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8 Easy Ways to Make the Most of Back-to-Dance Season

8 Easy Ways to Make the Most of Back-to-Dance Season

The start of a new dance season is one of my favorite things in the world. The energy is electric and the possibilities feel endless. I love the potential that a fresh start holds: the potential for my students to meet their individual goals, for my class to come together as a community, and for myself to establish good habits that can preserve my work-like balance and reduce burnout later in the year.  In celebration of the potential that the season holds, here are 8 of my favorite ways to make the most of back-to-dance season, along with tips and resources for implementing each in your dance classes.

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Dancers’ Wisdom: The World Needs More You

Dancers’ Wisdom: The World Needs More You

One of my favorite things about being a dance teacher is helping my students develop their own creative expression through improvisation and choreography. My entire relationship to dance changed when I discovered these two artistic avenues, and I know first hand how...

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My Favorite Team-Building Games for Dance Classes

My Favorite Team-Building Games for Dance Classes

Team-building dance games help students develop collaboration, communication, and creative skills as they work together to meet a shared challenge. Not only are these skills important in the dance studio, but they will also serve our students well in their lives outside the studio. When students tap into these skills sets and learn to be part of a community, they grow as artists and individuals. Making time for team-building dance games is an important way that we can set our students up for success in their art and in their lives. In this blog post, you’ll find 3 of my favorite team-building dance games that will help you create a strong and supportive community in your dance classes, as well as other resources that will make your back-to-dance season a success!

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Your Ultimate Guide to Dance Lesson Planning

Your Ultimate Guide to Dance Lesson Planning

In this blog post, you’ll find essential things to remember when creating dance lesson plans, as well as some tips for making the lesson planning process easier for dance teachers of all ages, skill levels, and dance genres. By following the tips in the post, you’ll be able to design more effective dance lesson plans that keep your students engaged in their training and improving their skills!

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8 Things Your Dance Students Need to Hear From You Right Now

8 Things Your Dance Students Need to Hear From You Right Now

The way we speak to our students can make a big difference in how they think about themselves. They internalize our words, and it can often become part of their own inner monologue. That self-talk becomes extremely important, as it helps them define who they are and their relationship to dance. Choosing the right things to say – about our students’ bodies, appearance, and dancing – can be crucial to their overall feel-being. In this blog post, I will share 8 phrases that should become part of how you talk to your dance students at this point in time, or whenever they are facing challenges in their dance training or personal life. These phrases can have a big impact on your students’ well-being, especially when combined with a conscious approach to our language overall.

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4 Creative Ways to Use Dance Improvisation in Technique Class

4 Creative Ways to Use Dance Improvisation in Technique Class

In a perfect world, all students would have a stand alone dance improvisation class every week. Of course, that is not always possible, as much as I might wish it was! Most students are introduced to improvisation during their dance technique classes. In this blog post, I’ll show you 4 creative ways to integrate improvisation into your dance technique classes, to help students develop their improvisational prowess alongside their technique skills. 

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Dancers’ Wisdom: Service is Love in Action

Dancers’ Wisdom: Service is Love in Action

I did something that felt a little bit radical back in January: I bought a day planner. Yes, even in the midst of the continued uncertainty of these "pandemic times," I stepped out in faith and spent $25 on a fancy calendar. Things are returning to normal-ish here in...

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A Letter to My Dance Students

A Letter to My Dance Students

Hi, it’s me. Your Dance Teacher. As I’m writing this, it’s February of 2021 – but no matter when you are reading it, know that the sentiment remains the same. Maybe it’s been a while since we’ve seen one another face to face in the dance studio like old times. Even if we have been fortunate to gather for in-person classes, you may not remember what my smile looks like behind the face mask. But, I want to assure that it’s still there – beaming ever more brightly every time we dance together, whether it’s in the studio or online. Because, and I mean this with all my heart, I am just so darn proud of you.

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How to Motivate Your Dance Students in Difficult Times

How to Motivate Your Dance Students in Difficult Times

Even beyond the strange events of the 2020s thus far, there are times when students are unmotivated for a variety of reasons. They may be going through a difficult time at school, having trouble with friends, facing romantic disappointments, or be burdened by family issues. For us on the other side of adolescence, it might be tempting to write these struggles off. We lived through them, and so will our students, right? That may be true, but giving our students some extra support when they are going through difficult times for any reason can go a long way in helping them feel motivated to succeed in their dance training. In this blog post, I will share six strategies for motivating your dance students, no matter what difficult times they may be facing! 

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5 Ways to Achieve Your Dance Goals

5 Ways to Achieve Your Dance Goals

Having visionary dance goals – along with a realistic plan to achieve them – is vital for dancers of all ages and at every stage of their careers. Dance is hard work – there is no way around that! Dance training can be tedious, strenuous, and require lots of sacrifice. You often have to deal with rejection, frustration, and imposter syndrome, and can easily experience burnout and fatigue. Goal-setting can keep you motivated and making process, even when things get challenging or overwhelming. In this blog post, I’ll share 5 ways that you can achieve your dance goals, no matter what they are.

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