Dance

Dance is a performance art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement. This movement has aesthetic and symbolic value, and is acknowledged as dance by performers and observers within a particular culture. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by its historical period or place of origin.

An important distinction is to be drawn between the contexts of theatrical and participatory dance, although these two categories are not always completely separate; both may have special functions, whether social, ceremonial, competitive, erotic, martial, or sacred/liturgical. Others disciplines of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality, including martial arts, gymnastics, figure skating, synchronized swimming and many other forms of athletics.

Performance and participation

Theatrical dance, also called performance or concert dance, is intended primarily as a spectacle, usually a performance upon a stage by virtuoso dancers. It often tells a story, perhaps using mime, costume and scenery, or else it may simply interpret the musical accompaniment, which is often specially composed. Examples are western ballet and modern dance, Classical Indian dance and Chinese and Japanese song and dance dramas. Most classical forms are centred upon dance alone, but performance dance may also appear in opera and other forms of musical theatre.

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific (abbreviated as Asia-Pac, AsPac, APAC, APJ, JAPA or JAPAC) is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The region varies in size depending on which context, but it typically includes much of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

The term may also include Russia (on the North Pacific) and countries in the Americas which are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.

Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia and Australasia as well as small/medium/large Pacific island nations (Asia Pacific and Australasian Continent) - for example when dividing the world into large regions for commercial purposes (e.g. into Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific).

On the whole there appears to be no clear cut definition of "Asia Pacific" and the regions included change as per the context.

Though imprecise, the term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance and politics. In fact, despite the heterogeneity of the regions' economies, most individual nations within the zone are emerging markets experiencing rapid growth. (Compare the concept/acronym APEJ or APeJ - Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.)

Dance Academy

Dance Academy is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 March 2012. Series three premiered on ABC3 on 8 July 2013 in Australia.

A film sequel to the television series, Dance Academy: The Comeback, is in development as of April 2015 after receiving funding from Screen Australia.

Plot

Dance Academy is narrated mainly from the perspective of Tara Webster (Xenia Goodwin), a newly accepted first year student at the National Academy of Dance. Throughout the series, she learns to better her ballet technique, as well as learn contemporary ballet and hip-hop dance; while creating life long friendships and experiencing many hardships. In the first series, Tara soon befriends fellow students Kat (Alicia Banit) and Ethan Karamakov (Tim Pocock), Sammy Lieberman (Tom Green), Abigail Armstrong (Dena Kaplan) and Christian Reed (Jordan Rodrigues), as well as eventually getting to know her teacher Ms. Raine (Tara Morice).

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

At 165.25 million square kilometers (63.8 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined.

The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).

The eastern Pacific Ocean was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur. The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacifico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".

Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. In the United States it is considered an "elite" company. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 44 dancers; there are over 100 performances throughout the year.

PNB performs in McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. It is especially known for its performance of the Stowell/Maurice Sendak Nutcracker, which it has been presenting since 1983 as well as made into a feature film. In 2006, the company was chosen to perform in the Fall for Dance Festival at New York's City Center Theatre and at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

History

Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972, after the two-month residency of First Chamber Dance Company, as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association. Under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, originally of New York City Ballet, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. Stowell and Russell left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. A portrait by artist Michele Rushworth was painted of Stowell and Russell and installed in the Phelps Center, Seattle, to commemorate their careers and retirement. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine.Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as Artistic Director following their retirement. In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in 16 years. The New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, stated of their presentation that "This is a true company," more "unified in its understanding of Balanchine" than the New York City Ballet.