For Kristin Sudeikis, connecting to music through dance is like grabbing your favorite surfboard to ride the perfect wave. “Music to me is like water, in the sense that it’s in us, and all around us,” she explains. “Our bodies are made up of around 70% water, as is the planet. But for dancers, music is in […]
Ryan Andrews started studying ballet when he was 6, in the small town of Sequim, Washington. He was the only boy in class—and still is, 10 years later. Until recently, he didn’t have any male teachers. It’s well known that boys face social difficulties when studying dance, from feeling awkward to being bullied. But what […]
Erica Lynette Edwards wants to change the conversations we have about racism within the dance community and beyond. As a multifaceted artist in Chicago concert dance, Edwards has had a career that includes 15 years as a dancer and five and a half years as the director of community engagement with the Joffrey Ballet. Today, as […]
Ballroom phenomenon Lacey Schwimmer was born into a dance empire. Her parents, Buddy Schwimmer and Laurie Kauffman, are noted choreographers, dancers and teachers in the industry. (Laurie got her start as a classical dancer, Buddy got his in ballroom.) Together they opened a studio, choreographed for film and television, and did just about everything in […]
The moment after a dancer goes down can feel tense and confusing regardless of the cause. Should you stop the music? Do the dancers need to leave the studio? Should you call for medical assistance? Knowing how to approach common first-aid scenarios is paramount for dance teachers and studio owners. “They are often the frontline […]
Some people choose to become ballet teachers, but in the case of Christine Tjahjadi-Lopez, it was teaching that chose her. After 17 years of dance training, mainly focused on ballet, Tjahjadi-Lopez went on to pursue graduate studies in international trade at the University at Buffalo. A master’s project took her to Guatemala to conduct interviews […]
Choreographer and dance professor Tere O’Connor is a self-proclaimed music fiend. Most nights, he listens to a concert of different musicians. His favorites at the moment span different genres, from artists like Polish singer Jakub Józef Orliński to Brooklyn-based alternative band Dirty Projectors. You would think such a musically inspired choreographer would choreograph to the […]
In this video tutorial, Gretchen Vogelzang, director of the Greater Washington Dance Center, provides a variety of tips and exercises to help your students achieve a deep, dynamic plié that’s as useful as it is beautiful. According to Vogelzang, “There’s very little in ballet that can happen without a really awesome plié.” For more insight on how to teach deeper, more dynamic […]
Dance competitions have long been a hotly debated topic in the dance education community. The notion of “competition” is usually blamed, but such blame misses the point. After all, competition is inherent to any audition process where multiple dancers vie for a limited number of positions. Competition is also meaningful in youth sports, from archery […]
Adriana Pierce remembers how worried she was the first time she had to wear a leotard onstage without tights. “It was Liam Scarlett’s Viscera, for Miami City Ballet. We had an in-studio costume run-through and it was really scary. Luckily, we had known in advance, so we could all get a wax or whatever, but […]