Blog
5 Ways to Use Play in the Dance Studio
Why should you use play as a teaching method in the dance studio? Incorporating play as a…
21 Ways to Manage Distracting Behaviors in Dance Classes
What are distracting behaviors in the dance studio? Distracting behaviors can happen in any…
Strategies for Cleaning Choreography with Dance Students
How can I help my dance students perform their best on stage? Helping dance students perform their best on stage can require a lot of hard work from both the dance teacher/choreographer and the students. The dancers must work hard to learn and memorize the…
Thanksgiving Dance Games to Encourage Gratitude
How do you celebrate Thanksgiving in the dance studio? 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…
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
We often wonder why more boys do not want to take dance classes, or why some parents are reluctant to let their boys dance. But at times, the dance industry itself is complicit in these mindsets. Do a quick Google image search for “Kids Dance Classes.” The results tend to be pretty feminine, and pretty pink. We take advantage of the fact that consumers have a stereotyped notion of what dance is, especially for young children, and we feed it with the way we advertise and teach our classes. Where boys are described or depicted in marketing, they are strong, powerful, masculine, and heterosexual, glorified for their ability to lift women. Gender non-conforming children are rarely to be seen at all. In this blog post, you’ll find 5 ways to make your dance studio more gender inclusive, creating amore welcoming space for dancers of all gender expressions.
Letting Kids Be Kids in The Dance Studio
Kids will be kids – and that’s a good thing! This 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…
Summertime Self-Care Strategies for Dance Industry Professionals
Why self-care matters – especially in the summer Hello, Sweet Summer! Hopefully, you are getting ready to enjoy at least something of a break – or at least a change of pace for the summer months! If you are in the “done club” and ready…
Fantastically Fun Dance Games for Summer
Summer is the perfect time for dance games! I absolutely love summer dance classes. I love welcoming new students into the studio during summer camps, getting into the nitty gritty with experienced students during summer intensives, and meeting new students…
Simply Splendid Springtime Dance Games
Celebrate the beauty of spring with dance games Spring is one of my favorite times of year, and I think the best way to celebrate this (or any!) season is by dancing. More sunlight, gentle breezes, and the emergence of colorful flowers and bright green grass…
10 Choreography Adventures to Improve Your Dance Composition Skills
Creativity is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, it need to be exercised in order to get stronger – that is the theory behind the #ChoreographyAdventures. There are make ways we can strengthen that creativity muscle when it comes to choreography. We can explore movement generation, narrative, relationships, form, style and much more. This group of choreography prompts helps you to explore dance composition principles and choreographic tools, rooted in a Western modern concert dance approach to dance making. They are ideal for anyone who is interested in exploring this approach: novice choreographers, students of dance composition, or seasoned dance-makers who are looking to refresh their creative practice.
“Making Dance Now”: ASTC
“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…
Simple Ways to “Shake-Up” Your Dance Class Routine
When dance class gets boring … Raise your hand if you’ve been bored in a dance class! I’ve got one hand raised as I type this, and I’m only thinking about the classes in which I’ve been the dance teacher! Training in most dance…
Super Sweet Valentine’s Day Dance Games
The Best Part of Valentine’s Day… It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and if you are anything like me, you have no idea how, or even if, you will celebrate with your significant other, but you definitely know what your lesson plans for the week look like!…
Dancers’ Wisdom: It’s All About the Transitions
As a dance educator and choreographer, I’m always thinking about transitions. Dance technique is full of transitional movements that make all the difference: that perfect preparation before the pirouette, that luxurious undercurve in the triplet, that sublime…
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