Dance Studio Blog

Writing my book

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:43:13 +0000

I have made many jokes about the books I will write when the time presents itself. People who know me more personally will enjoy the titles: “My Life as a Ramekin and How I Became A Sauce Pan”, “Life with Lubbin McNubbins or Do You Really Need to Schedule That?”, and “Dear God, Do You Think I am REALLY a Superhero”. In all seriousness, I have always wanted to write a book about the place where all dance forms combine. With all the dance history study I have done (thank you Bruce Smith for engaging my history passion), I really appreciate how ballet, tap, modern, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, theatre dance, and acrobatics fuse. I am passionate about how the use of one form can fill the holes the body has with another form. How ballet and hip hop can complement. How lyrical can make ballet have more emotional content. How theatre dance can make performance in all areas pop. It’s not even just the steps or the cross training capabilities. It’s the way the art forms interweave to create a full dancer, not a technician, but a performer of art. I hope the time will present itself. Certainly not today with the pressing role of director, teacher, studio cleaner, etc. but some day when the need is great and the time available. The other books can wait, but I bet one for sure would make it on to Oprah’s list. I doubt it would be the dance one!

Two Years Old Versus Three Years Old

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:26:05 +0000

There is a huge change that occurs with students from age 2 to age 3. Autonomy alone changes drastically from one age to the next, but think about the mental and physical growth that occurs. In a dance setting, it’s the difference between moving through a combination of steps to connecting with a combination of steps. The concrete cognitive formulations of words and their meanings, creativity on a personal level, and thought are very different from the follow along that a 2 year old perceives. They are either following or not, doing their own thing or your thing. Three year olds can seamlessly blend with you and away from you, embellish on their skills, and explain why. I think it’s hard for parents to acknowledge how different these two age groups are, but as a dance teacher, you see it over and over.

Needing Divine Intervention?

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:36:32 +0000

Ever wish that God could speak to you directly and give you his thoughts? I often do. I wish he would just reach down and smack me on the back of the head when I do something that doesn’t benefit me or others. I continue to read my bible and search for personal meaning, but I feel like a phone to God would be extremely helpful. I keep asking him to guide my steps, make me worthy of my job, give me direction for my life. I just wish the directness of the feedback would be there. Maybe it is and I just don’t see it. Maybe it’s as simple as the messages I receive from my students by e-mail and Facebook letting me know that they think about me, class, and dance. Perhaps I am not listening the right way.

Technology Challenged no longer!

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:40:55 +0000

So I am learning to master technology thanks to friends and GOOGLE. I am thinking if I made it through high school, college, two husbands, child birth, and difficult dance classes numbering in the hundreds…how hard can it be? Well, it is hard. It’s a new language. Like French, it takes time and mastery. It takes bravery to try it, say or do the wrong thing, and make a fix. You IT people are special. I get that. You can’t do a triple pirouette to a fouette, to an axel, and then an illusion…but your mastery is delightful all the same.

Next stop, marketing. I know. I had nay sayers about my technology skills. Yes, bite me DB. I learned it and will continue to study. But marketing is next. I can do this. Try something new friends. Don’t be afraid. Step out and try something new. You might surprise yourselves!

Thank you to the individual who called me to task for using an improper word to describe my challenges. Being someone who works with those with challenges I should be more sensitive to those words. I don’t wish to offend and I apologize that I did!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:55:46 +0000

Remember that feeling of getting new fall clothes and school supplies? The anticipation as you laid them out for the end of summer to come and beckon a new school year. As adults, we lose a lot of the magic for childhood. We shouldn’t. Our best selves are our childhood selves. We were open to new people, new situations, and new opportunities. Most of us were closed to new food, but that’s another blog!

I want to look at people as if they were their childhood selves. Maybe when they look unhappy they are in their most child like state. They need a hug, a listening ear, a happy song, or even a gallop. Yes, I said a gallop. I know I look ridiculous as a 43 year old woman galloping, but the freedom of the wind in your hair and your body propelling through space is amazing. This is why I love dance. It’s near perfect to set your spirit free!

So instead of moaning about the schedule that you’ll be driving and the activities….take time to nurture your inner child. Remember the things that made you feel good and do them. This does not mean tipping cows or beveraging…it means remember at age 3-5 how life seemed so full of promise each day, a new adventure. Pick one thing per day and do it. You won’t regret it!

Starting a New Week!

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:12:15 +0000

Sunday is the start of a new week. A communal with God and all great things church and a chance to redirect my energies into all things possible and positive. Here’s to a great start of your week whether it … Continue reading →

Last Day of Camp!

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:00:53 +0000

I know it sometimes feels like a job. Hauling the trash, vacumning up crumbs, wiping the sweat and prints off the mirrors….more work than art. But on days like today, the last day of camp, I feel like all of that is worthwhile. I think of every kid I taught this summer and their personal smile. I think of every teen, young adult, and adult that I hugged and shared class with and I get tearful. My job is truly special. It’s art and it’s physical and it’s sharing and it is love…love for dance…love for each other…love for music…love for me. So blessed and hoping to be a blessing! Love you all!

Personal versus Professional

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:26 +0000

I deal with this a lot. I love my clients, but I especially love my students. The bond we build is one that is similar to a close relative. They look to me for help in becoming the dancer and the person they want to be. I look at who they are and how I can help them to grow in that direction. Some stump me with hormonal behavior, changes in their focus, and other learning differences, but some how we find a way to cope and make changes that lead to a positive result.

I think my profession is personal. I cannot be empathetic to people I don’t understand. I need to see who they are to understand why they behave as they do. I am very sensitive as a person so I believe that makes me sensitive to others. I feel for them the same as I feel for myself.

This year has been very personally challenging. I have changed residence three times due to my marriage ending. I have reached new understanding about how I respond and how to be a better listener as a result. I still have a long way to go to be close to what I want to be. I hope I have been professional about my personal life, but I always wonder. I know people want to know me too. They want to understand why I do what I do. They want to trust me with their children and themselves. I hope I do as well as I aspire to.

Feel free to drop me your opinion. I won’t negate it. Everyone has one. We just may not share it, but if I can understand you then half my job is done.

If you could change one thing, what would it be?

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:49:13 +0000

This is going to sound ridiculous and so unlike me. I would like money. I would like money to allow me the freedom to do what I do best and share my love of dance with the world. I would love to never have to charge for classes and teach for hours on end (I know that I already do that) to people who need or want to share what I have to offer. If I could just change that part of my existence, life would be perfect. What would you change?

Meltdowns and other adventures….

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:55:08 +0000

Yesterday presented new challenges to me. Lots of student melt downs. Difficult, but not impossible to manage. You have to take your feelings away and allow yourself to see through the eyes of another person. If I know the student well, I can find that place easily. I am sensitive, they are sensitive….we feel too much. But defiance is not an emotion I can find easily. It would never occur to me to not do something a teacher asked….I am a pleaser. Not that this is always a good thing. It definitely affects how I respond to authority, but recently, I didn’t comply with a request. My anger got in the way of me responding. So what did I do to anger this student? This is what I have to figure out and find a way back to a healthy place with this child. Any child deserves respect and understanding for their emotions. We as their leaders have the responsibility to figure out what works with them and how to guide them in the best ways to maximize their personal growth. This will be my job today. To know her better! Wish me luck <3