Giving students, teachers, and parents an edge in dance education
This photo of dancers from 605 Collective in Vancouver is from a teaching session at my studio in October.” explains Canadian photographer David Cooper. “I was influenced by some images with Lois Greenfield and chose to experiment with fabric. I have a studio with a sprung dance floor and a white Marlee dance floor.”
For the first time, Dance Advantage is releasing premium material for those who want to unlock new doors in their dance training. For 40 weeks, receive an email with 4 components giving you something to DO, LEARN, THINK about, and INSPIRE you in your classes. 4 for 40 is designed for students who want to be better, smarter, stronger dancers and dance students by the end of the dance year.
Dance teacher, Nants Foley created a special 70-page book for her students. Called A Dancer’s Steps it includes space for recording class work and progress as well as content like checklists, quotes, ballet vocabulary, foot care, and more. She has published the journal and workbook, making them available beyond her own dance school so we talk with Nants about the book and how she encourages journal-writing in her own ballet classes.
“Raising Happiness” is a parenting book but Stacey Pepper Schwartz shows that teachers can take away some of its lessons, too. For example, how to effectively recognize achievement, model optimism, convey positive messages, create a joyful atmosphere, resolve conflict, and promote gratitude among your young students.
Dropping out is a big deal when you’ve invested a lot in dance training. How does a parent get to the bottom of their child’s desire to quit? Do you let her quit or make her stick it out? Chantale Lussier-Ley, a mental performance consultant who’s worked a lot with dancers, helps parents handle this situation with finesse and confidence.
Labels stink but we kind of need them. Contemporary dance is a label that could use a bit of clarification. So many are attempting to sort it all out. An educated guesser, I try to make sense of it all, question, reflect and hopefully inspire some clarity along the way.
If you were looking to train professionally in modern dance and wanted to relocate to the big city, would you choose Los Angeles or New York? With a little help from a friend who knows both cities well we compare the dance personalities of each and discuss the importance of setting goals to get you where you want to go.
K-12 dance educator Heather Vaughan-Southard walks us through some ways study and exploration of dance elements like space, time, and energy can help students connect ideas to other subjects and prepare them for the “real world”, including the every day tasks of test-taking, interacting in their community, and expressing themselves and their goals.
With an aim to raise the barre on nutrition and encourage healthy eating habits in the dance world and beyond, ballet dancers, Julia Erickson and Aaron Ingley created Barre, a real food bar made with natural ingredients. In this interview, Julia and Aaron share their story, their mission, and their own tips and ideas for eating healthfully on a dancer’s schedule with Dance Advantage readers.
The Ballet Combination Book and Ballet Step by Step by Dance Teacher Press serve two different uses and audiences. But you’ll love the simplicity and practicality of both. For teachers, the classic combinations can save you time or serve up a little inspiration. For students or parents, terminology is presented clearly in a useful and logical order. Read more of our thoughts in this review.
f you have dreams of dancing in New York, one of your big questions about the Big Apple is likely “Where do I take class once I get there?” Dance in New York is a practical, DVD guide for dancers and dance students from all over the world featuring 12 of the city’s top schools and studios. It’s not a brand new resource but it is a unique and valuable one, and Dance Advantage has the latest on an upcoming second volume.
