home until the last menstrual. These girls are huddle in a hut without any hygiene , and these huts are sometimes far away from the villages.
Then just think of those women who can't separate their own decisions. Those girls who had been married , when they are just teeangers.
The UN Women's rights organization wants to help these women with the involvement of men.

Emma Watson not only inspire us ( girls and women ) , but men as well. She doesn't think of feminism as a tool that helps women to hate men. She thinks the men would have to be help on women with feminism.

A Movement is Building :

All over the world, men are taking a stand for gender equality. See how many men in your country have committed. Join them and move your country into the lead.

*This number is constantly changing , the data are not to be considered permament.*

You can join the campaign :  http://www.heforshe.org/

Take a look at Emma's speech to the UN:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk

Thank you for reading ;)

xoxo Pálma

~THEY CALL IT DANCE,WE CALL IT LIFE.~

 The reason why people say dance is not a sport is still unknown, atleast for me. I read like 10 negative comments about this in about 3minutes. Most of them think dancers don't need talent and they compare it with golf(!!!) where they say, the lovers of this sport need talent. Well in my opinion everyone can learn special tricks and movements if they do it with passion, BUT that sentence : ,, They don't need to be talented, and that they just shake,and that there is no physical action, and people can learn EVERYTHING connected to dance in ONE month is very ridicoluos. Let me show you some of the comments:

The fact that people, who have never danced before(max on parties), say these statements is the most outrageous.

From personal experiences I strongly disagree with it. I only dance since the 11th of March 2014 but this year gave me lots of beautiful moments even they were sometimes hard to bear. I feel happier, more confident, I just simply feel awesome in my dance classes. You can't compare it with any other feeling,because even if you sad,dissapointed,had an argue or you feel above the clouds you can go to your dance class,or to your living room, and dance or anything which makes you feel better than being anywhere else. But to reach something in your hobby,so you want it to become your future life not a hobby,you have to make decisions, have to bear the hard work. It all needs are stamina,patience,will and of course lots of other things, including positives too.

To give another example, my sister is horse-riding since she knows it excists and she always come to me like: Sis, I did it wrong today, that other girl/guy was so much better than me.
Well my sister is very perfectionist in every part of the life. In my opinion to be perfectionist is very bad, because you won't see that what have you done and how successful and good were you, but you will compare yourself to others who maybe do it since longer time. Just don't give up,stay positive,leave a comment and read this blog. :)

Loads of love,

Szabina from the TeenThoughts team