Tori Puff (in purple) with dancers after completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Congratulations to Tori Puff, Editors’ Choice for the Dance Teacher Video of the Month!
At Haddonfield School of Dance in Haddonfield, New Jersey, Puff came up with a different approach to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, last summer’s hugely successful social-media campaign in which friends nominated each other to donate money to ALS research and/or post a video of themselves getting drenched with ice-cold water.
When one of her students nominated her, Puff enlisted her senior company members for a little summer fun, Flashdance-style. She choreographed high-energy ’80s moves to “Maniac,” and for the finale, dancers re-create a famous moment in the movie: They recline in folding chairs as three teachers pour water on them from above. Then the students douse their teachers in return.
The studio offers a five- or six-week summer session for all students with some classes maintained on a casual, drop-in basis, since many families travel out of town then. “Summer is an easy time to be lazy and sit by the pool and start to lose a little of that technique,” says Puff. “We want dancers to stay in shape to at least some extent.”
Want to build buzz about your studio, workshop or class? Posting videos to the Dance Teacher Video of the Month Contest is quick, easy and free. If your video is selected as Editors’ Choice, you’ll be featured on this page, on dance-teacher.com and in DT’s newsletter! Visit dancemedia.com to share your videos and vote for your favorites.
Photo courtesy of Haddonfield School of Dance