Blog
#MonthlyMessage: The World Needs More You
One of my favorite things about being a dance teacher is helping my students develop their own...
My Favorite Team-Building Games for Dance Classes
One of the most incredible things about dance, in my opinion, is its capacity to bring people...
My Favorite Team-Building Games for Dance Classes
One of the most incredible things about dance, in my opinion, is its capacity to bring people together in real and powerful ways. In our age of social media, Zoom meetings, and FaceTime, dance provides a unique opportunity to connect in real time and real space,...
Why We Still Need to Dance – Even If It’s Online
Like author Alice Walker, I believe that “hard times require furious dancing.” I have written, time and time again, that dance has the potential to empower individuals, unite communities, and be a force for good in the world. But when I first learned that schools and...
5 Dance Activities to Support Your Students’ Emotional Health
If you’ve followed my blog or used one if my resources, you know that I believe social-emotional learning should be an important part of any dance curriculum. (Read more on that here.) Now more than ever, with the world in the midst of Covid-19 outbreak and most...
21 Choreography Adventures to Foster Resiliency
Dancers are nothing if not resilient. We walk confidently into classes, rehearsals, competitions, auditions, and performances, knowing that no matter how difficult the combinations or how stern the choreographer, whether we get platinum or get cut in the first round,...
How to Help Your Dance Students Improve Their Performance Skills
Have you ever watched a dancer who was just stunning technically - extensions to to the ear, super coordinated, gorgeous use of weight and space, incredible jumps and turns - but just doesn't make you feel anything? It happens all the time, especially in the age of TV...
5 Strategies for “Bring A Friend” Dance Classes
Confession time: I absolutely LOVE introducing new students to dance. I am the teacher that eagerly signs up to teach the beginner dance classes. There is something magical about welcoming a new dancer into the studio, helping them learn the basics of technique and...
Making Dance Now: Errant Movement
“Making Dance Now” is an occasional blog series profiling choreographers and small dance companies to explore the challenges and rewards of creating, producing, and presenting choreography in today’s culture and economy. It’s my hope that this series will spark a...
Injured? Under the Weather? What to Do When Your Dance Students Need to Sit Out
We've all been there ... Ms. Shannon? My (stomach, big toe, left elbow, eyebrow, etc.) hurts so bad I can't even move right now! Or ... Ms. Shannon? I fell off my bike two days ago and banged up my knee and my mom says I can't dance until I go to the doctor for my...
Tax Basics for Independent Artists, Part 2: Business Expenses
This is the second in a guest blog series by Jonathan Cain, Chartered Financial Consult®, cellist, engineer, and (if I may add) husband extraordinaire! The goal of this series is to provide basic information on taxes for independent artists, such as performers, dance...
3 Thanksgiving Dance Activities to Encourage Gratitude
Thanksgiving is, hands down, my favorite holiday. Yummy food, time with family, no pressure to find the perfect costume or gift ... what's not to love? But Thanksgiving has never been an easy holiday for me to celebrate in the dance classes I teach. Wedged between the...
Tax Basics for Independent Artists, Part 1: Income
This is the first in a guest blog series by Jonathan Cain, Chartered Financial Consult(R), cellist, engineer, and (if I may add) husband extraordinaire! The goal of this series is to provide basic information on taxes for independent artists, such as performers, dance...
5 Ways to Make Your Dance Studio More Gender-Inclusive
Like many in the dance world, I was appalled by Good Morning America's recent coverage of Prince George and the fact that he takes ballet classes. I was sad for George and all the little boys who might feel ashamed because someone says that what they love to do is...
Letting Kids Be Kids in The Dance Studio
A quote from Phylicia Rashad has been on my mind for some time now: "Before a child talks, they sing. Before they write, they draw. As soon as they stand, they dance. Art is fundamental to human expression." I see this quote in action every day raising my kids. They...
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