Editor's Note
February 29, 2012

Is there anything more adorable than little kids dancing? I love that Raegan Wood uses imagery to get her young students to stand with good dance posture. “Show us your bright shining star,” she tells them. During our visit to her class, we heard it many times: “Remember, bright stars.”

 

Wood, the former company member who has designed the curriculum for Paul Taylor’s first children’s program, is at her gifted best when working with her youngest group, ages 4–6. And when we saw 7- and 9-year-olds doing iconic Taylor moves, well, it just made us smile. In Technique, Wood demonstrates the way she gets youngsters to fly like birds with the Aureole run. (See the video here.)

 

We had a similar response when we heard about dance studios that have raised substantial funds for cancer research and other medical causes. In “Feel-Good Fundraising,” Jen Jones Donatelli goes behind the scenes of three annual events that were conceptualized and produced by dance teachers. Each was started for very different reasons, but a side benefit the three share is that the events have raised their studios’ profiles in the community. What a formula: Worthy cause + opportunity for students to perform = great marketing tool.

 

We’re not as purely enthusiastic about cosmetic surgery—the topic addressed in Health (“I Feel Pretty“). Going under the knife can fuel a dancer’s quest for perfection in a negative way (“Nip/Tuck” anyone?). But given that there are instances when a procedure may benefit your career or your health, writer Nancy Wozny shares what you need to know—and what to watch out for.