As dance teachers we spend countless hours researching music, coming up with creative concepts, figuring out movement, formations and transitions and get excited to set new pieces with our dancers. So what happens when your enthusiasm for a new piece …
No matter the space one is currently in, there is always a way to maintain conditioning. We may not be able to execute a million pirouettes and have to curtail leaps and elevation for safety reasons because of space and …
Let's be honest. We all have our favorite type of dancer we love to teach. The ones that really inspire us. For some of us it's the older, advanced levels, for some it's the little ones and for some it's …
Dance teachers spend countless hours with students in the studio week after week and year after year. Sometimes, that familiarity has the potential to blur the lines of the relationship from dance teacher to student vs. friend to friend. In …
There are a multitude of conditioning exercises which can be done daily to maintain and even improve muscle-use in terms of strength and flexibility. The hamstrings are one of those important muscle groups.
So many things can sometime get generalized, glossed over, breezed by and given half-hearted attention to. Time in any given class is always a factor and often, there simply isn’t enough time to cover everything we’d like. There’s only so …
Dance Teachers are noticing that it is getting harder to get and keep their students attention. Here are some tips that will help!
Below is a basic template of a beginner-intermediate musical theater center warmup. I often use this as a foundation and add more nuanced details to it, based on the focus of the class or choreography. It’s always important to remember …
Last month we presented jazz for beginner students. This month we will focus on the 3rd and 4th year students.
Working with young dancers, we are accustomed to giving feedback, critique and correction as young bodies and minds progress and develop. While technical and performance skills are on the forefront of one’s training agenda, part of one’s dance education should …
With the summer of 2022 coming to a rapid close, now is the perfect time for dance teachers and studio owners to rev up for the upcoming new season. From personal experience, the fall always seems to be the time …
We all have students who, in class, execute movement with ability, are focused enough to demonstrate they are retaining information and seem to comprehend the lessons being taught. They move well, show promising physical agility, travel across the floor deftly, …
Walking into a dance studio for the first time to teach your first class can bring up a whole host of emotions. Being excited, creatively charged and also nervous and apprehensive are all par for the course. You’re walking into …
With every year I teach, the more and more I realize how important it is for the fundamental building blocks of technique to be taught. It’s not the tricks or the flashy turns or the “advanced” lessons that are most …
Here's 7 tips on how to develop the art of drawing out the best in your students
Why do you dance? It’s a simple enough question with an infinite amount of answers; unique to the individual being asked the question. Think about how many times you’ve been asked that question throughout your life. Go on. Give it …
