The Contemporary Woman - Mia Michaels

con•tem•po•rary:

happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time

According to Wikipedia, Contemporary dance has certain principles. They are Centering, Alignment, Gravity, Breath, Contraction, Release, Fall and Recovery, Spension, Balance and Off-Balance, Tension and Relaxation, Opposition and Emotion.

In other words contemporary dance is Mia Michaels. Mia is an Emmy Winning Choreographer, but it is not this statue that appeals her talent to me. I had first seen Mia's work on Fox's Network show, "So You Think You Can Dance." I was stunned, amazed and pleasantly surprised. I felt like I was looking into the soul of someone.

Mia Michaels expresses such emotion in her performances. The way the dancer's bodies intertwine and wrap around each other and then explode open with such force. Meanwhile, the dancers look like it is a natural motion of body movement.

She also, seems to push the dancers to explore more than just technique, but to also feel the music. Get inside the dance and explore the emotion.

Every time I see one of her dances I can see and feel the story. It is such a change to have an artist of this genre to be able to be seen in a medium of massive proportions. I love waiting to see what she will come up every week. Even the dancers seem to share this privilege. Each time a dancer on the show picked Mia Michaels, they knew they were getting a winner.

I am anticipating the return of the new series as well as the performances by Mia Michaels. However, we have to give a huge amount of credit to the other choreographers on the show. I love watching all of their performances as well. I loved, The foxes, the hummingbird, the stomp, the business meeting... I can keep going. What can I say, this is a great show. No, I am not a crazy fan, just in case you were wondering. I just like, what I like.

I would encourage everyone to at least check it out. Make your own opinion. It premieres tonight, Thursday, May 22nd. Then every Thursday night after that. Of course the beginning is just the tryouts, but that can be the funniest part of the show!

Dance your heart out.

Photo:MiaMichaels.com