Archive for the ‘2011 | 11 | November’ Category

Columns 
Ask Rhee Gold
2 Tips for Teachers
A Better You
EditorSpeak
Teacher to Teacher
On My Mind

Departments
Mail
Thinking Out Loud | Creating a Culture of Welcome
Teacher in the Spotlight | Tabitha “Miss Tabby” R. Andrews-Colmary
Bright Biz Ideas | Mother, Sister, Daughter, Me
Mindful Marketing | Making Discounts Count
Classroom Connection
Strength in Numbers

Feature Articles
Ballet Scene | Ballerinas of a Certain Age by Jennifer Kaplan
Banishing Bullying by Brian McCormick
Show on the Road by Elizabeth Zimmer
Triple Threats Take Broadway by Joshua Bartlett
Schools With Staying Power | Cameron School of Dance by Maureen Keleher
Welcoming Visual Learners by Jennifer Kaplan
Give a Dance Teacher Some Music… by Julie Holt Lucia
Poise on the Page by Karen White
Costume Firms Say: Speak Up!
Shaping Creativity by Heidi Landgraf
Inspiration in the Desert
Got Dance? Add Music! by Marlise A. Cole

Dear Rhee, 
For years I have allowed my competitive students the option of doing a solo, but I am discovering that some of them are not ready. Last season, three dancers ran offstage because they forgot their choreography. Two of them did not return this season and I believe it’s because they lost a lot of confidence at the competitions.

My problem is that the students (and their parents) will be expecting to do solos this year, but I want to limit solos to only the older students who I know are ready for the experience. How do I change something that they all take for granted without upsetting the apple cart? —Camilla 

Hello Camilla, 
Your instinct that some will be upset is probably true. What I would consider doing is making it so the dancers who are older and have been participating with solos can continue. However, as you initiate younger dancers into your competitive program, make sure they understand that a solo is a privilege that must be earned. Retire your old policy of letting everyone do a solo and let them be in duos, trios, and small groups. Because they are not alone onstage, they will have more confidence. I can’t ever remember seeing a dancer in a group piece run offstage. Students experience less stress when they can look to their fellow dancers when they go blank on the choreography.

With this new policy, your younger dancers will not take the solo experience for granted because they were not given the option in the first place. I believe this is better for your dancers and your business than taking the experience away from those who expect to do a solo. As your older dancers move on, you can develop new policies for the next generation, such as students can’t do solos until they are in high school or until they meet some technical criteria that you specify. 

A lot of school owners and teachers have to deal with this problem because when they set policies for their competitive dancers, they are not always aware of how they will play out years down the road. Good luck. —Rhee 
 
 

Dear Rhee,
I have a student who is telling me way more than I want to know, and I’m very scared for her. She has decided that she is gay and she is or was using drugs, and she is begging me not to tell her parents. She says they refuse to speak to her because she told them she is in love with a girl. But her parents know something is up and have already been in to talk to me. They have taken her phone and car, and she’s only allowed to go to school, dance, and work.

I’m torn about betraying this girl’s trust in me. If she doesn’t stop using the drugs like she says she’s going to, can I really look at myself in the mirror? I don’t know what to do. —Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,
As teachers and mentors we can find ourselves dealing with situations that were never part of the job description, but I look at them as opportunities to influence students in a positive way. This student obviously respects you; otherwise she wouldn’t be coming to you for advice.

I respect and understand your impulse to be helpful to a girl in obvious pain. But I’m a great believer in doing what you’re best at and getting a pro to handle the other stuff. The situation you describe is one in which anyone other than a trained youth counselor or other mental health professional could find herself totally out of her depth.

That said, I think you should call the parents and express concern about the girl. Don’t tell them what she told you, but say that you’re concerned for her physical safety and suggest that they consider going to family counseling. You might even do a little research so you can suggest someone they could go to. 

As for the girl believing that she is gay, I am not sure that anything other than acceptance by her parents could make this situation better. It’s not like she can decide she’s straight simply to please her parents. It just doesn’t work like that.

I wish you good luck, and please continue to be the kind of mentor that your students can go to for help when they need someone other than their parents to sound off to. —Rhee 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dear Rhee,
I had a baby in April and my faculty stepped up and took over so I could spend time with my little munchkin and not have to worry. My studio is thriving, and it felt good to know that everything was running smoothly without me. But at the same time I felt uncomfortable knowing that my dance studio could run without me being on top of everything. I also stepped back from teaching the more advanced levels last season in preparation for the birth of my daughter. I am feeling disconnected from my older students now. They are going to other teachers for advice about dance and life in general, and I miss the connection. I find myself feeling envious of other teachers and their influence on our students’ lives.

I have decided not to teach the more advanced levels again this year in order to spend more time with my daughter. I feel so distant from my own business now, but running it is so time consuming, on top of the classes I’ll be teaching. I’m better with the younger students, but when the older girls come into the studio in the evenings I feel lost, like I don’t know how to even talk to them anymore. I keep telling myself that I am making a connection with the younger ones and influencing their lives, but when the seniors walked away last season, it broke my heart that the connection wasn’t really there. —Happy Mom 

Dear Happy Mom,
Congratulations on your baby. I commend you on your desire to balance your responsibility as a mom with your commitment to your school. Both are important, but as you seem to know, you get only one chance to raise a child.

Why does it have to be all or nothing? For instance, could you still have a connection with your senior dancers by doing some choreography for them, without committing to teaching them all the time? Maybe it could be one big production number that all the seniors are in. Or maybe consider teaching one of their classes on a monthly basis, or your own extra class with them on a Saturday once in a while. Options like these will give you the chance to maintain the bond with your seniors that you miss so much. It will keep you in touch with how the seniors are progressing and help them to understand that you are still a part of their dance education. 

Even if you decide not to do the options I’ve mentioned, it’s important to observe the seniors’ classes every now and then. Being absent could leave you vulnerable to one of your teachers deciding to open a school and pulling your seniors from you. Make your visits random so that you see what really goes on when you are not present. It’s a good idea to stand outside the classroom door sometimes to listen to what’s happening inside. This allows you to determine whether your faculty are on top of their classes and that the language they use is appropriate for your standards. I wish you all the best as a new mom. —Rhee

Finessing Fouettés

By Mignon Furman

Tip One
A fouetté (short for fouetté rond de jambe en tournant) is a step of virtuosity. The first thing to be strengthened is the relevé. Before attempting fouettés, practice doing relevés on one leg 8 to 16 times. The next thing to understand and practice is the action of the working leg. The Russians take the leg to the side and do a petit battement movement around the knee before extending to the side. We take the leg from fourth devant through second before whipping it to the knee. Coordination of the arms is essential, along with the use of the head and eyes in spotting.

Tip Two
When practicing fouettés, work for a strong second position when taking the leg to the side. The leg must be well turned out and whipped sharply to the turning position (passé with the toes of the working foot on the front of the supporting knee). The side arm (the left arm if turning to the right) must not go behind the shoulder line.

Practice with the hands on the waist, using the left side of the body (when turning to the right) to move around. Do not use the shoulders alone. The body must be well held. The head must be used for a quick whip-around.

Don’t let rough economic seas throw you off course

By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT

It’s always amusing when someone greets me by saying that they’d like to do exactly what I do for a living. At such times I think: be careful what you wish for. Those of us in the dance field who manage businesses, offices, and studios know that the work is 24/7. Not everyone is suited for the self-employment lifestyle, and even those who succeed at it may endure some bleak moments—myself included.

A number of years ago when I was in the early throes of menopause, starting a new private practice and a ballet company wellness program, and becoming a writer, I became—to put it mildly—cranky. As anyone who has put together productions and run a studio at the same time knows, there are a million details that at some point just cannot be delegated. Any dancer soon becomes skilled at multitasking as she deals with maintaining her technique, staying fit, and handling rehearsals and finances, and she brings those skills to bear when she decides to open a studio.

Being conscientious in front of a class and creative in basic production values are vital skills, but they may not be enough to survive the added anxieties of a national financial crisis that shows no signs of ending. Every day’s news is a litany of grim unemployment figures, foreclosures, and jittery financial markets. Even if you’ve been relatively unscathed, you’re rare indeed if the turmoil hasn’t touched the people you care about. What’s a studio owner to do to stay stable and on course through unstable times? Here are some tips on identifying when attending to business goes past the due-diligence level into true anxiety and how to handle the stress of uncertainty.

First, examine your muscle patterns. Are your muscles tense, aching, or sore? Do you find it hard to relax when relaxation time comes? (Notice that the question isn’t, “Do you find time to relax?” That’s always a challenge for teachers and studio directors, but it’s one that you can’t bypass safely.) One telltale hint I’ve noticed in my practice comes when I am fully holding someone’s body part. If I have to ask the person repeatedly to let the body part go limp, especially when it’s being cradled, that’s a sure sign of underlying tension. Check it out for yourself during your next massage.

Other physical symptoms of anxiety include shakiness, cold and clammy hands, and a racing heart. Even dizziness, faintness, and difficulty breathing can point to anxiety. A number of my clients, including dancers, have experienced such severe physical symptoms that they were sure they were having a heart attack. Another thought her chest pains and panting were signs of an asthmatic attack. Yet another thought her severe abdominal pains had to be appendicitis. Others might have recurrent migraines or digestive disorders, and so anxiety might go unsuspected because the symptoms often appear to point to those existing problems.

Next, be honest with yourself: Do you suffer from the perfectionism that is often necessary to excel? Has the onstage performance anxiety familiar to every dancer crept into your offstage, post-performance life? Detachment is hard when the subject is yourself, but it’s necessary in order to see clearly how past disappointments, obstacles, and choices affect your present outlook.

What about the rest of your emotional life? In general, do you feel good about yourself and like spending time with yourself? Recently a longtime dance teacher and former professional ballet dancer told me about a rural sabbatical during which she felt aloneness for what seemed like the first time. She’s a popular teacher who thrives on constant attention from students, and she explained that she hadn’t really paid attention to herself, but instead focused on her classes and family. She seemed a bit amazed at the inner life that her sabbatical revealed to her.

Taking care of your physical well-being is crucial as well. Dancing is indeed physical, even if you are just standing and marking rehearsals and classes. Remember to strategize your eating schedule, eating some form of protein every few hours to keep blood sugar stable. Keep plenty of water on hand to keep your mind fresh, and work to get in that seven to eight hours of rest every night. The tedium of the daily grind can add to your fatigue, so plan and consider those outside professional development days well in advance. I find that conferences and other meetings with colleagues keep me stimulated with new ideas, provide a much-needed distraction, and help me gain perspective on my own day-to-day issues.

Renewal, restoration, and realization that this is just one more trial can help you weather the current storm and keep day-to-day worries and irritations at a sub-meltdown level. We all need daily encouragement to remember that this day will end, this crisis will resolve. Make a habit of encouraging yourself. Self-talk is a great strategy to get through that one taxing day, that one I-can’t-stand-this minute.

Worry can be a tremendous obstacle to problem-solving. Taking responsibility is one thing; endless ruminating is tiring and self-defeating. It takes discipline to turn away from a problem, but you can convince yourself to do what you can with an issue and then rest while you await the next development. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my practice is that all my work won’t be finished in one day. Just like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about it tomorrow.

Get good at triage. Prioritize the multiple projects on your agenda. Focusing on the task at hand can get you working one step at a time instead of freezing at the thought of what the entire project year means. Learning to bring the focusing and mindfulness found in meditation practices into your daily work life will ease mental strain and help lessen stress levels by creating actual enjoyment of dealing with each bite-size piece of your workload as it comes. Practice your self-talk and convince yourself that you can enjoy every task at hand.

It is prudent to recognize that even very stable people may need to seek professional help from time to time. In our business lives we readily accept the input of trained advisors who can help us get past the details of the trees to see the whole forest, but admitting that we need help finding peace of mind can be harder. It’s not a moral failing to get a good evaluation from a cognitive behavioral therapist, and it can be an important and necessary step.

I’m sure that many of you will agree that it’s a marvel that our businesses do keep going. Those of us in dance are truly married to the profession, for better or worse. Let’s all look forward to our fiftieth anniversaries.

I have faith in you.

By Karen White and Arisa White

Space, Emotion, Spirit, Mind
I like to broaden my horizons by doing things I haven’t experienced before. So when I saw a listing for a free dance-theater improvisation workshop, offered by San Francisco Bay Area choreographer and Mills College alumnus Bianca Brzezinski, I jumped on the opportunity.

Every Friday in May we met in a small black-box theater in San Francisco, where for two hours we did a series of improvisation exercises that inspired movement. Being a non-dancer, this workshop gave me the chance to explore dance without being caught up in the technique of movement. My imagination and my everyday gestures were viable means to exploring my body in space, my body moved by emotion, and my body confidently and securely connected to spirit and mind. I learned to trust my impulses and use “mistakes” as an occasion to do movement differently. I learned to deeply listen.

Speaking about doing improvisation, Brzezinski says, “My body leads me to discover things about myself through movement because motion expresses emotion, and sometimes it’s hard to confront your emotions face to face. Dance releases you.”

During our final workshop, I made a discovery when we did a free-writing exercise for a minute, read over each participant’s text, and then selected a phrase to create movement to. I chose, from another participant’s free-write, “Why my angel?” In my first round of a two-minute solo, I spoke the words and my movement was broad; however, I wasn’t focused because I was feeling self-conscious.

After receiving feedback from Brzezinski and participants, in the second round I internalized the phrase, making small, delicate, and boxed movements and facial expressions that articulated distress. I was communicating through my body a sadness ripe with creative energy. It was quite amazing!

Something beautiful and real came from me that Friday evening, something that made me know myself wholly as a dancer. —Arisa White, Editorial Assistant

Art Is Where You Feel It
When does dance become art? I think it’s when it touches your soul.

We’ve all experienced those moments when we stop dissecting the patterns of the corps or marveling at extensions or oohing and aahing over costumes, and find ourselves so immersed in the dance that we forget to breathe. I had one of those moments last spring at a nationals—yes, at one of those five-day, mind-numbing “Oh-God-not-another-lyrical-solo” dance marathons of double pirouettes and half tops.

The piece was a contemporary quintet from my daughter’s studio. Danced to “This Bitter Earth,” it was stunning and mature, with four male dancers, clad in ragged brown, and one female, in a red tunic and green leggings loosely reminiscent of a rose mentioned in the lyrics.

The movements of the men were very grounded: crouching, rolling, often pulling and yanking on the girl, keeping her in check. Even in the lifts, she never seemed to soar or fly but was manipulated through the air at the discretion of the men. The piece was gorgeous and haunting and I loved it—but I appreciated it on an aesthetic level. “It’s about how people hold each other down,” I thought.

I had seen the piece maybe a dozen times and certainly wasn’t expecting to find myself riveted at nationals. But I was. It was as if I suddenly understood something deep and hidden. This dance was not about a person or two’s petty actions but about prejudice and hatred, racism, greed, poverty, ignorance—all those things that keep us, individually and as a world society, from blossoming, keep us from reaching our full potential as humans. My daughter whispered at me in horror: “Mom, are you crying?”

Perhaps that’s not what the dancers thought. Perhaps the choreographer never had that in mind at all. But somehow the commitment of the dancers, the aching music, the care and precision of the choreography fused into something greater than mere movement. When does dance become art? Look for it this year at competitions, at performances, at rehearsals. And carry tissues. —Karen White, Associate Editor

By Carol Crawford Smith

Dance teachers and studio owners are the greatest dreamers. We dream of developing strong, accomplished dancers and design curriculum to do just that. We choreograph at all hours—in our sleep and awake. We dream up gorgeous costumes, and make them appear out of cheap tops, sequins, and glue.

Often, a dance teacher’s own dream comes true when she opens a studio and is able to keep it open. I have done that successfully and now see an even greater dream on the horizon.

Since its inception 18 years ago, my studio has passed through infancy, the toddler years, and adolescence, and now stands at the threshold of adulthood. My son has also just turned 18, and as both my studio and my son have grown, I’ve noticed the parallels between them. As challenging as it has been to watch my son grow in ways that prepare him to survive beyond my life and influence, I cannot comprehend separating from my studio.

This summer, I faced a heartbreaking situation when I realized I could not afford the increases in rent being asked for my studio space, and told my students that I would have to close. They wouldn’t hear of it and began suggesting solutions, such as tuition increases or creating a co-op that would allow parents to purchase shares in the studio. Since tuition is already a challenge for most families, an increase didn’t seem like a good option. And with the fall season approaching I didn’t have time to work out the logistics for a co-op, a solution that would also force me to relinquish control.

Something needed to be done immediately. My landlord generously agreed to another year at an affordable rent, and classes were ready to go as usual. But what I ultimately want—my new dream—is to own the property where my studio is housed.

Since I was a little girl, it has been my dream to dance and to establish a dance school. I would talk to my mother about what I envisioned, and my mother often said, “You’re dreaming.” Well, Mom was exactly right—I was dreaming, but that and other dreams came true.

My fantasy of becoming a ballerina was fulfilled when I danced professionally with an internationally renowned company, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Then with the opening of my studio, my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and dance teacher became reality.

When I am old and gray, I might sell the building and school. Or I could pass the business and its legacy to my children, who would continue to serve this community. To me, that’s a dream worth having.

Now, I imagine owning a state-of-the-art dance facility with room to grow and space to share. With multiple studios, I could continue to grow my business by renting studio space to outside groups, or rent wall space for exhibitions of dance-related artwork.

Later, when I am old and gray, I might sell the building and school. Or I could pass the business and its legacy to my children, who would continue to serve this community. To me, that’s a dream worth having.

My ideal dance facility would have three studios to accommodate overlapping and simultaneous classes. While I’m giving a petit allegro combination in one, I will hear the faint hammer of time steps from the other side of the mirror. In the third, on a different floor, might be a yoga class, followed by a slow Aikido class.

In a smaller space, a masseuse could be kneading the kinks out of a colleague who had spent hours sitting in front of a computer completing a grant application for a jazz teacher artist-in-residency program.

Of course, there would be dressing rooms and bathroom facilities for the inevitable thousands inspired to dance here because of my studio’s welcoming and supportive environment. The spirit of dance would vibrate in every molecule of the structure, and that inspiration born in my studio would encourage dance to grow and thrive throughout the entire community.

So, I ask, is it dreams that mold our reality, or reality that causes us to dream? Like that ageless “chicken-or-egg” paradox, there seems to be no right or wrong answer. There is an answer, however, to the question of whether I should start taking steps toward owning my own space.

When I have a dream this clear, one that encompasses a fabulous facility as well as a world of dance both inside and outside its walls, the answer is unequivocally yes!

Words from the publisher

How do you decide which of your students get to participate in dance competitions? Your answer reveals a lot about your definition of winning and the reasons why you take your students to competitions.

Here’s a scenario: Dancer A hasn’t mastered four pirouettes, but she shows up for every class and rehearsal and works her butt off. Dancer B can do four pirouettes, but she misses a ton of classes, is always late, and usually arrives with a bad attitude. Do you treat these dancers equally?

Most of us probably don’t. And why not? Do you hold back the student who can’t do four pirouettes from competing because you, the teacher/choreographer, might receive a lower score if she’s in the piece? Do you overlook the missed classes and rehearsals of Dancer B because she is stronger and makes you look great at competition? And if so, are you basing your decisions about what you allow students to do on your own needs, not theirs? Do you just need to boost your own ego?

Some people would say that all of the dancers who dance together in a competition must be equally good, but that raises another question: what is the definition of good? Do we define it by the number of tricks a dancer can do, or might it also incorporate work ethic, passion, and commitment?

You might be wondering how you can factor in non-technique-related aspects without affecting the judges’ perception of your dancers’ skill (and your own). The answer is to create a piece that includes both the strongest and the most passionate dancers in such a way that the audience or the judges can’t tell the difference.

How do you do that? First, forget about the tricks. Instead be imaginative in your music, concept, and movement, and create interest by using formations, patterns, and artistic pictures. That way you don’t need an entire class to do four pirouettes. And why would you want to, when everyone else does that?

One thing I learned from my years as a competition director is that for most judges, a dance that’s unique, clean, and passionate trumps one that includes dozens of tricks. I believe that judges are hoping for pieces that are unique, and when they see them, they focus less on the technical aspects. Why? Because the choreography doesn’t show them all the tricks the dancers can’t do well. Instead, they get caught up on a journey that’s fresh, interesting, and expressive, and they don’t even think about what the dancers didn’t do.

Also, we could ask ourselves what winning is. Do you consider yourself a winner when you see your dancers’ passion and joy on the competition stage, even if their technique isn’t stellar? If the dancers are happy, their self-esteem is intact, and they love dance, are you a winner—even if they win a high gold instead of a super titanium medal? Yes, and yes.

And how about when one of those dancers gets into an Ivy League school because of the work ethic she developed in your classroom? That makes her a winner in the game of life, doesn’t it?

You and your students have plenty of potential to be winners. It just depends on how you define the word “win.”

Words from our readers

You put together more practical content than all of the dance magazines combined. Thank you for your passion and spirit.
Victoria Hunt
Highland Dance Academy
Sammamish, WA

Thank you so much for the features on my products in your August edition. I had a very good month in August thanks to you. It is very hard for small businesses to get off the ground and succeed. Your kindness in these features gave me a size of advertising I could not have afforded. I look forward to placing more classifieds with your magazine in the future. 
Janet Jerger
Dance Teacher Press
Seward, NE

Just wanted to express my thanks for such a great article about our new Dance Studio Concentration at MSU. We are all very appreciative.
Dr. Elizabeth McPherson
Coordinator, BA Dance Education
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ

I want to thank you for the article you wrote about Mrs. Marsden [“Teacher in the Spotlight,” August 2011]. She has been more excited than I’ve ever seen her, and that warms my heart.
Gloria Silva
Attleboro, MA

By Holly Derville-Teer

I recently took an adult ballet class at a local dance studio. As I stepped out of my car, a girl of about 19 gave me an unmistakable glare. I shrugged it off. But when my teacher informed me that my class would be combined with the advanced class that day, instantly I understood the glare.

In the studio, none of the teens met my eyes. No one smiled or gave any sign that I was welcome. Glaring Girl rolled her eyes with dramatic exasperation. The other adult students met with the same acidic mixture of indifference and hostility. As a dance teacher and former studio owner, all I could think about was whether this had ever happened at my studio—and would I have known if it had? Was it possible that my strongest dancers might have scared off other students?

The teacher came in, oblivious to the hostility surrounding her. As the class began, it became evident to the Glaring Group that I was not as incompetent as they expected, which only made them more hostile. I concluded that in their world, a person in the adult class was not supposed to be able to handle the advanced class. Finally the teacher gave an adagio combination I had trouble with, and the advanced girls breathed a sigh of relief and then ignored me completely. I wondered if my reception would have been warmer if the studio’s director had added, “Please make them feel welcome,” when he told the students that the classes would be combined.

I learned two lessons that day: that I need to work on picking up adagio combinations, and that a studio’s strongest dancers create the culture of a school. I am sure the studio owner and teacher had no idea that their company students were creating an unfriendly environment. True, the office staff was helpful, the teacher was welcoming, and the studio owner smiled at me. But none of that mattered when the dancers in class were so openly hostile. When I left, I had no desire to go back.

This experience was a huge wake-up call for me. Without revealing the name of the school, I told my students what happened. We talked about how scary it is to walk into a studio for the first time and how important it is for everyone to feel valued and respected—and how, as company dancers and leaders of the school, it was their job to contribute to an atmosphere of support.

Soon afterward, a student from Alaska visited my advanced teen jazz class. During the mid-class water break, I noticed that she seemed isolated. The regular students, while perhaps wanting to be supportive, lacked either the sensitivity or social skills needed. I realized that if I gave the students a reason to talk with our visitor, I could break through the isolation.

The office staff was helpful, the teacher was welcoming, and the studio owner smiled at me. But none of that mattered when the dancers in class were so openly hostile.

So I gave the class four minutes in which each person was to find out three interesting facts about our visitor. She was immediately surrounded by potential friends who put her at ease. When the time was up, everyone shared one discovery. Among other things, we found out that she had been dancing for 10 years, was visiting family, and had eaten bear. Our visitor smiled during the rest of the class and interacted with the other teens. The isolation had vanished.

A few weeks later, I took a jazz workshop at my friend’s studio, where I was greeted with hugs and actual cheers. I had seen many of these students at competition but didn’t know any of them well. One dancer even ran to get the owner with the gleeful announcement, “She’s here!” Even though I was new and in a class with strong (and younger) dancers I didn’t know, I felt supported and welcomed.

It is not enough for the studio owner, teacher, or office manager to be welcoming. The strongest dancers (essentially the school’s leaders) need to be encouraged to take their role as greeters seriously. Students who feel bullied, ridiculed, and unwelcome will not be your students for long. It is up to us to ensure that our dancers lead with love. After all, we are not just turning out dancers. We are also turning out leaders.

Dance program director and instructor, KMC Dance, Kennett Square, PA

NOMINATED BY: Caitlin Cellini, instructor: “Miss Tabby is such a positive person affecting so many lives. I work with her, teaching for the program and helping her run it; but I used to be one of her students. She is the reason why I am still dancing and teaching young people today. Not only do I still feel inspired by her dedication and motivation, but I am able to watch her inspire other young dancers too. For her students, no matter what age, she is their biggest fan and biggest motivator. She cheers them on to reach their greatest potential, pushing them to improve in the most loving way. ‘Inspirational’ is the best word to describe what she does and who she is.”

A fellow instructor says Tabitha R. Andrews-Colmary is her students "biggest fan and biggest motivator." (Photo courtesy Tabitha R. Andrews-Colmary)

YEARS TEACHING: 18 years

AGES TAUGHT: 3 to 84

GENRES TAUGHT: Ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, dance theater, lyrical

WHY SHE CHOSE TEACHING AS A CAREER: I have been fortunate to be able to dance since I was 3 years old. After years of studying different disciplines of the performing arts and training with some of the finest instructors around, I witnessed the joy and fulfillment it brought to my teachers and how their love for dance filled my being. I couldn’t imagine not sharing that emotion and gratification with others. A seed was planted within my soul, and I want to continue to reap and sow it with as many others as I can.

GREATEST INSPIRATIONS: My own family—a loving, supportive husband and children—and my students. It is so rewarding to give and earn respect in my classroom. When good, hardworking energy is given, it travels full circle. My students’ dedication and devotion inspire me to dedicate and devote more and more. My dance teacher Miss Dina Gazzerro-Kinney, who shared her passion for dance with me when I was very young and impressionable, is another inspiration. The magical “dancing seed” was in me when I was 3 years old, and I owe a lot of who I am to her.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: My most passionate wish is to provide a true love of the performing arts to every one of my students and offer quality dance education in a nurturing, fun, and caring environment. My hope is to offer dancers of all ages and skill levels a well-balanced experience that builds their confidence, self-esteem, discipline, and respect for others, which will benefit them through all aspects of their dance career and life.

WHAT MAKES HER A GOOD TEACHER: I exhibit true and genuine caring for every one of my students. I do my best to offer a family-friendly atmosphere where all feel loved and accepted. Love, kindness, and genuine care, combined with a gentle demand for discipline and respect in my classroom, create a warm and inviting learning environment.

FONDEST TEACHING MOMENT: Every day, every class, every student offers a new experience. I would have to say my fondest teaching memories are the hugs, thank-yous, the posters and essays about how I am a role model, and the invitations into the lives of my students’ families beyond dance. It is very rewarding to know that what I love to do, what I so longed to share, and who I am make a difference in the lives of my students.

ADVICE TO DANCE STUDENTS: My motto is “Dance Loud, Dance Proud.” No matter what it is in life that you wish to pursue, go do it with pride and confidence.

DO YOU KNOW A DANCE TEACHER WHO DESERVES TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT? Email your nominations to Arisa@rheegold.com or mail them to Arisa White, Dance Studio Life, P.O. Box 2150, Norton, MA 02766. Please include why you think this teacher should be featured, along with his or her contact information.

The pleasures and pitfalls of working with family

By Misty Lown

Fourteen years ago I followed my dreams and started a dance school a few miles from where I grew up. But my school, Misty’s Dance Unlimited, is close to home in more ways than one. From the day the doors opened, I have been working in the business with my family—my mom works for me full-time, my sister part-time, and my 10-year-old daughter is on the payroll as well, helping out where needed. While working with family is not always easy, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Mom
When I was working on my business plan at age 21, I knew I wanted my mom, Sandy, to be the face at the front desk of my dance school. With her experience in retail and bar/restaurant management, she could greet people with a smile, make them comfortable, and sell lessons and shoes. Since she gets a kick out of little kids and enjoys helping people, the front desk would be a great fit for her that way as well. I also knew I could count on her to give me the “lobby scoop,” keeping me informed of possible trouble spots with parents and/or teachers. I needed a reliable set of eyes and ears while I was in the classroom, so who better than my mom? After all, I had given her plenty of practice when I was growing up!

Work is a family affair for Misty’s Dance Unlimited studio owner Misty Lown (right), sister Alana Hess (left), mom Sandy Averill (seated), and daughter Isabella. (Photo courtesy Misty Lown)

As soon as the school opened, I could see that my mom would shine with the people component of the front desk position. The front desk also had a computer, however, and it took some convincing to get her to use it. To make it less intimidating, we worked on sample registrations using her pets’ names as students. We signed the cat up for ballet and the dog up for jazz and practiced with “sibling discounts.” We still laugh about that today and wonder what level the cat would be in if he had just stuck with ballet!

Although Mom has learned to navigate our management software pretty well, she still asks one of the “wizards” (her name for anyone under 40 with computer experience) for help if an error message pops up.

Another accommodation we have made is in billing and receivables. Since my mom is still on the two-finger typing system, we have come up with standard form letters she can fill out for common office tasks such as invoices and late notices. She still addresses letters and bills by hand, and I made fun of her for this until I realized that people paid their bills more quickly when my mom sent them. I realized that people open the bills because they look like personal letters instead of payment due notices. And, once they open them, they must have a hard time not responding to her cheery, “time to pay up” notes. So I stopped worrying about our old-fashioned billing process.

Sister
My sister Alana was 12 when I started my dance school. At times I was confident that she thought it was pretty cool to be the sister of the studio owner. She got to go to conventions and travel around the country with me, take as many classes as she wanted, and stay up past bedtime playing on the computer as I closed up the studio. She even got to help with classes from a young age.

There were other times, however, when it probably wasn’t much fun to be the sister of a dance school owner. For example, in an effort to not show favoritism, I ended up being harder on her than on anyone else in her class. If the other kids had to do two turns to pass a level, I made my sister do three. Then there were the times she had to ride with me to open the school and then wait for hours until her class started.  

Alana’s student years turned into teaching years, and when she was 16, she transitioned to the triple role of student, teacher, and employee. It was both a fabulous and frustrating season of life for both of us. My sister was a great teacher, but instead of thinking about what she would enjoy or be good at teaching, I simply put her on the classes that needed teachers or the things I enjoyed teaching. It was logical to me, but insensitive to her.

Over time I became a better observer about what she excelled at and better at balancing my needs in terms of class coverage with her desires and scheduling needs. It took some work, but eventually we both got what we wanted. After high school, my sister became one of our most popular teachers, especially with the recreational students, which was pretty cool to see.

Daughter
It’s fair to say that my daughter Isabella has grown up at the dance school. She (as well as my other four children) attended her first dance competition in a stroller. She started class at age 2 and has been dancing ever since. I have intentionally never had her in my own class, however, because I don’t want her to feel the pressure of having her mom as her teacher—at least not yet.

Last year, when Isabella was 9, my husband and I were exploring the idea of giving her an allowance. We decided that we wanted her to earn her money and gave her the opportunity to go on payroll at the studio. She works about five hours per week, cleaning, checking in shoes and costumes, being a classroom demonstrator for “baby” classes, filing and shredding papers, and sorting mail.

This has been a good learning experience for both of us. Isabella has learned more about what it means when I say I have work to do, and I have learned to slow down and share more of my world with her. She has shown a lot of pride in getting her own paychecks and taking them to the bank. And our banking trips have given me an opportunity to teach her about the importance of saving, giving, investing, and even having “fun” money.

Some of the lessons learned with Mom-as-your-boss have not been as fun, however. For example, Isabella has had to learn to finish her jobs to the “dance standard,” which is usually higher than the standard at home. It may be OK to “sort of” fold her laundry before putting it away at home, but it’s not OK to “sort of” fold the merchandise for sale in the lobby. And addressing a bill requires more attention to detail than sending a thank-you letter to Grandma. I have found myself saying, “Almost. Try it again,” a lot. Recently, she was hoping (i.e., begging) for an iPod, so I let her earn the money to buy one. During this time, she added pulling weeds and sweeping the studio parking lot to her skill set. She may not have liked it, but she did learn something about initiative and working for what she wants.

Healthy boundaries
There are practical challenges of working with family, such as not showing either insensitivity or favoritism with scheduling, making sure the skill set matches the position, and setting a fair rate of pay, and then there are the emotional challenges of setting expectations and making corrections. One of the best things we did to minimize personal conflicts was to develop an organizational chart. We made a list of everything that needed to be done and when, plus who had the skill set to do each task. We also plan the front desk schedule a semester at a time to make sure everyone is pulling her fair share of weekends and outside events. The pay issues have become non-issues due to a standardized pay scale based on positions and experience for adult employees. My daughter is often paid by the project, much like she would be for chores or babysitting at home.

The emotional challenges are more challenging. I have a hard time correcting my mom and I tend to overcorrect my sister and my daughter. The best remedy I have found for this is to apply “the outsider test.” When I am in a tough spot with a family-member employee, I ask myself what I would do if this person weren’t a relative. In most cases, I find that I would probably speak more candidly, not to mention more kindly, when communicating corrections or expectations. Another key is to have time-out periods when talk about dance, the studio, or work to be done is banned. This one is a huge challenge for me, but I’m working on it.

Looking ahead
My mom is still working for me full-time and shows no signs of slowing down. I’m still fixing the computer for her and she’s still putting up with my picky ways. My sister is using the leadership and people skills she learned at the studio to manage a jewelry store, and now cherry-picks the fun jobs at the studio, such as community expos, choreography for show choirs, and judging local events. As for my daughter, my hope is that she’ll walk away from her years of labor at the school with an appreciation for honest work, an eye for excellence, a love of the arts, and a heart for helping people. I believe she’s well on her way.

By Melissa Hoffman

Reaching out to the community should be an integral part of any school owner’s marketing plan. The more visible your school is, the better. Such outreach can take many forms, including local performances, demonstrations, community fund-raisers, and sports team sponsorship—all events at which you can distribute your studio’s information. And you might want to consider offering specials for attendees. Yes, I’m talking about discounts. Given the temperament of the economy, your marketing plan might need to include some enticing deals.

I’ve always believed that you get what you pay for, so it was hard for me to accept the idea of discounting a product that I consider to be of high quality. However, I also believe that you need to spend money to make money. Therefore I decided to offer discounts that have expirations and are directed at target groups. In thinking of these discounts as part of my marketing budget, I don’t feel as though I’m giving my services for less than their worth. And the response from those target groups has proved the value of offering discounts: the school’s bottom line increased.

What would those target groups be for you? Take a look at the programs you would like to bolster. For my school, my priority is always keeping the parent/tot and preschool programs healthy, so I look for opportunities to do free classes or demonstrations at local preschools and daycare centers. Then I offer parents a deal: if they register their children within two weeks of my visit, either they get 15 percent off the first month’s tuition or I will waive the registration fee.

For current students, I offer a free registration night at the end of the dance year. It was amazing how many people registered early—and what a great feeling it was to go into recital with so many known returning students. In addition, this practice allowed me to see where additional classes might be needed. (For example, the Saturday preschool classes were essentially full before we opened enrollment to the public.)

Though I had always done pre-registration prior to the recital, I had never offered a special. The result was worth it. Since so many people were willing to make a trip to the studio to save $10, I realized that such deals are what they want or need. So I took an additional step and offered an annual discount. If tuition was paid in full by July 1, then families would receive a 15 percent discount; if paid by August 1, a 10 percent discount would apply. For a couple of families, this discount allowed their children to take an additional class. So they are happy and I can make up some of the loss in other ways—costume profits, for example.

In considering this kind of discounting, be sure to include a withdrawal policy. I offer a 100 percent refund if within 30 days and no classes are taken; within 60 days, 80 percent; within 90 days, 50 percent. After 120 days, I give no refunds. Enough of my clients paid for the year in advance that my school’s summer cash flow increased—but not so much that I wasn’t worried about budgeting for the fall.

In trying to entice new students in general, I found that placing ads that are actually coupons for free registration (valid only on a specific open house night) worked great. I place them primarily in newspapers, especially those with a coupon or “back to school” section. Again, more people attended than ever before. I am now placing similar ads for specific classes. For example, I would like to grow our program for 2-year-olds, so I offered a special for that age group during September.

I’ve also begun to target particular groups by offering “groupon” (group coupon) specials. Look online for local opportunities as well as national organizations such as LivingSocial and Goldstar. These programs initially made me nervous because you need to have offers that are significantly discounted in order to participate. The first one I offered was for Zumba. Though only four people took advantage of a 50 percent discount, these same people also purchased additional class cards at full price and brought more people to class with them. Since the up-front cost paid off, I will now try it with select dance programs.

Think of discounting as an effective marketing technique. By offering deals to your clients, you’ll be boosting your business.

Have a marketing idea you’d like to share? Send it to cheryl@rheegold.com.

Exercise of the Week
For years I have watched students “prepare” for class by sitting in a comfortable second position straddle, usually with an iPod attached or chatting. This stretch does little to prepare the mind or the body for class. In order to meet the ever-changing demands of the discipline, instructors must develop a technique class that challenges the student to push physical boundaries and also instills knowledge, artistry, and respect for the aesthetic tradition of the form.

Within the confines of the typical 90-minute class, teachers must address both the athletic and aesthetic needs of the students with balance and clarity. Without sacrificing one for the other, you can successfully sprinkle Pilates-based movement and sport-specific conditioning exercises into a ballet class. Introduce the “Exercise of the Week” and encourage students to incorporate these stretches or conditioning exercises into their personal fitness regime.

By limiting the exercise to one per week, you allow students to practice, retain, and commit the movement to mind–body memory. An optimal time to teach the exercise is during the transitional time after the barre. By considering the fitness and maturity level of each class, you can introduce age-appropriate conditioning exercises that work in tandem with the dancers’ understanding of technique.

Some interdisciplinary crossovers to consider:

• Pilates: hundreds to encourage core stabilization and use of breath; single- or double-leg stretch for hamstrings and back; bridging for back of legs, gluteus, and core.
• Gym: standing parallel with attention to alignment, bring ankle to hand and extend slightly, pushing foot to hand to create the stretch, targeting hip flexors and quadriceps.
• Yoga: cow face pose for flexion and extension of the hip.
• Fitness bands: for resistance training, strength building, and injury recovery.

By introducing varied somatic practices into a technique class, you’ll help students develop a personal repertoire of exercises that target individual needs. And you’ll expose them to cross-training methods that they may want to include in their dance training. 

—Jeanne Fornarola

Hints of Dance History
We can help our students have a well-rounded education in dance by including dance history within our schools. You may wonder how you could possibly devote any of your precious class time to the depths of Petipa or Balanchine, but doing so could ignite the imaginations of students of any age. There are easy ways to stimulate interest.

While young students practice ballet walks across the floor, explain how a French king who danced was responsible for ballet terms being French or talk about the grandeur of early ballets done by royalty.

Likewise, discussing the various styles of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Gene Kelly, Eleanor Powell, and Brenda Bufalino in tap classes can not only provide insight into those styles and personalities but also help students understand the evolution of dance.

Exposing students to dance history doesn’t need to be heavy-handed or formal. Just as learning terminology enhances rather than restricts dance education, so does understanding the roots of the art form.

Here are some ideas for integrating dance history into your school:

• Have age-appropriate handouts for students. These could be as simple as a coloring sheet or word search for young students or brief biographies of notable dancers for older dancers.
• Have a designated progression of dance history in each of your classes. For example, the youngest ballet students would learn about Louis XIV while each additional level would progress through the Romantic era and end with 21st-century dancers.
• Post the name of a famous dancer, style, or time period each month and provide age-related activities on that subject for each group.
• Provide a free lecture on dance history for your students and parents, or open it to the public. This helps to establish you and your school as providers of quality education.
• Play DVDs of dance performances or musicals in your waiting room.

Explore other ideas with your colleagues to engage and expand your students’ interest in dance.

—Debbie Werbrouck

Dance teacher organizations—where to team up, share ideas, and be heard

Profile: Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston
Founded in 1914, the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Inc. (DTCB) today has approximately 390 members, many of whom took their first official steps toward becoming teachers through the club’s Dance Education Training Course.

Dance Education Training Course students such as (from left) Meredith Fournier, Courtney Kelly, and Shannon Beaulieu are participating in a 69-year tradition in Boston. (Photo courtesy DTCB)

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the training course, originally called “Normal School,” established in the early 1940s by Ruth I. Byrne, then president of the organization. Despite its age, the course is always evolving. “We aim to keep things current within our profession and work very hard to make the course beneficial for the students and their dance education,” immediate past president Kelly Hayward says. “The program directors are always updating and changing the course curriculum, while consulting with our faculty, to keep the program current. Many of our members are graduates of the program themselves, so they can truly attest to its value.”

Diane Gudat, a regular faculty member, agrees. “The [club] has managed to keep a wonderful, old-school structure, but has knocked the cobwebs aside to give [the course] an updated, vital feel.”

Each summer, 75 to 125 students of member teachers complete the three-year course and receive certification. To attend, students must be age 15 or older, with a minimum of three years of training in ballet, tap, and jazz. (Non-member teachers ages 18 and over are also welcome to attend, and member teachers can take the program as a refresher course at any age.)

 The training runs for one week each summer, usually in early August. Classes include ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary partnering, music, stretching, teaching principles, and children’s work, as well as music theory, hip-hop, ballroom, injury prevention, musical theater, and improvisation. Among the master teachers this past season were Gudat, leading the tap, music theory, and teaching principles classes, and Tom Ralabate, teaching jazz, contemporary partnering, improv, and ballroom. Ginny Durow led lessons in children’s work, with E. Laura Hausmann teaching ballet and modern, and Heather Southwick handling injury prevention classes.

Ralabate speaks highly of the program. “Each summer the Dance Education Training Course becomes a magical place,” Ralabate says. “My hope in shaping young bodies and minds is that these young teens find professional identity, success, and integrity in their chosen field. Presenting for DETC has become one of the highlights of my summer travels.”

Hausmann agrees, adding that students leave the course with confidence as well as knowledge. “Some students enter the program without the benefit of studying all the disciplines that are taught in the program. By the end of the five days, students experience enormous growth and learning,” she says. “This confidence encourages many students to continue studying those same unfamiliar styles at their home studios.”               

Summer-course students must pass written and performance exams based on the material taught during the week to be eligible to progress to the next level, and only students who receive passing grades for all three years (Levels 1, 2, and 3) are eligible for graduation. Grades are also used to determine recipients of tuition scholarships that can be used for the following summer’s course or, in the case of Level 3 students, for college education.

Each program ends with a graduation ceremony. Graduates parade in a Grand March, then receive awards, scholarships, and certificates of completion. After a formal dinner, the guests—who include faculty, family, and friends—are treated to a performance by the graduates, choreographed by Ralabate based on material learned throughout the week.

The ceremony is a long-standing DTCB tradition. “Tradition and social etiquette are taught and rehearsed for the ceremony, with graduates dressing in traditional white ball gowns or white tuxedos for the men,” Hayward says. “Many parents and guests have remarked at how much they enjoy this ceremony and presentation of awards.”

The club supports dance students in other ways as well. Auditions are held each May for the Lilla Frances Viles Scholarship, awarded to a student entering college in the fall, based on high school grades, an essay, and dance audition. The club also offers the National Dance Council of America Scholarship. In November 2010, DTCB partnered with Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, in a scholarship program that awarded $15,000 per year for four years to each of two students.

“We are always exploring new ways to support dance and dance education,” Hayward says.

Annually, the club holds four member meetings/workshops that are open to non-member teachers in an effort to educate others about the organization, as well as two student workshops each year open to students of member teachers. To learn more about DTCB, visit danceteachersclub.org.

December Events

Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey  800.825.0933; associateddanceteachers.com
Event: Junior Scholarship
When: December 15 deadline for scholarship essay submission
What: ADTNJ member teachers can submit five essays of a maximum 100 words each from students at least 7 years old and not exceeding the eighth grade on the topic, “What is your favorite dance subject and why?” Applications must be postmarked by December 15. Scholarships will be awarded to 10 students to attend the Funky February Workshop at the Bridgewater Marriott on February 12, 2012. Contest details are available at associateddanceteachers.com/Junior_Scholarships.html.

National Association for Schools of Dance   703.437.0700; nasd.arts-accredit.org
Event: Call for 2012 annual meeting proposals
When: December 31 submission deadline
What: NASD, founded in 1981, is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges, and universities that establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials. Proposal ideas for the next annual meeting, to be held the third or fourth week in September 2012, can be submitted to: Executive Director, NASD National Office, 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA 20190-5248.

National Dance Association   703.476.3464; aahperd.org/nda
Event: National Dance Association Choreography Evaluation Project
When: Ongoing
What: A fee-based service offered to dance faculty and students in need of professional evaluation of choreography for retention, promotion, tenure, or other reasons. NDA adjudicators—professional choreographers, educators, and dance critics—will complete formal, written evaluations on categories such as concept elements; clarity, invention, and creativity; consistency of style; impact and accomplishment of objective; and choreographic elements. For more information, visit aahperd.org/nda/profDevelopment/CEP.cfm.

Dance Organization News
Several American dancers took home top prizes from the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition held July 28–30 at The Quays Theatre in Manchester, England.

Forty-four dancers from around the world, ages 14 to 19, took part in the three-day competition. After learning set contemporary and ballet classes, they moved on to higher rounds based on scores from both class work and solo performances. Awards were given in five categories—musicality, contemporary, most promising, audience choice, and the Enrico Cecchetti Award. Six additional students won scholarships.

Cecchetti USA fielded a team of eight dancers, including Chelsea Cambron of Santa Barbara, California, winner of the Contemporary Award. A sophomore dance major at the University of California–Santa Barbara, Cambron trained with Denise Rinaldi at Santa Barbara Festival Ballet for 15 years. Melissa Eguchi, 14, also of Cecchetti USA and a student of Kimberly McEachern in Huntington Beach, California, won a one-year scholarship to the School of Alberta Ballet.

Of the three dancers sent by the Cecchetti Council of America, Hailee Karam, 18, an alumna of the Ann Parsley School of Dance in Clinton Township, Michigan, won the Musicality Award, and Tessa Peterson, 18, of Alwin School of the Dance in Albuquerque, New Mexico, took home a one-year scholarship to KS Dance Ltd.

Send your event listings and news to associate editor Karen White at karen@rheegold.com.

Adult amateurs get their own showcase in Scarsdale

By Jennifer Kaplan

 “Go Grandma!” “I knew you were good, Mom, but I didn’t know you were that good.” “I never knew you could dance ballet at your age.” “Well, whatever you’re doing, it sure does make you look great.”

Not your usual post-performance congratulations, these heartfelt comments bolstered the egos of intermediate ballet dancers—let’s put it delicately—of a certain age. The lovingly produced performance in the suburban shadows of the New York dance capital showcased adult dancers, a few of them former professionals but most amateurs who, in the best sense of that word, love what they do. They meet weekly or daily in morning ballet classes at the Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale, New York, and parse the intricacies of proper placement while bending, stretching, pulling up, and tucking middle-aged bodies into what is normally viewed as a young person’s art form.

The JCC adult ballet class includes doctors, lawyers, executives, accountants- even grandmothers. (Photo Shirley Zeiberg)

While the women (no men have signed on to the morning class, which meets at 10am during the school year, a little earlier in the summer) have fun, their teacher, Mimi Wallace, 70 and a former San Francisco Ballet dancer, allows for no funny business.

“I hold to a standard for the class,” she says. “I want them to all learn appropriately. I want them to know épaulement and port de bras. I want them to know why we do dégagés and frappés: because we’re going to use them in petit allegro later on.”

Wallace, who trained at the School of American Ballet under Balanchine, has instructed children and teens for much of her teaching career, but she finds that the older women, despite their stiffer bodies and less resilient muscles, are often better students. They’re more dedicated and focused, she says, than teens who have boyfriends, homework, college applications, and that fight with mom in the car on their minds.

Jayne Santoro, who has directed the popular Scarsdale JCC dance program for 30 of its 45 years, says that approximately 80 of her 325 students are adults who take ballet, ballroom, tap, jazz, or Zumba classes. Ten to 18 of them regularly take the morning intermediate ballet class, which Wallace teaches two or three days a week and other instructors teach on alternate days. After seeing so many of those adult students progress, Santoro sought a way to showcase their efforts and talents, although not in her annual children’s and teens’ performance. Instead, usually every other year, she produces an evening at the JCC’s Bendheim Performing Arts Center, where her “ballet ladies” perform, along with other acts showcasing the school’s teachers and accompanists.

Last spring Wallace, who has a knack for comedy, choreographed a light-hearted rendering of the popular “Kingdom of the Shades” scene from La Bayadère. That the dancers were lawyers, doctors, stay-at-home moms, executives, and accountants didn’t matter a bit. Wallace took the same classic choreography—yes, all those slow arabesques, though they weren’t at 90 degrees—and put a whimsical spin on it. After they finished their snaking-line entrance, the dancers paused and put on sunglasses—playing with the title “Kingdom of the Shades.”

“The reality is we can’t do these ballets as ABT or the Bolshoi would do them,” Wallace says. “So I decided to do a spoof and make them comedic using the original choreography. We’ve all seen these 19th-century ballets over and over. It’s very easy to slide over into comedy with them, even doing them as correctly as you possibly can.” The trick, she adds, is to make fun not of the performers but of the ballet, akin to the all-male troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

“I take the original choreography and I’ll modify,” Wallace continues. “In this case the shades became ladies of the evening with cocktail glasses. We spoofed, but we did the original choreography: all the arabesques with the walk, walk, step back, cambré—36 of them. The sunglasses are a silly joke, but they did it with all seriousness. That’s what made it funny.”

For Marjorie Miller, a former federal prosecutor, ballet changed her life. She tried an adult beginning class in 2000 and got hooked. Outside of the courtroom, this was the first time she had performed. “None of us had delusions that we were going to dance at Lincoln Center,” says Miller, 52, who set aside law to become a certified exercise instructor. “We were not pretending to be on any other level. We weren’t doing very hard steps at all. It was all done with such a great spirit. There we were, grandmas even, wearing white tutus.”

A former professional dancer, Janine Steely had put away her ballet shoes for marriage, a career, and family. This mother of four performed for six years with Southern Ballet Theater (now Orlando Ballet), MGM Studios in Florida, and in and around New York as a guest artist. After a decade of no dancing, she wandered back into class at American Ballet Theatre and was rudely surprised at how much technique and strength she’d lost over the years. It took her a few years to find the Scarsdale JCC program, but now she’s a Tuesday regular. The rest of the week, Steely is executive vice president of an advertising firm.

“The women here that I performed with are just tremendous,” says Steely, “very talented, and not just in their ability to dance, but in the kind of people they are. Everybody did a tremendous job and looked fantastic. The choreography by Mimi was amazingly clever and it really was quite professionally put together with amateur dancers.”

Now that she’s back in the studio, Steely has no plans to give up ballet a second time. She notes the dancers who took up the unforgiving art form in their 40s, 50s, and 60s for the first time. “At 44,” she says, “I’m one of the younger women.”

The performance serves as a fund-raiser for the JCC dance program, Santero says, but it’s also a way to cement a community of disparate middle-aged dancers. They find they all work a little harder and come more frequently; after all, they were onstage for 22 minutes in Wallace’s Bayadère choreography, so they wanted to be sure they looked and danced their best, even for an audience filled with husbands, children, grandchildren, and friends. “We did it not because we thought we were going to look anything like [professionals],” Miller says, “but because it was fun for us and a really amazing experience.”

8 Tips for Planning Adult Performances

1. Don’t showcase adult dance students in your recital alongside the children’s and teens’ classes. Instead find opportunities where they can shine on their own. Santoro plans an evening in which—aside from the adult ballet class—audiences are treated to performances by the school’s teachers and accompanists.

2. Plan rehearsals that work for adults’ busy schedules. Wallace held rehearsals twice a week immediately after class instead of asking dancers to add an additional day to their schedules.

3. Make the performance voluntary. You’ll find, as Santoro did, that after the first one, more students will ask to join the next time.

4. Don’t take class time for rehearsals. Not all of the adult students signed on to perform, and taking away their class time would be unfair.

5. Consider using humor in your choreography, but spoof the dance, not the dancers.

6. Simple steps done well are far more effective and convincing than more complex combinations.

7. Make sure your adult dancers can have fun and feel confident about getting onstage.

8. Don’t offer too many performances too frequently. Santoro and Wallace schedule a single show every other year because they believe that is a reasonable commitment that adults can manage. —JK

Using movement-based conflict resolution to help keep peace in schools

By Brian McCormick

According to the Justice Department, one out of every four kids is abused by another youth each month, and every day as many as 160,000 U.S. children miss school because of bullying. Many programs are designed to cope with youth conflict issues, but one dancer/educator, Dr. Martha Eddy, believes that in order for a program to be effective, it must integrate movement into the curriculum. Since dance teachers work in an environment built around movement, the principles Eddy has developed are particularly suitable to them.

Martha Eddy, in multicolored tank top, teaches schoolchildren new responses to bullying through movement games. (Photo by Emily Parkey)

“Body language and movement are at the heart of human behavior,” explains Eddy. In addition to holding a doctorate in movement science and education, she is a registered somatic movement therapist, certified movement analyst, and founder and director of The Center for Kinesthetic Education in New York City.

Central to Eddy’s work is the premise that “any type of violence—physical, psychological, verbal—will have an impact on our bodies,” she says. “Sometimes it affects our whole body; sometimes we just get shoulder cramps or an increased heart rate. This has to be reconciled; the body has to come back to homeostasis. Unless we move, we carry that tension.”

Last February in New York, at the Dance Education Laboratory of the 92nd Street Y, she presented a course on conflict resolution and bullying prevention for teachers. Her curriculum for “Performing Peace: Including the Bully” uses a cooperative approach drawing from dance, theater, creative movement, somatic education, and reflective thinking processes. The workshop guides adults or children (K–12) in understanding and examining the nature of bullying and being bullied, and in the practical implementation of peaceful behavior in times of stress—teaching new responses through movement games, and choreographing positive responses to a wide range of feelings.

Including the bully might sound like a recipe for disaster, but according to Eddy, the opposite is true. “If you don’t include the bullies, they will still stand apart, be angry, and feel alienated,” she says. “They probably have their own history of trauma, of being bullied. Until we really help that bully, nothing is going to change at that school. Often bullies are leaders, but have been told they are bad or never do [things] right. We have to get them to buy into rules about human caring and set some rules with the group. Rule number one: no physical abuse.”

While working on her doctorate, “The Role of Physical Activity in Violence Prevention Programs for Youth,” at Teachers College at Columbia University, Eddy identified conflict resolution and non-violence programs around the country. They showcased an array of approaches: from martial arts to dance and theater, somatic awareness and relaxation, and even social studies taught by a dance therapist. “To the credit of all the existing programs,” she says, “they all used role play—but role play is just a beginning, not necessarily a context that conflict will come up in.

“For some programs,” Eddy continues, “the main issue is about focusing on the kids having self-control or being strong enough to defend themselves, or aware. So a lot of programs are just about becoming aware of violence, learning that some of what goes on at parties is psychological abuse, learning to be alert to that. It might not be learning how to stand up to violence, but about how to respond.”

Adapting some ideas from movement analysis and child psychiatry, Eddy identified four content themes related to progressive decision making:

• self-control/social skills
• awareness of violence and the surrounding environment
• self-assertion and self-determination in the face of violence
• peace activism

Each of these could be addressed by four movement activities or behaviors: body regulation, avoiding violence, finding strength, and readiness to act. Using these principles, students can learn to regulate tension and energy. Through movement phrases, gestures, or compositions, they can learn to focus on avoiding violence or perceiving peaceable options. Movement can help them find the strength to stand steady, to assert themselves, and also learn when it is appropriate to act or get involved.

• Dance technique can be used to enhance self-control, self-assertion, and interpersonal awareness.
• Dance expression (through improvisation, choreography, and performance around concerns regarding conflict and violence) provides an outlet for expressing feelings and building confidence and self-esteem.
• Improvisation and composition teach problem-solving skills, creative brainstorming, and cooperation—all needed for conflict resolution and moral reasoning.
• Choreography also encourages problem solving and team building, while performance expands the sphere of responsibility to the community at large, providing an opportunity to take action in the world, which helps develop confidence and pride.

Eddy’s research also uncovered the importance of teacher commitments to youth advocacy and the teacher empathy needed for these programs to succeed. Among the notable people identified during her research were Nancy Beardall at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Sarah Crowell at Destiny Arts in Oakland, California, pioneers who are still leading in the field.

Beardall, dance therapy coordinator in the Expressive Therapies Division at Lesley University, has a peace-education program and also heads a creative-arts program. “Her original ideas,” Eddy says, “came out of the [university] dance club, and the intimacy a teacher has preparing everything for performance. She developed the first program dealing with bullying in her company in the ’90s.”

“If you don’t include the bullies (in anti-bullying programs), they will still stand apart, be angry, and feel alienated. They probably have their own history of trauma, of being bullied. Until we really help that bully, nothing is going to change at that school.” —Dr. Martha Eddy

Crowell has taught dance, theater, and violence prevention to youths in schools and community centers in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990. In 1993 she co-founded Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, a troupe for teens to co-create original movement/theater productions based on their own experiences.

“They have a dojo [a martial-arts training space] and a dance and theater program,” Eddy says. “All the kids get to do their own choreography and write their own scripts around issues of violence, and they are taught some conflict-resolution skills.”

Conflict-resolution skills come naturally when you work in a group, according to Eddy. “Even if [teachers] don’t know they are teaching conflict resolution, because they are modeling it, student issues will come to the fore. Teachers in classrooms, gyms, and studios draw upon body-awareness activities like breathing and stretching with equal ease. This technique, which is used to calm groups down, helps with self-regulation and focus.”

Eddy has been teaching courses for educators and therapists on conflict resolution through movement and dance for about 10 years. As part of her “Embodying Peace” classes, she offers workshops for adults or children in conflict resolution, violence prevention, body awareness and language, stress reduction, and the use of the arts for social and emotional education. Teachers learn to guide students to respond to conflict peacefully by using body language awareness and to manage anger by tuning in to bodily cues. Verbal and nonverbal behavior for resisting bullying and dealing with difficult situations are practiced. Students may be taught how to express moods through dance and then to use dance alone, with partners, and with groups to make positive choices in responding to their feelings.

Eddy recommends that teachers who are interested in conducting workshops “invite in experts who have an understanding of your population. First-graders have different needs than eighth-graders. Girls have different social dynamics than boys. Experts can help teachers learn about ‘Queen Bees’ (strong-willed, popular girls), that boys need to rely on play fighting for physical contact, etc.” 

When hiring an expert, Eddy says, make sure he or she includes a body language and movement component. Alternately, work with The Center for Kinesthetic Education to develop a movement-filled workshop or take the Dance Education Lab workshop next time it is offered at the 92nd Street Y.

Resources
Embody Peace: embodypeace.org 
The Center for Kinesthetic Education: wellnesscke.net
Lesley University Division of Expressive Therapies: lesley.edu/gsass/56etp.html
Destiny Arts: destinyarts.org

From improv to dancemaking to performance, NYC teens get creative with Young Dancemakers Company

By Elizabeth Zimmer

Summer dance camp is an established ritual for middle-class kids, but inner-city students often find the cost of the programs, not to mention the cost of forgoing a paid summer job, prohibitive. That makes the Young Dancemakers Company, run by Alice Teirstein out of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the bucolic Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale, an especially valuable enterprise.

Teen pregnancy, substance abuse, homophobia, self-image, and the history of hip-hop were among the themes of last summer's Young Dancemakers performances. (Photo by Christopher Duggan)

The five-week program, now in its 16th year, is free of charge to the participating students, all in public high schools. It focuses on the creative aspects of the dance profession, rather than on the technique classes that anchor most other summer sessions. Within the first week the 16 young people, who spend seven hours a day in class and rehearsals, are already submitting written proposals for pieces they want to make in the next 15 days; by the fourth week they coalesce into a touring ensemble performing their own dances in four boroughs of New York City. They also learn and perform works by major choreographers; this year they showed excerpts from Psalm, a 1967 piece by José Limón.

Teirstein, a petite brunette who wears glittering ruby slippers to her troupe’s performances, graduated from Adelphi College (now University) on Long Island as an English and dramatic arts major and earned a master’s in dance education at Columbia University Teachers College. Her biggest challenge, she says, is weaning the young artists from a tendency to choose popular music with lyrics that drive the design and content of their choreography.

This year’s hour-long performance, performed in late July at seven sites around New York City, was called “Connect.” It included short works on themes of teen pregnancy, substance abuse, celebration of life, homophobia/gender discrimination, speaking and not being heard, self-image, chaos theory, and the history of hip-hop. Needless to say, this last subject garnered the loudest cheers from a large audience of elementary-school-age day campers, many of whom are themselves quite fluent in the genre’s rhythms and moves, which they demonstrated when company members invited them onstage at the end of a Monday-afternoon matinee program. One student, Shelby Joy Cole, said her piece, Oddballs, to music by Fats Waller, was “inspired by my friends,” and another, Shaza Bailey, said his dance was about alcoholism.

In previous summers Teirstein asked me to spend an hour with the group discussing strategies for viewing and reviewing dance. This year, due to financial and time constraints, I was invited to attend a matinee performance with them and sit in on their meeting with emerging choreographer Kyle Abraham. This event took place almost three weeks before the actual start of the program and gave the participants, who attend 10 high schools across the metropolitan area, a chance to get to know one another as well as to quiz the artist about his inspirations and influences.

The 2011 program formally began on June 29, with seven days in residence at the downtown studios of Dance Theater Workshop. During the first few days Teirstein led improv workshops and introduced various dancemaking processes. What, she asked them, did they want to dance about? The company members submitted written proposals for choreography they wanted to do.

“I spoke with them, one on one, about their ideas, and mentored them about that process,” says Teirstein.

She and I met after the fifth day of the program. “Today we saw seven ideas,” she told me. “The students described them and created an improvisation to give the others, so they could see their ideas played out by the group. I was astounded at the way they are going after deep and controversial topics. They gave viable improvs to the group, and we videotaped each one; the students went home to get ideas for the choreography, which is the way I insist that they work.” The ideas vetted on July 5 emerged as the subjects of the dances I saw on July 25, each introduced by its choreographer.

Teirstein danced and choreographed as a young woman, spending time as choreographer-in-residence at The Yard, an arts colony for dancers on Martha’s Vineyard, during the 1970s. She began teaching at Fieldston more than 35 years ago, after raising four children. She gave up her formal teaching duties in June 2010 but keeps an office at the school out of which she conducts YDC. At an age when most of her cohort is knitting afghans and dandling grandchildren, she’s still acting and dancing on New York stages.

Starting in 1976, Teirstein developed the Fieldston dance curriculum from scratch, and a dance major as well, called the Fieldston Dance Company. “I was one of the first to have a high school group that called itself a company,” she says. “They created their own work and toured to other schools, performing it. Creating original work has always been my guiding educational mission. I’ve always felt that teenagers have a lot to say, and can say it in dance without imitating others.”

Each season with YDC, she figures out “how far back” she needs to go in terms of teaching choreographic principles. “Shall I teach them what I teach the seventh-graders at Fieldston? By trial and error I find out how basic I have to get in order to guide the kids toward creating from within themselves.”

After widely publicized auditions, Teirstein hold callbacks and an orientation session. Dropouts are very rare. “This year one kid had to go to summer school, so we lost him; I replaced him within 24 hours with a kid from the waiting list,” Teirstein says. “These 16 kids were at the door of DTW at 9:45 every morning: no absence, no lateness. Some of them traveled two hours each day from Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, and the Bronx.”

The program gets 60 to 80 applications a year. “We put a bunch on a waiting list,” notes Teirstein. “More of the specialized arts high schools are sending their kids. We used to get more raw beginners, but now we get kids with some technical experience behind them—a problem because I pride myself on nurturing the innate talent of kids who might not have taken this path had it not been for YDC.”

“These 16 kids were at the door of [Dance Theater Workshop] at 9:45 every morning: no absence, no lateness.” —Alice Teirstein

According to Teirstein, some of the non-arts high schools have stopped sending students to the Young Dancemakers auditions, for fear that they won’t get in. But she feels that the experience of the audition is worth it even for those who don’t make the cut. “I teach them and do improv work with them during the audition: it’s a learning experience for every kid. They each get a personal interview; the guest artists also teach during the audition. I’ve heard kids say, ‘I never had so much fun in an audition.’ I get them relaxed so they can enjoy themselves.”

After the second week, the whole enterprise moves to the campus of the Fieldston School. “The studios were not used in the summer,” says Teirstein, “and I decided we should make a free program for NYC public school kids who would not otherwise have this opportunity. So I started raising money for it. Fieldston agreed to host it, supplying space and office support; I wrote grants and got foundation support.”

The program lasts 25 days altogether, from opening day to the finale performance, which this year took place in the theater at the Alvin Ailey company’s Joan Weill Center for Dance. Students take a daily combined technique and repertory class, this summer learning choreography by José Limón, taught by members of the Limón Company.

In the afternoon Teirstein and her staff work with the students on improvisation and choreographic concepts. “After a few days we have their dances cast and they go into rehearsals. We ask them to come back with a casting list, after they look at videos; we refine their lists so it works for everybody, so three choreographers can work at the same time. We end up with a minimum of 10 student works, plus the repertory project, plus a prologue to the concert in which the students introduce themselves to the audience with choreographed self-portraits.”

The students take ownership of their work, conducting their own rehearsals and collaborating with a costume designer and with music director William Catanzaro. They decide how many dancers they’ll use in each piece, limited only by the fact that there are three simultaneous rehearsals daily. Some of the kids want to make intimate pieces with few dancers, but Teirstein makes sure everyone gets a reasonable chance to dance. The real challenge is the lightning-fast costume changes: pieces are two or three minutes each with barely a minute between them.

The one-hour concert is offered free to the public at locations throughout the city. “We rent the Ailey theater for our finale,” says Teirstein. “This year we also rented the Schimmel Center at Pace University, to host 700 kids from United Neighborhood Houses. All the other spaces produce us.”

The students bring their own lunch. The city’s Department of Education provides them with transportation and the program covers the occasional meal in a restaurant and the cost of designing and constructing costumes for the touring concert.

“The participants really experience what it is like to be in a touring dance company,” says Teirstein, “having to accommodate to various spaces, various audiences—some not accustomed to dance—and the feeling of a group of people working intensively together toward a common goal. Hence the title Young Dancemakers Company—every word is relevant to what they do. They can get community service credit if their high school requires it. I send a letter documenting their CS hours in public performance. At the end of the season we have a farewell party; instead of giving out diplomas I give out modest stipend checks in recognition of their public service work and the fact that many of them have given up jobs in order to do the program.”

Approximately 300 students have moved through the ensemble in the past 16 years. Some come back as interns; if they return a second year they get paid, and after that they graduate to “program assistant.” One alumna, Noéle Phillips, became a choreographer with her own company, says Teirstein; a couple have gone into the Ailey company as dancers.

Almost all of the students have camera phones; they shoot their own audition material and class exercises, so they can look for ideas from the improvs and choose their casts. If they don’t have a phone, Teirstein sends them home with a DVD.

Dance New York, a program funded by the Emily Davie and Joseph Kornfeld Foundation, enables Teirstein to take the students to four professional dance concerts, either before or during the season, and hold Q&A sessions with the artists involved. It also funds the repertory project. “It’s a very important component of the training,” she says. “They can relate what they’re doing to the professional world of dance.”

In 2010 Teirstein started a collaborative project with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; the kids had the opportunity to set their work on professionals after the five-week session. This fall the Limón company will provide six dancers, and YDC members will set pieces to be performed December 4, as part of the Limón School’s professional studies program concert.

Visit ecfs.org/ydc.asp to view the Young Dancemakers Company’s Alumni Newsletter.

Here’s how they’re collecting teachers’ input

A Wish Come True
We have a studio owner who comes in after every photo shoot and names our costumes. She also keeps us posted on the trends she’s seeing at competitions and trends in footwear, hair styling, and accessories. Three studio owners have been longtime advisors.

We are also influenced by the styles that key teachers wanted the previous season. After designing a costume for a specific studio’s recital one year, we may edit that creation and include it in our line for the following year.

Art Stone/The Competitor
We rely heavily on input from dance teachers in order to stay current with studios’ needs. We encourage teachers—as many as we can reach, not just our preferred customers—to tell us what they think we’re doing right (we hope that gets a lot of replies) and what we should change.

Cicci Dance Supplies
We call randomly selected customers after they’ve received their orders to make sure they are satisfied. We invite local studio owners in to preview designs for the upcoming year, to discuss our previous year’s catalog, and to find out what they’re looking for this year. These meetings cover design elements, quality, shipping, and other concerns. Periodically we send “How are we doing?” postcards with our outgoing orders.

At the UDMA Costume Preview Shows we ask our customers: do they need more romantic tutus? More unitards? We also ask them to send us recital photos so that we can see the costumes “in action.” We post the photos in the factory—our employees love them!

Curtain Call
We have an advisory board of studio owners and dance teachers whose membership changes from year to year. They come in for two to three days of brainstorming, and we also seek their views over the course of the year. That includes running sketches of prospective costume designs past them for comment.

We also reach out to our customer base to find out what they think, need, and want, sometimes via survey or questionnaire.

Discount Dance Supply
Our Dance Teacher Program has thousands of members. We go to all the UDMA shows as well as other teacher events. We listen to customers’ wishes on costumes and change our product line and how we do business as necessary. We also have teachers we reach out to consistently for information and feedback.

Leo’s Dancewear
We send out comment cards at the end of costume season to learn teachers’ thoughts on our selection and performance. The cards go to steady customers, teachers who haven’t purchased at all, and others in between. During the year we send samples of new products to teachers to learn: do they like the product? What would they use it for? At trade shows we get teachers’ face-to-face input.

Pumpers Dancewear
If we are stuck on a costume design, we email photos of the various looks to our top 50 to 70 accounts and ask them which one they like best. If two designs receive similar vote totals, we may offer both options. We email the result of the vote so that customers can see if their idea was picked.

We did a similar customer poll last year for the catalog cover. Of the four cover ideas, we chose the one our email “voters” liked best. 

Satin Stitches
We definitely incorporate opinions of dance teachers in the design of costumes, as we are a custom company. We create custom looks for all types of dance teams and solo dancers. All of our creations are collaborations with our clients, so they get exactly what they envision.

High school students show their dancing, singing, and acting chops at a national competition

By Joshua Bartlett

You’ve heard of the Oscars, the Tonys, the Emmys, and the Grammys. Now entering stage right: the Jimmys.

The National High School Musical Theater Awards, which grants the Jimmy Awards in honor of legendary Broadway producer James M. Nederlander, was established in 2009 to celebrate exceptional high school students at any grade level for their achievement in musical theater. Students are judged on the basis of vocal performance, acting, and movement. On June 27, 50 student semi-finalists from San Diego to Wichita to Tampa took the stage of the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway and wowed the crowd with their formidable blossoming talent.

Competitions involving nearly 1,000 U.S. high schools yielded the 50 semifinalists who competed in New York City. (Photo by Henry McGee)

Van Kaplan, the president of the NHSMTA, founded the program (along with Susan Lee of the Nederlander Organization) for two reasons: to focus on and honor work being done in high school musical theater and to make a connection with professional theater in New York, thereby giving students opportunities they wouldn’t ordinarily have. “We wanted to bridge the gap between the non-professional high school musical world and the professional world,” says Kaplan.

In 2011, the final awards program was the culmination of competitions held by 25 American theater organizations, each of which named a Best Actor and Best Actress at its awards ceremony. During those competitions, nearly 1,000 high schools participated.

This year, the Jimmy Award for Best Actress went to Shauni Ruetz from Rochester, New York, and for Best Actor to Ryan McCartan from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ruetz had sung the role of the Witch in Into the Woods at Wayne Central High School and had won the regional Stars of Tomorrow Award for Best Actress. She says, “Judges come to our shows and we actually get scores, which qualify us to get nominated for Best Actress or Actor. If you get nominated, you come back for another competition against 11 other girls and guys. It’s kind of like American Idol. You have to prepare three songs—one from the show and two others you choose.”

Likewise, the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program in Minneapolis sponsors a local competition, which McCartan, who had played the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Minnetonka High School, won for Best Actor. “I honestly do not think there is a better learning experience,” says McCartan of the competition process culminating with a week in New York City. “If you are fortunate enough to win regionally and come to a big national place where there are 50 peers who are phenomenal people, that alone is such a growth opportunity and, heck, it’s a lot of fun. Any time I get to meet more phenomenal artists I’m totally game.”

McCartan had studied at Butterfield Gallerie of Dance in Maple Grove, Minnesota, for four years, mostly in jazz, with one year of tap and ballet. But he also studied privately with Matthew Howe at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. He feels that his dance knowledge gave him an edge at the NHSMTA.

“I think the biggest thing was the training from Matthew,” McCartan says. “What he taught me was to do that ‘rub your belly, pat your head thing’ where you have to be dancing but also acting and emoting and really showing the audience that you love what you are doing. I think maybe that was one of the reasons why I stood out in the competition. I was emoting this love for what I was doing through the dance. Instead of letting the dance master me, I was mastering the dance. I think that was really helpful.”

Ruetz, too, believes that her dance abilities helped her to succeed in the competition. “In the awards performance there wasn’t intense dancing—it was more musical theater dance. So some people thought, ‘Oh, I don’t dance. I don’t really need it,’ ” she says. “But it’s nice to have that background because it really does set you apart from others. That training helps you to be more comfortable picking up the steps. You can focus on other things instead of being wrapped up in trying to figure out the dance steps.”

Ruetz, 19, has studied at Strike It Up! Artistic Center in Ontario, New York, for seven years. With her training in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, Broadway, contemporary, rhythmic tap, and Broadway tap, she should have no problem in the dancing portion of any musical theater audition.

The week of events leading up to the awards ceremony provided a crash course in theater training for all the contestants. After arriving on Wednesday afternoon, they began to learn the music for their ensemble numbers. For the awards show, Kaplan, the director, and his assistants ingeniously wove together various songs from the musical theater roles the students (in their respective costumes) had played. For instance, McCartan, while singing and dancing in “Brotherhood of Man” from How to Succeed, was joined by several Tevyes from Fiddler on the Roof. And five Millies from Thoroughly Modern Millie had their own choreographed ensemble medley. On Thursday and Friday, they were taught their medleys, choreographed by Kiesha Lalama-White, education director of Pittsburgh CLO Academy. They also received private vocal instruction from working professionals on the staff of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. (The students were housed and attended rehearsals on the campus of NYU.)

“We definitely got a sense of how quick-paced the business is,” says Ruetz, who has been dancing, singing, and acting since the sixth grade. “My vocal coach [assigned at the competition] was Michael McElroy, who was Angel in the last tour of Rent,” she says. “He advised me that you always need a goal for the end of the song that, throughout the song, you are trying to reach.

“To get to the big stage and get to use what they told us to do was crazy,” Ruetz continues. “We would go to lunch, rehearse, dinner, rehearse the choreography, go to sleep, do it all again. I think the passion everyone had there was incredible. Everyone wanted to be there and everyone had the same goal.”

In addition to two days of learning the opening and closing numbers (which, with 50 precocious performers, was something like Glee on steroids), they were adjudicated by the judges for their individual vocal performances. “On Saturday, we had a little time where we got coached by Van on our solos,” says McCartan, who has performed, sometimes professionally, since he was 6. “We all watched everyone else and took notes. On Sunday night, each of us performed our solo for a panel of judges.” For his solo song, McCartan sang “Someone to Fall Back On,” a heartfelt ballad by Jason Robert Brown. Ruetz sang “Breathe” from In the Heights and says she felt an immediate emotional connection with the character who sings it—a young Latina, once the great hope of her community, who shares her fears.

During a lunch break, leading Broadway performers Nick Adams, who disco dances through Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Beth Leavel from Baby, It’s You, spoke with the students. The competitors also attended an evening performance of The Addams Family and had a talk-back session with the cast.

“It’s a very intense five days leading up to the Monday night performance,” says Kaplan. “On Monday at 9am they hit the ground running, with a tech in the afternoon and the show that night. A lot of the kids are really impressed with that kind of pace and the process of putting it together on a professional level. Many said they never thought they’d be able to perform at the level they’re performing.”

The awards show in June was hosted by Gregory Jbara, who won a 2009 Tony for his performance as the father in the dance-filled Broadway musical Billy Elliot. Presenters included choreographer/director Tommy Tune; Aaron Tveit from the Broadway production of Catch Me If You Can; Nikki M. James, winner of a 2011 Tony for The Book of Mormon; and Harvey Fierstein.

 Kaplan has been continually impressed by the caliber of talent at the NHSMTA. “These kids are winners of their local programs,” he says. “When you walk into the room, the bar is set pretty high. You’re inspired to raise yourself to that level. I think the kids are really surprised at how they perform and how well things go that week just because of the level of professionalism.”

“We wanted to bridge the gap between the non-professional high school musical world and the professional world.” —program co-founder Van Kaplan

More than 20 years ago, at Pittsburgh CLO, where Kaplan is now the executive producer, the Gene Kelly Awards were created for high-school performers in and around Pittsburgh. “We found through those 20 years that the quality of professionalism and of how schools approach producing their musicals has risen over the years,” says Kaplan. “We attribute that to the Gene Kelly Awards. We found that, since there is something to compete for, the school districts spend more money on their high school musicals and invest in their arts programs.”

Over that time other regional programs have sprung up across the country. New additions to this year’s lineup for the NHSMTA were the Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards in Memphis, Tennessee; the Gershwin Awards in New York City; the Broadway Star of the Future Awards in Tampa, Florida; and the Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards in Logan, Utah.

“Three years ago we wanted to find a way to link all those regional programs, give focus to high school musical theater, and bring it to a national level,” says Kaplan. “What better place than Broadway to engage the Broadway community in giving opportunities to these kids?”

NHSMTA named its award the Jimmy because Nederlander Alliances, LLC was looking for an educational program to honor venerable theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander. As chairman of the Nederlander Producing Company of America Inc., he owns a chain of theaters, including nine Broadway houses, and has produced entertainment for more than 70 years. Among the more than 100 Broadway shows he has produced are Annie, Applause, The Will Rogers Follies, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Me and My Girl, La Cage aux Folles, Nine, Noises Off, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, Woman of the Year, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Nederlander has received 11 Tony Awards.

The judges watch all the solo performances at the Minskoff Theatre, using acting, dance agility, and vocal performances as judging criteria. In addition, the students are required to write an essay about their experiences in the theater and what interests and motivates them. After the judges narrowed the field to six finalists, Ruetz and McCartan took the top awards. In addition to the Best Actor and Actress categories, there were other winners this year: Mia Gerachis (as the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods) from Houston, Texas, won the Spirit of the Jimmys award; Most Improved was Kevin Crowley (in the title role of Pippin) from New York City; and Best Performance in an Ensemble went to Maya Maniar (as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown, the Musical) from San Jose, California.

McCartan and Ruetz each won $10,000 toward their education at the school of their choice. They also have the opportunity for further scholarship money at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (a sponsor of this year’s competition) if they are accepted and attend. Ruetz is exploring her options, while McCartan is attending the Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training program in his freshman year at the University of Minnesota.

For those students dreaming of the NHSMTA, McCartan has two pieces of advice. “Do it, do it, do it,” he says. “It’s such a great learning experience. It is great exposure to how the business works. At the same time, it’s a double-edged sword because you have to know what you are getting into. If you are talented but just doing this for a hobby, you’re in for a shock. It’s a very professional atmosphere on a clearly prestigious stage venue on Broadway. If you are willing to be part of an intense and steep learning curve and a professional atmosphere, if you are willing to work very, very hard, there is nothing to say but to do it.”

Ruetz, who missed her high school graduation to attend the awards show, thinks it is an invaluable experience, especially for students from small towns. “If you have enough passion for what you want to succeed in, then you can do it.” But, she says, echoing McCartan, “you have to be ready to work.”

Kaplan advises aspiring actors, singers, and dancers not only to study hard but to know themselves. “Pick material that is age appropriate and that you are connected to,” he says. “When you do that, you have a much better chance of making an impression when you are in a competition.”

Kaplan’s final piece of advice? Be prepared for an opportunity if it arises. “Those opportunities come only once or twice in your life,” he says, “and those who are prepared excel.”

73 years of giving to the community

By Maureen Keleher

In this age of Facebook, Yelp, and constant communication through texting, tweets, and Internet chats, 73-year-old Cameron School of Dance credits its success to something less tech-y: its close-knit town of Greenfield Park, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, and loyal reviews from its generations of families.

Lorna Wallace (second from right) in 1944 with her Legs n’ Airs dance troupe, which she founded to entertain troops during World War II. (Photo courtesy Cameron School of Dance)

“The Cameron School of Dance does advertise, but quite seriously, we don’t have to,” says director and owner Cheri Cameron, daughter of the late Lorna Wallace Cameron, the school’s founder. “We’re now teaching the grandchildren of the women my mum taught. Word of mouth keeps people coming back.”

Cheri and her daughter, Shena Cameron-Prihoda, describe Lorna as a cheerful and personable woman who was honored to work with Greenfield Park’s children. Shena, the school’s assistant director, credits her grandmother with never forgetting the names of her students, even after she had retired from teaching at age 75.

“She just had a knack, and it always impressed me,” says Shena. “It would take her some time if it was someone she hadn’t seen in many years. She would talk to them and within two or three minutes she would say, ‘How is Susie?’ It would just click all of a sudden.”

Lorna, described by Cheri as an “old hoofer—her feet were always tapping,” had a celebrity-like status in her small town. And she constantly found time to stop for a conversation.

“When I was young, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, Nana remembers everybody,’ ” says Shena. “It was so frustrating going shopping with her. She would tell my grandfather we were just going out for milk and we would come back three hours later because people wanted to talk to her.”

The individual connections Lorna created with her community seem to have paid off. The Cameron School’s enrollment is at its capacity with a roster of 260 students in a town with a population of 17,084. Dancers range in age from 3 to 50, and the school boasts quality instruction in ballet, jazz, tap, and Highland dance, plus three competition teams and a teacher-training program. Six advanced dancers have been with the school for more than 20 years, either still dancing or teaching, and another 15 have been there for more than 15 years.

The third-generation family business remains true to its founder’s philosophy of encouraging a love of dance in its students, coupled with quality instruction. Cheri and Shena have embraced the new directions in the dance world and in their growing community with the additions of hip-hop, musical theater, contemporary, Irish dance, Zumba, and yoga. All 12 of the teachers are professional dance instructors who are certified through the British Association of Teachers of Dancing.

Old traditions continue to go hand-in-hand with newer ones. The school’s beloved “Lollipop Train,” a playful end-of-class ritual begun by Lorna, in which young students form a human “choo-choo train” with a lollipop reward for their good work, keeps Lorna’s spirit alive. Cheri and Shena have taken Lorna’s advice to “listen to the young” by allowing the older students to make suggestions on how to improve the school. For example, they have adapted to changing times by making the school relevant to today’s dance scene (through classes offered and ways of communicating with families) and given those outside of the Cameron family the chance to teach.

Interested students have the opportunity to choreograph for the school’s holiday demonstration show, an in-house, internal choreography competition and class demonstration that uses no costumes or stage lighting. Those who want to explore teaching can do so once they’re 13. These students, who have typically been at the school for more than eight years and train in multiple dance disciplines, start as teaching interns and work their way up to becoming assistants and student teachers.

 “I always thought of the studio as a safe place to be yourself,” says Amy Blackmore, a faculty member who danced at the school for more than 25 years. “It’s not just a dance school; it’s a community that you’re welcomed to.”

Outside of the school, dancers and their families celebrate together. Karen Pilkington, a former student whose daughter now dances at the school, has many memories with the Cameron family. “Cheri and Shena have been there for every major milestone in my life, including my wedding, and they were shoulders to lean on when my grandfather passed away.”

“I think parents keep bringing their children back because they’re not just a number,” says Shena. “Everybody knows us so well, and we know them so well. It’s definitely that personal aspect that keeps them coming back.”

Lorna’s parents, John and Helen Wallace, immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1906, eventually settling in the “green fields” of Quebec that came to be known as Greenfield Park. In 1908, John Wallace built the fifth house in the newly settled area.

“I always thought of the studio as a safe place to be yourself. It’s not just a dance school; it’s a community that you’re welcomed to.” —teacher Amy Blackmore

Lorna Wallace was born in 1913 and started dancing when she was 11, taking private lessons from a retired professional dancer. She later studied tap and other styles of dance. The local children knew Lorna could dance and eventually asked her if she could give them dance lessons. Cheri says Lorna had never considered teaching but decided to give it a try.

In 1933, at the age of 20, Lorna held her first class, for five children, in her living room. She didn’t charge for these early ballet and tap classes until a suggestion was made that she charge a nickel. According to Cheri, Lorna wasn’t interested in teaching for profit and the children were encouraged to attend her classes regardless of finances.

Lorna taught more of Greenfield Park’s children by helping choreograph dances for variety shows at local churches. Within a few years, her classes had outgrown her living room. In 1938 she moved her classes to a church hall and officially created Lorna Wallace School of Dance. Classes were held in local church halls and gyms for about 60 years, until the school started renting studio space in 1999.

In addition to the school, Lorna started her own troupe, called “Legs n’ Airs,” in 1942, when a few of Lorna’s students, plus some dancers in Montreal, wanted to support the war effort. Lorna sought out a pianist from Montreal to practice with them and invited other local dancers to join the troupe. According to Cheri, Legs n’ Airs traveled to all the air force bases in Quebec during World War II, entertaining the soldiers with rumbas, can-cans, Broadway-style tap, and line dances.

When Lorna married Lindsay Cameron in 1946, he asked her to stop performing for the troops because he was going overseas with the Canadian Air Force. The newly wedded dance teacher changed the name of her school to Lorna Wallace Cameron School of Dance, and it later became simply Cameron School of Dance.

Community service was important to Lorna, who volunteered her time to teach dance classes each week at a foster home for children with special needs. Her goal was to prove that children with physical and developmental disabilities could learn skills such as dance. Lorna eventually invited many of those children to take classes at her school, offering to help pay for their tuition and costumes for the spring performance.

The money raised from this show has always been donated to needy organizations, including the foster home. “We still think children helping children is the best thing to do with show money,” says Cheri. The school has donated more than $850,000 to Shriners Hospitals for Children–Montreal to offset the costs of surgery and other care for children and families in need. The school has also donated to Meals on Wheels, the SPCA, and other local organizations.

Cheri and Shena are proud to continue Lorna’s tradition of providing dance classes to children regardless of their families’ finances. Working in jobs outside of the school has made this possible. A former certified athletic therapist and certified strength and conditioning coach, Shena now works full-time as a manager of health management consultants on top of spending evenings and weekends at the studio. Cheri is now retired, but also used to work full-time outside of the studio.

 “We believe that every child should have the opportunity to dance, so we just jump in and help them,” says Cheri.

“Shena and Cheri are very generous people,” says teacher Amy Blackmore. “The school’s and the Cameron family’s impact on the community is huge. I think they’ve nurtured generations and generations of dancers who aren’t just dancers. They’re good people who are taught to care for others and each other.”

How to work with hearing-impaired students

By Jennifer Kaplan

 “Great! Welcome!” It’s the first thing you should say if a deaf or hearing-impaired child wants to take dance classes.

That’s the advice of Marcia Freeman, a former dance teacher at Gallaudet University, the renowned liberal arts university for deaf and hearing-impaired students, in Washington, DC. “I think you need to be really welcoming even though you may have no background in teaching deaf children,” says Freeman, who instructed deaf youngsters at Gallaudet’s high school, Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and its Kendall Demonstration Elementary School for more than 25 years.

Freeman points out that 90 percent of deaf children have hearing parents, which makes some communication easier, especially outside the classroom. The first thing she suggests teachers do is invite the parents and the child to observe a class to determine if it is something the child is committed to doing. Even more than with hearing children, it’s important to get to know students with a hearing impairment, she adds, since there will be communication issues to work out. Most dance teachers don’t know American Sign Language (ASL), and it’s unlikely that the student would have a sign interpreter in an extracurricular dance class. (Most of them have learned to sign by the time they’re in preschool; some learn well before that. But it depends on their upbringing and parental preference.)

That said, there are some easy methods to communicate with students in the studio. “Deaf children are visual learners,” Freeman says.

Yola Rozynek, a dance specialist at Gallaudet’s Model Secondary School for the Deaf, agrees. “I believe observation is one of the key components for deaf students,” says Rozynek, speaking via a voice relay telephone interpreter because she is deaf. “If you observe, you can take in the technical aspects and just the general dance itself.”

When preparing to instruct a deaf or hearing-impaired student for the first time, Freeman recommends research, research, research. “Today there’s tons of information on the web for general signing, plus lots of little books. Although I don’t think there are specific books for dance signs, a lot of teachers come up with their own dance signs. I certainly did. I never had anybody tell me what to do, but I did come up with simple hand signals.”

As challenging as it might be for some teachers to communicate with deaf students in dance classes, Mary Cowden Snyder of Medford Dance Arts Academy in Oregon has no problem with it. Snyder, who grew up with a deaf great-uncle in her household and learned finger-spelling (her uncle didn’t know ASL), has developed techniques over the years that help not only her hearing-impaired students, but all her students.

“I make cards with the name of a step in French on one side and English on the other. I hold it next to my mouth when I talk so my [deaf] students can see my lips,” she explains. Snyder then folds the card and places it on the floor. She performs the step next to the card, thus reinforcing the vocabulary for everyone, whether deaf or hearing.

“For all children, they’ve never seen the word ‘plié’ before; it’s French and they have to be introduced in a way that’s useful for them,” Snyder says. “We have a wide variety of students with various special needs, so we try to make sure every child has a pleasant experience in dance class.” The best part, for Snyder, is that all her students learn the ballet vocabulary well and can build on combinations of steps, just as she had done with the tent cards in her classes.

Inculcating a sense of musicality is often the greatest challenge for teachers who have deaf students in their classes. Snyder finds that having the students clap the rhythm is helpful.

“Depending on their degree of hearing loss, some deaf students will be able to pick up on certain parts of the music,” says Freeman. “There’s a big range in how much a person hears, depending on the type of music. Piano in a ballet class is probably not going to do a whole lot unless there are a lot of bass chords.” Hip-hop and jazz, with their driving bass beats, often are easiest for hearing-impaired dancers to hear and feel. Freeman likes counting out combinations with her fingers, noting that most combinations won’t have really complex rhythms and time signatures unless the students are very advanced.

Rozynek, who danced professionally with Kol Demama, a now-defunct Israeli company of deaf and hearing dancers, says that sometimes a teacher can pair a hearing student with a deaf student, being sure that the hearing student is cognizant of the rhythm and musicality. “If the hearing student can lead the deaf student, the deaf student can maintain the eye contact and the hearing student [should] not have any expression. They just have to hear the sound and the deaf student can focus on personal expression and try to integrate it into the dance itself.” In this way, the deaf student can learn the steps, counts, and spacing and then add her own expression without being influenced by what the hearing student did.

While renowned New York ballet teacher Igal Perry has no specific training in teaching deaf students, over the years he has encountered some of them occasionally in his classes at his studio, Peridance Capezio Center. And he has choreographed works for deaf dancers. “I figured out in working with deaf people that, like hearing people, there are those who are musical. Not everybody is musical in nature—and that’s not just deaf people, but anybody. If people tend to be musical, they also can build a sense of timing just by repetition. Once you give them a starting point, they can actually hang onto phrases in good timing, sometimes even better than dancers who hear the music but ignore it.”

“I make cards with the name of a step in French on one side and English on the other. I hold it next to my mouth when I talk so my [deaf] students can see my lips.” —Mary Cowden Snyder

When teaching, for barre work Snyder always has an assistant demonstrate on the opposite end of the room so that all students—deaf or hearing—have someone to follow. Perry tries to be mindful of where he stands when he has a deaf student in class to ensure that she can always see him. He also avoids turning his back when explaining a step or combination.

According to Freeman, where the teacher stands is not so important since often she will move about the room to make corrections. More important is where she places the students, since a child who is placed in the front might feel like she’s being singled out. The visual aspect is key for deaf students, which means they need to see the entire body; being too close, especially for beginners, will not allow them to see the full body. A great spot, Freeman suggests, is the second row near the center, with one or two strong dancers in front.

Special care is required when giving in-class corrections to deaf students. “Corrections can’t happen for deaf children while they’re moving,” Freeman says. “They have to happen before or after. You let them do it and make the mistake, but don’t interrupt while in the middle of the combination. It takes a little bit more time, but you have to have the pause, the moment where you take the time to make that correction.”

When a deaf or hearing-impaired student inquires about classes, both Snyder and Freeman believe there should be no restrictions on genres, other than the prerequisites that all students must comply with. Let the student’s interest drive the choice of dance class. “If it’s not the parent pushing the kid to dance, the kid probably really wants to try something,” Freeman says. “They may have a friend [who dances] or might have seen something on television” that sparked the interest.

Freeman found that her hearing-impaired students liked tap dance, which was a surprise to her. “Whatever [residual] hearing there was, [tap] gave them another connection to sound,” she says. “If they were able to distinguish the different sounds, they could feel what it was like to contact the floor with different parts of the foot. And they could make some noise, be pretty loud. My beginning class always had a little tap and a little jazz with a healthy dose of modern and ballet.”

Freeman has taught or overseen teachers in a wide range of genres at MSSD. Popular culture often drives students’ interest, and today hip-hop remains very well liked at Gallaudet, but dance classes there also include ballet, modern, jazz, tap, belly dance, and African dance. Freeman has noticed that deaf students find the movement in African dance classes very accessible: “The way you carry your body and the way you move your arms and legs, there’s allowance for individuality right off the bat. It’s full of dynamic range and it’s freeing for the students.”

Freeman also finds that setting aside five minutes toward the end of class for improvisation is a wonderful way to get all students moving, and especially deaf students, who have been attuned to their surroundings and to following the teacher or demonstrator throughout the class. Improv allows them to feel how freeing dance can be.

Good teaching is good teaching, whether your students are hearing or deaf. “I think that even for the most talented hearing kid,” Freeman says, “it’s the coaching that goes on at the pre-professional level [that matters]. It’s that attention with the being, the living, breathing being, the soul if you will, the essence of the dance that really communicates. I’ve been in [situations] where there have been too many words and you need to get up and just do what you’re saying, and not keep saying it. It’s the extra time and effort involved when you’re doing it that pays off, because the deaf student is always a visual learner.”

Tips for Teaching Deaf or Hearing-Impaired Students

• Welcome all students and treat them equally, whether hearing or deaf.
• Forge emotional connections, especially with deaf and hearing-impaired students, suggests Marcia Freeman, a longtime dance teacher of deaf youngsters.
• Use visual aids like flash cards, suggests Mary Cowden Snyder, a teaching veteran of more than 50 years.
• Be mindful of where you stand, don’t speak with your back turned, and place deaf and hearing-impaired students where they can see your entire body, says ballet teacher and director Igal Perry.
• Wait until a combination is finished to give corrections; don’t stop a deaf student who is dancing in midstream.
• Learn or even invent some simple hand gestures to show common commands like stop, go, again, slower, faster, bigger, etc.
• Hands-on corrections, particularly in highly technical forms like ballet and modern, can be helpful, but be sure that the student is comfortable being touched.
• Don’t assume that because a child wears a hearing aid or has a cochlear implant that he or she hears everything perfectly. Usually there are vast differences in what and how they hear compared with a hearing person, no matter what a parent may tell you.
• Patience, says Yola Rozynek, a deaf dance teacher, is necessary in working with deaf students, who may need more time and attention than other students. —JK

and she’s going to want to count it

By Julie Holt Lucia

Do you know the popular children’s book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond? How about If You Give a Moose a Muffin or If You Give a Pig a Pancake? These books tell tales that follow a slippery slope—one small thing always leads to another and before you know it, you hardly remember what started it all. Sounds like a familiar premise, doesn’t it? Yep, I thought so.

If you give a dance teacher some music, she’ll want to count it. In fact, even if she doesn’t want to count it, she will anyway, because that’s what dance teachers do.

Once she has the new music in hand, the dance teacher will hunker down at the studio (or in her car or at the computer), listening and counting and making notes about steps. Which means, naturally, after she counts the music she is going to want to choreograph. And if she wants to choreograph, that means she’ll need dancers.

But before she can choreograph, the dance teacher will have to hold auditions. And that means she’ll need to make an announcement. The announcement will cause one parent to complain that her kid can’t come and that it’s not fair that the audition is the same night as her soccer game. The dance teacher will reassure the parent that there will be other opportunities, even though she’s thinking that it’s not fair that someone scheduled a soccer game on the same night as auditions. 

During auditions, the dance teacher will ask the dancers to start the warm-up barefoot and then put their jazz shoes on. While the dancers are putting their jazz shoes on, one of them will find a cricket in her shoe, causing her to shriek and kick one leg out karate-style, flinging her arms up overhead. The other dancers will follow suit and scatter around the studio, away from the cricket, who will hop out the door to escape the chaos. 

All of the jumping and kicking and flinging will spark the dance teacher’s imagination, and so she’ll decide to make a new dance step out of it. She’ll call it “the crickick” and she’ll teach it to the dancers right then and there.

After learning the crickick, the dancers will wait nervously for the audition results, but the dance teacher will decide to put all of them in the piece—which will now, of course, include the crickick.

Since rehearsals are underway, the dance teacher will need to find somewhere for the group to perform. She’ll search and search and finally find a great-sounding arts festival in a nearby town and then play phone tag with the event organizer for two weeks. When they finally connect, the organizer will say that actually, they already have a dance school registered to perform and they can only allow one, so thanks anyway and buh-bye.

Since the festival is out, the dance teacher will be seething. She’ll keep calling around, looking for a performance opportunity, but she won’t find one. So she’ll decide to create her own. After the dancers have had enough rehearsals, she’ll videotape them and put it on YouTube so they can at least show their families and friends their new dance (and their new cool dance move).

After 24 hours on YouTube, the dance teacher will find out that it already has thousands of hits. Thousands turn into hundreds of thousands, which turn into nearly a million hits in just days. The crickick is becoming a phenomenon and the dancers are freaking out at their Internet celebrity.

In fact, the dancers will be so excited that during the next rehearsal one of them will faint when describing how she taught the crickick to the cutest boy in the school. The dance teacher will take the woozy dancer into the office to have her lie down and to call her mom, and while they are there, the phone will ring. The call will be from a producer of The Today Show, who will say he wants the dancers to appear as guests! As soon as the dance teacher hangs up, the phone will ring again, and it will be a producer from The Tonight Show with the same request! 

After she counts the music she is going to want to choreograph. And if she wants to choreograph, that means she’ll need dancers.

Soon the dancers will be on their way to New York to promote their video and the crickick. While in line to board the plane, the dance teacher will spot a familiar face. Then she’ll realize that it’s Susan Stroman, who will walk over to the group and say she recognizes them from YouTube. The dancers will tell her they are going to be on TV and will squeal with delight when Susan offers them tickets to a Broadway show—and the opportunity to perform the crickick on a Broadway stage!

When they arrive at the Broadway theater, the teacher and her students will be so awestruck that two of the dancers will collide while practicing onstage, and they’ll be so shaken up that they’ll need to rest. The dance teacher will take them into the house to watch the rest of rehearsal, and on their way to the seats, she’ll bump into a gentleman who will look at her funny and then ask if she is the dance teacher of the crickick girls. Then he’ll hand the dance teacher his business card. She’ll be so distracted that she’ll slip it into her pocket without looking at it and forget about it. 

At the airport, heading home, the teacher will reach into her pocket for her ID and the business card will fall onto the counter. The airline representative will snatch it up and ask if it’s trash, and after a moment’s hesitation, the dance teacher will say no and take it back.

 After the flight, the dance teacher will call the number on the business card. The gentleman will say he wants to visit her school and see the dancers in action. The dance teacher will be flattered, so she’ll say yes. When the man arrives, the dance teacher will have the dancers perform for him. After the show, the man will say that he is an investor who loves the arts and dancing and wants to support neighborhood dance schools, like the one the dance teacher runs. 

The dance teacher’s eyes will glaze over when the man says “support neighborhood dance schools,” and then they’ll pop open when he offers to buy her studio for a handsome sum—on the condition that she stay on board as an advisor and director. The dance teacher will be floored but excited. She will accept the offer and the dancers will all yelp and cheer and do the crickick. They’ll even get the investor to join in.

The investor will leave behind a token gift when he returns to New York. It will be a CD with 12 tracks of his favorite songs. The dance teacher will play it immediately. And once she hears the first song, you know what she’ll have to do . . .

Costume catalog modeling opportunities for dance students

By Karen White

When dance teachers pick up a costume catalog, it’s usually with a specific purpose in mind. They’re searching for a certain style, a particular price, a costume that is elegant or funky—or at least not the same color as last year’s. In the midst of this crazy quest, how many teachers stop and say, “Who are the kids modeling these costumes, and where do they come from?”

Costume companies welcome the assistance of dance professionals such as Jason Reed, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's director of education outreach, here instructing a model during a Curtain Call photo session. (Photo by Bill Simone Photography)

While a few are professional child actors/dancers with agents, others are everyday dance students from the studio right down the street, recruited and encouraged by studio owners who have close relationships with the costume companies.

Like Rita Ogden, owner of Ovations Dance Studio in Oaklyn, New Jersey. In her mid-teens Ogden started modeling for A Wish Come True, even making the cover in 2000. After opening her studio in 1999, Ogden began traveling with A Wish Come True to trade preview shows, where she not only modeled costumes but chatted with other studio owners about which songs or shoes would go well with the garments.

Eventually she “retired” from modeling, but A Wish Come True continued to call, asking her to help with posing models during photo shoots. “I would hear them say, ‘Oh, we really need more small child models,’ or ‘We really need a child with great extension,’ ” she says. “I’d say, ‘You know, I have students who fit the bill,’ and I’d send them in.”

Nowadays, the costume company will let Ogden know if it’s searching for children of a specific size or needs a redhead to balance out the blondes. She’ll make an announcement at the studio, measure and give out information to students who are interested, and encourage those who “have that talent, that shine in their eyes,” she says.

“Not every student who auditions gets in, but it’s easy because we’re so close,” says Ogden, whose studio is about a half-hour from A Wish Come True’s headquarters. “The kids love to see themselves in the catalog. It’s been a fun journey—fun to see kids I teach now modeling for them at the same age I was when I started.”

Renée Stojek, art director at A Wish Come True, says that while the company sends out email blasts to studios announcing its annual open audition, it has an ongoing relationship with Ovations and two other area studios.

It’s a relationship with tangible benefits for both. A Wish Come True gives the studios a $25 credit for every new student sent over that it decides to use, and she says one of the studios advertises “local casting calls for models” as a way of attracting new students.

In return, Stojek feels comfortable stopping at the studios on her way home to peek in, see who’s taking class, and perhaps measure a kid or two. “Doing model searches can be an uncomfortable thing,” she says. “If I walk up to a parent and say, ‘Your daughter is pretty—would she like to model?’ everyone’s first reaction is, ‘Get away from me.’ It’s nice to be introduced to parents by the studio owner who knows them.”

In turn, the owners know what she needs, Stojek says, which is much more than just a pretty face. They know how particular children behave in class. Modeling shoots can be long, tedious, tiresome days, and knowing a child’s temperament beforehand is a big plus.

A Wish Come True also picks the studio owners’ brains for all sorts of costume-related information. One of them names all the costumes, Stojek says, and shares her thoughts on styles or trends she thinks might be hot the next competition season. Owners also give Stojek the lowdown on studios that field strong competition teams—and, presumably, have students with picture-perfect technique—and Stojek then contacts those studios to see if they have any students interested in modeling.

If a studio expresses interest, she’ll then dispatch members of her crew to the studio to collect measurements, names, phone numbers, and photos. “The next day we look through everything and see if we’ve found anyone,” says Stojek, who uses about 50 models a year. While some companies reward models with dancewear, A Wish Come True models get paid depending on age and experience.

Ogden, who has been sketching designs of costumes since her teen years, enjoys posing models at shoots because she “gets a little behind-the-scenes view of costumes coming in,” she says. And those peeks have sometimes inspired her toward a particular recital theme or song choice. She also feels comfortable asking A Wish Come True to modify or design a costume per her specifications—such as creating a “cook’s costume” appropriate for an upside-down acro class.

The company is glad to oblige. “Having a good relationship with a studio owner is priceless,” Stojek says. “It’s someone you can call for an opinion. They’ll look at the costumes you’re starting to design, or see the kids in the costumes, and say, ‘Oh, that’s great. I’ll definitely use that.’ It’s informing you every step of the way.”

Studio owner input has had a huge impact on the Pumpers Dancewear catalog. Pumpers Dancewear president Terri Arment says the Wichita, Kansas, company used a modeling agency for its first catalog in 1991, but quickly realized it needed dancers, not models, in the costumes—and needed dance teachers, not commercial photographers, setting accurate poses. So Arment began working closely with two Wichita studio owners, Kacy Combs of Movement Authority and Diane Gans of Kansas Dance Academy, who work as posers or catalog “choreographers” and find student models for shoots.

Gans was glad to offer her expertise. “I like to see models who look like dancers. I don’t like it when I see pointe shoes and the ribbons are tied wrong, or their hair is messy,” Gans recalls.

When Arment needs models, Gans approaches only the students she thinks will fit. “I don’t say, ‘Who would like to do this?’ It would break too many hearts,” she says.

Combs feels that modeling gives his students another marketable skill they can use in their future dance careers. “Anything you know about or can add to your resume helps—plus anything that will help to pay the bills as a dancer,” he says.

It’s also a learning lesson. No matter how thrilled the girls are to be selected, they soon find out that modeling is tough work. “It wears them out. ‘Try this, try that, lift up, tummy in, shoulders back’—you’re constantly tweaking them through the whole process,” Gans says. “By the end of the day, they have huge, huge respect for models. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

“One girl was doing a jump in the photo, and when she saw the book said, ‘Is that me? I didn’t know I could do that.’ It builds their self-confidence.” —Rita Ogden, Ovations Dance Studio

Like Ogden, Combs has a lifelong interest in costume design, and the time he has spent at Pumpers photo shoots has given him a greater understanding of costume construction. “Terri has been great at showing me why this works because of this, and this doesn’t work because of that,” he says. “I see how it’s fitted, so when I design my own costumes I can do it properly.”

Arment lists the studio names in the back of the Pumpers catalog and shows her gratitude in lots of little ways—such as making up small, medium, and large samples of a particular costume, which Gans can use to size her dancers quickly and accurately.

“I think with a relationship like this, [a costume company] would be a bit more apt to help you out if you’re in a bind,” Combs says. “It’s very important for everyone in small business to look out for each other.”  

Arment has been very pleased with the models the two owners have found. Her company works its photo shoots—last year, four shoots of two back-to-back days each in late June and early July—around the studios’ recitals and competitions. She also pays the owners for their time.

She admits that presenting a professional catalog would be impossible without the advice of the owners—and sometimes, the models themselves. “Some kids have been doing it for three or four years, and they have it down,” she says. “They’ll say, ‘Nah, that won’t look good on me,’ and they know. So we’ll switch it out with a kid with longer legs. Or they’ll say, ‘This would look cute with this sort of bottom,’ and so we’ll shoot it both ways. They’re all 13 to 17, and those are my customers. You have to listen to them.”

At Curtain Call Costumes, models are chosen from applications sent to the company’s York, Pennsylvania, design house by hopefuls from as far away as Florida and Texas. “We’ll take them from anywhere if they’re willing to travel,” says Donna Lynch, advertising coordinator for Curtain Call, which pays models for shoots but not traveling expenses.

Last year the company sent out a mailing to studios in its home state of Pennsylvania plus several neighboring states containing a flyer about modeling that owners could place on bulletin boards. Apparently many owners did, because applications to Curtain Call skyrocketed from about 350 a year to 980 in fall of 2010. “Even if studio owners took a ‘hands-off’ approach, they still let their kids know about it,” Lynch says. “We use about 100 models a year, so last year’s application process was a bit more competitive.”

Many of the Curtain Call models show up with Mom in tow—and more often than not, she’s a dance teacher or studio owner. Like the other companies, Curtain Call gets as much feedback from the teachers as possible, even asking for critiques on costumes still in development.

While Curtain Call doesn’t work exclusively with any studios, the company did approach one of its California customers last year when it needed models for a United Dance Merchants of America trade show. “The studio was really helpful. They sent out an email to parents, then sent me photos and measurements,” Lynch says. “We only used three or four models, so it’s not a huge amount. But they’re one of our biggest customers, so I felt it would be good to tap into that.”

Whether it’s for a catalog shoot or live retail show, Lynch is on the hunt for dancers with personality. “I’m looking for kids who are excited about dance, and it’s going to show in their photos,” she says.

At Ovations, 10 to 15 students each year show an interest in modeling, Ogden says, and A Wish Come True chooses two or three. Over the years, about 15 of her students have made the catalog (including one student who has modeled from age 4 to 12). A Wish Come True always places an ad showcasing the models in the studio’s yearbook.

Ogden assures the girls not chosen that they were probably between sizes (for modeling shoots, costumes must fit perfectly in all aspects) or the company needed a particular look, and urges them to reapply.

She’s seen the impact that making the costume catalog can have on some dancers. “One girl was doing a jump in the photo, and when she saw the book said, ‘Is that me? I didn’t know I could do that,’ ” Ogden says. “It builds their self-confidence. One of my students two years ago was on the cover. She also modeled at a preview show, and people were asking for her autograph.

“I still have my cover catalog,” she admits. “It was a Latin theme. I posed with maracas.”

Structure gives freedom in teaching kids to make movement

By Heidi Landgraf

Kids are nothing if not creative. They invent songs, create mini-worlds to play in, and use colors all over the page in what seems like an unstoppable flow of creative inspiration. They don’t block the flow by judging it as adults do, but rather let it come through with unbridled force.

Students in the Hubbard Street MAP program play with shapes during a creativity exercise. (Photo by Sinead Kimbrell)

When it comes to making dances, as teachers we want to harness this creativity and shape it—mold it into something to share with an audience, perhaps. I find that one of the best ways to foster kids’ creativity within the making-movement realm is to give them structured parameters to work within.

Kids need structure in order to play—we all know that. But rather than giving them technical steps in any particular dance style, I prefer to give them movement concepts and let their creative minds run amok with them. I also find using meaning very helpful. So let me share a few examples of how to build dances from kids’ minds and bodies and not ours. We do need a break from the pure physicality of movement from time to time after all.

Rudolf Laban’s work has been invaluable in the field of dance because he was the first to translate movement into something we can measure—to parse it apart and make it easier to actually see. As a beginning entry into his work, we can look at the four motion factors: space, weight, time, and flow. These factors can be worked with in a creative way to help kids find movement on their own.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has harnessed many of these concepts for use in its Movement As Partnership program. I am teaching in this program, which is dedicated to bringing dance into Chicago public schools. The program combines basic Laban concepts with movement games to invoke skillful play in the students. What follows is a breakdown of Laban concepts and some ways to play with them.

• Space: can be broken down into levels—low, medium, and high—and can be used to move through (locomote), or stay motionless in, as in creating a frozen shape. In Laban terms it is considered direct or indirect as you move through it. Direct might be like moving in a straight line or with deliberate clear intent versus a squiggly line that is unfocused in its intent.
• Weight: can be considered as energy and seen on a spectrum from heavy to light, discussed as increasing or decreasing pressure.
• Time: can also be known as tempo, and is on a spectrum from slow to fast.
• Flow: can be considered as energy and is on a spectrum from bound to free.

After teaching these concepts and having kids explore each as a tool, you can start to blend them. In one particular residency, my co-teacher Sinead Kimbrell, associate director of HSDC’s Education & Community Programs, and I wanted to work with meaning and movement, so we had the kids (third- and fourth-graders, 30 per class) brainstorm as many everyday gestures as they could think of. We then called out the gestures and had the kids layer them with the aforementioned tools, as in, “Brush your teeth very slowly on a low level, walk the dog with heavy energy very quickly, and then elbow your friend with bound energy on a medium level.” The movement suddenly transformed itself into a certain kind of dance of its own.

Once they learn the concepts, kids see all of these possibilities open up. The concepts can be expanded further as well. Other tools you can use in terms of working with space include using pathways in movement, as in skipping on a curved, zigzag, or straight pathway; another is to consider movement relationships, as in under, over, around, through, near, or far.

In order to play with these relationships we had the kids explore them within their own bodies first (entwining arms and legs for “around” and “through,” as an example), and then with each other. We sectioned off the floor space and created separate worlds for them to dance in such as the “under” world, the “near” world, and the “through” world. Kids quickly discovered that in order to go under someone else, a partner had to create a shape that they could move through.

Kids need structure in order to play—we all know that. But rather than giving them technical steps in any particular dance style, I prefer to give them movement concepts and let their creative minds run amok.

When teaching dance in Columbia College’s Summer Arts Camp (second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders, about 20 per class and segmented out by age), I used Laban concepts plus storytelling as another way to create dances. This structural launch pad is ripe with movement possibility. One fun way to create the story is to use an add-on structure with children in a circle. I start the story with a sentence and the kids go all the way around the circle adding on one sentence at a time until it is complete. I made a list of movement vocabulary to choose from when creating the sentences, so that the kids had a lot of movement choices built into the story. They could also pull from all of the Laban terms when creating their sentences. Then split into small groups, the students found it easy to make up dances based on the story they created. It was fun to watch all of the different dance versions that appeared.

There are many possibilities for using movement concepts and games with kids. The Laban terms mentioned here are only a few. You can reference Laban for All by Jean Newlove and John Dalby for more detailed explanations of the concepts and how to apply them. Or visit hubbardstreetdance.com for information on the MAP program. As teachers we can also be big kids and unleash our creativity in how we teach. The concepts are merely a starting point. Have fun!

Hot tips and straight talk at the 2011 DanceLife Teacher Conference

For four days in July and August, dozens of master teachers, business experts, inspirational speakers, and entrepreneurs shared their secrets for success with more than 700 attendees at the latest DanceLife Teacher Conference. In describing this year’s conference, perhaps master teacher and professional dancer Derrick Yanford said it best: “It’s all about inspiration.”

Hip-hop master teacher Geo Hubela says encouragement is the key. (Photo by Donner Photography)

Sweating and still breathing hard after teaching a packed-to-the-walls contemporary class, Yanford continued, “Here, we get people together who love what they do, all sharing that artist experience. It’s a powerful thing when you come out of class and people are thanking you, saying ‘I’m going to take this home to my students.’ I know I reached someone and changed their life, and they’ve changed my life, too. I’m getting gifts as well as giving gifts.”  

Held in the midst of a heat wave at the five-star Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, the DLTC kept four ballrooms pumping with lectures, technique classes, and roundtable discussions. Attendees happily spoke of the difficulty of taking it all in. Vendors, from costume companies to competitions, flooring specialists to software sellers, enjoyed an almost-endless stream of visitors who stopped to learn more about their products.

Lessons even spilled out into the hallways, where master ballet teacher Roni Mahler seemed to be constantly surrounded by a small pack of teachers with notebooks in hand, furiously scribbling down her words of wisdom. “Passé is like an elevator on the outside of a building,” she said during a class on ballet for 6- to 8-year-olds. “Don’t lift the knee; lift the toes.”

Over yogurt parfaits and breakfast coffee, studio owners traded advice on how to keep team members in line, where to rent space (cheap), or who had the shortest recital. (At 45 minutes max, Fabulous Talent Center for Dance in Hamilton, Ohio, was the winner.)

The dance talk seemed never-ending. One night at about 11pm, DLTC speaker Misty Lown was relaxing in the resort’s hot tub when she was pounced on by teachers from several studios, eager to pick her brain about customer relations. She happily obliged—for almost an hour.

For the most part, seminar speakers presented strategies and solutions based on their own successful experiences in the dance studio world. At a marketing seminar offered by DLTC producer (and Dance Studio Life publisher) Rhee Gold, the audience packed into the grand ballroom was quiet and attentive, their pens moving quickly as Gold’s voice boomed out over the loudspeakers. “When it comes to marketing, wipe your ego out of it,” he said. In a later business seminar he elaborated on that idea, expressing the importance of “making decisions for your students that aren’t based on what will make you look good.”

Lown, owner and director of Misty’s Dance Unlimited in Onalaska, Wisconsin, described her definition of success “as having significance in your community.” Her “three-legged stool” formula of “people, profits, and positive programs” allows her not only to give away thousands each year in scholarships for students and teachers, but also to contribute to programs such as the American Red Cross that serve the greater community outside her dance studio.

Nancy Stone, vice president of Art Stone Theatrical, has owned and operated a dance studio since 1961. Her recital-theme session was a cornucopia of creative, age-appropriate ideas, including oodles of song titles and ideas to fit all the themes. For a recital with “A Day in the Park” theme, why not do a number about “Horseback Rides $5” to music from Gaîté Parisienne, and while you’re at it, why not walk a live pony across the stage? She once did. “Your show is your calling card, your brand, your image,” she said. “The idea is to always make your show exciting and different, give the audience something to talk about later.”

In one session, certified life coach and former studio owner Sandi Duncan instructed teachers on how to find inner peace and balance in their lives; the next day she answered questions about how to reach troubled kids and dispel negative energy in the classroom. “I like to check in with kids on a regular basis,” she said. “Teens especially need to know they’re being heard. Make eye contact. Let them know you care. Hugs, hugs, hugs, and energy.”

Geo Hubela, hip-hop master teacher and director of the ICONic Boyz, expressed a similar sentiment. Although he advocates challenging kids, it should always be in a positive way. “Encourage, encourage,” he said. That kind of positive approach can rub off on teachers too. “When I feel that I made a kid feel better about himself, it makes my day better.”

Tap teacher Mike Wittmers, teaching a call-and-response method of rhythm training, had an even more succinct take on Hubela’s and Duncan’s emphasis on positivity: “Tears, fail. Smiles, win.”

Master modern teachers Bill Evans and Don Halquist presented a slide show on modern dance pioneers Hanya Holm, Rudolf Laban, Martha Graham, Erick Hawkins, Doris Humphrey, Merce Cunningham, José Limón, and Alvin Ailey, among others. Evans presented poignant encapsulations of each, touching on their unique contributions to the development of modern dance. His lecture was dotted with personal memories of studying with these masters. For example: “Her mere presence onstage was enough to give me goose bumps,” he said of Pearl Primus.

Through a simple port de bras exercise, Evans proved to his seated audience the importance of breath in giving movement weight and meaning, a concept that he expounded on during a modern technique class the next day. “We study quality, a way of moving, not just putting bodies in motion,” he said, pointing out one dancer who, although she was just learning the unfamiliar combination, was “dancing from the heart.”

Halquist used breath to illustrate the feeling of his movement, sighing and brrr-ing his way across the floor. “I love to be gooey and elastic, so I’m not a good tap dancer,” he said. “I need to luxuriate in movement.”

A packed room listened as Beverly and Annie Spell, co-authors of the Leap ’N Learn early childhood dance syllabus, explained the importance of pretend play. They spoke of the various ways it can assist in skills development through the use of songs, words, verbal responses, and visual prompts. When teaching dancers ages 3 to 6, exercising the imagination through creative movement goes hand in hand with learning proper classroom behavior, they said, such as how to enter the studio and how to “sit and stand like a dancer.”

“The feeling you get on the inside from dance is a gift. Pass that gift on, and your students will pass it on, and it will impact more generations than you know.” —Rhee Gold

 Longtime studio owners generously shared their business knowledge in seminar after seminar. Paul and Tiffany Henderson of the seven-studio California behemoth Tiffany’s Dance Academy elaborated on the three components they feel have led to their success: a strong “babies” program; a fully invested, full-time teaching staff; and ample outsourcing of business services (which allows teachers to spend time doing what they do best—teaching).

Author and life coach Laurie Johnson did double duty, first teaching a killer tap class, then zipping into “motivational speaker” mode. Johnson, who left a corporate career to return to the dance world, caught the attendees’ attention with her opening statement: “My mother owned a dance studio for 20 years and never made a profit”—and kept them rapt as she explained that creating a brand is all about being yourself. “From that very first handshake, that first hello, you’re teaching people how to treat you,” she said. “Your brand is what people say about you. So what do you want to be known for?”

The incomparable Joe Tremaine led two high-energy jazz lessons jammed with his signature combos. At the luncheon gala, he and Georgia Deane, of Deane School of Dance in Mendon, Massachusetts, each accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gold. At age 92, Deane happily took to the stage to sing “When You’re Smiling,” complete with an elegant soft shoe.

The four days ended, as the DLTC always does, with a heartfelt goodbye from Gold. He had spent hours of the conference onstage, leading Q&A sessions, sharing business advice, outlining handbook info, or chatting about summer camps. Now as the event came to a close, he urged the attendees to find a memento of the conference to bring home. “Put it on your fridge to remind yourself of the attitude you had when you left here today,” he said.

“The feeling you get on the inside from dance is a gift. Pass that gift on, and your students will pass it on, and it will impact more generations than you know. It’s not about kicking a high battement. Remind yourself of the difference you really are making in the lives of these kids.”

As ballet master teacher Madame Peff Modelski put it, “Everything counts, all the time.”

Karen White, Cheryl A. Ossola, and Arisa White contributed to this article. 

Sharon's Studio of Dance's reputation carried over into its music program, as both new and former students signed up for lessons with teachers like john Deventer. (Photo courtesy Sharon’s Studio of Dance)

Expand your offerings—and your profits—with voice, piano, and more

By Marlise A. Cole

Like Fred and Ginger, dance and music go hand in hand. So why not teach them under one roof?

Sharon Goldfarb, director of Sharon’s Studio of Dance, sees no reason not to. Goldfarb, whose studio in Whippany, New Jersey, has 900 students, says “the people are already there. If they are coming for dance, a brother or sister might want to take music.”

From conversations and by just offering music, Goldfarb found out that lots of her dance students also take piano and guitar. Not many switched from their current teachers to hers when she started offering music classes, but some dance students who weren’t already studying music did sign on, and some former students who don’t dance anymore returned for the music classes. Families feel comfortable with the music program, she says, “because they know us and trust us and because we have been around for a long time.”

In business since 1975, Goldfarb offers a variety of classes, including ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, Irish step, and acrobatics. This year she started offering voice and piano. The idea “kind of evolved,” says Goldfarb. “The front desk girl I hired taught piano and voice, and people were asking if I offered music.” She had an extra room that wasn’t being used, so she soundproofed it for use as a music studio.

Scheduling is not difficult, Goldfarb says. “I have two piano teachers who also teach voice and I am interviewing for a guitar teacher. We offer piano and voice Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and when we add guitar, those lessons will be on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.” Goldfarb is finding that some guitar teachers also teach piano and voice, so if she hires someone who teaches all three, then piano and voice will also be available on guitar days.

For performances, Goldfarb sprinkles her music students into her six dance shows. “I just tell the music teachers that their numbers have to be two minutes like the dance routines.”

A culture house
“I grew up in an environment that had a conservatory-like feeling,” Mexican-born Adalhi Aranda Corn says. “A place that offered all kinds of arts to everyone under one roof. In Mexico, we call something like that a Culture House, or Casa de la Cultura.”

Corn founded Bluegrass Youth Ballet in Lexington, Kentucky, with 40 students in 2003. But by 2007, with more than 150 students, she had outgrown her studio. When she moved to a larger location, her goal was to simulate that conservatory-like feeling. She named her new facility CulturArte, which is an umbrella organization that houses Bluegrass Youth Ballet, and added two music studios. Now Corn has about 250 dance students and 25 music students who study piano, voice, and Suzuki-method guitar. She says that only about four or five students take both dance and music.

“Kids seem different these days,” Corn says. “They have no time. They have to choose between dance and piano, especially when they become advanced and are required to take more classes and attend additional rehearsals.”

Corn’s music teachers rent space from her, and when she advertises her dance program she mentions that her studio also offers music. The students contact the music teachers directly and the teachers do their own scheduling. The piano, which was donated, belongs to the studio. Beginner guitar students rent their instruments from the teacher. When they become more accomplished, the teacher helps them acquire their own guitar.

“This kind of environment makes everybody aware of other arts,” Corn says. “The music students waiting outside for their lessons see the dancers and vice versa.”

Bluegrass Youth Ballet became a nonprofit when it moved in 2008. “The goal was to simulate a House of Culture and offer arts to everyone in the community and make [classes] affordable to everyone,” Corn says. “We wanted to be able to receive support from the community to offer affordable prices. Our performances have an educational or cultural focus, so the community learns about history or holidays like Day of the Dead.”

Corn’s studio has three dance recitals a year, but the music students are not mixed in with the dancers. “It’s so hard to incorporate younger music students in big productions,” Corn says. “Instead, we have a talent showcase when the music students can play and an in-studio performance once a year. I would like to have a bigger schedule of music because it creates such a wonderful awareness with everybody, but [my husband and I] run a dance studio and don’t have the time and means to expand.” 

All in the family
Valerie Raskin comes from a long line of musicians. In fact, her family expected her to follow suit, but dance spoke louder to her than music and in 1989 she opened Raskin Dance Studios in Kissimmee, Florida, with her husband. Nineteen years later in 2008, she added music to her school’s instructional repertoire.

The piano came from Raskin’s aunt, a music teacher in Miami, who had died, and the furniture came from her grandmother’s home in Tennessee. “That room is a beautiful space, just like a parlor,” Raskin says. “[The seating] used to be a soft pink velvet but has been re-covered with a flower brocade.”

Raskin has about 400 dance students and 30 music students; 75 percent of the music students also take dance. The studio has three music instructors and offers guitar, cello, banjo, trumpet, and a musical-theater program along with the most popular classes: piano, violin, and voice.

“What we offer musically depends on who we have at the time,” Raskin said. “Sometimes we have teachers who come home from college during summer break to teach.” Because the school has a Suzuki violin teacher, “the kids can start really young,” Raskin says. “My daughter started playing Suzuki violin when she was 4. They start playing by ear and then the teacher instructs them how to read music.”

New this year will be a class in harmony for voices as well as bucket drumming for older kids. “The rhythm class with bucket drumming started with little kids as half tap and half bucket drumming,” Raskin says, “but there was a lot of interest from our older students.”

Raskin always stresses to her dancers the importance of studying music. “Understanding how it is written makes for better dancers and better choreographers,” she says. She notices that dance students who study piano tend to have a more musical quality to their movement. “I find that kids usually listen to the vocals or melody, when they should be listening to the rhythm.”

So how does Raskin get her music teachers? “Sometimes they come to me, or I get referrals from the teachers I already have,” she says. “Scheduling is not difficult because I have two [music] rooms and I keep the music teachers on certain days.” As subcontractors, the music teachers charge what they want for the (typically) 30-minute classes. The students pay by the month and Raskin pays the teachers, taking five dollars off the top for room rental.

Raskin produces two dance recitals in late June. Sometimes the recital will showcase one music teacher and a soloist who dances to the music. Music recitals occur twice a year—a holiday performance and one before school lets out—and include performances by the teachers.

“It’s so hard to incorporate younger music students in big productions. Instead, we have a talent showcase when the music students can play and an in-studio performance once a year.” —Adalhi Aranda Corn

“Offering music is a great addition to our school,” Raskin says. “Parents love it because their kids can take music lessons between dance classes. I’m proud we have it. It makes us stand out.”

Empty rooms, extra money
Aside from providing students with the opportunity for a more well-rounded arts education, adding a music program to your dance offerings might mean a little extra cash, especially if you have an empty room sitting around.

For example, say you have one music room and offer five hours of music classes (10 classes) five days a week. If you charge students $36 for a half-hour class and the teacher makes $15, that leaves $21 for you. Let’s do the math. At $210 a day, $1,050 a week, and for 32 weeks, that’s a potential $33,600 a year providing you can fill all the time slots.

“And who wouldn’t want an extra $33,000 a year?” Goldfarb says. “You already have a customer base. Do a little internal marketing, talk to your friends, and then put it on the Internet. There’s no additional rent, so once you pay for soundproofing the room, it’s all extra money in your pocket.” And if you can only fill the room half the time, that’s still $16,500 extra from a room that was doing nothing.

Soundproofing a room can cost $2,000 to $5,000, according to Goldfarb. “We put up QuietRock, which is like Sheetrock, on the walls and ceiling, and added a door that seals well. We did the work ourselves, which saves money. It’s not completely soundproof, but enough so they can hear the things they are supposed to hear.

Potential challenges
The biggest challenge is scheduling, according to Erin Sanfelippo, who with her husband owns Star Dance Center in Newhall, 25 minutes north of Los Angeles. “Trying to schedule private lessons all day long is hard,” Sanfelippo says. “You can’t schedule kids until after they get out of school, and then you have to coordinate with the teachers’ schedules. It’s a lot of front-desk work, so you have to be organized. If your four o’clock cancels, the teacher wants to know if her five o’clock can come early so she isn’t sitting around waiting.”

When the Sanfelippos bought Star Dance Center in 2005, they discovered an empty storage room, too small for dancing. So they fixed it up and started offering piano lessons. Later they soundproofed the walls and added voice, which Sanfelippo taught. By 2009, because there was so much interest in the music program, they had hired voice, piano, and guitar teachers.

“We wanted to offer a well-rounded experience and something for the siblings,” Sanfelippo says. “It’s a one-stop convenience for parents.” Most of the music students have come from the dance program. “They already knew us, so they assumed the music program would be the same in terms of organization and quality.”

Star Dance Center has 500 dance students, but Sanfelippo says the music program is not consistent yet. At its peak, it had 25 music students. One potential hazard they discovered is that music teachers who are pursuing other projects may be inconsistent about showing up to teach. When that happened to Sanfelippo and the teacher left, the program dwindled.

Screening music teachers was another challenge. “When hiring a ballet teacher I have very specific questions, but with music I don’t know what to ask,” says Sanfelippo. “So I go on personality and experience. I also [try to judge ahead of time] the rapport they might have with the students.”

Sanfelippo’s dance and music students have separate recitals, winter and summer for the dancers and summer for the music students. At Christmas the music students participate in community events. The school owner says she keeps the events separate because the dance recitals were already too long.

Piggybacking on the popularity of TV’s Glee, Sanfelippo added a glee club program for older students, who did their first show last spring. Because it’s a group, she says, it’s “easier to maintain than individual music lessons. It’s very popular and we plan to continue it.”

Friendly advice
“The tricky thing is that music instructors can teach out of their homes,” Sanfelippo says. “There is nothing I can do about that.” So she advises studio owners to be selective in hiring. “Get someone who’s focused on teaching and not their own projects,” she says. “If your state allows it, have the teachers sign a non-compete [contract], meaning they won’t solicit students to teach at home. Also, have a cancellation policy stating that if students don’t cancel 24 hours [ahead of time] they will have to pay for the lesson.

“Offering music lessons is a nice complement to dance and makes you unique to the community,” she continues. “Music integrated with dance helps with counting, rhythm, and tempo, and voice gives the dancers stage presence.”

Goldfarb recommends investing in a regular piano and not just a keyboard because you need 88 weighted keys for proper instruction. Also, make sure you have substitutes lined up so if a teacher gets sick you won’t have to cancel the lessons.

 “Adding music enriches a studio and makes it more appealing,” Goldfarb says. “If you have the room, do it.”

Sound Isolation: A Green Solution

By Matt Lincir

As the owner of Alvas, I’ve had years of experience in building dance studios. And I’ve learned that old, scuffed-up, and even torn marley-type flooring can find new life as an economical and effective sound barrier. That’s right—sandwiched between sheets of drywall, it’s great for soundproofing. A marley is essentially heavy PVC vinyl sheeting, the same material that is marketed and sold as a sound-isolating product.

Here’s how to maximize the sound barrier. Place the PVC sheeting (or old marley) between two layers of drywall, one that is 1/2 inch thick and one that’s 5/8 inch, (it doesn’t matter which one goes where) to eliminate resonance. Because they are of different thicknesses, the two sheets will vibrate at different frequencies, preventing the sound from one layer from permeating the second one. If you’re soundproofing a dance studio where the interior walls are drywall, you can simply add another sheet of drywall, placing the PVC sheeting between it and the original wall. Or add another layer for more isolation. Since sound travels through the tiniest of spaces, you must be meticulous in sealing the seams. Use caulking or tape to make sure they are airtight.

If you repurpose old marley floors this way, you can praise yourself for being “green” as well. Call your fellow dance studio owners and let them know that if they plan to replace their marley flooring, you’ll take it off their hands. Some of them might even pay you to take it away since it is heavy and doesn’t fit into a regular trashcan.