Tap Dance in America Essay Example for Free

Tap Dance in America Essay According to Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, â€Å" tap dance [is a] style of American theatrical dance, distinguished by percussive footwork, [which] marks out precise rhythmic patterns on the floor.† Also, â€Å"Tap is an exciting form of dance in which dancers wear special shoes equipped with metal taps. Tap dancers use their feet like drums to create rhythmic patterns and timely beats,† Treva Bedinghaus, graduated from Holli Barrons School of Performing Arts and The Ballet Academy, writes in Tap for beginner, â€Å"The term tap dancing is derived from the tapping sound produced when the small metal plates on the dancers shoes touch a hard floor or surface. † In 125 Years of Tap, Jane Goldberg, a dancer-writer who is considered as one of the most prolific voices in the filed of tap dancing, writes: â€Å"What distinguishes tap [dancing] from most other dance forms is that it is two arts in one: music and dance. The dancers are ‘playing their feet’ and moving at the same time.† In another article The Art of Tap Dancing, Amy Brinkman-Sustache, artistic director of Dance-works on Tap (DOT), describes, â€Å"A step is a word. You put steps together to make a sentence. Questions are raised and answered through rhythm. It’s like listening to a conversation.† Literally, tap is America’s unique contribution to dance. â€Å"Tap history is mostly an oral tradition,† Kikelly, performer/scholars from Virginia Tech, says, â€Å"and a single definitive history has not yet been written.† Still, Kikelly and many other people like her are working hard to reveal the truth about how this art form developed. Tap is believed the double of diversity. â€Å"The history of tap has been a story of survival, revival, renaissance and innovation,† Jane Goldberg indicates in her 125 Years of Tap article, â€Å"the controversial roots of which arc still being debated, though the primary sources are usually considered to be Irish and African-American.† According to Constance Valis Hill, Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University, â€Å"tap dance is an indigenous American d ance genre that evolved over a period of some three hundred years. Initially a fusion of British and West African musical and step-dance traditions in America, tap emerged in the southern United States in the 1700s. The Irish jig (a musical and dance form) and West African gioube (sacred and secular stepping dances) mutated into the American jig and juba. These in turn became juxtaposed and fused into a form of dancing called â€Å"jigging† which, in the 1800s, was taken up by white and black minstrel-show dancers who developed tap into a popular nineteenth-century stage entertainment.† Furthermore, â€Å"early styles of tapping utilized hard-soled shoes, clogs, or hobnailed boots. It was not until the early decades of the twentieth century that metal plates (or taps) appeared on shoes of dancers on the Broadway musical stage,† Hill summarizes, â€Å"in the late twentieth century, tap dance evolved into a concertized performance on the musical and concert hall stage. Its absorption of Latin American and Afro- Caribbean rhythms in the forties has furthered its rhythmic complexity. In the eighties and nineties, tap’s absorption of hip-hop rhythms has attracted a fierce and multi-ethnic new breed of male and female dancers who continue to challenge and evolve the dance form, making tap the most cutting-edge dance expression in America today.† Yet, according to theatredance.com, â€Å"no one really knows when the phrase ‘tap dance’ was first used – perhaps as early as 1900 – but it didn’t appeared in print until around 1928.† â€Å"Unlike ballet with its codification of formal technique, tap dance developed from people listening to and watching each other dance in the street, dance hall, or social club where steps were shared, stolen and reinvented. ‘Technique’ is transmitted visually, aurally, and corporeally, in a rhythmic exchange between dancers and musicians. Mimicry is necessary for the mastery of form,† Hill points out. Moreover, she continues indicating, â€Å"The dynamic and synergistic process of copying the other to invent something new is most important to tap’s development and has perpetuated its key features, such as the tap challenge. [†¦] The oral and written histories of tap dance are replete with challenge dances, from jigging compe titions on the plantation that were staged by white masters for their slaves, and challenge dances in the walk-around finale of the minstrel show, to showdowns in the street, displays of one-upsmanship in the social club, and juried buck-and wing-contests on the vaudeville stage.† Indeed, Jane Goldberg also writes, â€Å"one documented fact is that many tap legends began performing any place they could — especially street corners — before the discipline Invaded vaudeville shows and, eventually, the silver screen. In a contest by the performers to outdo one another, tap kept evolving, transforming into an art form of self-expression as well as highly stylized production numbers.† For such a long time, tap was considered â€Å"a man’s game† or even â€Å"a largely black, male-dominated form.† People easily notice various famous male tap dancers in history like Bill Bojangles Robinson (1878-1949), John W. Bubbles (1902-1986), or Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990). Female dancers, in contrast, were not very honored in history books. Yet, Jane Golden presents, â€Å"a number of young white women got into the act starting in the mid-1970s. These women studied and often performed with their male mentors,† even though the fact Stacie Strong has noted in History, Herstory, OUR STORY article: â€Å"While male tap dancers acted as headliners, women tappers filled out the chorus lines. Though many of their names have been lost, these women were incredibly versatile and talented. Headliners often did the same act week after week (or even year after year), but the chorus had to learn a new routine every few weeks, often working with props and in outlandish costumes, performing as many as four shows a day.† Professor Constance Valis Hill’s inclusive history is the first to also highlight the outstanding female dancers, she wrote in Tap Dance in America: A Very Short History, â€Å"In 1986, La Mama presented Sole Sisters an all woman, multi-generational tap dance show directed by Constance Valis Hill that brought together high-heeled steppers and low-heeled hoofers, the veteran grande dames of tap and younger prima taperinas.† Next, she indicates, â€Å"Soul Sisters was not the only production to open the door for the recognition of female jazz tap dancers. On the West Coast Lynn Dally, who founded the Jazz Tap Ensemble in 1979, combined her extens ive experience in modern dance with jazz tap to organize a group of dancers that insisted on performing and interacting with a live jazz ensemble. On the East Coast, singer, jazz and tap dancer Brenda Bufalino, formerly a partner of Honi Coles, founded the American Tap Orchestra, and set about experimenting with how to layer and orchestrate rhythmic groups of dancers on the concert stage.† â€Å"Today the type of tap that mostly closely resembles the style current during Robinsons era is jazz or rhythm tap. These dancers concentrate on improvisation and choreography that incorporate the complicated rhythms of classic jazz music. Often they look crouched over, listening to their feet — and thats exactly what theyre doing. While some rhythm tappers have begun choreographing for their upper bodies, the emphasis is still on the dancers hearing themselves. The mentors of todays leading rhythm tappers have often been called ‘hoofers’,† writes Jane Goldberg. In addition, The Basic Characteristics of Tap Dancing shows, â€Å"Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation. Choreography typically starts on the eighth or first beatcount. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as acappella dancing.† This article also points out another major variations on tap dance, besides rhythm tap: â€Å"Early tappers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly used his extensive ballet training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet. This style of tap led to what is today known as Broadway style, which is more mainstream in American culture.† Specially, the article give some examples of common tap steps and how professional tap dancers make their new steps: Common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, flap, flap heel, cramp roll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, single and double pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, the paddle and roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, and single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks, single, double and triple time steps, riffs, over-the-tops, military time step, New Yorkers, and chugs. In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps. Timesteps are widely used in tap and can vary in different areas. These consist of a rhythm that is changed to make new timesteps by adding or removing steps. The images of tap dancer and their shoes has also changed, especially for female dancers: â€Å"Boundaries have shifted dramatically since the 1970s, when high-heeled tap shoes were reserved for Broadway-style tap and flat oxford-style shoes were associated with rhythm tap,† according to Darrah Carr MFA from New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts. Additionally, Carr notes that â€Å"Introductory high-heeled taps range from 1†³ to 1 ½Ã¢â‚¬ ³ high, while more advanced heels can be up to 3†³ high. [†¦] Dancing in heels also forces you to hold your body more upright, which can change your stage presence. [†¦] ‘Heels encourage you to incorporate your hips and your shoulders into your dancing and wearing heels makes you think about extending the line of your leg’. In contrast,  "many tap dancers find that nothing beats the comfort of flats,† Carr reveals, â€Å"Flat tap shoes are made in the same oxford style for women and men, and many dancers feel that the shoe looks best when paired with pants or jeans. And flats have larger metal taps than heels, so the sound produced is a deeper, heavier bass tone. (The smaller metal taps on high-heeled shoes create sounds that are higher in tone.)† Another ideas showed by Carr are: â€Å"A dancers body placement in flat tap shoes is centered between the toes and heels. [And] certain steps, such as side shuffles and toe stands, are easier to execute in flats because your weight is more evenly distributed.† Still, â€Å"Whether youre a heels lover or forever committed to flats, its important that you become comfortable with both shoe styles,† she advises. Indeed, according to Elena North-Kelly, â€Å"High heeled, low heeled, soft leather, hard leather, split soled, and full soledall tap shoes are not created equal. Different styles of tap shoes facilitate different styles of tap dancing. When shopping for a shoe, you need to consider comfort, flexibility, aesthetic, shape, and, of course, sound.† Also, North-Kelly quotes a statement from Lynn Schwab, who teaches tap at New York Citys Steps on Broadway, to help people with choosing tap shoes: While part of a tap dancers sound is a product of technique, it also relates to the material of the shoe. For rhythm tapping, the best sound comes from a harder shoe with a wider heel. Finally, North-Kelly says, â€Å"Dancers hoping for a career on Broadway, however, have a little more leeway, partly because most Broadway dancers use different tap shoes for performance, classes, and auditions.† Briefly, with a relatively brief but rich history, the tap tradition is growing bigger, better and broader every year. In fact, holding an enormous respect for the past, Jason Samuels Smith, the first tapper to win an Emmy award for choreography since Hermes Pan in 1958, used to say: â€Å"Tap culture is all about celebrating the past and accumulating its vocabulary over time. If we don’t maintain our history, we lose what’s valuable about tap.† He is not the only person who thinks that way, Donna-Marie Peters – professor at Temple University, also express her ideas in Passing On: The Old Head/Younger Dancer Mentoring Relationship in the Cultural Shpere of Rhythm Tap: Respect for the artistic tradition of tap is the value that humbles even the most seasoned performers. This value demands subservience to the art that is seen as bigger than the individual and takes a lifetime to master. By honoring the art over the individual, the tap dancers become servants to the art, working to the best of their ability to execute it well. The long-term survival of this struggling art form is dependent on a cot munity of individuals with a sense of purpose, dedicated to keeping the art form alive and moving forward. Works Cited TAP DANCE. (n.d.): Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Bedinghaus, Treva. Tap for Beginners. About.com n. pag. Web. 26 Oct 2011. http://dance.about.com/bio/Treva-Bedinghaus-32821.htm Carr, Darrah. Heels vs. Flats. Dance Spirit 14.8 (2010): 98. MAS Ultra School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Hill, Constance. â€Å"Tap Dance in America: A Very Short History.† (2002): n. pag. Web 26 Oct 2011. http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/55/node/70581 Holmes, Vance. All ABout Tap Dance. TheatreDance.com n. pag. Web. 26 Oct 2011. http://www.theatredance.com/tap/. Goldberg, Jane. â€Å"125 Years of tap.† Dance Spirit 7.5 (2003): 34. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. North-Kelly, Elena. Tap Shoes Meet These Dancing Feet. Dance Magazine 79.3 (2005): 68. MAS Ultra School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Peters, Donna-Marie. â€Å"Passing On: The Old Head/Younger Dancer Mentoring Relationship in the Cultural Shpere of Rhythm Tap.† Western Journal of Black Studies 34.4 (2010): 438-436. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26.Oct.2011. Schneider, John. â€Å"The Art of Tap Dancing.† n. pag. Web. 26 Oct 2011. http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-11832-the-art-of-tap-dancing.html Strong, Stacie. â€Å"History, Herstory, OUR STORY,† Dance Spirit 11.10 (2007): 62. MAS Ultra – School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct 2011. The basic characteristics of tap dancing. Ballet Shoes n. pag. Web. 26 Oct 2011. http://shoes-collection.net/2011/10/05/tap-shoes-capezio/.

Death in Venice Essay: Love for Tadzio or Venice? -- Death in Venice E

Aschenbach: In love with Tadzio, or Venice? Thomas Mann's Death in Venice presents an artist with a fascination for beauty that overpowers all of his senses. Aschenbach's attraction to Tadzio can be viewed as a symbol for his love for the city of Venice. The city, however, is also filled with corruption, and it is this corruptive element that kills him. Aschenbach first exhibits his love for Venice when he feels that he must go to "one of the gay world's playgrounds in the lovely south"(6). The south, to him, means something new and exciting. He has lived a structured life in Germany, filled with order and precision. He feels the need to move, to experience new and different aspects of life; since for Aschenbach, "there is no doubt that the south will bring him the fulfillment of his wish for self-release"(Jonas 35). Upon his arrival, Aschenbach immediately "drinks in the fabulous beauty" of the city. He notices a distinct difference between this foreign land and his homeland, for Venice is filled with antiquity and classical beauty. Aschenbach's love for the city is already app... ...captivated by it. He is so enthralled, that he does not realize the problems with the Italian city. Whether Mann is actually attacking Venice or Italy for the corruption of its beauty is a possibility, but not very important here. What is most important is to realize that Mann is discussing an infatuation with beauty in general, not an infatuation with a boy. Aschenbach does not die because of Tadzio, he dies because of what the boy represents. The novella is titled so for a reason; it is a Death in Venice, or rather a "Death Because of Venice".

Constitution of India Essay

Section 10(3)(c) of the Passport Act authorizes the Passport authority to impound a Passport if it deems it necessary to do so in the in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, friendly relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interest of the general public. Maneka’s passport was impounded by the central Government under the Passport Act in the interest of the general public. Maneka filed a writ petition challenging the order on the ground of violation of her Fundamental Rights under Article 21. One of the major grounds of challenge was that the order impounding the Passport was null and void as it had been made without affording her an opportunity to being heard in her defence. The court laid down a number of propositions seeking to make Article 21 much more meaningful than hitherto. ↠ The court reiterated the proposition that Article 14, 19 and 21 are not mutually exclusive. A law prescribing a procedure for depriving a person of ‘personal liberty’ has to meet the requirements of Article 19. Also the procedure established by law in Article 21 must answer the requirement of Article 14 as well. ↠ The expression ‘Personal liberty’ in Article 21 was given an expansive interpretation. The expression ‘Personal liberty’ ought not be read in a narrow and restricted sense so as to exclude those attributes of personal liberty which are specifically dealt with in Article 19. The right to travel abroad falls under Article 21. ↠ The most significant and creative aspect of Maneka case, is the re-interpretation by the Court of the expression ‘procedure established by law’ used in article 21. Article 21 would no longer mean that law could prescribe some semblance of procedure, however arbitrary or fanciful, to deprive a person of his personal liberty. It now means that the procedure must satisfy certain requisites in the sense of being fair and reasonable. The procedure cannot be arbitrary unfair or unreasonable. As the right to travel abroad falls under art 21, natural justice must be applied while exercising the power of impounding a Passport under the Passport Act. Although the Passport Act does not expressly provide for the requirement of hearing before a passport is impounded, yet the same has to be implied therein. Case 2 Sunil Batra vs. Delhi Administration (1980) The Court has given several directives to improve many aspects of prison administration and condition of prisoners. In this case, the Court has pointed out that its powers under Art. 32 are free from the rigid restraints of the traditional English writs. Prison torture is not beyond the reach of the Supreme Court under Article 32. For this purpose, the Court treats letters from prisoners as writ petitions. In this case, the judicial process was set in motion by a letter written by a prisoner to a Judge of the Supreme Court complaining of the brutal attack by the prison staff on a fellow prisoner. Forsaking all procedural formalities, â€Å"since freedom was at stake†, the letter was treated by the Court as a petition for the writ of Habeas Corpus. Case 3 Hussainara Khatoon vs. Home Secretary – State of Bihar (1979) Hussaainara Khatoon case of the Bihar undertrials started with an article written in Indian Express. An advocate then filed a petition under Article 32 in the Supreme Court to protect the personal liberty of the undertrials. The Supreme Court has laid great emphasis on speedy trial of criminal offences and has emphasized: â€Å"It is implicit in the broad sweep and content of Article 21†. A fair trial implies a speedy trial. No procedure can be ‘reasonable fair or just’ unless that procedure ensures a speedy trial for determination of the guilt of such person. The Supreme Court has directed release of all undertrials who have been in jail for periods longer than the maximum term of imprisonment for which they could be sentenced if convicted of the offence charged. The Court also directed that the undertrial prisoners, who are accused of multiple offences and who have already been in jail for the maximum term for which they could be sentenced on conviction, even if the sentences awarded to them were consecutive and not concurrent, should be released forthwith, since their continued detention clearly violates not only human dignity but also their Fundamental Right under Art.21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has taken a big innovative step forward in humanizing the administration of criminal justice by suggesting that free legal aid be provided by the State to poor prisoners facing a prison sentence. Case 4 Keshavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala (1973) The State of Kerala passed the Kerala Land Reforms Act. 1963. This Act affected the interest of the petitioner, Keshavananda Bharati, Swamiji of a mutt. So he filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the constitution, contending that his fundamental rights under Article 14,19(1)(f),25,26 and 31 were violated by the Kerala Land Reforms Act. While the case was pending, the parliament passed three constitutional Amendments, viz., 24th, 25th & 29th Amendments. The constitution Twenty-fourth Amendment repealed article 19(1) (f) which read â€Å"to acquire, hold and dispose of property†. It also repealed Article 31, i.e., compulsory acquisition of property. It made several other changes. It also included the Kerala Land Reforms Act in the ninth schedule, thereby making them immune from attack on the ground of fundamental rights. As a result, the fundamental right to property was deleted from the constitution. The petitioner felt that, by these Amendments, he would lose the case in the court. So, he amended his writ petition before the Supreme Court, & challenged the validity of 24th, 25th & 29th Amendments. He contended that though the power of the parliament to amend was wide, it was not unlimited. The power to amend under Article 368 should not empower the parliament to destroy the basic features of the constitution. The Supreme Court’s judgment in this case is as follows: i) The constitution Twenty-fourth (Amendment) Act, 1971, section 2(a) (b) of the constitution Twenty-fifth (Amendment) Act, and the constitution Twenty-ninth (Amendment) Act are valid. ii) The decision of the majority in Golaknath’s case that the word ‘Law’ in Article 13(2) included Amendments to the constitution & the Article operated as a limitation upon the power to amend the constitution under Article 368 is erroneous, and so, is overruled. iii) The power of Amendment includes within itself the power to add, alter or repeal the various Articles of the constitution, including those relating to fundamental rights. iv) There is no power to amend or alter the basic structure of the constitution. v) The First part of the Article 31-C is valid, and the second part of the Article 31-C laying down â€Å"no law containing a declaration that if it is for giving effect to such policy shall be called in question in any court on the ground that it doesn’t give effect to such policy† is invalid. vi) There is no inherent or implied limitations on the power of Amendment under Article 368. Case 5 Air India vs. Nergesh Meerza (1981) A regulation made by Air India, a statutory corporation, fixed the normal age of retirement of air hostesses at 35 yrs but authorized the managing director to extend the same to 45 yrs at his option subject to other conditions being satisfied. The regulation was held bad as it armed the managing director with uncanalized and unguided discretion to extend the age of retirement of any air hostess. No guidelines, principles or norms were laid down subject to which the power was to be exercised. Nor was there any procedural safeguard available to an air hostess who was denied extension. A regulation providing for termination of service of an airhostess in Air India on her first pregnancy has been held to be arbitrary and abhorrent to the notions of a civilized society. Case 6 Visakha vs. State of Rajasthan (1997) The Supreme Court has declared sexual harassment of a working woman at her place of work as amounting to violation of rights of gender equality and right to life and liberty which is a clear violation of Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. Article 21 guarantees right to life with dignity. Accordingly the Court has observed in this connection: â€Å"the meaning and content of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed in the constitution of India are of sufficient amplitude to encompass all the facets of gender equality including prevention of sexual harassment or abuse† Sexual harassment also violates the victim’s fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) â€Å"to practice any profession or to carry out any occupation, trade or business†. Thus Article 32 is attracted. In the absence of any domestic law relating to sexual harassment in India, the Supreme Court has itself laid down under Article 32 some directions for prevention of such harassment. These directions are binding and enforceable and are required to be strictly observed in all work places until suitable legislation is enacted to occupy the field. Case 7 M R Balaji vs. State of Mysore (1963) An order of the Mysore Government issued under Article 15(4) reserved seats for admission to the state Medical and Engineering colleges for Backward classes(28%) and ‘more’ Backward classes(22%). This was in addition to the reservation of seats for SCs (15%) and for STs (3%). Backward and more backward classes were designated on the basis of ‘castes’ and ‘communities’ The Supreme Court characterized Article 15(4) as an exception to Article 15(1) (as well as to Article 29(2)]. The court declared the order bad on several grounds in this case. ↠ The first defect in the Mysore order was that it was based solely on caste without regard to other relevant factors and this was not permissible under Article 15(4) ↠ Secondly, the test adopted by the state to measure educational backwardness was the basis of the average of student population in the last three high school classes of all high schools in the state in relation to a thousand citizens of that community. This average for the whole state was 6.9 per thousand. The vice of the Mysore order was that it included in the list of backward classes, castes or communities whose average was slightly above, or very near or just below the state average(e.g., Lingayats (7.1) were mentioned in BC list). ↠ Thirdly, the court declared that Article 15(4) does not envisage classification between backward and more backward classes as was made by the Mysore order. In Balaji case, the Supreme Court could sense the danger in treating ‘caste’ as the sole criterion for determining social and educational backwardness. The importance of the judgment lies in realistically appraising the situation when the court said that economic backwardness would provide a more reliable yardstick for determining social backwardness because more often educational backwardness is the outcome of social backwardness. The court drew distinction between ‘caste’ and ‘class’. An attempt at finding a new basis for ascertaining social and educational backwardness in place of caste is reflected in the Balaji decision. The court also ruled that reservation under Article 15(4) should be reasonable. It should not be such as to defeat or nullify the main rule of equality enshrined in Article 15(1). While it would not be possible to predicate the exact permissible percentage of reservation, it can be stated in a general and broad way that it ought to be less than 50%. Case 8 Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India (1992) (Mandal Commission Case) The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of many complex but very momentous questions having a bearing on the future welfare and stability of the Indian society. ↠ The overall reservation in a year is limited to a maximum of 50% ↠ Amongst the classes granted reservation, those who have been benefited from reservation and have thus improved their social status (called the ‘creamy layer’ by the court), should not be allowed to benefit from reservation over and over again. This means that the benefit of reservation should not be misappropriated by the upper crust but that the benefit of reservation should be allowed to filter down to the lowliest so that they may benefit from reservation to improve their position. The court has said that if a member of IAS, IPS or any other All India Service, his social status rises; he is no longer socially disadvantaged. This means that, in effect, a family can avail of the reservation only once. ↠ An element of merit has been introduced into the scheme of reservation. o Promotions are to be merit based and are to be excluded from the reservation rule. o Certain posts are to be excluded from the reservation rule and recruitment to such posts is to be merit based. Minimum standards have to be laid for recruitment to the reserved posts.

Autobilography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 116934 Words

I AM ZLATAN By Zlatan Ibrahimovic as told to David Lagercrantz --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This book is dedicated to my family and friends, to those who have stood by my side, on good days and bad. I also want to dedicate it to all the kids out there, those who feel different and don t fit in. Those who are seen for the wrong reasons. It s OK to be different. Continue being yourself. It worked out for me. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 1 Pep Guardiola, the coach in Barcelona, with his grey suits and troubled face, came up to me looking concerned. I thought he was all right at that time, certainly not a Mourinho or†¦show more content†¦It was the most stupid decision of my entire life. I was still killing on the field. But it wasn t as fun anymore. I even thought about quitting football. Not that I would break my contract, I m a professional. But I lost the fun. And then came Christmas break. We went to Ã…re and I rented a snowmobile. Whenever life stands still, I want action. I always drive like a maniac. I ve gone 325 km/hr in my Porsche Turbo, leaving chasing cops behind. I ve done so many fucked up things I barely want to think about them. And now in the mountains I was giving it my all on the snowmobile, got freeze burns and had the time of my life. Finally some adrenaline! Finally the old, the real Zlatan, and I were thinking to myself: Why am I doing this? I have money. I don t have to feel shit with idiot coaches. I can have fun instead and take care of my family. It was a great time, but it didn t last long. When we returned to Spain disaster struck. Not immediately, but slowly. Disaster was in the air. A light snowfall came. It was like the Spaniards had never seen snow before, and in our hood, in the hills above Barcelona, cars were smashing to the left and right, and Mino, the fat idiot - the wonderful fat idiot I should add if anyone would misunderstand me - froze like a dog in his summer shoes and light jacket and convinced me to take the Audi. It almost ended in disaster. On a downhill street we lost control of the car and smashed into a