Giving students, teachers, and parents an edge in dance education
Dance teachers, have you ever had a great piece of music, but for some reason, your dancers’ timing just always seemed to be a little off? Armed with an iPod Touch or an iPhone, and an application (app) that costs less than $5, you can dial in the perfect tempo, matching your routines to your dancers’ ideal pacing.
How dance students feel, interpret, and react to competition, is often a reflection of how competition is perceived and valued at home. Learn how to discuss the purpose of competition with your child, encourage excellence and debrief after a competition, and offer unconditional positive support so that his/her experience is a healthy one.
Alison thought the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition was only for dancers who were one step shy of becoming a professional, not for girls like herself who were serious about training, but with so much left to learn. Little did she know she was about to experience YAGP firsthand and share the preparation, expectations, and emotions of the event with you.
Squirrel Trench Audio, offering music editing and original remixes for dance, would like to give away one editing session of a single song to dance competition/recital length to THREE different Dance Advantage readers. Squirrel Trench Audio will make the edited song available online for winners to download in both high quality mp3 format, as well as aiff for highest quality when burning to CD. Since the finished product will be made available for downloading, our winners can be located anywhere.
Jason Marquette returns with more tips as you prepare music for recitals and competition. This time he helps you save time, money, and frustration when hiring someone to edit your music.
You may still have concerns about your investment in dance training. Your child is busy, taking hours of dance class per week, and you are wondering, “Is all of this money going toward the right things? Is my budding dancer getting what he or she needs for the best value?”
If your child is asking, investigate the reasons she wants to take a new or additional dance class. Costume style, choreography, musical accompaniment, or maintaining friendships may be no less valid or less important to her than the desire to enhance her skills. Dance should be fun, too! Do not devalue or brush away these motivations, they are part of the equation.
Experience and exposure in a variety of dance styles is important for creating versatile dancers and may even be a necessity for aspiring professionals. Being well-rounded in dance is a good thing. Exposure to different dance forms, starting at a young age, is a great thing. So where’s the myth? It lies in the misplaced emphasis on experience and omission of training.
End-of-year performances dominate dance studios between April and June. It is a busy time and parents and students are often left scrambling to find just the right thank-you gift for their teacher. Gifts for teachers need not be expensive. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who would not cherish a simple thank-you letter from the heart! However, there are plenty of cute, easy, and useful craft ideas online.
What I liked most about JAM is that it is lightweight like street makeup but “reads” well onstage and doesn’t absorb or sweat off as easily as street cosmetics. The pigments are much stronger than street makeup, meaning you need less to pull off a more intense look. JAM cosmetics are mineral-based, hypoallergenic for sensitive skin and non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog pores. They are completely talc and paraben free and, as a company that does not test on animals, the company is on the PETA “friends” list. Technical jargon aside, it just feels better on my skin.
Parent your child through this setback and support them in becoming a more resilient and confident human being. When your child is faced with a letdown, you have a great opportunity to encourage your son or daughter to face and rise above the obstacles that come their way. It may not feel like a gift but it is.
If you are hoping to discuss changes with a teacher or director, follow this plan for making your approach. 1. Take a breath 2. Develop an argument 3. Time your approach 4. Buffer your complaint 5. Be willing to listen 6. Be willing to walk away
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