Dance is competitive, we all know that.  Anyone who wants to become a professional has to have a thick skin to survive all the corrections given by teachers and choreographers.  But what do you do if you are told time and time again that you'll never live your dream?  What if your problem is not your attitude, your work ethic or your training, but is instead the one thing you can't change - your body?  Read on to hear how one professional tap dancer - Laura Chiuve - overcame both the odds and the limitations of her own anatomy to succeed not only in tap, but in other forms of dance as well.

Renowned dancer, choreographer, and director Tommy Tune, a nine-time Tony Award winner, will receive the first Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement award at the 2008 Fred & Adele Astaire Awards on June 2 in NYC. Actress Brooke Shields will present the prize at a gala in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center Studios to benefit the Auditory Oral School of New York, a non-profit organization which specializes in teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Tickets to this special event, which honors excellence in dance on stage and in film, are available for a limited time.

For details and ticket information, read more after the jump.

Evolution Dance Center presents the 2008 EDC Awards:

"Imagine, Create, Evolve"
Directed by Gee Bethancourt

May 31st, 2008!  Tickets on sale now!

For more info, please visit our website:
www.Evolution-Dance.com

Last weekend, I had the honor of judging the USASF Worlds dance team competition held at Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. The top teams from across the country and around the globe competed in divisions of pom, jazz and hip hop for the chance to be considered the best of the best. Dancers attended from 30 countries, including China, Germany, Chile, Mexico, Italy, Japan and the Ukraine.

So last night I ventured out to see Contrapose Dance's premiere concert of the same name. I have to say that it was pretty amazing. Since moving to Boston, MA, I have tried to go see as much dance as possible, and this company is definitely one to watch.

Contrapose is unique in that it combines the original works of its members with the work of an established artist/dance company and invites that company to perform/guest artist with the members of Contrapose, showcase thier own work, and choreograph. The results are fabulous!

Before I go off on the rants that have been simmering in my head, I want to mention something pertaining to a person in my last blog. I said that Eva Yaa Asantewaa's dance podcast, The Great Dance Audio Podcast is wonderful, but I said that I was sad that I didn't hear more from this podcast because of its quality content.

Kathleen Marshall is such an inspiration. I love when I walk into a room to audition for someone, and not only are they expressing viv and talent, but also intelligence and intense focus. I auditioned as a dancer for the Broadway tour of Grease yesterday, and I was lucky enough to have been in the presence of all of these qualities. It is so great to walk away from an audition feeling like you have grown even if you don't get the job because of a person in that room who inspires you.