Not Your Daddy’s Boombox: Pioneer STEEZ

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With its STEEZ portable audio system (or “boombox”) Pioneer is revitalizing a breed of music player that seems nearly extinct, yet still has use and meaning in the dance community. Storing your digital music in 4GB of memory this line offers dance-specific features like tempo control, music cues, and dance battle mode. Dance Advantage reviews the mid-sized Duo model.

We Put Lauren’s Nose To The Grindstone [Giveaway]

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GIVEAWAY! How much do you really know about columnist Lauren Warnecke? In this interview she reveals her artistic side, shares some Kickstarter advice, and gives away her pin-up calendar to 4 lucky winners.

The Procrastinator’s Dance Gift Guide

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Never fear, the digital age is here! These online or downloadable gifts are a procrastinator’s dream. Give these gifts to the dancers or dance teachers in your life.

GIVEAWAY: Holiday Cards for Dancers

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DanceStudioOwner.com would like to give away one boxed set of their super-cute, dance-themed Holiday Collection Note Cards to FIVE Dance Advantage readers. Simply comment to enter and you could be a winner. Plus learn a little greeting card trivia, when you visit!

What’s Not To Love About A Pink Walrus?

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Take little dancers on a Ballet Adventure with Liz Vacco. Her Petite Feet DVD presents developmentally appropriate ballet concepts and vocabulary with imaginative stories and imagery and original songs. The set and a friendly Walrus have Yo Gabba Gabba charm but there are more reasons kids, parents, and teachers will love this new DVD for young dancers.

Tap Shoe Review: The Capezio K360 (Brazilian)

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The first in a series of tap shoe reviews, Tristan begins with the “Cadillac” of tap shoes, Capezio’s Brazilian K360. He covers their construction, features, and compares them to the American-made Kays. Don’t miss his consumer video for the opinions of tappers of all ages.

Brand Spotlight: Capezio and their Tap Shoes

Photo courtesy Crossett Library Bennington College

Which is the right tap shoe for you? TAPography columnist, Tristan Bruns wants to help you decide. With this brief history of the Capezio brand and its tap shoes, he launches a series of posts which will include his personal, non-sponsored tap shoe reviews from major shoemakers.

New Piano Music for Ballet Class: A Little Patience, Please.

Patience Clements is the company pianist for Charleston Ballet Theatre and has been accompanying dance classes for over 30 years. In this post, Dance Advantage reviews 2 of her 4-disc series, New Piano Music for Ballet Class. If you’re looking for original melodies with lots of variety for your classes, try New Piano Music for the Dedicated Dancer (with Susan Jaffe) and for the Young Dancer.

Celebrating Successes With A Dance Journal

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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.

Have Your Barre and Eat It Too!

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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.

Simple, Useful Tools For Your Ballet Classes

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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.

Even Better Than The Real Thing?

Giselle in 3D

Hopefully Giselle in 3D will get close to the real thing with the world’s first ballet production presented in this format. Find out more about the film and enter for your chance to WIN tickets to a participating theatre near you via Dance Advantage. But HURRY! This is a one-day event on July 12, 2011.