It’s resolution time, dance teachers! Whether you love the practice of making New Year’s resolutions or hate it, the changing of the calendar can be a great time for us to reflect on our teaching practices and set some goals for the next twelve months and beyond. Here are three practical New Year’s Resolutions every … More Three New Year’s Resolutions for Dance Teachers
Christmas is a time of anticipation: For the kiddos, it’s the excitement of Santa’s impending arrival; for us older folk, it’s looking forward to time with family and friends and a bit of respite from the day-to-day. For Christians, the four weeks leading up to Christmas are held by Advent, an entire season devoted to … More The #MonthlyMessage: The Purposeful Practice of Patience
My fellow dance teachers, congratulations! For most of us, winter break is on the horizon, which means we’ve almost made it through another semester in the studio. Whether these last few months have been full of triumphs or challenges, you have earned a well-deserved respite and a bit of relaxation. To help you make the … More 5 Winter Break Self-Care Practices for Dance Teachers
“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 dialogue about the importance of dance-making today, and how we can better support choreographers! The first installment of the … More CaZO Dance: Making Dance Now
Is anyone else feeling the mid-semester slump right now? Classes have been in session for a few weeks, or a few months, depending on what part of the country you’re in. The novelty is wearing off and the exhaustion is setting in. Winter break seems light years away and many of us are deep into … More 3 Frighteningly Fun Halloween Activities for Your Dance Class
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
Life with a mobile ten month old and a freelance dance career rarely slows down, but the last few weeks have been exceptionally whirlwind-esque. Just about a month ago, I learned that my grandmother had experienced a sudden illness. Within a few days my son and I were on a plane back home to the … More The #MonthlyMessage: Don’t be afraid of stillness
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
