This giveaway is now closed.
Welcome to the Giving Thanks Giveaway 2010!
We’re going to kick things off with DancesToGo.com
DancesToGo.com creates fun and ready to teach downloadable dance routines for dance studio and elementary school teachers and their students.
Knowing first-hand how busy dance studio owners and dance teachers are with classes and competitions, two women from Southwestern Ontario, Canada, Frances Hellens McDonald and Lisa Bondy, created this unique resource to provide ready-made non-syllabus practice and performance routines.
They offer a collection of dances by award winning choreographers and talented performers whose artistic backgrounds include dance, music, drama, and television. Incorporating creative movement and props, their preschool routines are perfect for energetic little ones. Meanwhile, DanceToGo’s classical selections will inspire the young dancer. These selections are sure to put a smile on each and every dancer (and their parents!).
All routines are available instantly and for each one DancesToGo supplies an iTunes link to suggested music, which can be purchased separately. Also available for many of their preschool routines is a video download of the dance, performed by an instructor.
Teachers can download easy-to-read notes with footwork and arm movements, music, and/or video right to their iPod, iPhone, iTouch, or iPad, then head straight to the studio.
DancesToGo wants to give away ONE $25 dollar gift-certificate to THREE different Dance Advantage readers.
With prices ranging from $1.99 to 3.99 per download, this will buy a number of routines for use in your classes.
To win a gift certificate, here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment at this post, answering the following question: For which of your age groups or classes would ready-made choreography really come in handy?
This giveaway is open worldwide and lasts until Saturday, November 13. Three winners will be drawn on Sunday.
I hope you are one of them! Check back later today for another giveaway.
Nichelle Suzanne is a writer specializing in dance and online content. She is also a dance instructor with over 20 years experience teaching in dance studios, community programs, and colleges. She began Dance Advantage in 2008, equipped with a passion for movement education and an intuitive sense that a blog could bring dancers together. As a Houston-based dance writer, Nichelle covers dance performance for Dance Source Houston, Arts+Culture Texas, and other publications. She is a leader in social media within the dance community and has presented on blogging for dance organizations, including Dance/USA. Nichelle provides web consulting and writing services for dancers, dance schools and studios, and those beyond the dance world. Read Nichelle’s posts.
I would be interested in trying out some of these with my preschoolers! Or I am sure I could even adapt to grown/up child classes! Always looking for something new and creative! (and I love freebies! 😉 Thanks for hosting this! So exciting!
I would love ready made choreography for my 7-8 year range! Thanks!
Fresh ideas are always needed. Any choreography age 5-9 yrs would be helpful. Even preschool too. Great blog Nichelle!
Preschoolers! That’s the biggest group of kids at my studio.
Ready-made choreography would really come in handy for my 3 to 5 year olds and 6 to 8 year olds… Essentially, my youngest beginning dancers. 🙂
I’d really like ready-made choreography for my Kinderballet class (ages 4 1/2-6). It can be a challenge to combine the basic steps they know into an interesting routine while keeping it simple enough for them to remember.
I love this website, and grateful for all the ideas, inspiration and exciting ways the artistc community supports each other….
I most need ready-made choreo for ages 7-11…it can sometimes be more of challenge to create with simplicity while supporting technique, in a fun and inspiring way….thanks for fun contest!
For which of your age groups or classes would ready-made choreography really come in handy?
I like to teach the occasional beginner – intermediate classes for adults that always wanted to learn, and these would be very helpful for those classes. It would be easier to alter pre-made choreographed routines in order to incorporate everyone’s skill set.
These dance routines would be best for a mini (5-8) group in jazz or possibly musical theatre. Not having to work on choreography would allow more time to observe individual student needs and focus on technique during class time. It would also allow teacher to give students a copy of choreography to practice at home to help them become more familiar with music and steps from the beginning and class could be more focused on cleaning and perfecting technique.
I would love to see this for 2.5-6 year olds.
Fun!
I love freebies!
This is great. I work with a variety of young students – Creative Dance & Pre-Ballet ages 3-6. It would be so nice to have some “choregoraphy” for them….especially some inspirational ideas. One thing I would love is some choregraphy related to the holidays or seasons as this is something that seems to go along with the lessons that they are learning in school. Halloween Dance, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July….then we could use these mini dances to present to the parents “in-studio” just to give a sampling of what the students are learning and how we can apply these steps to create a dance. I just love Freebies. Thanks Nichelle. Diana N.
the toughest group for me is the 8-10 year old group.
I think this would be great for 8-10 yrs old
I always need help and inspiration with the pre-ballet classes. Because their knowledge is limited you always feel you are doing the same steps over and over each year. It would be nice to have a new fresh approach for choreographing for this age.
This is a really great idea! I can always use new ideas and help with my 1-2nd grade levels. Freebies are awesome! Thanks so much for your blog!
As an adult student, not a teacher, the choreography for 13+ plus age group – intermediate ballet & pointe would be great to use for my own study, practice, and tecnnique improvement! (Need all of the help I can get) 🙂
I love freebies! The website and Giving Thanks Giveaway are awesome. Thank you.
The toughest group for me is ages 9-11, intermediate tap and jazz – I have a hard time coming up with fresh ideas for this age group. They want to be “cool”, but are limited with what they can do.
Thanks! I love this blog!
By the way I with everybody else on this website I LOVE FREEBIES & I THIS IS A GREAT WEBSITE FOR EVERYBODY THAT LOVES DANCE.
This is great and a very valuable resource. My creative movement class and 7 to 9 years old ballet class would really benefit from this; especially when I need a dance routine like asap.
my 5-10 year old classes would benefit the most from these–and hopefully more of the technique classes i will be taking on! thanks for the opportunity; i love freebies!
It’s interesting to see what technical level others consider appropriate for certain ages. It puts your work in perspective.
I would love to have new ideas for my preschool preballet dancers. The like to use props.
I would love to see free samples!!
I’d love to try this for my beginner level 8-11 year olds. I find it hard to balance technique & choreography for this age in particular – so having the choreography done would give me that extra chance to correct the basics.
I have used “ready made” choreography for all ages and always find a new combo or song or idea that I can make “mine” by adapting to my dancers. I’ve found that if I always do all my own work….it tends to look alike…there was the year where I watched the recital video realizing in horror that in almost every routine the dancers made a circle and chasse’d, bourree’d or turn’d….hadn’t realized that was my answer to what should I do in this spot? Hmmm lets’ make a circle. “head smack”.
I do tend to look for work for the lower grades most often.
I love the this idea!! 🙂 I’m really looking for ideas for ages 7-10!! Thanks for the opportunity to win stuff! How cool- thankful for this blog and all of the support in the dance community!
It would be good for ages 16 and up, because before that age, students don’t know many different and less common dance movements. And if the choreography requires pointe work, that won’t be much fun for non-pointe students. Pointe choreography has different qualities and aesthetics than non-pointe choreography, and the right shoe type is important, while the right skill level is essential. I love freebies, by the way.
I would be interested in routines for tween recreational students. I love give-aways –thanks for this great Thanksgiving treat!
For which of your age groups or classes would ready-made choreography really come in handy?.. To be honest I feel the ready-made choreography would really come in handy for every age group. There comes a time in every class where you just need some new ideas. Currently though I have found my self struggling to change it up for my 4-6yr old Ballet/Tap combo and Ballet/Jazz combo classes. I too, like one of the other readers had mentioned tend to put a lot of similar moves in the dances. I look forward to seeing some new ideas. Thank you for this great opportunity to shop around with a gift certificate! Happy Holidays!
I’m always looking for fun, fresh routines to work on with my older girls 15+ range. It adds excitement to the class to have new ideas coming in. Thanks!!
I think this would be a really great option for my 12-14 year olds! 🙂
Thanks!