Editor’s Note: In 2010, I discovered Kerry Aradhya’s blog, Picture Books & Pirouettes. Two subjects I adore: dance and children’s literature. Happily, Kerry agreed to publish a review of the dance picture book trends of 2010. Since then, I’ve watched her blog develop and couldn’t be more tickled to present her summary of 2011!

It never ceases to amaze me how many picture books about dance are floating —or maybe I should say twirling—around out there.

When I started my blog, which focuses in large part on these books, people would often ask me if there were really enough dance books available to keep my blog going. And my answer was always yes. There really are!

I love discovering picture books about dance that were published some 10, 20, and even 30 years ago, but handfuls of books are also being published during each new year. When I look through the list of books that were released in the United States in 2011, three unique categories of books stand out to me. Here’s a little more about them…

Series for Little Ballerinas

Angelina Ballerina may still be the most popular picture book character for many young dancers, but several characters emerged this year and in the recent past who could eventually give Angelina a run for her money.

Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake
Author: James Mayhew
Illustrator: James Mayhew
Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series

First published in England, the charming series of Ella Bella Ballerina books introduces young readers to some of the world’s most famous ballets. In Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake, little Ella Bella is transported into the magical world of Swan Lake, where she interacts with the Swan Princess and helps her reunite with the prince. Ella Bella Ballerina also has her own blog, where you can follow all of her adventures!

Miss Lina’s Ballerinas and the Prince
Author: Grace Maccarone
Illustrator: Christine Davenier
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

In 2010, the book Miss Lina’s Ballerinas introduced the ballet mistress Miss Lina and the nine young ballerinas under her tutelage. In the sequel, Miss Lina’s Ballerinas and the Prince, a male ballet student joins the mix. Rhyming text and gorgeous French-inspired illustrations make both books ones to treasure.

Tallulah’s Tutu
Author: Marilyn Singer
Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
Publisher: Clarion Books

The only reason Tallulah started taking ballet class was because she wanted to wear a tutu, but over time she realizes there is a lot more to love about ballet. The publisher of Tallulah’s Tutu has also created this great activity kit to go along with the book. And the book’s sequel, Tallulah’s Solo, is scheduled to hit bookshelves in 2012.

Spanish and Latin American Dance(...)

Continue reading "From Ballet to the Barnyard: Picture Books in 2011"

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Melanie Doskocil’s final entry for Ballet’s Un-X-pected Lesson Files this year. Enjoy!

I looked over the group of 5 and 6-year-old budding ballet students.

The girls were all clad in their little yellow and black stripped leotards, little yellow and black tutus, wings, head pieces with cute bouncy antennae. The boys in their striking bug costumes with jet black bodies and iridescent green wings.

I had a can of good old Super Final Net in my hands and wandered amongst them, spraying a wisp of hair here, a clump of bangs there. I checked ears and wrists and fingers for forgotten jewelry, tucked loose draw strings into leather ballet slippers, clipped threads and checked hands for no-no nail polish and pesky pen doodles.

As I was grabbing a few bobby pins to tackle a loose bun, one of the guest chaperones whispered loudly to another,

“I don’t know why she bothers; they are only on the stage for about a minute.”

I turned to the kids and said, “OK, Bees and Bugs, are you ready to go dance with your Flower in the Nutcracker?”

One tiny ballerina said to me, “I feel like a fairy princess!”

Then I turned to the parent and said, “THAT’s why I bother.”

Many families are inducted into the ritual of ballet performance during The Nutcracker.

There are strange rules to follow (...)

Continue reading "This Is Why I Bother"

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A performance career is not for everyone, no matter how long you’ve planned for it.

But after you’ve come to this conclusion, what happens next? Jessica Shoop Williams has been there… and back again and, in today’s guest post, shares her advice with you.

Most great journeys begin with a goal in mind. For many young dancers that goal is the same, simply “I want to be a ballerina.”

photo by bibols19

As they age and dance, exploring the art form, this dream becomes clearer and more specialized, and goals are created to help them attain this vision. Whether it is “I want to be on Broadway”, “I want to dance in music videos”, or “I want to be part of a ballet company”, as they continue their dance training many dancers decide that a dance career is ahead of them.

In preparation for that dance career there are an unlimited number of paths you can take, but almost all of them involve intensive training and great commitments of time, energy, and emotion. As the training stage comes closer to a “real dance career”, the vision of what it actually takes to make it in the dance world becomes clearer.

For many dancers this makes their career choice that much more real and exciting, but for others the clarity can be jarring.

Along with the amazing and personally fulfilling qualities a dance career may offer, there are certain negatives, too. Even if you grew up loving dance and fantasizing about the idea of a career in the field, things can change when you really start to process what this career would mean to you.

Such was my clarity of vision.

Like many serious dancers, by the time I was 11 years old I was dancing 5 nights a week and dutifully attending hours of rehearsals on the weekends. My dance friends and I all had the same goal and that’s why we trained the way we did at the best studio in our area.

I became an accomplished young dancer, scoring well in competition, surviving mock auditions just fine, and (...)

Continue reading "What To Do When It’s Clear A Career Isn’t In Your Future"

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]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/12/15/changing-direction/feed/ 4 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/11/29/worth-the-struggle/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/11/29/worth-the-struggle/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:32:10 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=13576

…even when the going gets really rough. And Melanie Doskocil is definitely one of the tough that gets going, as you’ll see in this installment of Ballet’s Un-X-pected Lesson Files. Her story about a very unique work experience will have you asking “What am I willing to fight for?”

I was really fortunate that the last dance work I did was as a dancer for Mia Michaels’ RAW.

I had been dancing for Odyssey Dance Theatre in Utah and Mia had come to choreograph a few works for us. This was before SYTYCD. She was a quickly rising star in the contemporary dance world, was very talented and gaining fame as a choreographer. Her company had recently disbanded and she needed a group of dancers to represent her on a European tour.

From my earlier experience with her, I knew she was a tough customer.

Her vision for the dances she created was brilliant and she knew with absolute clarity what she wanted her dancers to do. Sometimes what she wanted was nigh on impossible to produce; sometimes it forced us dancers to push through our self-imposed limitations. I knew she would replace a dancer in a choreographic work faster than a petit battement if she didn’t see a dancer breaking through their own boundaries. But even when what she saw in her choreographic mind was impossible to achieve in reality, she would give you a chance, if you asked for it. She was brutally honest about what she saw or didn’t see in a dancer, and if a dancer thought too highly of their abilities, she would quickly challenge the ego with a series of intricate complicated movements that she could execute flawlessly.

I knew that I had done some of my best work under her critical eye and sharp tongue. The 10 of us newly recruited dancers had all worked with her before and thought we could handle her ecentricty, her intensity, and the brutal harshness of her wit.

What I did not know was that my limits for just about everything were about to be tested.(...)

Continue reading "Some Dreams Are Worth Fighting For"

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]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/11/29/worth-the-struggle/feed/ 5 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/10/17/candy-cane/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/10/17/candy-cane/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:37:55 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=13328

Dancers learn important life lessons younger than most people. Melanie Doskocil adds another page to Ballet’s Un-X-pected Lesson Files illustrating integral qualities that lead to success, not only in dance, but in life.

Knowing her as well as I did, I could see the telltale crease around her eyes as I told her she would be a Candy Cane again in this year’s production of the Nutcracker. Her smile never wavered, her posture never slumped, but the miniscule sign of disappointment was there. She thanked me profusely and walked proudly out of the studio. Even later, when I was in my office and the thin walls amplified the voices coming from the dressing room, I could hear her extolling the virtues of being a Candy Cane to another of this year’s Candy Canes.

Photo by JD Hancock

“Talent notwithstanding,” I thought, “this one will go far in dance.”

This 11-year-old budding ballerina had already learned life lesson number one of being a dancer:

Handle rejection with grace.

Successful dancers learn early that they won’t always get the parts that they want, and later, the jobs they want and the salary they want. They learn to accept these decisions with poise and dignity, instead of throwing a temper tantrum that can have severe and often dire consequences. Dancers are not meekly accepting of what life hands them, however they keep their grace and dignity in the face of adversity, determined to succeed where others might quit.

Accept, even covet, constructive feedback or criticism.

This is another life lesson that dancers learn at an early age.

One day, while teaching my advanced level, I (...)

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]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/10/17/candy-cane/feed/ 0 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/09/20/limitations/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/09/20/limitations/#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:25:58 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=13099

Melanie Doskocil is back this month with another addition to Ballet’s Un-X-pected Lesson Files. This one isn’t about summits (see I’m A Better Backpacker Because of Ballet for that). It’s about limits. Read on…

For the first time in 15 years, one of my all time favorite teachers/choreographers had brought his company to Aspen. Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet was here for one night only. This man who I trained with and learned so much from, who I hadn’t seen in years was in my hometown, and I was sick.

I lay there on my sofa sniffling and groaning and bumming that I could not get up long enough to drive to the theater and watch the show. I’m mad too! I’ve been sick once in the last 2 years and now, NOW I get some nasty bug that knocks me down.

As I lay, drifting in and out of a fevered stupor, it came to me that some of the greatest lessons about life I learned in Alonzo’s studio. From him, from Arturo Fernandez, from simply being in that great facility.

Photo by Steven Depolo; CC BY 2.0

I was at the very first summer workshop put on by Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. I won’t tell you how long ago it was. But it was two weeks of the most life altering and gratifying training I’ve ever received.

One particular lesson has stuck with me my whole life:

It was the end of the day. We were in Alonzo’s choreography class, working on putting a whole bunch of movement phrases together.

Everyone was fading. Alonzo was going over time. He asked us to do it one more time and I rolled my eyes looked at the clock. I was STARVING, I was EXHAUSTED, I was really wimping out!

Others started moaning and whining too. With all my body I wanted to flop down on the floor and cry…my eyes welled up with tears and I looked at the clock again, trying to send out that silent plea to let us go.

He was a task master, heartless! Couldn’t he see that we were fading? That our concentration was lagging? Our energy depleted?

He looked me in the eye, and then at each one of us, and very kindly asked us(...)

Continue reading "LINES and Limitations: Ask Yourself This Question"

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]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/09/20/limitations/feed/ 0 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/31/positively-focused/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/31/positively-focused/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:30:59 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=12966

Today’s guest post is by belly dancer, teacher, and DanceCostumes.com writer, Erica Rhodes.

As you may have noticed, Dance Advantage is POSITIVELY focused on getting your dance year off to a great start. So, be sure to check out the related reading links within the article.

There are many reasons students walk in to take their first dance class, ranging from a love of the art to trying something new. Many dance students find that learning to move their bodies helps develop a more positive self-image. It’s not surprising, as learning to feel comfortable in your own body can often times can carry over to all aspects of life.

When students feel good about themselves in dance class, they enjoy their experiences more. This increases student retention and can inspire your class size to grow. You, the instructor, can enjoy knowing that you’re giving back to the community, when your students begin to experience a change, not only physically, but in mind and spirit too.

How can instructors help students think more positively about themselves?

Photo courtesy Brendan Lally Photography; dancer: Letitia, Ammara Dance (www.ammara.ca)

Words of encouragement and a positive atmosphere go a long way. Here are some suggestions to help instructors foster a healthy self-esteem in their students:

1. Give students plenty of support and encouragement. For many new students, dance is challenging. It can be frustrating when even the most basic moves seem much too difficult. Reminding students that everyone had to start somewhere and even the best dancers in the world faced challenging movements when they started out, as well.
2. Be free with your compliments. Everyone loves to hear good things about themselves and their skills, especially when trying something new. Make sure to compliment every student , even if it’s not during every class. This can be a great mark of their improving skills.
3. Eliminate negative talk about bodies. While constructive criticism can help students improve their skills, negative criticism is very damaging to a student’s self-esteem. This is especially important with negative self-talk and negative body talk. Comments like, “You’re so thin!” and “I’m so fat!” can have an effect on the whole class. It’s not just the student that is being spoken about or the student talking about themselves that feels the judgment, but the whole class may feel the need to compare themselves to that person. It’s better to avoid those judgments all together.
4. Keep criticism upbeat and positive. Delivering all criticisms in a positive tone helps encourage students to improve their skills, but also takes away the sting of feeling like they just don’t get it. The easiest way to keep things constructive is (...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/31/positively-focused/feed/ 3 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/23/backpacking-ballerina/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/23/backpacking-ballerina/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:45:48 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=12775

   Melanie Doskocil is a ballet teacher, former professional, and writes over at Ballet Pages. You may recognize her name, as she’s guested at DA before with articles on managing stress as a teacher and a woman, and the realities and pressures of elite training. This time she investigates a lighter but no less insightful subject in the first of a series of posts we’re calling Ballet’s Un-X-pected Lesson Files. Enjoy!

   Ballet has helped me be a better backpacker!

   No, it’s not because I have better balance, or coordination, and certainly not because my body is stronger, or healthier, or more flexible. My history includes enough injuries that it’s surprising I can even hike, much less lug a huge backpack 15 miles into the wilderness.

   

   Melanie on a snowfield in the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado

   Actually, I’m a better backpacker because, thanks to ballet, I am spatial.

   It’s not a typo. I did mean spatial, not special.

   Though, any non-dancer who has spent time in the company of a group of dancers knows how “special” we dancers are!

   • We have our own language: a mixture of french, English, arm and leg waving.
   • We have no qualms about jumping up in the middle of a restaurant or other public place to demonstrate something funny that happened in class that morning.
   • We have little if any personal space boundaries with our dance friends, which often makes our non-dance partners uncomfortable.
   • We can be caught at any hour of the day, mumbling over steps and trying to solve choreographic problems.
   • We give up family functions and holidays because the show must go on, yet…
   • We’ll happily join you at the dance club after an 8 hour day of rehearsal, just to let off some steam.

   Spatial Awareness

   What I’m talking about is an extra sense that dancers develop from years and years of training.

   Whether you’re a ballerina, a tap dancer, a hip-hop dancer, it doesn’t matter. We’ve all had to learn to(...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/23/backpacking-ballerina/feed/ 2 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/16/dance-tempo/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/16/dance-tempo/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:38:23 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=12750

   Photo courtesy Camera Eye Photography (CC by 2.0)

   Today’s guest post comes from music editor Morriss Partee at Squirrel Trench Audio.

   If you’ve ever spent any time around jazz musicians, you might have heard them talking about getting a song “in the pocket.” That’s musician-speak for creating a great groove, where all the musicians are “dialed-in” and on the same page, tempo-wise. The song just feels great at a certain speed; not too fast, not too slow, just right.

   Well, dancers need to be “in the pocket” too when it comes to executing your choreography. A change in tempo of just 2 to 4 beats per minute (BPM) can mean the difference between a dance that struggles and a dance that feels great and natural for the performers.

   You can use your iPod Touch or iPhone to get all of your dances “in the pocket” and  match your routines to your dancers’ ideal pacing.

   • The first step is to download an app called Tempo Magic Pro (lolo) to your device, available from the iTunes App Store for $4.99. (There may be other apps that will accomplish the same thing.)
   • Then, when you are in class with your dancer, select your song, and use the app’s slider to adjust the tempo of the song up or down a couple of BPM and watch to see if it improves the dance.

   Tempo Magic Pro automagically figures out the native tempo of the song, so you’ll see both the original and changed BPM on your iPod Touch or iPhone’s display.

   Bumping your Beats Per Minute

   Usually, a very slight shift of between 2 to 6 BPM faster or slower is(...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/16/dance-tempo/feed/ 9 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/09/parenting-positive-rivalry/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/09/parenting-positive-rivalry/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:28:42 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=12715

   Today’s guest post is by Chantale Lussier, a mental performance consultant who has worked extensively with dancers.

   Competition as a VALUE

   

   Courtesy Tom Godber

   It’s a dog eat dog world

   Nice guys finish last

   In our western culture, there is controversy when it comes to competition in sport, the performing arts, and business. We perceive competition based on a set of values that are often contradictory and extremely black & white in mentality. Look at our competitive language: winner-loser, success-defeat, teammates-archrivals, friends-foe. Amid such powerful words, even well-meaning parents forget the real purpose of competition.

   Dance students at a young age are exposed to various degrees of evaluation and competition: open-house/parents’ day, recitals, dance exams, dance conventions, competitions, auditions, team try-outs, and even in-class experiences.

   How dance students feel, interpret, and react to competition, is often a reflection of how competition is perceived and valued at home.

   I encourage you to think about the role of competition in your own life, and how you have been communicating your competitive values to your children:(...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/08/09/parenting-positive-rivalry/feed/ 0 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/21/storm-safety/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/21/storm-safety/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:28:32 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=11795

   File it under ‘Why didn’t I think of it sooner?“. Today my dear husband, an experienced meteorologist (yes, a weatherman), makes his Dance Advantage debut to tell you about, what else? Storm safety. Thanks, Mr. Honey!

   

   Tuscaloosa, Alabama

   The recent tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, AL, Joplin, MO and East Springfield, MA have vividly demonstrated that tornadoes can be deadly.

   But there are a lot of things a teacher or dance studio owner can do to protect students in the event of severe weather.

   I have been a meteorologist for 20 years and I have done every type of weather forecasting role there is, including being the smiling guy on TV with the funny hair. It was in my most recent TV role in Waco, Texas where the importance of storm safety was drilled into me. And that is to be expected, as Waco sits on the southern end of ‘Tornado Alley’, where most tornadoes in the U.S. form. Waco itself suffered one of the most destructive and deadly tornadoes in 1953, wiping out much of the downtown and killing 117 people. When Nichelle and I lived there, we had a tornado pass within ½ mile of our home one evening!

   Storm safety is of utmost importance!

   But, I am happy to say that preparing for such a dire situation is not as difficult as it seems. In fact, in discussing this topic over with my wife, we discovered that a dance studio actually has many features that would make it a reasonably safe place to be during a severe thunderstorm or tornado.

   My former chief meteorologist at KXXV in Waco, Andy Wallace had a wonderful acronym that he shared with me to help people (especially children) be able to find safety in nasty weather:

   D.U.C.K.

   Pretty good, huh? And it even sounds like something you should do if something nasty is heading your way. Look out! Duck!!!

   The letters stand for:(...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/21/storm-safety/feed/ 6 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/02/lessons-learned/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/02/lessons-learned/#comments Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:35:06 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=11355

   I’ve been bugging Rebecca King, a Top Dance blogger at Tendus Under a Palm Tree and a company member at Miami City Ballet, to guest here at DA. Now that she has a little time at the close of her season, I’m pleased to introduce Rebecca as she discusses some of the “a-ha! moments” in her transition from student to company dancer and development as a young professional.

   The lessons I have learned in my five years of company life.

   As a student you are provided with all the tools you require to grow as a dancer; you are given corrections, encouraged to work hard, and occasionally given a kick in the pants when a teacher deems it appropriate.  When you enter a company, there is no longer someone who will help you every step of the way.  Being in a company is the real deal.  This is what you have dreamt of and what you have worked hard to achieve.  But are you done learning?  Have you gotten to that place where you can just sit back, relax, and cash your paychecks?  Ask any professional dancer, regardless of their rank or fame, and they will tell you the answer to the latter question is a resounding “no”.

   So what do you do?  You must understand that your success is now up to you.  You need to find ways to encourage yourself, keep a positive attitude, work well with the dancers around you, and put in extra time.  You are in the real world now.  You may be a teenager who just moved away from home, but you are expected to conduct yourself as an adult.  Company life is an adjustment, which the artistic staff expects.  But they hired you because they believe that you can develop a work ethic that will enable you to thrive as a professional.  So you must prove to them that you can.

   Working In The Back

   When you first begin working with a company, chances are you may not be in the first cast of every ballet.  (...)
   
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   ]]> http://danceadvantage.net/2011/06/02/lessons-learned/feed/ 0 http://danceadvantage.net/2011/05/31/cooking-for-dancers/ http://danceadvantage.net/2011/05/31/cooking-for-dancers/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 13:32:34 +0000 Guest Contributors http://danceadvantage.net/?p=11161 All athletes are in need of special nutrition plans that will ensure that their bodies receive the full range of nutrients they need.

   When you practice a specialized physical activity such as dancing, certain muscle groups and metabolic processes in your body are stressed more than those of the average person, necessitating an increased amount of certain nutrients that will help your body to build extra strength in these areas.

   Dancers in particular burn many more calories and expend far more energy than the average person. In order to thrive, you will need to learn how to prepare healthy, balanced meals that are specially formulated for your rigorous physical activities. Though this sounds daunting and indeed can sometimes be a challenge, you won’t need to go to a cooking school to accomplish this task. You can save time (and money) by simply carrying out a little research of your own.

   Nutritional Needs of Dancers

   Many dancers are required to possess a very lean, limber physique. However, universities suggest that restriction of nutrition in a dancer’s diet can lead to chronic fatigue and even muscle failure. In fact, dancers need quite a few more calories than most people in order to ensure that they can produce the considerable energy that their bodies need they need to perform well. Despite the popular aversion to carbs prevalent these days, dancers should be sure to eat large quantities of complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain breads and pastas, throughout the entire day. After a strenuous workout, you should consume a protein-heavy meal or snack to provide your muscles with the amino acids that they need to rebuild. Your diet should also be supplemented with extra calcium to ensure adequate bone strength.

   Fortunately, adjusting your cooking habits to provide this type of diet is easier than you may think. It is all a matter of keeping track of what goes into your body, and adjusting your cooking techniques in order to suit your specific needs.

   Whole Grain Help

   First of all, replace all (...)
   
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