5 Great IPhone Apps For Dance Teachers

In today’s world, it seems that no matter what your career or vocation is technology offers you tools that can help you with your craft. Being a dance teacher is no exception. Smartphone apps have become very popular tools in a variety of professions, and there are plenty that dance instructors can benefit from as well. 

If you are an instructor looking for ways to improve your class, new tools for teaching, or just a great resource for all things dance-related, there are plenty of neat mobile device applications available to you. Here are five excellent apps for iPhone users that every dancer instructor can benefit from and use to take their classes to a new level. 

Coach’s Eye

Coach’s Eye is a fantastic tool that is used by coaches and teachers all over the world. Whether it’s sports or dancing, this app allows you to really offer a lot of great insight to your students when trying to improve their technique. Using this app, you can record your students dancing and then slow down the recording in order to dissect and analyze their technique and movements. It’s great for working with students individually or helping a group of dancers polish up their routine. 

SeeDance.com

This is a resource that no dance instructor should be without. No matter where you are, this app will help you to find anything you might need. Whether you are looking for the best dancewear stores in your area or you want to take your class to a dance performance and want to see what’s going on in your vicinity, this app can give you the goods. If you are in between jobs and looking for a new studio, this app comes in very handy as well, listing studios big and small in your region of the country. 

8Counts

When it comes to recitals and competitions, getting your choreography down is serious business. This app will allow you to organize and notate your dancers’ choreography right on your smartphone. Use this app to write out the choreography in eight-count sheets, add music to your choreography via iTunes and share the choreography with your students so that they can study up in between classes. 

Ballet Index

If you are a ballet instructor or you want to learn more about ballet, this is the app for you. It’s a dictionary of ballet terms that is not only very extensive, but updated regularly as well. Not only does the app help to define ballet terms, it also helps you pronounce them correctly and teach them effectively. Most of the terms even come with pictures and examples that make it easier to understand the terms so that you can integrate them into your classes easily. 

Dance Journal

This is yet another great resource for getting your choreographies in order. Use Dance Journal to keep track of all of your routines and map out all of the steps that you want to include in your upcoming choreographies. The app even allows you to add videos to go along with the written records you are keeping. If you have a lot of different classes and choreographies to work out, this app is a life saver. It’s very well organized and allows you to easily sort the various records you keep of choreographies, steps and exercises in all your classes. 

These five iPhone apps can definitely help any dance teacher to “get a leg up” in class.

Featured images:

•  License: Image author owned 
•  License: Image author owned 
•  License: Image author owned 
•  License: Image author owned 
•  License: Image author owned 

The author of this post is Emma William, a part of the team at AfroLAtino Dance Company, specialists in Latin dance in Toronto. A tech enthusiast, she is always on the lookout for the latest gadgets to hit the marketplace.

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Video Mapping Techniques Using Projection Mapping Software

Projection mapping software is a complicated and wonderful creation. To put all of its complexity into a simple description, it basically makes anything into a canvas for light. The creative software can transform any surface into a 2D or 3D display for its dynamic and colourful projections. Buildings, structures, trees, fields, mountains; you name it, projection mapping can use it. As with any creative technology, it is such a versatile art form. It is now used all over the world by artists, advertisers, companies and cult fashions.

Projected From the Past

Projection mapping has recently become a sensation as technology has advanced enough to get the most out of its capabilities. Even though it only seems to have come to light in the last few years, one of its early uses in entertainment was back in 1969 as part of a Disneyland ride! Imagine how scary it would have been for visitors to see hanging heads that look like they have real faces on them! All just a trick of the light… Even though modern methods are the most 'advanced', they all come from these milestones of creativity from the past, and give us a great building block for great current techniques.

Forward a decade into 1980 and projection mapping emerged once again in the public limelight. An artist showed us a great technique which has inspired current methods and projection mapping software of today. Michael Naimark used optical illusion to make it look like projected people were interacting with a physical environment. He filmed them in a living room first, and then projected them into the room after they were gone. These techniques turned heads and really opened up the questions for future advancements with industry giants, artists, and individuals alike. What if?

Not Quite a Blank Canvas

Mapping projection software can seem a little confusing to start with, but in reality it's easy if you just pull out one of the keywords - mapping. Normally a projector knows and is programmed to hit a blank, flat, rectangular screen. With this type of technology, the projector needs a 'map' to know where its screen is. You need to tell it the kind of surface it's projecting onto so you can create the effects you want to. Let's look at extreme canvases, and exciting video mapping techniques that use them!

So the first part of using landscapes and buildings in this projection technique means you have to make a 3D replica of the projection surface. The more detailed and true to life it is, the better the final result. The next step is to design the video and light show that you want to use on your giant surface. Projection mapping software will do what it does best, using masking and x/y/z co-ordinates to know where the projector is in relation to the subject and create your masterpiece. This technique, using outdoor and large-scale surfaces like skyscrapers need projectors that pack a punch, so make sure you find something between 15,000 and 20,000 lumens for maximum effect!

Musical Mapping

Combining your visual light show with a musical soundtrack has been extremely popular. Any composer, film producer or artist will tell you that sound and music add incredible depth to a visual piece. Creating amazing optical illusions can be enhanced by a circus themed soundtrack, exciting adventure projections could have a rock track played to accompany climbers, divers, skiers or bikers that appear to be scaling the sides of local landmarks! You may even opt for an eerie creak or cackle, with a hint of orchestral suspense music to add to the scare factor in your Halloween special show!

Not only is the musical accompaniment technique great for video mapping, it also works the other way around. Sound is also enhanced by light, projection and video! DJs, gigs, dance clubs and festivals all use lasers, lights, projection and incredible 3D effects that are synchronised perfectly with their songs. An artist called Deadmau5 used projection mapping software to not only make his songs more entertaining with a visual accompaniment, he actually made it look like a giant building nearby was shaking and moving in time with the music. Make landmarks come to life and doors dance with this great video mapping technique.

Conclusion

This is epic technology still has so much left to show with more and more ways it can be developed and enhanced. Techniques with projection mapping software are as creative as trying new tricks with a paintbrush. It's important to see what other artists are doing, how they are experimenting and pushing the boundaries, but ultimately, your own style should shine through. See your music dance in front of you, 5 or 50 feet tall, make mountains move and buildings boogie. These techniques are just the beginning; where will the software take you?

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source 

Written by Nathan Griffiths who is interested in video mapping techniques.

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Top 5 Music Apps For Your Android Phone

Smartphones are complex mobile devices. They cram the entire computer into a small chassis that can be carried in hand or pocket, which is always convenient. However, for music aficionados, having the best handy music apps for different proposes is quite essential. If you are confused about which music apps to get, here are top 5 music apps for your Android phone. We have kept the list general and chosen music apps that cover the widest spectrum available on Google Play.

 

DoubleTwist Player: 

It's quite difficult while recommending on specific music play for Android phones, as there are many great ones. However, doubleTwist Player is included because of its great features and the facility to sync playlists across most of the popular platforms including iTunes to stream music. It even syncs with many other devices like PlayStation 3, Xbox and Apple TV. If you are a stickler to comprehensiveness in your music collection, this app also offers free legal album artwork.

If you expect more from this app like Spotify, there is also a premium version that offers podcast management, wireless syncing, etc.

Google Play Music

This free app is indeed a very good music listening app and is recommended for every music lover. The best feature of this official music app by Google is storing music on Google cloud. So, whenever you buy music from Google, the album or songs get stored directly on cloud. You can upload up to 20,000 songs and can also download the desktop application that allows uploading music via computer.

The smartest feature of Google Play Music allows grouping music into an album. It automatically groups songs into an album to manage things better; something even iTunes is not great at. The EQ system is quite good wherein you even have boosted bass and 3D options.

TuneIn Radio: 

This music app helps to bring the convenience of radio on smartphone. TuneIn Radio allows you to search and listen to your favorite local stations anywhere you are and even save them as presets. This music app also allows you to search your favorite artist or song and you will be directed to the list of radio stations in your country that are playing that artist or song.

TuneIn Radio also has a pro version where you can record the songs

Digitally Imported (DI)

If you like electronic music then Digitally Imported (DI) is a must have app. Be it progressive, lounge, Dubstep or trance, DI is one stop for all these music genres. DI started, as a multi-channel Internet radio focusing on Electronic Dance Music (EDM) genre and soon it was available on smartphones as well, wherein music can be streamed 24/7. The interface is simple and intuitive. Once loaded, you will be presented with a list of channels. The list is quite big and to make it simpler in choosing, you have the freedom to sort it by styles or mark the desired channels as favorites.

There is also a premium version of DI that unlocks more features like high quality audio streaming and ad-free app.

TuneWiki 

This free music app is one the best alternatives to the default music player. Apart from playing music, it even has additional features that make this music app stand out from the crowd of free music apps.

When music is playing, the lyrics of that track scrolls, matching to the flow of the track. You can also stream radio and dedicate songs to your loved ones from Facebook and Twitter.

Note: We haven't included some music apps like Spotify and Pandora, as they are region specific. If you happen to live in a country where these apps are available, feel free to download, as even they are quite good music apps for listening music on your Android phone.

Karen is a tech writer that loves to cover the latest development in the tech industry. You can have a look at her site here if you want to learn more on her.

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The New Face of 21st Century Cyber Warfare

There's no question that business and economy today relies heavily on digital media and online commerce in order to not only excel, but to keep keep up with competition. From online and mobile gateways, social media platforms, and enterprise applications, there are countless ways by which any business can be connected to and take advantage of online and digital advances in order to make their business shine. However, in the course of using online technology to advance business goals, there is always a chance of making oneself vulnerable to online risks and predators, no matter how well informed you are. For instance, Stuxnet, a computer worm jointly developed by the U.S. and Israel in 2010 strictly for international security purposes, is now a worldwide internet threat to business and individuals alike who innocently browse the internet. This infographic, The New Face of 21st Century Cyber Warfare, gives the details on how this possible could be, along with the history of Stuxnet.

This infographic was made by ClickSoftware field service management, the leading provider of field service and application security from Veracode.

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