Q: My students have beautiful alignment when standing still, but when they start moving, their abdominals become like jello. What gives? A: When a student stands tall, lifting their ribs and lengthening their spines (as if they’ve put an invisible belt around their waists), it looks like they are in proper alignment. But actually, they’re […]
Q: I’d like to transition to a class structure where dancers are assigned to classes based on the level of their dancing rather than age. Do you have advice? A: We went through this same process a few years ago at our own studio and have found offering two different training tracks to be beneficial […]
Here at Dance Teacher, we never miss out on a chance to help you be super EXTRA for the holidays. This month, we give you recipes to four different St. Patrick’s Day treats you might consider handing out in class for your studio’s celebration. Your dancers will love the festiveness, and you can use them […]
To have a set syllabus, or to not have a set syllabus, that is the question. Each year you have the chance to decide which is best for your dancers and their future. Both sides of the argument have compelling reasoning to back them up. Dancers simultaneously need structure and freedom in order to become […]
Ask anyone at the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance how they feel about assistant professor of practice, d. Sabela grimes, and they automatically begin to sing his praises. Not only is he one of the department’s most beloved and dynamic educators, he is among the most respected and innovative facilitators of […]
When most people think of dance students, they imagine lithe children and teenagers waltzing around classrooms with their legs lifted to their ears. It doesn’t often cross our minds that dance training can involve an older woman trying to build strength in her body to ward off balance issues, or a middle-aged man who didn’t […]
“I don’t want to enroll my son in dance class because I’m scared/worried/convinced it will make him gay.” We’ve all heard some variation on this one, right? Someone we’d never expect to hear it from: television personality and Hollywood gossip columnist Perez Hilton. Wait, you might be saying. Isn’t he gay? Yes. Which makes this […]