Creative Critical Reflection

I know it is very late, but I am now going to post my Creative Critical Reflection, in which I reflect upon my project as a whole. It has taken me quite a while to figure out how to post this file online. Although it may seem I waited to the last minute to post this, I actually had done my CCR earlier, but apparently did not save it and thus had to redo it as I went to go and post it. Also, I had no idea you had to like create a website and everything else, and I had a seriously busy weekend, and yeah I should not have waited this late to work on it when I was not sure what I was doing. The file was also too large so I wasted an hour and a half of the website and everything was a complete mess.

Here is basically my final script for the CCR.

Critical Creative  Reflection

I never realize when I started this project that I would enjoy it this much, the project is now coming to a close and I’m going to reflect on this process as a whole. This project was an amazing experience and I’m very glad to have gotten to do. Not only was it fun and enjoyable, but it elaborated and expanded the skills I have acquired over the year. Plus it taught me patience and time management, not just to go nuclear anytime something goes wrong, skills I will be grateful to have for the rest of my life. What I feel made my experience so enjoyable was my ability to be able to combine some of my favorite things, which are photography, reading, writing, dance, and psychology (for in my research I looked to the Langlois study, as well as the American Psychological Association, and in my magazine I quoted the findings of the Sigmund Freud).   

Questions: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

1. My magazine Dancing Through Life both utilizes and challenges the conventions of typically dance magazines. Typically dance magazines appeal to an older audience, typically the 20-something year old struggling dancer. With the simplistic appearance of the cover, the articles included, as well as the models/dancers used Dance magazines are geared to an older, more mature audience. I wanted my magazine to not only appeal to that group, but expand it to a younger audience as well. Dance is one of America’s favorite past times, especially for young girls in a mid-high economic status, and to exclude them from the target audience of a dance magazine is hindering to the magazine’s success. So while my magazine does have a simple cover of a dancer showing great concentration and technique, the model is younger than most models pictured on the covers of dance magazines in order to appeal to that younger audience. The masthead has a fun, yet eloquent font style, instead of a plainly written masthead of the typical Dance magazines that are currently being distributed. Also, the articles not only include important,meaningful articles for dancers and choreographers, but also fun quizzes and trends to capture the younger audiences attention. Also, a lot of dance magazines talk about more mature topics going on in the dance world, but none of them really discuss issues within the realm of dance. So basically they talk about facts and observations, but not really the implications of trends and events.  Some of the pictures included in my magazine show girls ages (13-17) in revealing, tight clothing in order to emphasize the idea that dance is oversexualizing young girls, because this is a trend that is happening, but is going unnoticed and this is the best way (in my opinion) to draw attention to the issue as well as address it.

Question: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

2. If I were to distribute this magazine in real life I think the best way would be to make it available digitally, as well as through subscription, but not in stores. Very rarely is a dance based magazine found in stores, either in bookstores or at the cash registers at the grocery stores. Since there is such a limited audience for a dance based magazine, selling it in stores would be a waste of money (printing excess copies and distributing across the country) since it would not catch the eyes of the general public since it is so specific. Through subscriptions only a certain amount of magazines would be made, and go to the avid and engaged readers of the magazine, giving them something to look forward to every month. Distributing it online not only allows for easier accessibility, especially in the fast paced and materialistic world we live in people want everything to ready and available at the palm of their hand (or as the case may be the screen of their phone in their hand); but distributing online also appeals to the younger audiences I am trying to reach. Kids and tweens are basically attached to their phones and computers, and this way they can read the more kid-friendly articles and take the quizzes with more ease than flipping and skipping over parts of the magazine. I think what will engage my audience and keep them interested in reading my magazine is not only my use of photos and layouts, but the fact that my magazine talks about real world issues rather than just solely reviews and trends in the dance world.

Question: How did your production skills develop throughout the project?

3. I think that throughout the duration of my project my production skills improved enormously. I had never really worked with a site such as joomag or made my own magazine/layouts that needed to be both engaging and professional. The creation of my magazine pushed me out of my “yearbook-layout” comfort zone, in which the goal is to fit as many pictures as you can on the page (because let’s be real nobody actually reads the stories in a yearbook). I needed to find a way to place pictures that enforced what I was saying, but did not completely distracted from the contents of my articles. I obtained the criticism from fellow classmates that if they were to be reading a dance magazine they were not sure they would want to be reading too much, but I feel the issue at hand needed to be talked about in detail.

Although I did not use Photoshop much in my project, or any other photo manipulation tools for that matter, I did attempt to familiarize myself with the softwares, and feel if I need to use anything like that in the future I will be more ready. Even using a digital magazine site like joomag.com I think really helped me with not only my skills in with technology, design, layout, and everything, it also helped me with important life skills. Initially I was very frustrated and annoyed with joomag because It was not as easy as I thought it would be, it took days of trying to figure it out and a ton of mistakes to actually figure it out, but this made me a more patient person, as shown by the fact that I did not smash my laptop into the wall out of frustration.

Question: How did you integrate technologies- software, hardware, and online- in this project?

4. For this project I used very few technologies. I used my mom’s amazing camera and tripod, joomag, blogger, and microsoft. I wanted to use softwares and technologies that I was comfortable with instead of messing up my images in attempts of using Photoshop or Google Nik. Do not get me wrong I tried to use both, it just did not work in my favor. I feel I did not have the time, due to poor time management skills, to use these programs to their fullest potentials, thus I chose not to use them at all.  Using all of these different technologies and sites that I was comfortable with  did introduce to me to a whole new form of media. I used sites and programs that encompassed different areas of media. From a place to write, to a place for magazine layouts, to a place to express and reflect upon my learning and process. The use of all of these things together really brought my project to life, and allowed for my voice and ideas to be heard. Had I not used all of these different online sources that were available to me, my project would definitely be lackluster and fall below where I would like it to be and know in my mind it could be.  

I am truly grateful for this experience, and I hope the work I put into this project pays off. Thank you Taylor Barton.

Final Project

Well, here it is, the moment we have all been waiting for the final copy of Dancing Through Life the magazine. It has been a long process full of ups, downs, and obstacles. There were times where I wanted to throw my computer against a wall, but thankfully I did not do so because then I would have to start over again. Anyway, I am glad to have been able to enhance my skills and create a piece of media I am very proud of, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

http://joom.ag/hHrp

Here is the link to the final copy of my magazine.
Thank You- Taylor Barton

Almost there....

Hello! So this is one of my final blog postings (tear) and since I feel like you all (those who have taken the time to read my blog, thank you by the way) have a pretty good idea of how my magazine looks, I decided to finish typing my Critical Creative Reflection (CCR) script and share that with you. It is not completely done, but it is a very good representation of my ideas and what I hoped to accomplish with this project. Now what I have to do is time myself to see if I need to add or cut anything out.  I also have to record the podcast of me speaking to turn in to the final posting. My sample outline is down below.

Critical Creative  Reflection

I never realize when I started this project that I would enjoy it this much, the project is now coming to a close and I’m going to reflect on this process as a whole. This project was an amazing experience and I’m very glad to have gotten to do it.  Not only was it fun and enjoyable, but it elaborated and expanded the skills I have acquired over the year. Plus it taught me patience and time management, not just to go nuclear anytime something goes wrong, skills I will be grateful to have for the rest of my life.

Questions: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

1. My magazine Dancing Through Life both utilizes and challenges the conventions of typically dance magazines. Typically dance magazines appeal to an older audience, typically the 20-something year old struggling dancer. With the simplistic appearance of the cover, the articles included, as well as the models/dancers used Dance magazines are geared to an older, more mature audience. I wanted my magazine to not only appeal to that group, but expand it to a younger audience as well. Dance is one of America’s favorite past times, especially for young girls in a mid-high economic status, and to exclude them from the target audience of a dance magazine is hindering to the magazine’s success. So while my magazine does have a simple cover of a dancer showing great concentration and technique, the model is younger than most models pictured on the covers of dance magazines in order to appeal to that younger audience. The masthead has a fun, yet eloquent font style, instead of the plainly written mastheads of the typical Dance magazines. Also, the articles not only include important meaningful articles for dancers and choreographers, but also fun quizzes and trends to attract and appeal the younger audiences attention. Some of the pictures included in my magazine show girls ages (13-17) in revealing, tight clothing in order to emphasize the idea that dance is oversexualizing young girls, because this is a trend that is happening, but is going unnoticed and this is the best way (in my opinion) to draw attention to the issue.

Question: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

2. If I were to distribute this magazine in real life I think the best way would be to make it available digitally, as well as through subscription, but not in stores. Very rarely is a dance based magazine found in stores, either in bookstores or at the cash registers at the grocery stores. Since there is such a limited audience for a dance based magazine, selling it in stores would be a waste of money (printing excess copies and distributing across the country) since it would not catch the eyes of the general public since it is so specific. Through subscriptions only a certain amount of magazines would be made, and go to the avid and engaged readers of the magazine, giving them something to look forward to every month. Distributing it online not only allows for easier accessibility, especially in the fast paced world we live in, but it also appeals to the younger audiences I am trying to reach. Kids and tweens are basically attached to their phones and computers, and this way they can read the more kid-friendly articles and take the quizzes with more ease than flipping and skipping over parts of the magazine. I think what will engage my audience and keep them interested in reading my magazine is not only my use of photos and layouts, but the fact that my magazine talks about real world issues rather than just solely reviews and trends in the dance world.

Question: How did your production skills develop throughout the project?

3. I think that throughout the duration of my project my production skills improved enormously. I had never really worked with a site such as joomag or made my own magazine/layouts that needed to be both engaging and professional. The creation of my magazine pushed me out of my “yearbook-layout” comfort zone, in which the goal is to fit as many pictures as you can on the page (because let’s be real nobody actually reads the stories in a yearbook). I needed to find a way to place pictures that enforced what I was saying, but did not completely distracted from the contents of my articles. Although I did not use Photoshop much in my project, or any other photo manipulation tools for that matter, I did attempt to familiarize myself with the softwares, and feel if I need to use anything like that in the future I will be more ready. Even using a digital magazine site like joomag.com I think really helped me with not only my skills in with technology, design, layout, and everything, it also helped me with important life skills. Initially I was very frustrated and annoyed with joomag because It was not as easy as I thought it would be, it took days of trying to figure it out and a ton of mistakes made throughout the process, but this made me a more patient person, as shown by the fact that I did not smash my laptop into the wall out of frustration.

Question: How did you integrate technologies- software, hardware, and online- in this project?

4. For this project I used very few technologies. I used my mom’s amazing camera and tripod, joomag, blogger, and microsoft. I wanted to use software and technologies that I was comfortable with instead of messing up my images in attempts of using Photoshop or Google Nik. Do not get me wrong I tried to use both, it just did not work in my favor. Using all of these different technologies and sites did introduce to me to a whole new form of media. I used sites and programs that encompassed different areas of media. From a place to write, to a place for magazine layouts, to a place to express and reflect upon my learning and process. The use of all of these things together really brought my project to life, and I allowed for my voice and ideas to be heard. Had I not used all of these different online sources that were available to me, my project would definitely be lackluster and fall below where I would like it to be and know in my mind it could be.  

See Y'all Soon! Enjoy the Blog with short postings coming up soon. Thanks for sticking around so long. Unitl next time- Taylor Bsrton

Thank God for a Good Camera and a Tripod

Well today I found out some bad news. My intended cover model, Christa, is not able to meet with me and take pictures. Fear not though, I gathered up two more friends Shadia and  Navya, gave them some of my old dance costumes and turned them into dancers. Besides that I turned myself into a model, and used myself for the "Too Risqué?" article. To do so I again set the camera up on a tripod, and gathered multiple pictures of me in various provocative positions. According to my friend Daniel, I did well in gathering sexual looking pictures of myself and friends. Below are the photos I gathered today.

The good news is I now have enough photos to complete my magazine. Note I also changed my cover image to the one of myself doing the leg kick on the ground, and changed the main cover line back to "Too Risqué?" I did not get rid of the beautiful photo of Camila doing the tilt though. I instead replaced the image of my handstand with that image of her because I could not bear to remove it from my magazine. In all honesty, I believe in replacing that image it made my TOC look cleaner and more professional.

Now that my magazine is basically done, I have also begun to work on my Creative Critical Reflection, by preparing and practicing the questions I need to answer and the topics I need to address. That's it for this blog. Until Next Blog!- Taylor Barton

I got it!

So as the title of this blog states, I got my camera cord today! I have already uploaded the pictures and added them into the magazine. I only need about four more photos to complete my magazine and my friend Christa is coming over to my house on Tuesday, so I will get some of her in costume and makeup. I may also recruit a few other friends to get a couple more pictures of different girls wearing showy costumes for my "Too Risqué" spread. Also, an additional change I made to the magazine at the moment is that I changed my initial idea for my cover model, instead of Christa it is my friend Camila. If on Tuesday I take a photo of Christa I absolutely love, I will replace the cover image again.

 

There is one photo in the magazine I would like to talk about, which is the one of me doing a handstand. I realize I am the one who is suppose to take all the photos for the magazine, so I would like to clarify that I put the camera on a tripod, and set the function in which it automatically takes a photo after x number of seconds to obtain that picture. After many failed attempts, and a couple of falls later I got the picture I decided to add into the magazine. Below are some of the pictures from when I was getting that specific picture (including a really cute one of me falling, and trying not to get bodily injured).

Besides this, I fixed the TOC and the pictures included, as well as made the advertisements look nicer and more professional (especially my Lokai one that has a deep focus on the bracelet while the trees are a little blurred behind it). Once I get those few final photos my magazine will be complete, and I can continue to work on my Creative Critical Reflection, which I plan to do as either a podcast or slideshow with voiceovers.

 

Okay that's all for this posting! Until Next Blog!- Taylor Barton



Deadline...

So as I mentioned in my last post the deadline is rapidly approaching which is kind of scary, especially because I did not get my cord again (insert nervous looking emoji here), but instead of wasting my day, I continued to work on my layouts with the photos available to me on my computer. That way when I get the photos I can easily just place them in the proper positions and finish up a few small captions. Besides the pictures, I still need to reedit my two-page spread article, as well as update some of the table comment stories, and then clean up the advertisements a bit. Too say the least I am a little behind schedule, but I am confidence that I have got this. I'm going to post my layout ideas on here, but I have very few pictures on my computer, and to say the least they are all of me, so I would like to say I am not conceded, but needed something to work with.

So this is the cover page, and I genuinely love it. When the background has less going on, I think it will look really nice. The only thing I would like to add is a barcode, which I think I have the capability of making either on joomag or on like photoshop.

These are the layouts of the advertisements, TOC, and the two page spread. I think these layouts incorporate enough pictures to keep the readers engaged, without there being too many. I need to add a page number at the top of my two page spread, but besides that I am very pleased with how my magazine is turning out. That's all for this post. Until next post!- Taylor Barton 

Layouts (and not the dance move)

First off I would like to clarify the title of this post. In dance, particularly in jazz, a layout is basically a kick in which you lean back with it. That's a pretty bad description so here's a picture to demonstrate what I was trying to describe.

 

Anyway, I am still waiting on the camera cord to upload my photos (hooray for me losing it in the first place), and I am still waiting to get pictures of my cover model but besides that I began to work on possible layout ideas for my magazine (ah I know so exciting!). Its also a good thing since the project is due in like less than two weeks (yikes!). So far I am very pleased with how my project is turning out, and pictured below are what I have for layouts right now. Tomorrow I am going to revamp the layouts to see how the pictures flow and the captions and the wording, and hopefully make my advertisements look a little nicer and more professional.  

 

 

That's all I have for tonight! Until Next Blog!- Taylor Barton







Where there's good news there's bad news...

So I have some good news! The good news is that I began working on my cover. I am using joomag.com to create my magazine, which is a site that my media studies teacher recommended. So far, I love it and it is super simple to use. My magazine will be 7 pages long, with the title page, two advertisements, two pages for the table of contents, and the two-page spread. Below is what I have done with the cover thus far.

So far I think it looks really nice, and professional. I am also super happy with the masthead font because it is exactly the kind of fun, yet eloquent font I was looking for. Also pictured is the selling line, the dateline, and coverlines. I'm meeting  with Christa (my cover model) next Tuesday to gather pictures of her, but I began to take pictures last night at my dance studio, and got a beautiful photo of tween dancer Camilla Aponte doing a tilt (a leg grab with a slated body) on the barre. So if no photos of Christa work for the cover I may use that one, and include the photos of Christa elsewhere. If that is the case then, I'm going to change the main coverline to fit the picture of Camilla better, but that will not change the two page spread idea/story. The bad news is I took the photos on my mom's camera, and we kind of, sorta, possibly, maybe lost the cord to connect the camera to the computer, meaning until the new camera cord  gets here (approximately Friday), I am unable to work with the photos I have. As soon as I have it I will determine which photos look the best once uploaded and where in the magazine they belong.

Okay that's all I have for this blog! Until Next Post!- Taylor Barton

Who Doesn't Love Those Pesky Advertisements?

So as I mentioned hours earlier this is my second posting today! Yay! Double the postings, double the fun right? It has been hard for me to complete my blog postings because it is spring break and I have been away, but I'm back baby (wow I sound pretty lame, but I'm going to keep this intro anyway).
Anyway, in my last blog posting I mentioned the idea of creating advertisements to be placed with my TOC, well because I am the queen of rough drafts I have made rough drafts of possible advertisements. For my advertisements I used my pink Lokai bracelet and my red Converse shoes as the props to be the subjects of the photographs. Since it is rather late as I do this, I had to improvise a little. Instead of using my moms very nice and professional camera, I used my phone to take the pictures. I also did not have a solid backdrop, so I used my blue blanket and laid it across my bed. Also, it is the middle of the night, the sun is not out, so instead of holding my Lokai bracelet up to the sun.... I held it up to the light in my room, but you will get an idea. (Hooray for more low quality pictures)



I'm going to start working on the real advertisements soon, but when I do I want to make sure they are effective in selling the product, as well as serve their purpose in making sure the reader does not get bored and later pulls their attention back into the TOC. That's all for this blog!

Until Next Blog- Taylor Barton

Citations:

Clayton, Rebecca A. "Advertising as Science." Http://www.apa.org. American Psychology Association, Oct. 2002. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

TOC layout ideas

Okay so first off I would like to say I forgot to post this blog earlier, so there will be a double posting today. What I did was I looked up how a lot of table of content pages look like, and a common layout theme is having an advertisement on the left and then the start of the TOC on the right and then continuing it on the very next page with either an advertisement or short article on the right (as shown below from the TOC taken from People magazine, higher quality photos taken by me on my new iPhone 5s as compared to my previous iPhone 4s photos.)

 

Most magazines also have a TOC that is spread out over two pages, due to the pictures used and the larger text for accessibility purposes, therefore when I make my table of contents I plan to follow a similar format making mine two pages as compared to one. I would also like to create (if I have the time for it) two advertisements for my table of contents to give it the typical feel of a TOC. Advertisement ideas include: Lokai bracelets (the rubber bracelets are a major fad in the dance world since they symbolize balance in both life and physically), Converse (a popular shoe to be wore for hip hop dances in recital and for practice), and a fruit smoothie (promoting the healthy lifestyle that a dancer should lead, although not going to lie I'm not the healthiest dancer around). To make my advertisements I plan to use my own props and then make the advertisements using Photoshop (once I better familiarize myself with it).

 

That's it for this blog. Until Next Time!- Taylor Barton 

More rough drafts!

So first off, good news! I forgot mention, I got my dance costumes last week meaning I will not be going on stage in spandex and a sports bra! I'm just kidding... kind of. The fact that I have my dance costumes does mean I will not be dancing in spandex and a sports bra, but the reason you all should care is because I have a costume for my model to wear for my cover (Christa may be bringing her own but there are more options, especially if I need more models for TOC pictures.)

Next thing I want to talk about is I have been touring colleges this week (Go Commodores and Bulldogs!) so I have yet to have the chance to gather pictures or truly begin working on my layout, so what I decided to do was make a rough draft of my two page spread article. I decided to go with the Too Risqué? article about if dance is affecting the development and growth of young girls particularity in the 10-14 year old age range. This article I feel like is original, and informative, and really has an impact on dancers and their parents. I took pictures of the article, but if the pictures are unclear I will reproduce the article above it. This is my first draft, the article has gone through minimal editing and will probably be shortened prior to the final copy.

Too Risqué?

Is the oversexualizing of young girls in dance affecting their development?

By: Taylor Barton

What do the songs “My Humps”, “Lady Marmalade”, “Hey Big Spender” have in common? They are all popular recital dance recital songs and not just for teenagers. Girls (and boys) anywhere from the ages of 8 to 18 are dancing to songs like this every year in dance recitals across the country. Now these are all very sexual songs to begin with, then if you add in tight, revealing costumes, as well as more and more inappropriate dance moves (like the world famous “twerk”) and you get oversexualized, provocative tween girls (for the most part).

Dance has been a part of society and culture since the earliest times, used for rituals, celebrations, and ceremonies, it has now shifted into a recreational hobby appealing to many far and wide. Children get into dance as early as the age of two, and some continue to not only major in dance at college, but pursue careers in the dance industry. As the dancers develop in age, physically, and in maturity they can handle dances with more serious, hard, even sexual subject matters. More intense subject matters are becoming more and more popular among choreographers, and not just for teens and twenty-something year old, but kids and tweens are faced with dances well beyond their age at an alarming rate.

The argument could be made that the increase in overly mature content stemmed from the hit television reality show Dance Moms, in which head choreography and owner of the Abby Lee Dance Company, Abby Lee Miller, has been known to choreograph intense dances for young girls, that may be as young as 7 and continue onto the age of 13/14 (the studio has older girls, but the show focuses on girls of these ages). Some of Miller’s more inappropriate dances  include the young girls being featured as topless Vegas showgirls (an episode that caused so much public outrage, that Lifetime had to pull the episode from air shortly after initial air date). Other oversexualized dances include “Electricity” (Season 1 Episode 2), or “Snapshot” (Season 1 Episode 8) in which the pre-teen group all came out in bikinis and swimsuits.

Regardless of whether or not the increase of inappropriate dances in recent years is due to Dance Moms, it is obviously apparent that the shift is occurring. Here we have to stop and think; What effects do these over sexualized dances have on the young girls and their development? According to Freudian psychology, emphasis on Freud’s psychosexual stages, girls of the ages 10-14 are either going to be in the latency or genital stage of sexual development, which if Freudian psychology was still practiced, if something hindered or effected the girl’s development in the latency stage, she would never fully be able to develop sexually. The latency stage focuses on the cognitive and social development of the individual, particularly the repression of sexual feelings. If these girls are being encouraged to be oversexualized, with tight costumes with cutaways and fish nets, as well as “stripper-like” moves, there may never be this latency stage, meaning girls will not truly know how to act in future sexual situations. Now by no means does this mean this will able to all girls, the fact of the matter is that many psychologists do not even acknowledge Freudian psychology as valid or logically anymore, but the possibility is there that girls not only exposed to this kind of dance, but have been participating in it, may be more likely to act in more sexual ways during high school.

Besides the possibility of more sexual actions, there also lays the possibilities of many other harmful effects. (I use the words possibilities because nothing is the same for everyone, so there the arguments being made cannot be applied to all young dancers.) These dances can harm a girl’s self-esteem, self-image, and self-worth. If a girl does not deem herself to be “beautiful” or does not have a super skinny, dancer’s body she may feel inferior and below the other dancers while doing slinky dance moves to sexy songs, forever damaging the way she will view herself. Or on the other end of the spectrum, a dancer that has the so called “look” and competes frequently or does a lot of hip hop and jazz classes (typically the two classes with the skimpiest outfits and most risqué moves), she may develop a dependency on heavy makeup and revealing clothing to feel beautiful or comfortable in her own skin. If this is the case we are teaching these girls it is okay to dress like that (which according to recent feminist movements it is, but according to school dress codes and parental orders it is not.) In terms of the status quo as well, clothing that is tight, short, or shows too much skin is deemed as “slutty”, and quite frankly high school girls are mean and will call a girl harsh names based on looks, thus further lowering her self-esteem that could already possibly be damaged. Plus, in current rape culture a common question for a rape victim is “What were you wearing?” If girls become use to wearing skin tight clothing from dance and continue to do so in everyday life, saying they were wearing a crop top and black mini skirt may get them the response “Well, you were kind of asking for it now weren’t you”. I wish I could say this is a far-fetched scenario, but it is (unfortunately) a common occurrence.

The most astounding thing is that parents encourage this behavior. Parents pay large sums of money for classes, competitions, costumes, recitals, etc. and when they see their five year old dancing to “Single Ladies” or their nine year old shaking his/her butt to “Anaconda”, they are not appalled, but rather they applaud. We are, as a society, encouraging this damaging behavior, solely for the fact that it is “entertainment”. We live in a world where being a teen mom is cool because you can get on TV, and to get attention you have to do something wrong or inappropriate. We are putting children’s development at risk, because we think it is “cute” to see ten year olds doing skanky hip hop moves. If we don’t return to more age appropriate time of dances, we are not just damaging this generation but all future ones to come, and the issues that can arise are no laughing matter. 

 

That's all I have for now. Until next blog!- Taylor Barton

 

 
 

 

Dance Articles

Since I am out of town this weekend, I cannot start collecting my dance pictures for the magazine just yet, so what I decided to do was research different dance articles, in order to see the typical structure of dance related articles as well as current events going on in the dance world, that way the articles I mention in my TOC are relevant in the dance world. One very helpful website was citybeat.com, which was filled with current dance articles, both nationally and internationally.

One of the examples for a TOC article I talked about in my last posting was the psychology of dance, which was inspired by the fact I was watching Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel as I was typing up my last posting. Turns out there are multiple articles on the psychology of dance, that have been proven by actual scientists and psychologists, so if I so chose to explore that for my magazine I could have backing for it. There actually being articles on it helps prove that people are interested in it, and it is not just me, the girl who wants to major in psychology in college. I think I am going to continue with my A Little Too Risqué article but it is nice to know there is a backup in case push comes to shove.

Another major topic that came up in my searches, is music. Music is not necessarily imperative for dance, but it does enhance it and allow for a story to be told. Since music is such an important part of dance, it is essential that I stay updated on current music trends. To do so I looked toward Billboard where I found articles like this, which helps me know what songs are trending and popular, and why so. iTunes is also great to know the most popular songs, but they do not explain the why behind it. I may need to reference some of the popular music on either my cover or my TOC, so I need to stay up to date on the latest music trends, that are not related to country music (since most dances are not choreographed to Blake Shelton.)

That's all I have for now. Until Next Post. -Taylor Barton

Citations:
Murray, Gordon. "Adele's 'When We Were Young' Tops Dance Club Songs Chart." Billboard. N.p., 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.

Bergland1, Christopher. "Why Is Dancing So Good for Your Brain?" Psychology Today. N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016

Mellardo, Alexa. "People Who Grow Up Dancing Are Happier, Less Stressed And Smarter." Elite Daily People Who Grow Up Dancing Are Happier Less Stressed And Smarter Comments. N.p., 25 June 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.

"Two Dance Companies Collaborate in Triple Bill." Dance. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.

TOC (Torture of Children, jk Table Of Contents)

    So now I have my idea for my magazine, an idea of my two- page spread story, as well as possible cover ideas (as shown by my terrible drawings) and masthead fonts. So now what I need to do is come up with possible stories for the table of contents as well as ideas for the pictures that correspond with some of the stories.

    Due to the expansion of the age range I am trying to accomplish, I cannot not just have solely serious dance articles about booking dream jobs, or "A New Bolshoi?" (Dance Magazine March 2016 Issue), although these will have to be included as well. I will need to also include possible quizzes, lists of tips and top 10s, embarrassing dance stories, and maybe even dance theme games such as crosswords and word searches. Also, reviews on the latest music, performances, videos, and dance crazes could be featured in the table of contents.

    Possible Story Ideas:
-Technique Tips from Choreographer Ricky Lam
- How to Keep Your Turners Clean
-Top Ten Songs Ever Featured on Dance Moms  
- Quiz: Which Step Up Dancer Are You?
- Recurring Article: Wait What Happened? Most Embarrassing Dance-Related Stories
- Recurring: 5 Dance Related Reviews of the Week
- Is dabbing becoming an addiction?
-The Psychology Behind Dance
- Meet the Stars of Season 22 of Dancing With The Stars
- Quiz: We Know What Type of Dancer You Are?
- Recurring: Game Time: Crosswords, Word Search, and Mazes.
- Recurring: Meet This Dancer (dancer changes per week)
- Dancing Dads? How to improve your father's dancing.
- Ten "On Pointe" Dance Outfits
- Book Your Dream Job: Expert Advice on Auditions
- Healthy Tips for Healthy People
- Cheap but Chic Dance Outfits
-Quiz: What Kind of Dance Shoes Represent Your Personality?
-Too Risqué?


   I think this will be enough stories to fill up my table of contents. We will have the new stories at the beginning of the TOC, and then the recurring articles will be placed at the end of the TOC. Possible picture ideas will include model dancers (both posed and dancing), as well as dance clothes, shoes, and foods that relate to said articles.

Until Next Blog- Taylor Barton

Cover Girl

"You're my cover girl, I think you're the superstar"- Big Time Rush

   

    In my last post I started talking about possible cover ideas. If the pictures did not demonstrate my ideas well, what I would like to show a girl wearing a showy, provocative outfit. As I have mentioned, I would like to expand the typical target audience from the usual age range of twenty something year olds. To do so, I need to stray a bit from typical dance magazine covers. The biggest aspect I would need to change is the age and appearance of the cover model/ cover page's subject. As I mentioned previously, a dancer between the ages of 20-40 is shown on the cover, usually portrayed showing beautiful technique, or showing off a a specific dance move. I would like a more posed photo, almost like you are taking dance photos or posing in your costume. So now I had to find a girl that would work as my model. 

    I thought my best friend, Christa Nicole Carparni, would be perfect. Christa and I have been best friends since we were one years old, and not only do we share a middle name, but its the type of friendship I would be surprised if it did not last a life time.

                                         (Taylor Barton on left. Christa Carpani on right.)

 

 

 

    Christa is an intensive dancer. In second grade, she began to be homeschooled in order to be able to focus more on dance, and takes at least ten dance classes a week. Christa is a known face in the dance world, competing in competitions across the country, featured in music videos ("Come and Dance"- Elliot Dvorin / "Rebound"- Crystal from Hitstreak) , and has over 1700 followers on Instagram.  Christa has also participated in summer dance programs at the elite Joffrey Ballet School.

    Not only is Christa a great and acclaimed dancer, but she also has the look I am going for. Christa is 16 years old, fitting perfectly into the target audience I am looking to appeal to. Besides this, Christa is in great shape with a great dancer's body, and is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. According to two different sites, men find the same eight physical qualities attractive in all women, most of which Christa possess. Although, my magazine is not meant for men, as the creator of the magazine I would like my cover model to be considered attractive, and as the Langlois developmental psychology studied proved in 1991, babies are able to tell difference between an attractive and unattractive face within 4-6 months after birth, proving our idea of beauty and attractiveness is innate, this meaning it applies to both males and females perspective of beauty.

   Due to Christa's demanding schedule I know she may not be able to model, but if that is the case I will recruit on of the girls from my dance studio or have a friend pose as a dancer in one of my previous costumes. That's all I have for this blog. Until Next Post!
-Taylor Barton

citations:
Eldvorin. "Come and Dance - Miami Pool Party - Elliot Dvorin." YouTube. YouTube, 27 July 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Rebound. Dir. Http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYBFx-THKRWqAxq66qZk_ww. Perf. Crystal from Hitstreak. YouTube. YouTube, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Mattern, Jessica. "The 6 Physical Features Men Can't Resist, According to Science." Redbook. N.p., 18 May 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.                         
Lee, Stephanie. "6 Physicla Traits That Men Are Drawn To (According To Science)." Slice. N.p., 21 May 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.


 

    

ROUGH covers

   




    So now that I have a solid magazine genre, as well as an idea for my two page spread, I thought it would be a good idea to start making VERY rough cover designs. Many of the covers I see for dance magazines are very simple. There is not a lot on it. Typically there is a dancer or dancers showing incredible technique looking directly at the camera with very few taglines around them. The dancer is the always the main subject of the cover. Even the mastheads are simple, and typically not very bold or bright. The backgrounds are a solid color, but typically not white, promoting sophistication and eloquence while drawing attention solely to the subject of the magazine. Very rarely is the background white because they are not trying promote an emptiness or blankness.  Examples are provided to the left from Dance Magazine.


So I created a couple of very rough drafts of the covers layouts as well as masthead examples. I was just playing around with different handwriting styles, but I realize that a lot of them are not possible, nor would they look good for the dance magazine. As I stated in my first blog post, it appears that the target audience is females of a middle to high socio -economic status (to clarify this I emailed the vice president of Dance Magazine to ask for the average age of their subscribers, which fell into this range almost exactly). I am trying to appeal to a little younger of audiences that are still in the same socio-economic status, with the primary gender still being females. I would like to appeal to girls about the ages of 12-28. To do so I will still use a plain background, but I will add more taglines, as well as use a younger model to appeal to the younger audience. Also, my magazine's masthead will not be crazy or over the top, but it will be a little more colorful/fun as compared to Dance Magazine. Personally I like cover layout #2 the best and Masthead #1/ 3/ and 10 the best and will try to find fonts that match these when I actually start working. Please excuse the scratching out, the scribbles, the poor lighting, as well as the poor quality photos taken by my iPhone 4s. Again these are very rough drafts that I plan to revise throughout, and then when I actually start working with the program, see which of these are possible.

Until next blog- Taylor Barton

Citations
"Dance Magazine." Dance Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

A little too risqué?

        So I'm going to start this blog off with a story. Last Tuesday I was in my intermediate 2 Jazz class. Not only am I the oldest girl in the class being 16, going on 17 in a week (first of all, Wooho! Second of all, this will become relevant later I swear), but I am one of the few girls in this class that is not on my studio's company or competition team. The competition team is our team of the best dancers in the studio who go and compete at competitions on the weekend. Although, a lot of the girls on the team are about my age, there is a good amount of girls that are only about age 12. My dance teacher for jazz is one of the two coaches for competition, I will use a fake name to keep her identity and the other teacher's identity a secret in order to honor the ethical guideline of privacy. So my teacher Linda, was walking by the room where her fellow competition coach Jessica was talking. Linda hears Jessica telling the girls in the class that should start practicing using tampons and making sure they know how to use them, and then continuing to say they need to either be fully shaven or waxed in their "bikini area". Now Linda thought this was absurd, but also humorous. I on the other hand was just purely shocked to be hearing this.

       I am sixteen years old (told you this would be relevant) and did not need to worry about either of those things until my freshman year of high school. These girls are twelve, half of them have not even hit puberty, they should not have to worry about these things yet. Could you imagine your twelve year old daughter coming home and saying, "Mom I need a box of tampons and a razor because Ms.Jessica said I need to know how to do these things for competition."? Personally I think it would be awkward, and I would be a little pissed my daughter's dance teacher is telling her to grow up faster than need be.

   This conversation got me thinking that dance is not only forcing young girls to grow up too fast, but is also over sexualizing children. In recent years, dance has become significantly more risqué, with more provocative and sensualized moves all while the girls (particularly, this is not as big as a problem with the male dancers) are wearing very showy, revealing costumes. Just looking at the website for Kelle Company, a site full of dance costumes, shows girls of all ages wearing costumes with cutouts, skin tight clothing, fish net stockings, or full stomachs showing (for example the photo on the right, taken from the Kelle Company's website). Even the songs are becoming more sexual (coming from someone dancing to "Lady Marmalade" for her recital dance).

   Now I understand as a dancer the importance of being able to have full mobility in your costume, but why are we subjecting such young girls to such showy costumes. The fact of the matter is that this can be detrimental to their later development. According to psychotherapist, Rachael A. Sussman, subjecting girls to these kind of outfits and situations can affect their sexual growth, as well as their self confidence and self worth. This article was written in 2012 when on an episode of the hit TV show Dance Moms aired (and was later pulled from Lifetime due to parental outrage), in which the team of tweens was depicted as being nude Vegas showgirls.

       Besides the possible negative long term effects on the young girls' psychological development, think about what we are teaching these girls. We are saying it is okay to be seen in inappropriate clothing, which although I personally am not a hard-core feminist, in recent feminist movements the point has been made that we can wear whatever we want because it is our bodies and we should not adhere to the idea that revealing clothes are distracting and become disruptions for guys. The main problem with this is not the encouragement of "slutty" clothing but rather the implications that come with the clothing. Girls are mean. Especially in high school.   If these young dancers grow up and do wear more revealing clothing, there is a higher chance they will be called harsh names in high school, which will add to a lower self-esteem. Along with this, it is common in rape culture for the victim to be asked what they were wearing. Now by no means am I saying if girls show off a little skin or wear tighter clothing they will get raped. What I am saying is that as current rape culture stands if a girl says she was wearing a tight miniskirt and a top that looks only a little more than a bra, she could get the response of "Well then you were basically asking for it now weren't you?"

     I thought this story would be great for me to write about as a part of my magazine. This would make a great story for my two page spread, for not only is there a lot of content to write about, but it is very easy to get fitting pictures for. Okay that's all I have to say for this blog.  Until next blog.
- Taylor Barton

Citations
Ferguson, Wes. "Are Racy Outfits on ‘Dance Moms’ Damaging to Young Girls? Expert Answers! | Celebuzz." Celebuzz. N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

http://dancemoms.wikia.com/wiki/Topless_Showgirls (where the image was found of the girls from Dance Moms)

Kemper, Martha. "Recital Revelations: When It Comes to the Over-Sexualization of Young Girls, We Are the Problem." Rhrealitycheck.org. N.p., 22 May 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"Kellé Company - Dance Costumes, Dancewear, Dance Clothes, Dance Apparel, Jazz Costumes, Lyrical Costumes, Kids Costumes, Competition Costumes, Recital Costumes." Kellé Company - Dance Costumes, Dancewear, Dance Clothes, Dance Apparel, Jazz Costumes, Lyrical Costumes, Kids Costumes, Competition Costumes, Recital Costumes. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.                         

The Start Of Something New

        So here it is the moment every AICE Media Studies student has been waiting for: the much anticipated final portfolio project. Months ago I was told I had to decide if I would rather make a two minute film opening or a sample magazine, containing a cover page, table of contents, and a two page spread. Despite being a theatre kid for years where a film opening would seem like a much better fit for me, I decided to go the magazine route. The reason I chose the magazine is because I thought it would be easier for me to work alone on, since I'm very busy I did not want to hinder my group in anyway. Also, I truly believe I will be able to demonstrate the skills I've learned in this class more effectively with the magazine instead of the film opening. Plus I love to write, and I can do that in a print form of media.

    Now that I decided on my medium, I had to chose a genre and theme for the magazine. My initial idea was a fashion magazine like Glamour or Vogue, but I found that a little too cliché, and very basic overall. My next idea was a world event magazine like Time or National Geographic, which I found fitting since I'm in Model United Nations at my school. I decided against it because I wanted my magazine to be a little more fun for the graders to read, as well as for me to make. What I decided to do was make a dance magazine, since I have been in dance for nearly thirteen years of my seventeen year old life. There is so much you can do with a dance magazine, from tips on technique, list of the best dance songs/ costumes/ and stage makeup, interviews with chorographers , dance-based debates, the possibilities were truly endless. Plus dance has gained enormous popularity over the years. TV shows like Dance Moms, Abby Lee's Ultimate Dance Competition, Shake it Up, Dancing With the Stars, and So You Think You Think Can Dance? all have promoted an increase interest in dance. Movies like Step Up, Black Swan, and Footloose have also lead to a bigger dance community following. According to the market research done by ibisworld, dance employs over 50,000 people and there are over 8,000 institutes and studios for dance in 2015 and this popularity is projected to continue to grow.

    So now what I needed to do was come up with a title for my magazine. Many dance magazines have very simplistic titles such as, Pointe, Dance Magazine, and Dance Studio Magazine. The target audience, especially of Dance Magazine, appears to be college students/ young adults in their mid to late 20s. They seem to either be dance majors or professional dancers going out for auditions, this magazine being very sophisticated looking, and the articles are more serious and important dance topics. What I plan to do with my magazine is make the range appeal to a younger audience, as well as this college age group. To execute this I would add articles in the forms of lists, controversial dance debates, as well as important dance articles like Dance Magazine includes. Another way I plan to attract this younger audience (by younger I mean tweens and teenagers, not like seven year olds) I plan to use a title that is not so simplistic and to the point, I wanted to use a pun or a play on words for my title, but could not think of one until I heard "Dancing Through Life" from the Broadway musical Wicked,  and I thought what could possibly be a better title for my magazine, and thus Dancing Through Life was born.

    At the moment that is all I have on my magazine, but I am excited to continue working on this process and furthering my knowledge on this topic. Until next blog. 
-Taylor Barton 

Citations

Public Domain

Dancer, Female, Ballet, Outdoors, Meadow

Ballet, Dance, Rest, Ballerina

Ballet Shoes, Ballerina, Dance, Balance

Ballet, Girl, Child, Ballerina, Dance

Dancer, Woman, Girl, 3D, Model, Female

"Dance Studios in the US: Market Research Report." Dance Studios in the US Market Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.