Get Inspired: Ovation TV’s Nutcracker Dance-Off!

It’s very important to read up on other performance art forms and learn from their techniques (if you want to have an enriching show)!


For those that don’t know, Ovation TV, the channel dedicated to Fine Art (*squeals*), is having a dance off between six major ballet companies. They’re being judged on who has the best rendition of the Nutcracker Ballet, viewers can see this on TV or via the internet.

Regional Aesthetics (Part 2)

In the previous post I talked about the DMV area troupes and the style they bring to performance modeling. Now it's time to talk about the troupes of North Carolina, a state that, though southern and conservative, boast a large collection of collegiate modeling organizations. This is due to the large number of colleges that are concentrated in the state, around two hundred! Many of these modeling organizations were started at HBCU's, later spreading to PWI's, high schools, and community colleges.

The Troupes of WSSU: The Vice Versa Productions Story (Part 1)

Vice Versa Productions - Wal-Mart Fashion Show - September 30th, 2008

In a previous post, I talked about Vice Versa, an entertainment group that dissolved in the spring of 2009, based at Winston-Salem State University. Though this may be a controversial topic to some of the older WSSU readers, I felt it would be a failure not to share the fate of this organization so that others may learn from the mistakes that cause V.V. to fall. I will be respectful.

Virginia State University's Kerojo Modeling Troupe - Competition Piece - East Carolina University - 2010

Feast your eyes on this lovely show from Kerojo, one of VSU's modeling troupes. I loved it! The rouines were different and precise, the clothing followed a black and silver color theme but each model had on unique and varied attire which was great. Whoever thought of placing the disk skirt with the train on one of the female models should get a shoe thrown at them for evoking my favorite disco diva, Grace Jones!

Xquisite: Showcase for Chat With Lonnie

Here is a more recent video of Xquisite Models. The intricate and challenging choreography is always on point. Their runway is very simple. The look for the show is redundant. Over all, here you have a classic DMV troupe style. What do you guys think, did Xquisite eat the runway, or what?

Regional Aesthetics (Part 1)

Clearly, performance modeling has been revolutionized by the modeling troupes of the east coast. However, not every troupe is from the same region, and each region has fundamentally different styles. For this post I will talk about the three most dominant regions: DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia), North Carolina, and Florida. I've chosen these regions because of the amount of material they have created and that's viewable on the internet; and because of the sheer presence they have had on the modeling scene.

The Most Creative Region...

In the past 30 years modeling troupes have sprouted all along the east coast. Each region has its own main modeling style, with the DMV area being the vanguard  I don't see why if you will, for the middle southern troupes, and Florida still clinging to the traditions of a more classic era. What region has the most creative troupes in your opinion?

You can fill out the poll on the right column on the blog page. Please be honest!