Sunday Snapshot: Opening Circle

About the Photographer: Peter Voerman is a 51 year old freelance photographer from The Netherlands. He works from his own studio in Westervelde and specializes in dance photography, portraits and travel photography. Peter works for travel magazines in Holland, Italy and France, for tourist offices and nature organizations. While employed as a social worker he learned to photograph when his kids were young. In 1999 he published a duo-tone series of his three sons which remains his most honored work. Since then he has published more than seven photography collections. Exhibitions of his work, including The Beauty of Ballet have toured throughout The Netherlands. More of Peter’s work is on display at his website: www.balletfoto.nl and his Flickr Photostream

Have your photo featured on Dance Advantage! Submit to the Sunday Snapshot Flickr pool.

Art Is Kids Play

“Aaannd… Hippy. Drippy. Laser show.”

To a dance outsider this phrase might make as much sense as “tombé, pas de bourrée,” but the former is surely less likely to be heard during a dance rehearsal. Yet nomenclature isn’t the only thing that is unconventional about Kids Play, an arts program for at-risk youth founded by former Doug Elkins dancer and Hope Stone Dance company director, Jane Weiner.

Since 2001, Kids Play has served a medley of arts experiences to Houston youth aged 6-18.  For nine-month sessions (the length of the school calendar) the ensemble of children and teens meets twice a week to learn dance, theater, music, yoga and photography at Hope Center. The primary studio space and base of operations for Kids Play also hosts adult and professional dance classes and is the stomping grounds of Hope Stone Dance. During my visit, the Kids Play Ensemble are in rehearsal mode, preparing for their culminating Spring production. The theme this year is “Skool of Rock” which is why The Who’s Teenage Wasteland builds to a clamor as Weiner’s “hippy, drippy, laser show” descriptor triggers the correct movement response in a group of 8-12 year-olds.

Kids Play is not exclusively a training ground for young artists. The students receive technical instruction but as a means to support their exploration of the form. “Mostly I teach moving and the exhilaration that comes with that,” Weiner explains as we discuss her role as dance instructor within the program. Similarly, Weiner’s faculty, Chris Howard and Jason Jackson (music), Gayla Miller, Rick Olvera and Jenni Rotter (theater), Roberta Cortes (dance), Leticia London (photography) and Lidieth Valesco (yoga), are artists guiding youth through investigative encounters and, in keeping with Weiner’s mission, encourage this community of kids toward personal ownership of and expression through art. “We know that the kids are in many ways their own teachers, and to over-teach, take the fun out of it, create the neurosis of “wrong” is not what we are after,” Weiner expounds.

This approach most certainly stems from Weiner’s experiences as a “late-starter” in dance. Like many women, she dabbled in dance as a young child and was influenced by a full year of ballet under Sally Stephenson, a teacher “more concerned about teaching than recitals.” However, Weiner focused on track and gymnastics before returning to dance at Bowling Green University in Ohio at age 19. “I so often heard I started too late, or I had no technique,” she recalls. Though it was painful to hear, Weiner says she was, in most cases, deaf to the assertions. Perhaps she was too determined or too hopelessly addicted to movement to imbibe such negativity but, upon reflection she adds, “I wonder how any teacher can honestly look in a crystal ball and decide who is gonna make it and who is not going to be a dancer? A terrible use of power.”

Nearly all of the Kids Play kids, over 75 of them, are recipients of $90,000 worth of scholarship for the program. Easy access to drugs, internet, lack of phone and computer regulation and other challenges facing children and the teachers and parents entrusted with their care make all youth “at-risk” in Weiner’s eyes. And so, her programs at Hope Center are open to any child on a first come, first served basis. Many Kids Play participants are recruited, however, from local organizations such as Archway Academy and Chinquapin (schools for troubled and disadvantaged youth), Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Baylor International Adoption Center, and group homes like Casa de Esperanza. “We love the mix of cultures and socio-economic levels,” Weiner says, but she prefers to keep the groups small so that her faculty can get to know the kids and families involved. As a result, some of the kids have returned to the program for three or four years which Weiner finds amazing. “The level of talent and commitment is strong,” she declares.

Nearing its tenth year in operation, Kids Play is an established after-school program. Weiner’s experience in bringing arts programming to youth goes back even further, still. Sixteen years ago, Weiner was a performer at the Bates Dance Festival when she began to hold afternoon classes for teens from neighboring Maine communities. She is the founder and spent ten years teaching in the Youth Arts Program which now offers music, dance, visual arts, and creative writing to children and teens for three weeks every summer.

Of these two initiatives, Weiner notes that there are similarities and differences. Both programs recognize that all children are artists and rely on adult artists to advance and affirm this principle. However, Weiner felt limited by the three-week summer program. She wanted to take Kids Play to the next level. “I wanted a place that kids grew hope, because they could return each year. The school-year’s worth of time allows a depth in the understanding these young artists begin to experience, as well as a sense of community within the class. The students come from many different schools and after school programs, so it is wonderful to watch them grow to form a strong group through the year.”

With the proven success of Kids Play, Weiner is now expanding her mission and influence to new locations. First up is New Orleans with Kids Play NOLA premiering its program this summer in 2010. When asked if she felt the Kids Play model could work in any environment, Weiner maintains ,”The key is the right person to guide and lead it. Dana Reed, who is heading up the NOLA project is fierce. Organized. Passionate. This has to be in place because it is such a full, full, full-time job. I wish it ended at 5 p.m. but it doesn’t, and the person in charge has to accept this.” She also admits that it is a challenge sometimes to not get over-involved. “I saw beautiful children that are wards of the state. Broken children. Personalities snapped in two due to the abuse they have sustained at such an early age. My heart has been broken so many times when I see these children, and I hope and pray that my small class reminds them they are something; they are loved; they do matter.”

Weiner points out that the personal rewards as a facilitator are huge. “I work with art and art is magic. I get to see miracles almost every class, and laughter, and self esteem and friendships, and budding personalities as the art goes inside these kids and makes them feel good about themselves. I see leaders emerge and at the end of the class a feeling of PROUD come over the kids that you can’t qualify or quantify on paper, but is so present.”

For anyone wanting to begin a non-profit arts program for kids in their own community, Weiner confirms there are some essential ingredients for success. Among these, having a model or template is a good start and energy is a must. She recommends beginning small, seeking out good advisers, great master teachers, and parents that realize that this opportunity is a gift. Weiner reminds that it also takes the proverbial village. “The community behind Hope Center is fantastic and, I know, a major reason we are a huge success.”

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Hope Stone Inc.’s Kid’s Play Ensemble and boys band YouthSound will premiere Kid’s Play: Skool of Rock on May 8, 2010, at the Barnevelder Movement Complex (2201 Preston, Houston, TX), at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

The young artists will also line the area around the Allen Parkway Dandelion Fountain, performing a structured improv score to honor mother earth through music and dance at 5 p.m. tomorrow on Earth Day, April 22.

Read testimonials about the Kids Play program from ensemble members, themselves, at the Kids Play Blog.

Read more on Jane Weiner, her company, and her activism in this 2006 Dance Magazine article by Nancy Wozny

Kids Play in Action

Let’s Get Moving! GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is now closed. Winners have been contacted!

The holidays are coming and I’ve got a gift for you!

‘Tis the season for giving, and giving big. So this time I’m bundling four great giveaway items. Each one presents a unique strategy for inspiring children to investigate different movement forms, including ballet, creative dance, and yoga. Great for families OR teachers, these products encourage creative ways for kids and adults to explore movement together and are sure to spark a child’s interest in the physical practice, art, and delight of moving.

TWO lucky readers will win the “Let’s Get Moving!” package which includes the four products featured below. Parents, teachers, all are invited to participate. All that is required for entry into the contest is a comment on this blog post. Scroll down for additional details.

Up, Down, and All Around

Up, Down, & All Around is structured like a creative movement class and feels very much as if creator Stacey Pepper Schwartz is leading a class in your living room. Over a period of about 30 minutes, Stacey directs her participants and viewers through warm-up, fundamental skill practice and movement exploration. She provides time for students to slow down with some yoga-inspired breathing and balancing, allowing the movers to refocus while building head-tail awareness in the spine and length in the body. The movement in the DVD is accessible to all experience levels. There is nothing pretentious about the material, the environment, or the contributors. There is even a bonus, create-a-dance activity which demonstrates choreography building through chance as the children pick out a random sequence of movements which are then performed and practiced to spirited accompaniment. Read the full review!

Creative Yoga Games for Kids

“Flash cards” for yoga and pilates are not new. However creator, Edna Reinhardt from Over the Moon Yoga & Dance Studio in Victoria, Australia, has created a unique educational kit, pulling the best from both yoga and creative dance practices to allow children to explore and create movement. The colorful set of 48 cards are big and bright with pictures of adorable children doing the described poses. Four of the cards offer activities to try, but Reinhardt has also packed a wealth of information and games into the accompanying booklet. She blends creative movement ideas with yoga in ways I never would have considered, yet they make a perfect pairing. Parents and kids will love the challenge and long-term benefits of combining yoga and dance in such a creative way. Teachers will love the clear instruction on incorporating these into their lesson plans.

My First Ballet Collection

My First Ballet Collection is a great choice for those wishing to nurture enthusiasm for ballet among children of all ages. Younger children will enjoy being introduced to colorful characters and beautiful dancing. Older children will benefit from the opportunity to sample a mélange of ballet specimens. Twenty-six ballet excerpts are introduced with a caption indicating the ballet’s title, music composer, and excerpt heading. The DVD also conveniently offers the option to view by chapter for easy navigation among the selections. The excerpts are highly accessible and are well-chosen to stand alone. Read the full review!

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart

This book is a personal favorite. I haven’t been asked to review it but I am happy to share it with you. I particularly love the earthy toned images of Raúl Colón’s etched watercolor illustrations. They dance on the pages to the musical “tip-tapping, song-singing, finger-snapping” text. The author, the late Libba Moore Gray, is a respected poet, actress, dancer, and high school teacher from Knoxville, TN. A mama herself, Gray’s children and grandchildren are accomplished dancers who continue to make their mark in Eastern Tennessee. In My Mama Had a Dancing Heart, a young ballerina fondly recalls how her mother’s unique energy and outlook has inspired her dancing. However, this frolic through the seasons feels universal in its celebration of the bond between a parent and child. A poignant reminder that we experience life through movement as much as any of our other senses, the lilting rhythms of Gray’s verse honor the everyday moments which shape and give meaning to our lives.

How to Enter & Contest Details

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me how you or your family get moving (It doesn’t have to be dance-related. Just describe what gets you up and active. If you are not as active as you’d like to be, you can talk about that too!)
2. Be sure your comment is linked to a valid e-mail address (very important if you want to win!) – Your email will NOT be stored except for the purposes of this giveaway. It will be seen only by the site administrator and you will not be contacted unless you are a winner (no need to place your address in the comment itself, just put it in the mail field when you leave your comment!
3. You have until Monday, December 7 at Midnight (Eastern Standard Time – U.S.) to enter.
4. I’ll do a random drawing, contact the winner, and make an announcement here on Dance Advantage on Tuesday afternoon, December 8.
   
5. I’m afraid I must limit winners to those within the U.S. My sincerest apologies to loyal readers beyond!

Dance parents, teachers and students, if you are new to Dance Advantage, I encourage you to look around. The posts found here are great starting points or just use the navigation bar at the top to find articles of particular interest to you. Contact me if you have any thoughts or questions and subscribe via RSS feed or email!

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Giveaway Disclosure: Leaping Legs, Inc. Edna Reinhardt, and Naxo USA sponsored this giveaway by providing their product for myself as well as two additional products to give away to randomly selected winners. I did not receive any other compensation from any of the above for review of their products. My review is my honest opinion, and has not been reviewed or edited by the entities mentioned above. For more information on how reviews and giveaways are conducted at Dance Advantage, please read my disclosure policy.

DVD Review: My First Ballet Collection

Do you have a ballet student or young child interested in all things dance on your gift list this year?

A brand new video, released in September, would be a wonderful addition to their dance library. My First Ballet Collection is exactly what its title indicates, a treasury of excerpted performances which are particularly suited for introducing children to the world of ballet. Youngsters will immediately recognize some of the better-known tales; Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Cinderella are all included in the compilation. However, ballets such as Coppelia, Giselle, Sylvia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and La Fille mal gardée, present characters and moods that will appeal to all ages.

My First Ballet Collection offers high-quality film and sound production, however the DVD is not frilly. Played straight through, each of the 26 ballet excerpts are introduced with a caption indicating the ballet’s title, music composer, and excerpt heading. The DVD also conveniently offers the option to view by chapter for easy navigation among the selections. The excerpts are highly accessible and are well-chosen to stand alone. The video even captured the attention of my two-year-old. He was motivated to move to the energetic music and particularly enjoyed imitating the dancers as they jumped and balanced.

A collection such as this would ideally inspire further investigation of the ballets, their stories, their choreographers or dancers, and the physical movements of which they are made. Parents hoping to plop their child in front of the TV or expecting the DVD to connect all the dots, may be disappointed in its lack of interactivity. My First Ballet Collection goes as far as bringing a variety of real ballet performances into the home or studio in one tidy package, providing the opportunity for parents or teachers to assist children in their continued exploration of ballet. This may be scary for some parents who feel they don’t know much of ballet or the dance world. However, exploring together is fun and encourages enthusiasm for learning.

Bottom Line: My First Ballet Collection is a great choice for those wishing to nurture enthusiasm for ballet among children of all ages. Younger children will enjoy being introduced to colorful characters and beautiful dancing. Older children will benefit from the opportunity to sample a mélange of ballet specimens.

For more info visit www.myfirstballetcollection.com. The website features additional info about the Royal Academy of Dance training program, where to find instructors, and a listing of North American dance companies. Purchase the video here.

Teachers, My First Ballet Collection works as a classroom tool as well. Skip easily among the snippets to illustrate a step, try on a variation, or to visually aid a discussion of ballet history.

In Detail

• My First Ballet Collection is the result of a collaboration between Naxos of America, Opus Arte, and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD).
• The DVD features excerpts from 10 different productions with performances by ballet stars such as Darcey Bussell, Carlos Acosta, Patricia Barker, Maria Kochetkova, and more.
• Showcased are four different ballet companies from both sides of the Atlantic: The Royal Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
• San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (performed by PNB), and The Nutcracker (The Royal Ballet), feature performances by children and student dancers.
• Diverse locales and archetypes are explored on the DVD: woodland creatures, mythological landscapes and beings, pastoral settings such as an 18th century farm (complete with dancing chickens), a toy shop with life-sized dolls, enchanted kingdoms, and 1930′s Hollywood (via Nureyev’s updated Cinderella).
• The 26 excerpts range from dramatic to romantic to comedic.

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Trick or Treat Tracks for Halloween

I love holidays in the dance studio and Halloween can be especially fun. Below is a list of songs and albums that may inspire you to get a little ghoulish in your classes this year. The categories just give an idea of which groups the songs could be used for, however, feel free to mix and match or go on your own little witch hunt for music – many popular Halloween tunes have been covered by multiple artists. If you have a song or album you’re just dying to share, let us know about it in the comments below!

Creepy Kid Stuff

• Monster Boogie – Laurie Berkner
• Spooky – Lazy Town
• Clownfoot – Jo Jo’s Circus
• Witch Doctor – Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack
• Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley (original)
• Doin’ The Zombie – Chubby Checker

Mickey’s Monster Bash – DisneyIncludes a Disney Monster Mash, This Is Halloween, and Sound Effect/Instrumental tracks	Boo Cackle Trick or Treat – Sue SchnitzerSome sweet, original tunes for young children
Halloween Songs and Sounds Pooh, Tigger, and other Disney friends get scary

For More Grown-Up Ghouls

• Thriller – Michael Jackson
• Spooky – Dusty Springfield, or try Imogen Heap
• I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow, or try Melanie C
• Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
• Witchy Woman - The Eagles, or try Kristen Chenoweth (from Bewitched soundtrack)
• Black Magic Woman – Santana, or try Fleetwood Mac
• I Put A Spell on You – Creedence Clearwater, Fame Soundtrack, Marilyn Manson, etc.
• I’m Your Boogie Man – KC and the Sunshine Band, or try White Zombie (still has the disco beat!)
• The Boogie Monster – Gnarls Barkley
• This is the Night or Do the Hippogriff or Magic Works – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (the “Weird Sisters” band in the movie include members of Pulp and Radiohead)

Nightmare Revisited – Various Artists (including Marilyn Manson’s version of This Is Halloween)

Hair-raising Hip-Hop

• Addam’s Groove – MC Hammer
• Halloween – Arsonists
• Every Halloween – Insane Clown Posse
• Scary Story – Will Smith
• A Nightmare on my Street – DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Bone-chilling Ballet

• Great Pumpkin Waltz – Vince Guaraldi Trio
• Resurrection Waltz – Hellraiser Soundtrack
• Estasi Dell Anima – Zombieland Soundtrack
• Tubular Bells (Theme from The Exorcist) – Mike Oldfield
• O Fortuna/Carmina Burana – Carl Orff
• Theme from Halloween - John Carpenter
• Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – Johann Sebastian Bach

	Sleepy Hollow Soundtrack
	Dracula – Philip Feeney
	Dracula – Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet

Alarming Alternatives

• Raining Blood – Tori Amos
• Halloween – Dave Matthews
• Halloween or Spellbound – Siouxie and the Banshees
• Halloween – Misfits

Back to School — Props and Classroom Aids

Dance classes (and the experience of your students) can be enhanced with the use of props and classroom aids. Hopefully in this list of products you will discover new ideas or places to shop for items.

A portion of the links below are affiliate links. You can recognize these links as they are marked in PURPLE, whereas other links are in the usual DA red. You can learn more about my affiliations and why I participate here. Thanks in advance if you choose to support Dance Advantage by purchasing items via these links.

Also below, there are links and tips for homemade props as well as other products that I find unique and interesting. Products marked with a star are products which I own or have received for review.

Improvisation

Nylon Juggling Scarves (pk/12)

Great for movement explorations (fast vs. slow; sharp vs. smooth; free vs. bound), balancing, or body part activities. Dancing with this simple prop can sometimes bring an inhibited dancer out of their shell. You could also make your own using chiffon fabric (I’ve been told nylon tricot, which does not fray, or polychiffon, which will need hemming or fray glue, are best — tulle which is cheap just doesn’t move well).

Spectrum™ Ribbon Wands 36″ long (pk/6)

Ribbon wands can be useful for improvisation and choreography. Not necessarily an every-week activity but a fun treat! You can also get a six-pack of Multi Colored Ribbon Wands (each wand has 2 colors of ribbon instead of one color) from the same company as above. If you’re feeling industrious, here are some excellent instructions for making your own. Or, for if you are in a pinch you could use crepe paper (minus a wand is okay). It is inexpensive and the kids can take it home (tip: with little ones who might try tasting the paper, get light colors or white).

Visual Aids

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. Growing up, my dance instructor had hand-drawn images on the wall describing alignment/posture and movement concepts. Fortunately, she was a quite capable artist. There are, however, a few ready-made resources out there for those who have not the time or ability to decorate their studio walls with visuals.

Markers

Spectrum™ Poly Markers, 9″ Circles

For children’s classes, having some sort of space or spot marker is essential! S&S Worldwide has some really cool markers that could be used in a variety of imaginative ways. There are stars, feet, hands, arrows – straight, curved, a little funky. Or, get their Super Spot Marker Easy Pack.

Once again, there are creative homemade alternatives. PE Central suggests mouse pads or silicone pot holders (they also have some other ingenious ideas for movement activities – I like their ribbon wrist band idea). For spots, I’ve used the rubber foam waffle/mesh material used for shelf lining – you can sometimes find pre-cut placemats in this material. You could also try carpet squares/remnants.

Spectrum™ Half Cones (Set/6)

Cones come in handy for leaping activities (including leaping courses), for marking boundaries, to line up behind, and to dance around. Different sizes or colors can be used for different things. Use your imagination! Around the holidays, my cones become decorated trees and we bound over them like reindeer. The link above is for half cones but here is a link for 12″ cones.

Putting it Together

Creative Yoga Games for Kids

This colorful set of 48 cards is a beautifully designed resource for teachers that want to incorporate the challenge and long-term benefits of yoga into their dance classroom. “Flash cards” for yoga and pilates are not new. However creator, Edna Reinhardt from Over the Moon Yoga & Dance Studio in Victoria, Australia, has created a unique educational kit, pulling the best from both yoga and creative dance practices to allow children to explore and create movement. The cards are big and bright with pictures of adorable children doing the described poses. Four of the cards offer activities to try, but Reinhardt has also packed a wealth of information and games into the accompanying booklet. She blends creative movement ideas with yoga in ways I never would have considered, yet they make a perfect pairing. If you have experience with teaching creative dance, you’ll be off and running with these cards, easily expanding their usefulness. However, parents and kids could also use these cards independently or in other social settings (pre-school, day care, parties, etc.)

Inflatable Dice

These dice would bring a level of fun to creating chance choreography, choosing words and improv suggestions. With the write-on and erase feature the sky is the limit.

If you’re not into inflatables, DanceDice.com offers ten sets of dice – Ballet, Jazz, and Tap in beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, and one Creative Dance set. I’ve featured them before in my Holiday gift list.

Stretchy Stuff

Materials like jersey, lycra, and even ordinary elastic, are useful when working on energy qualities in movement. Simple loops of these fabrics can encourage experimentation with bound flow, sustained force, and strong movements (fast or slow). There are lots of possibilities. Even therapy bands can have dual purpose.

Octaband was created by dance/movement therapist, Donna Newman-Bluestein. Part, parachute and part stretch band, it could be used in a variety of ways in your classes, and an especially useful prop for classes with infants/toddlers or children with special needs. There’s a lovely story behind Donna’s creation of this object which you can read at the website. The video is a short clip of the Octaband in action.

Body Socks are another elastic experience that can help develop an awareness of timing (without visual cues) and are fun to improvise or choreography shapes and design. Need some inspiration? Check out the video at left, a work created by Alwin Nikolais in 1953. With a whole lotta lycra you can create your own body sock. However dance therapy companies like Dye-namic Movement are selling these and other stretchy products. And, I found LaceandFabric.com which sells lycra body socks at an incredibly reasonable price.

And More

There are so many props you can incorporate into your classroom, from musical instruments, to hoops, to beanbags. I encourage you to think outside the box and come up with some of your own creative uses for even the most ordinary of items. Props such as the ones above can enrich the focus of your classroom, taking it beyond pretend play and games to true educational movement experiences.

Your Lobby Library — 9 Dance Biographies for Students

The lobby of your studio is a great place for waiting dancers and families to learn a bit more about dance, its history, and its artists. Picture books are a great way to introduce your dancers and perhaps inspire them to learn more and dig deeper into the lives and legacies of important figures in dance.

Click on the titles or images to view or purchase via Amazon

Alvin Ailey

A young reader’s portrait of dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey considers what the young Alvin might have thought and said and interposes facts about his life and dance theater.

Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer

Li Cunxin was born in 1961 in northeast China. The sixth of seven sons from a poor rural family, his life changed forever when he was chosen to study ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy. Following a scholarship to train in America, and a dramatic defection, he became principal dancer for the Houston Ballet. His life story was originally published as Mao’s Last Dancer, which became an international bestseller. This is the picture book version of that story. There is also a Young Reader’s Edition.

Jose! Born to Dance: The Story of Jose Limon

José was a boy with a song in his heart and a dance in his step. Born in Mexico in 1908, he came into the world kicking like a steer, and grew up to love to draw, play the piano, and dream. José’s dreaming took him to faraway places. He dreamed of bullfighters and the sounds of the cancan dancers that he saw with his father. Dance lit a fire in José’s soul.

With his heart to guide him, José left his family and went to New York to dance. He learned to flow and float and fly through space with steps like a Mexican breeze. When José danced, his spirit soared. From New York to lands afar, José Limón became known as the man who gave the world his own kind of dance.

Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire

In 1905, four-and-a-half-year-old Fred Astaire put on his first pair of dancing shoes — and from that moment, his life was filled with singing, dancing, and fancy footwork. Fred’s older sister, Adele, was the real dancer, but Fred worked hard to get all the steps just right, and it wasn’t long before he was the one capturing headlines and stealing the show.

Rap A Tap Tap

This simple book for young children tells the life story of a ground-breaking African-American tap dancer. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1920s-30s. People said he “talked with his feet,” and in the Dillons’ graceful paintings of old New York, he dances from page to page to the tune of a toe-tapping rhyme.

I Dreamed I Was a Ballerina

Every girl remembers her first trip to the ballet: the anticipation beforehand, the orchestra’s first notes, the ethereal beauty of the ballerinas. This is a tale of one such girl who was caught up in ballet’s mesmerizing spell and became one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.

In a story drawn from her memoirs, Anna Pavlova describes her first visit to the ballet to see the Sleeping Beauty. With simple, childlike language, she captures her love for her mother, the splendor of the ballet, and the moments that changed her life. The words are matched with paintings, pastels, and drawings of the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, to give this story all the magic of a fairytale.

To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel

Dancers are young when they first dream of dance. Siena Cherson Siegel was six — and her dreams kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance class in Boston, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet.

To Dance tells and shows the fullness of her dreams and her rhapsodic life they led to. Part family history, part backstage drama, here is an original, firsthand book about a young dancer’s beginnings — and beyond.

Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina

Growing up on the Osage Indian reservation, Maria Tallchief was a gifted pianist and dancer. According to Osage tradition, women are not permitted to dance, but Maria’s parents recognized her gifts and allowed her to break the rule. Then when Maria reached the age of twelve, her father told her it was time to choose between her two loves. Maria chose ballet. It was a decision that would change not only the course of her life, but the face of classical ballet in America.

Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, but lived most of her life in Europe. She was a remarkably talented dancer, and a free spirit who never gave up on her dream. She introduced a form of movement that would become the basis for modern dance.

Richard Maddock Music — CD Review and Giveaway!

Richard Maddock is an accomplished musician as well as a seasoned dance class and exam accompanist. He is currently Head Accompanist at The Pia Bouman School of Creative Movement and Ballet, in Toronto, Canada and has written, performed, and engineered eight CD’s for dance in the last three years. I recently came across Richard online and he graciously offered five of these discs for review here, on the blog.

To top it off, he agreed to donate nine CD’s to give away to nine lucky Dance Advantage readers!

Music for Movement and Imaginations

Ballet Class & Creative Movement (for children ages 3 and up)

I’m not currently teaching preschool ballet, but this is a CD I wish had been around a few years ago when I was teaching younger children! Dance teacher and collaborator, Kelly Jones-Hart has developed a class structure that effectively blends the conceptual exploration of creative dance with basic ballet technique. And with over 40 tracks, there is plenty of material and alternatives to spread over many classes. The disc provides brief notes on each track explaining its possible uses in class. The notes are not a how-to manual. Some familiarity with creative dance methods would certainly increase the variety of ways you could use the musical material. However, plié, tendus, relevé, ballet walks, sauté – it’s all here – forming a cohesive lesson format whether you are comfortable with creative movement concepts or simply looking for a way to enliven your children’s ballet classes.

Musically, the selections are simple but engaging. Composer, Richard Maddock knows when to keep the beat “readable” so that young dancers can stay in time with the exercise. And, he is playful, adding flourishes and fun when trying to inspire little imaginations. There are a variety of “freeze” dance selections with random pauses, and a group of compositions designed for Enchaînment (combination of steps or concepts). These often switch tempo or meter and could be applied many ways to whatever you are working on with your students. Also included are seven “Dance-a-Story” arrangements. In these, the music changes and progresses in a way that suggests a plot or sets a scene. Two sample stories are included in the album notes and a general outline is offered for the others but, the music itself will encourage your own creativity.

Although this is most certainly music for young dancers, I appreciate that the musical cues and changes are subtle and that the compositions have an elementary sophistication compared to some of the “baby ballet” albums out there. Because of this, the CD could be functional for children’s classes well beyond the preschool years, extending the usefulness of this album.

For further detail or to preview some of the tracks, click the image above.

Ballet Studio Inspirations: Volume Two and Volume Three

Richard creates from a colorful palette of musical hues. His compositions for dance classes are expressive. It is easy to find inspiration in the material for the choreography of exercises because he paints attractive landscapes of sound. But, it is the lyrical quality of the songs that also make these tracks enjoyable to dance to. They encourage the student to perform the exercises rather than just complete them, which makes a teacher’s job easier in the long run.

Volume Two includes 14 compositions, beyond the 31 barre and centre selections, which are recommended for pointe work. And overall it has rather lengthy tracks, particularly for barre. As a result, this CD is probably more appropriate for advanced students than beginners. Containing an hour and 20 minutes of music, the disc offers plenty of selections to mix and match for different lesson plans. What I found unique about this album was its delicate orchestrations. Though the piano is the focus, there are textures added beneath which suggest the richer dynamics of an orchestra without overpowering the dancers during class.

Volume Three, on the other hand, is special for its purely piano sound. Recorded on a Concert Series Grand while corresponding class exercises were performed, this album more closely resembles the experience of having a live musician at your disposal, a luxury that few dance studios enjoy. Though in the notes it suggests that the music was composed to compliment a pre-professional level ballet class, I feel that this CD might be more adaptable to varying levels than the previous disc. The shorter tracks have much to do with this. The compositions, consistently featuring 64 bars of music, also seem more symmetrical overall.

On both discs, it is helpful that the selections are ordered and titled according to how they might be utilized in a class. However, the compositions could be easily rearranged (perhaps on your iPod or mp3 player) according to preference. I also appreciate that the liner notes include the time signature of the piece, how many bars (measures) are available, and note changes or breaks in pattern. Knowing these details can make choreographing exercises a much smoother process.

For further detail or to preview some of the tracks, click the images above.

As Creation Unfolds: Part Three and The Garden Within

While the first three albums are definitely designed for class use, these two albums include longer compositions more suitable for creative or improvisational dance, or composition. Again, I visualize landscapes as I listen to Richard’s work. Most tracks have a contemplative quality.

As Creation Unfolds Part Three is the shorter (i.e. fewer songs) of the two albums. However most of its tracks are well over four minutes long. A favorite on the disc is “The Newborn Fawn.” Its skipping rhythms make it the most dance-y of the compositions and, as the shortest track, it could certainly be used for a lilting ballet in your next recital. “Woodland Nymphs” is another standout. I instantly recognized this one as a great fit for a creative dance class. Beginning with gentle pauses and gradually increasing in tempo, I picture children making shapes and exploring in a scarf dance. Incorporating several changes in texture, the music seems to have “events” that could easily be turned into a story dance.

On The Garden Within, the selections “Oh What Wonders” and “Gently Guiding,” in particular, produced movement images and motifs in my mind as I listened. Their lyrical melodies and slightly more stirring tempos make them relevant for phrases or class choreography. My most pleasant surprise came at the end of this body of work, however. The final track, “Moving Forward” is underlined with percussive elements. This, coupled with its Asian-inspired gongs and chords, give the song a Cirque du Soleil vibe. What I find most compelling, however, is the tempo fluctuation in the piece. Of all the tracks on these two albums, this is my favorite.

The Garden Within and As Creation Unfolds Part Three are both filled with lovely compositions. They are a pleasure to listen or meditate to, making them ideal for relaxation, yoga, or stretching (inside or outside of class).

For further detail or to preview some of the tracks, click the images above.

All CD cover images are the photographic work of Kim Fiocca.

Here’s How To Enter:

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♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Richard Maddock Compositions
Inspiring CDs for Ballet Class and Choreographic Work
www.richardmaddock.com

Five Favorites: Music for Children’s Dance Classes

Today I’m sharing with you a list of five albums from my own class music collection. I have put these to use and would recommend them for classes with young children. Enjoy!

Contrast & Continuum — Music for Creative Dance Vol. I-IV

by Eric Chappelle

Designed specifically for creative dance, this set works well with curriculum ideas offered in Anne Green Gilbert’s Creative Dance for All Ages: A Conceptual Approach. However, the rich variety of styles, sound textures, and tempos offered here could be used for any creative dance curriculum. The album liner notes also offer movement ideas and uses for each track. These are also available as pdf files on the site below. As I tend to mix and match tracks depending on what I am teaching, I cannot make an “if you can only buy one” recommendation. You can sample the music and decide for yourself or purchase the whole set at Ravennaventures.com.

Rhythms on Parade

by Hap Palmer

This collection of songs are beneficial for teaching rhythm. The songs are designed for use with musical props like rhythm sticks, shakers, bells, or tambourines – great additions to preschool movement classes. However, most could be adapted for movement-only classes by encouraging children to put the rhythms in their body. Songs include explore tempos, meters (how many kid songs are in 5/8?), rests, and instruments. And there is even a class “transition song” that encourages children to “come up and choose an instrument to play.” You may also want to check out Hap Palmer’s other selections including his Holiday Magic album.

Sweet Taps

by Rosemary Boross with Bruce Stephen Foster

This truly sweet collection of candy-coated songs is great for covering tap fundamentals like cramp rolls, shuffles, heel drops, and more. The vocals provide combination choreography and rhythms that are geared toward older preschool and young elementary/primary students (CD notes recommend its use for children 4-8). However instrumentals are provided. My only complaint is that these are not separate tracks as on Boross’s Fantasy Garden Ballet Class series, also found at Kimbo Educational.

Soulville

by Little Monsters

Sometimes even the little ones just want to rock. Little Monsters covers classic soul tunes like ABC, Dancing in the Street, and Mustang Sally on this album. Adults provide lead vocals while children provide back-up. Unlike big-name compilations that similarly cover pop songs, the production is slick and the vocals don’t have that nails on a chalkboard affect! I’ve used these in class for a fun free dance, across-the-floor, and recital music. You can purchase the CD at Amazon by clicking on the image or at the very cool Little Monsters Records web site where you can keep an eye out for new music.

Positio

Whitefeather Productions

This CD’s short tracks and clear and even tempos have proven helpful in pre-ballet classes. All of the 29 music selections are classical favorites, providing plenty of music for introductory barre work, center, jumps, and traveling movements. Whitefeather has a number of ballet CDs for various levels. These can be purchased on iTunes® or at their website www.whitefeatherproductions.com.

Update!

Not long after this post was published I reviewed some CD’s by composer Richard Maddock. After using his Music for Movement & Imaginations CD for some children’s classes, I have to mention, I’ve added this to my list of favorites for the little ones. Click the photo to check out the music at his site.

What are your favorite albums for children’s dance classes?

When Should My Child See A Doctor for Dance Injuries?

Most injuries in dance don’t happen suddenly. Instead, students often suffer from chronic overuse injuries. Some minor impairments can be treated without visiting a physician. Too often, though, smaller injuries become more severe because proper care is not administered early or because dancers continue self-care despite warning signs that more specialized care may be necessary.

Parents and teachers of children and teens want to know, “What are the warning signs that a dance student should see a doctor?”

1.  Here is what you need to know…

Pain = Cause for Concern

Pain is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong. Even the youngest children (3 or 4 years of age) can tell us where and when something hurts. Unfortunately, sometimes dancers learn very early to overlook or ignore pain. Teachers and parents can create an environment in which students develop a mindset to recognize and respect their body’s warning signals. There is no gain in ignoring pain.

2.  Here is the answer to the question…

If the pain, discomfort, or problem persists beyond 2-4 days, your child should see a doctor.

Acute Injuries

These are usually obvious because they come about as a result of an incident. Landing wrong from a jump. Falling from a lift. Slipping while crossing the stage. Severe injuries like broken bones obviously need immediate attention and a visit to the doctor. For most common ailments…

1. First aid suggests the R.I.C.E method (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) for strains, sprains, swelling, etc.
2. In addition, staying hydrated and eating well promotes healing.
3. See #2 above

More about treating common dance injuries

Overuse/Chronic injuries

Overuse or chronic injuries are sometimes triggered by an event that is allowed to persist without proper rest or rehabilitation. However, often they are caused or aggravated by other circumstances (this is a great list, adapted from this one about kids in sports):

• growth spurts
• imbalance between strength and flexibility
• inadequate warm-up
• excessive activity (for example, increased intensity, duration, or frequency of training)
• improper technique
• unsuitable floors

Signals of Chronic Pain

Deborah Vogel (thebodyseries.com) offers these four signals of chronic pain, as well as an excellent explanation of  how dance injuries start in small ways, in an article about a hamstring/sciatic injury. I highly recommend you read her words for yourself.

1. Pain that gets progressively worse during working out.
2. Pain that comes after you work out and the next day comes back after less working.
3. Pain that is accompanied by a certain movement (e.g. arabesque).
4. No real sense of “pain” but a definite restriction of movement.

It is normal to have temporary muscle soreness after a challenging class or when working in a new way. Anything that persists, particularly in the ways mentioned above, should be discussed with a physician or dance/athelete specialist. This should be done sooner, rather than later (see #2 above).

A Note on Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

These are often overused in the dance community. Sometimes a doctor will recommend them and they can help bring down swelling. However, they are misused when taken to “get through a class” or otherwise mask pain (see #1 at the top of this post).

Reinjury

Dancers often re-injure themselves when they return too quickly to activity. Temporary muscle soreness can sometimes improve with a return to class. However, if moving makes it feel worse, the body may need more rehabilitation time and/or medical attention.

After and injury, always ease back into activity. It is better to be safe than sorry. Dancers don’t like to hear this when they are eager to get back or feel pressure to return to class but, remind them that temporary setbacks are just that – temporary, and not worth permanently injuring oneself.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Prevention

Of course, preventing injury in the first place is ideal. Although sometimes this is not entirely possible there is a lot a parents can do to keep their dance students injury-free.

Find a studio that is committed to safety

• What is your studio’s philosophy?
• Is there proper flooring (i.e. – something sprung or with some “give”)?

Find a studio that is committed to quality instruction

• Do the students spend a reasonable portion of their class warming-up (not stretching but individual body-part and full-body exercises that encourage blood flow)?
• Are students encouraged to master foundational basics before moving on?
• Do students receive individual attention and feedback from their teachers?
• Etc… (see this series for more on quality instruction)

Encourage dancers to stay hydrated

• How much water is really necessary is debated, however, there are many active dancers that probably do not drink enough water. Here are some suggestions to improve water intake.

Encourage healthy, balanced nutrition

• I know this can be a tough one for families and kids on the go but it is so important! Here are some good pointers on healthy eating from kidshealth.org. Another great resource: nourishinteractive.com

Some other things you can do

• Encourage rest and proper sleep habits
• Encourage a positive outlook
• Remove the stress and pressure to “work through” or “push on” through injury
• Try cross-training with other activities (not to load extra onto already tired kids but to promote balance in the body; you might even speak to your child’s teacher or studio owner about alternatives within the studio)

Check Out These Related Articles!!

Learning How to Gauge Injuries Can Prevent You From Being Sidelined

This is an excellent article from Dance Spirit magazine. It offers easy guidelines about when to sit out and when to see a doctor.

Talking to Your Doctor About Injuries

Another one from Dance Spirit, this article lays out exactly what doctor’s need to know from dancers. A dancer’s “normal” may be different than a non-dancer due to the type of training dancers receive. Physicians need to know what you were capable of before your injury. This article has a lot of great information and stresses that dancers should not minimize their pain, as is their tendency.

Breaking Tiny Foot Bones

Stress fracture signs and treatment on Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes Blog.

Class Planning Part One: Developing a Curriculum Outline

When I visit forums or other areas online where dance teachers congregate, I find many questions regarding how to plan lessons and design curriculum. There are certainly a variety of methods for doing both and many teachers work from a codified syllabus. For those of you who may be searching for new ideas or needing some pointers in outlining your own lessons or program of study, I am sharing my methods for doing so.

Lesson Plans will be discussed in Part Two of this series.

Designing Curriculum

Approach for Young Children

There are many approaches to teaching young children, in all methods the objectives are generally the same: To introduce and practice age-appropriate movement skills, to prepare students for working and functioning within a classroom environment, and to instill a love of dance. Though it can vary, young children generally reach similar levels of motor skill, muscular, and cognitive development at or around the same time. If you are planning a curriculum for these younger age groups it is essential that you have some familiarity with childhood development. Pushing students to perform skills that are beyond their muscular control can damage their bodies.

Mastery Approach

After age six or seven, age-appropriateness on many levels is no longer as crucial (exceptions would be pointe work or other extreme physical activities prior to growth maturity, appropriateness of choreography and music subject matter). Instead, development is better measured through prerequisite skill mastery. Though advancement may occur at different speeds, a new student at 15 begins and progresses in much the same way a seven-year-old who is new to dance does. Designing a curriculum, then, becomes more about appropriate sequence of learning.

Moving Backward

When designing short-term curriculum, I generally work backward. In other words, I begin with the goal, the endpoint, the ideal, and then decide how to get there. If I am designing curriculum for a workshop the aims may be fewer and less grand than if I’m planning curriculum for a full year of study.

Let’s say one of my final goals is to present a dance, I try to decide which skills I’d like to include or which performance qualities I’d like to see, and give special attention to these in the classes leading up to the performance. In fact, for ease in preparation, I often create entire phrases or combinations of movement for class with the intent that these (or something very similar) will go directly into a final performance work. I do the same in lesson planning, making sure to include exercises featuring movements found in the final combination.

This backward method of planning is not that original. After all it is difficult to figure out how to get somewhere until you know where you are going. The whole idea may even seem obvious but it is a process that I’ve neglected myself at times (regretfully). If you’ve ever found yourself trying to pound a skill into your students and wondering why they are not improving, this is a good time to reassess your goals and determine if perhaps they’ve missed some key building blocks along the way!

To build curriculum for a class or course of study, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want the students to be able to do by the end of the year(s)/month/semester/session?
2. What skills are necessary to reach each of the above goals? (List them all, even obvious ones)
3. What skills must the students have familiarity with (if not mastery of) to accomplish these goals?

The above image contains samples of various goals. Your opinions and experiences may often dictate what is considered necessary, though some skills have inherent prerequisites.

Moving Forward

When I’m working on curriculum that spans multiple years of training, I often work in a more progressive manner, though the end goals are always in the back of my mind:

1. I list skills in the order I think they should be learned (including variations like facing barre, then one-hand on barre, then from 5th position, then in center, etc.)
2. Then, I place these skills in two columns, according to level: Essential and Overlap. Essential Skills are those requiring mastery in order to move on to the next level. Overlap Skills are those of which students are developing a working knowledge. Overlap usually appear in the Essential column of subsequent levels.

Abstract Skills

Some skills are more abstract than others (for instance musicality, performance quality, etc.) but I like to consider these when focusing on curriculum planning – setting a few goals in these areas which I will strive to incorporate into daily/weekly classes. I do this simply because I don’t want to forget them. They may seem obvious to me but not to a less experienced dancer. “They” say that certain things can’t be taught – but I believe even these less tangible skills can be improved through thoughtful practice and encouragement.

*These tables are not intended to be used as curriculum. They are just rough examples of how a chart might look. Your curriculum would be more thoroughly planned and would probably make more sense!

Have you ever designed your own curriculum? How did you go about it? Can you think of other methods or tips to share with readers?

A Celebration of Dance Moms

On this special occasion, I’d like to share some stories I’ve collected from dance moms, dance teachers, and dancing moms. I hope they brighten your day!

My Story

My son is almost 2 years old. When I was pregnant with him, I taught classes in ballet, jazz, and tap nearly every day. My youngest students loved to pat, kiss, and hug my belly! As he grew within me, I often wondered what he felt and heard as I chassé’d, balancé’d, and skipped around the room! I’m still not certain, but there is no doubt that he is a very musical little guy that loves moving! From the time he could sit, he would bounce to a beat. He sways and swings to music, and he even tries to copy the b-boy moves he sees on Hip Hop Harry. I adore watching him move and should he ever show an interest in formal classes, I relish the thought of being able to support him in that endeavor.

Little Star

One of my fellow Twittermom Dance Moms, Tracey, is also a dance teacher. She shared an endearing story with me that I think most moms will appreciate!

I had a very shy child in one of my preschool ballet classes. It was so hard to get her to participate in the routine or to even learn it. When recital time started and it was her time to go out on stage. She looked at me and said, “But Miss Tracey, I’m scared.” I knelt down to her and said, “Do your best smile and have fun and remember you’re the star!” She stood there with her head down. The curtains opened and her eyes got so big. She stepped in front of the class and did the whole routine! (I didn’t think she even knew it!) The music stops and she’s blowing kisses bowing to the audience screaming “Hey, Mom! Miss Tracey said I’m the star!” I will never forget that as long as I live..the power of words.

Chips Off the Block

A good friend of mine, Suzanne Gerety, is a mom entrenched in the dance biz – she helps her own mother run her very successful dance studio and she runs DanceStudioOwner.com, a great site that provides the necessary tools SO’s need to operate a thriving business (you can read more about the site here). Apparently, she is rubbing off on her children!

My 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter love it when I play the tunes on my iPod. We dance around the kitchen and my son looks at his reflection in the dishwasher and he says he’s a ‘hip-pop’ dancer [yes 'pop']. Too cute. They particularly love the revival songs from the kids movies including “I like to Move it’ from Madagascar and “Kung Fu Fighting” from Kung Fu Panda. Watching them dance together is not only a highlight of my day, but they really think they’re putting on a show and ask me to sit in the chair and watch.

From Babes to Ballerinas

Twitter pal, Catherine (@cpmomcat) is a long-time dance mom. She shares two of her favorite “ballet mom” stories:

My daughter was performing as a Polichinelle in the NYCB Nutcracker and, of course, we were not allowed to video tape.  A classmate’s grandmother snuck a video during a performance, but her eyesight was so bad that she recorded my daughter instead.  So, I had a nice video of my daughter with only a small twinge of conscience.

My three daughters studied ballet, and while my two older daughters loved every minute of it, Sarah, my youngest, dropped ballet in favor of horses.  Being the youngest, she was dragged along to rehearsals, etc. and at one photo session, one of the four little Swans was delayed and the photographer was about to leave.  The A.D. came over to us and asked if Sarah would put on a costume and her sister’s pointe shoes and pose with the three young swans who were waiting, worried that they would not be photographed without a fourth.  He assured us that going up on pointe would not be necessary, that she was almost the exact right size and, of course, my daughter agreed to help out.  After several lovely shots with four little swans, and lots of praise for retaining her good posture and technique, Sarah turned to the A.D. and said, “So . . does this mean I’m in it?”  The entire room burst into laughter, but that didn’t bother Sarah.  To this day, she claims that she could have leaned the dance and could have performed it the next day!  That was the first and last time she had pointe shoes on her feet – I wish I had a copy of those photos.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Melsmomma at DanceMom.com offered this story from the trenches:

During my daughter’s first year of competition 7 yrs ago, on the morning of a competition in Raleigh, NC, I was taking a shower at the hotel while my daughter was getting dressed. I was all soaped up and trying to shave my legs. I reached out to grab the shower bar to steady myself, my hand slipped, and I fell backwards… out of the shower… in all my glory… onto the floor. It made quite a large thud! My daughter ran to the bathroom, opened the door and saw me laying butt naked on the floor. She put her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh as she asked me if I was OK. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, although I could have died! I asked my daughter not to tell anyone and of course, she did… EVERYONE !

To make matters worse, later that morning at the competition, while trying to apply my daughter’s fake eyelashes, I accidentally glued one of her eyes shut! A mom got it undone rather fast. Then during lunch, I walked over to the corner to a fast-food restaurant to get lunch. While walking under a group of trees, a bird pooped on my head! My fellow dance moms decided I was bad luck that day!

Still My Baby

Another DanceMom.com user shared this with me. I think it eloquently sums up the mix of pride and joy and bittersweet emotions all moms experience as we watch our little ones grow. May you enjoy a wonderful Mother’s Day with your young dancer(s) and your families!

Last night I was watching my daughter’s ballet class (from the window so she couldn’t see me). They had learned a new combination, and she was waiting for her turn to go across the floor. As each girl went across, my daughter was watching and marking it from her place in line. About halfway through her wait, she let loose with a huuuuuge yawn which reminded me so much of how she used to yawn when she was 2 years old. So cute! But what cracked me up was that she just kept right on marking all the way through this gigantic yawn. It was the contrast of advanced-level semi-bored robo-ballerina vs. sleepy-head little girl ready for bed. After I got done laughing, I just wanted to hug her.

She’s officially a senior in high school as of today, but if I watch carefully I can still see my baby once in a while.

Thanks moms, for sharing your stories!

Do you have one you’d like to share? Place it in the comments below this post!

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