It’s almost recital time! Creating choreography for and with my students has become one of my favorite parts of teaching. But if we are being honest with one another, it can also be one of the most stressful aspects of the job. There can be a lot pressure to make a piece of choreography that … More 5 Ways to Help Your Students Rock Their Recital Dances!
As dancers, we tend to love routines. Plie, tendu, degagge. Warm-up, progressions, combo. Pre-show rituals. Post-performance commemorations – mine was always a cheeseburger and Coke! Routines are necessary to our dance training and can make performances special. But in our daily lives, routines can easily become stifling. With my son rapidly approaching his first birthday, I … More The #Monthly Message: Find a Rhythm That Enhances Your Life, Not a Routine That Stifles It
This particular blog series – “My Top 5 Skills Your Students Should Know” – was inspired by a question posed in a dance teachers’ group on Facebook a while back: What are the 5 skills that you think are most important for your students to learn? As I’ve written in the past, I initially struggled … More My Top 5 Creative and Performance Skills Your Students Should Strive For
The arrival of September officially marks the arrival of the back to school season. The start of a “new year” affords us the opportunity to create brand new communities in our classrooms and studios. So often, we are tempted to immediately jump into technique and choreography, but taking time for team-building exercises and community building … More My Favorite Introduction Games for Dance Classes
This is the third and final entry in a series of posts on teaching ballet in a way that leads to more empowered students. What is an empowered dancer? In my opinion, students who are empowered are: Self-aware and self-reliant (physically, cognitively, and emotionally) Confident and able to make their own decisions Adaptable and open … More Empowering Our Ballet Students, Part 3
Most people might be reaching for their Pumpkin Spice Lattes right about now, but dancers know that it’s already Nutcracker time! Love it or hate it, the seasonal favorite is here again, with tiny tots and professional dancers alike heading into the rehearsal studio to perfect their performances as party guests, snowflakes, candy canes, and … More Visions of Sugar Plums: Using a Nutcracker Workshop to Teach About Ballet
This is the second in a series of blog posts considering the ways we can teach ballet in a way that leads to greater student empowerment. What is an empowered dancer? In my opinion, students who are empowered are: Self-aware and self-reliant (physically, cognitively, and emotionally) Confident and able to make their own decisions Adaptable … More Empowering Our Ballet Students, Part 2
This is the first in a series of posts on building empowered dancers in the ballet studio. What is an empowered dancer? In my opinion, students who are empowered are: Self-aware and self-reliant (physically, cognitively, and emotionally) Confident and able to make their own decisions Adaptable and open to new ideas Knowledgeable about their own … More Empowering Our Ballet Students, Part 1
In 2012, I had the opportunity to I had a chance to present my research on a new method of teaching ballet to “recreational” dance students at the National Dance Education Organization’s National Conference. For the purpose of my study, the term recreational was used to describe a group of my students, age 6-10, who took … More Play in Ballet? Yes Way!
