Archive for the ‘2011 | 12 | December’ Category

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

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Thinking Out Loud | What I Gained From the Biggest Loser
Teacher in the Spotlight | Stephanie Thomas Saul
Bright Biz Ideas | Thinking Inside the Box
Mindful Marketing | Power of the Press Release
Classroom Connection
Strength in Numbers

Feature Articles
Ballet Scene | Vancouver’s Ballet Family by Barbara Stowe
The Power of Being ICONic by Eileen Glynn
Turning Up the Heat by Steve Sucato
Higher-Ed Voice | Road Trip to the Future by Eliza Randolph
Jivin’ With Joe by Karen White
My List for Santa by Diane Gudat
Back-to-Basics Jazz by Joshua Bartlett
Hip-Hop From a Ballet Perspective by Quinn Wharton
What I Know for Sure by Julie Holt Lucia
Ins and Outs of Hiring and Firing by James Careless
Let Your Stars Shine

Hi Rhee,
My studio has been successful for the past 30-plus years, and I am now wishing to step back. I do not want to give up teaching completely; however, I am tired of making business decisions and dealing with parents and teachers.

One of my teachers, who is excellent, would like to run the creative side of the studio as artistic director. She and my office manager would like to manage the studio but have not shown any interest in buying the business. I think they would like a raise to do this.

Another teacher, who is working on her MBA, has indicated interest in acquiring the business a year from now. She wants to follow me for a full year to see what I do before deciding or giving me a deposit. But she teaches only one hour a week and my feeling is that she is not willing to stay up with the times. She wants to keep the studio name, but I don’t want my name to be used if the quality is not at the highest standard. Do I tell her that she has to bring her creative levels up or just let it go?

I have been told that once I receive a deposit, the business is 100 percent the purchaser’s. Is that true? There is no real estate involved here since there is a lease.

Is it in my best interest to close my studio, sell it to one teacher who may not keep the quality up, or let someone manage the studio? I could teach at someone else’s studio if I closed mine. I have been teaching for 50 years now and I want to teach what I want to teach. Any ideas? —Carol

Hello Carol,
You are in a bit of a catch-22 about selling your business. What you are selling is the name and the goodwill behind it, after 30 years in the community; you are also selling the current clientele, mailing lists, etc.

I understand your concern about the quality of the product under a new owner, but if you really would like to make a change, you’ll need to live with the results. That means you have to decide that you won’t let what happens to the school after the sale bother you. I am sure that the purchaser will realize that she has to keep up with what is current and become the best dance teacher that she can be.

The fact that this teacher is willing to shadow you for a year shows that she wants to learn and is willing to do so. But realize that after doing that, she will know everything about your business. So you’ll need to go with your gut to be sure that she’s not going to learn it all and then go open her own school. That said, I would hire a lawyer to create an agreement that states that you are teaching her the ropes in preparation for purchasing the business and that the knowledge gained through the process cannot be utilized to open a school within a certain mile radius for the next five years.

Also, I think the contract should lay out the entire process, including the year of learning and the steps for moving forward on the purchase. Don’t do the training without nailing down in writing the purchase price, how it is to be paid, and everything else related to the sale. That way everyone is well informed about the process.

I’m not sure whether the sale has to go through if a deposit is paid. I don’t think so, because you could state the terms regarding the deposit, agreed upon by the seller and buyer, within the agreement. Again, the attorney can advise you on that. Good luck! —Rhee

Dear Rhee,
My studio was in my home for eight years when a space in town became available. My decision to move was one of the best that I have ever made because my enrollment has more than doubled. Previously I taught all the classes; however, with the increase in students and a second studio space, I hired two additional teachers.

Before the season started, I met with my new teachers to go over a handbook I created for them. The three of us discussed everything, and I felt really positive about the future of my school.

In mid-October one of the teachers called to tell me that she had a family emergency. I taught her students and looked at it as a chance to meet some students I didn’t normally teach, so I was fine with how things worked out. The next day she called again, saying that she couldn’t teach because of the same family emergency. Since then she has been on time and all seems to be running smoothly.

But then I came across a website for a school about 20 minutes from mine announcing master classes taught by my teacher—on the same two days that she had claimed to have a family emergency. The site also said that she would be back in January on two days when she should be teaching for me.

She’s a really good teacher and her students adore her, and so do I. But she has lied to me. At our meeting we discussed my policy requiring any teacher who wants to teach within an hour’s radius of my school to ask me first. Obviously she feels like she needs to hide this from me, which makes me think there may be something more to it.

Do I confront her? Do I ignore what I know? I want to trust my teachers. Help? —Newbie School Owner

Dear Newbie,
Welcome to the world of being a boss, the hardest part of running your own business. With that said, I think it’s good that you created your handbook and that you went over it with your new faculty. You may be less of a novice than you think you are.

It is obvious that your employee lied to you, and I understand that the trust factor is what concerns you most. Since she may do the same thing again in January, you need to confront her now. However, give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had a bad experience with a previous employer that led her to keep her mouth shut about teaching for another school. Maybe she really likes her job with you and doesn’t want to jeopardize it. From a business-owner perspective, these rationales may not cut it. But she’s a younger employee in the 21st century, so you may have to mold her a bit, especially if you like her work.

I would meet with her to tell her what you know and explain that your biggest disappointment is that she didn’t believe she could come to you about teaching at a nearby school. Immediately jump on the fact that the trust factor is a key ingredient to her success as your employee.

If she is apologetic and your instinct tells you that she is going to move forward as a team player, I would continue on with her. But I certainly would keep a close eye on her. And I would ask her to rearrange her January master classes so that they don’t interfere with her responsibility to your school. Give her one more shot, but if you discover any more deception, let her go. I wish you all the best. —Rhee

Dear Rhee,
I would like to start training some assistant teachers to help me with my youngest students. When do you think is the right time for a student to become an assistant teacher? Also, what do you think makes a good assistant and what kind of training might you offer? —Amanda

Hello Amanda,
I think students should begin training as assistants at ages 13 to 15. It is important to understand that good assistant teachers are not always the best dancers. Personality and maturity level are more important than the number of pirouettes they can do.

My perception of a good assistant is one who arrives early to help welcome and gather the students prior to class. The assistants must always be professional in appearance, dressed properly with their hair pulled back. They must be ready to assist with music and help to keep students in lines or groups. They are always upbeat and do all the movement full-out. They also are responsible for taking attendance and assisting students who need to use the restroom during class. They can give one-on-one attention to students who need a little extra help.

Think about what you want your assistants to do and create a job description that tells them what is expected. Also, meet with them periodically to discuss how they could improve and to get their feedback on the experience. To avoid liability issues, never leave the class in the assistant’s charge. Enjoy! —Rhee

By Mignon Furman

Tip One
Attitude, a pose that mimics a statue of Mercury, is difficult to achieve correctly. A good way to teach it is for the dancers to work in pairs. One performs the exercise and the other assists in getting the position correct. The working dancer should face the barre, raise one leg to arabesque, then bend the knee, stopping when the knee goes out to the side of the body. The partner should help to keep the knee aligned. The shoulders should remain square to the barre.   

Tip Two
Next, have students repeat the exercise without the assistance of a partner. In attitude, they should plié on the supporting leg and raise the same arm (as the raised leg) to fifth, making sure that the shoulder of the raised arm is square to the barre. Extend the leg and close to fifth. Repeat with the other leg.

Jaw problems can be a pain in the neck—and elsewhere

By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT

Take a test. Look at your face in the mirror. Open your mouth, make a fist with the knuckles held vertically, and see how many knuckles you can fit in between your teeth. This is called the “freeway space.” Are you able to fit the normal amount of three knuckles? The major muscles used for eating are among the strongest in the body, and so they generate an enormous amount of force. When life gets tense, we also tend to tense up our jaws. The jaw muscles work in coordination with muscles around the ears and at the base of the head. A domino effect is often created, resulting in ear, head, face, and neck pain. Check yourself.

Now feel for tenderness. There are two little muscle groups in the back of the mouth where the molars meet. You can feel their action if you stick the tips of your index fingers into your ears and gently press the pads to point forward. Is this area inside your ears a bit sore? Then open and close your jaws to feel the action of the jaw joint. Is it smooth or crackly?

Then there is a big vertical muscle on the lower jaw that pulls up into the cheekbone. Run your fingers along the bottom of your cheekbone and notice whether it’s tender. The last muscle of this group is located just up and back past your temples. Rub your scalp in this region and notice if either side is tender in this area. The muscle tenderness and jaw-opening quality and distance tell a lot about how you’re doing in more ways than one. Problems in these areas may be a major culprit in face pain, jaw pain, and headaches.

Your students’ body language also may reveal problems with jaw tension. Aspiring dancers may not realize they are clenching their jaws when attempting particularly difficult moves and often need coaching to let that habit go.

But what does it say about the teacher or studio owner who displays a stern jaw and just can’t relax? Make a note of where your tongue lies when not in use. The rest position for the tongue is with the tip on the roof of the mouth, just behind the teeth, not on the bottom. An out-of-position tongue may indicate wearing of the temporomandibular joints, where your jawbone meets your skull on either side of your head. And such wearing can cause headaches and neck pain.

The jaw is the top of the line of the biomechanical chain that starts from the feet and works its way up. Tensions, misalignments, and imbalances from below will affect the positioning of the head on the neck. Then, when you add the emotional content of facial expression, you have a recipe for ear, face, and head pain, as well as such symptoms as ringing in the ears, dizziness, and eye pain.

To compound the problem, symptoms may go untreated because oral health care is often one of the first things to go when people are forced to cut back on medical expenses during a prolonged recession. The well-being of this area of the body doesn’t loom large on most dancers’ radar anyway. We rely on our legs and feet mostly, so it only seems reasonable to neglect mouth and jaw pain until it becomes unbearable. Besides, dancers are good at managing pain. We’re proud of it.

So what can a cost-conscious dance teacher do about head, neck, and face pain? Here are some tips to help you to mind your mouth, in a good way.

First, recognize that there is a direct relationship between stress and head and mouth pain. When times are this tough, even your own success can cause stress (and when businesses are struggling to survive, just putting on a recital within budget and without a hitch may count as a major success). And if you’re doing well, you may feel awkward, guilty, or sad when so many of your neighbors are hard pressed.

Stress is best met head-on. Once you’ve set your priorities and assessed your stressors, organize your time but listen to your body. Just like our students, we show the mark of stress in our faces. Keep breathing, get enough sleep, and try these exercises.

Let the backs of your hands rest on your thighs in these exercises.

1. The Lion Exercise: Sit tall. Smile and lift your eyebrows along with your top lip. Press your tongue against the bottom teeth and push the tongue outward in a rolling action, as if

you were trying to push open a drawer from the inside. Stay and breathe 3 times and relax.

2. For the next exercise, gently move your lower jaw from side to side. Now, while keeping your head still, shift your eyes to look from side to side. Then put it all together by moving your jaw in one direction while you shift the eyes to the opposite direction. Slowly reverse the directions of the jaw and eye motion, and repeat the whole combination 4 or 5 times.

Next, tilt your chin toward your Adam’s apple and imagine you’re pressing the back of your head into sand at the beach. Feel the back of your neck lengthen and gently let your bottom jaw go slack. Stay for 3 breaths and release.

End the sequence by placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and open your teeth to about an inch apart. Take a deep breath in for 6 counts. Exhale with an audible “ahhh.”

As an added precaution, assess your posture habits. “Forward head” is a term applied when a person carries her head forward of the center of the shoulder, causing the upper body to drift backward to compensate. This can be seen in the widespread swayback posture. Even if a dancer has a forward head, she often can make it look good. Yet adopting this posture daily can exacerbate head and neck symptoms.

Remember that the weight of the head is like a bowling ball on the long stem of the neck. Slumping at one’s computer can cause increased strain in the upper neck and jaw. Stress-relieving activities, such as knitting or watch a movie, can cause strain if you’re sitting in a deep couch and craning your neck forward, with the upper neck getting crunched as the eyes zero in on their target. Be sure your low back is supported in its natural slightly arched curve and that your head is over the pelvis as much as possible. Hold the lower neck steady and try to tilt only the head (moving only the upper neck) for vision precision. Every so often, sit forward, roll the shoulders backward a few times, and squeeze between the shoulder blades. Yawn, and open and stretch the mouth and tongue.

Next, examine your oral habits. What you do with your mouth can reveal a great deal about your anxiety level. Do you find yourself clenching your teeth at times, night or day? Grinding one’s teeth while sleeping is often an anxiety habit that cannot be broken, but we can check ourselves and consciously allow freeway space of an inch between the teeth and be mindful to allow the tongue to float to its rest position at the roof of the mouth.

Also, chewing gum occasionally is fine, but continuous gum-chewing can tighten the jaw muscles. (And nervous chewing on pens, pencils, straws—or one’s fingernails—is not a great stress-reduction method.)

Another key to head health is paying attention to your gums. A good offense is the best defense when it comes to a healthy mouth, even if you’re worried about the expense. Dental schools are easily accessed for exams and cleaning if you’ve had to give up your dental care provider.

Look at your habits. Keep flossing. Breathe. Let your body get a whole new outlook by taking control of your mouth.

I have faith in you.

By Cheryl A. Ossola

Pushing Past the Plateaus
In certain realms of the world, coaches are a given: baseball, gymnastics, personal fitness, career changes, opera, to name a few. So why is it that most of us get to a certain level of competence in our chosen careers and then figure we’re on our own? We build our skills, develop our game, move up whatever career ladder we’ve chosen—and then we stop climbing and start walking across the broad, flat expanse that’s the rest of our working lives. We go from vertical to diagonal to horizontal and we don’t give it a thought.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, and that’s the argument posed by Atul Gawande in the October 3, 2011, issue of The New Yorker. He’s a surgeon, and in his article “Personal Best,” he says he has, in the past, measured his ability in part by comparing his surgical complication rates to published data. As his skills grew, his rates moved lower and lower, he says. “And then, a couple of years ago, they didn’t. It started to seem that the only direction things could go from here was the wrong one.”

Then one day, after paying someone to analyze his skill on the tennis court, he had to ask himself a question. If he was willing to get feedback on his serve technique, he writes, “why did I find it inconceivable to pay someone to come into my operating room and coach me on my surgical technique?”

It’s a question each one of us should ask. Heck, according to Gawande, even musical prodigies like violinists Itzhak Perlman and Midori had a coach (both worked with Dorothy DeLay). So did Gawande hire a surgical coach? He did, and the 20-minute discussion that followed the coach’s first observation in the operating room gave Gawande “more to consider and work on than I’d had in the past five years,” he writes.

So, what about teachers? Can coaches help them? The answer appears to be yes. Gawande writes: “California researchers in the early 1980s conducted a five-year study of teacher-skill development in 80 schools, and noticed something interesting. Workshops led teachers to use new skills in the classroom only 10 percent of the time. Even when a practice session with demonstrations and personal feedback was added, fewer than 20 percent made the change. But when coaching was introduced—when a colleague watched them try the new skills in their own classroom and provided suggestions—adoption rates passed 90 percent. A spate of small randomized trials confirmed the effect. Coached teachers were more effective, and their students did better on tests.”

Gawande observed teacher coaching in action at Leslie H. Walton Middle School in Albemarle County, Virginia. Eighth-grade teacher Jennie Critzer, whom Gawande describes as already excellent in the classroom, was enthusiastic about the feedback she got from her coaches, saying that she’d “exhausted everything I knew to improve.” She’d begun to burn out, she said, and felt very isolated. As a result of the coaching, she reported that her stress level had decreased and she found teaching more satisfying.

I think we’d all agree that growth is good and that stagnation or decline isn’t. So now I’m wondering who’s in the market as a coach for magazine editors—maybe The New Yorker’s own David Remnick? I could do a lot worse—and with someone like him in my court, maybe I’d do a lot better. —Cheryl A. Ossola, Editor in Chief

By Misty Lown 

This might hit a nerve with all the mommies out there, but in the last five years I have transitioned from working primarily in the dance school to working primarily on the dance school—from my home office. In the process I have cut down my teaching time to two hours per week, which I now do by choice. Most important, however, is that the quality of my family life with five young children and a husband has dramatically improved. Figuring out how to run the school from home hasn’t been easy, but the payoff has been great.

Working from home requires good business management systems and strong communication with staff. For starters, working remotely meant switching from desktop-based management software to a web-based program. Programming, budgeting, scheduling, hiring, and marketing—my primary tasks as owner and director—all require real-time information regarding enrollment, tuition, and staffing. I now have access to this information at my fingertips thanks to web-based management software. Other critical systems, such as billing, tuition, payables, payroll and taxes, email newsletters, substitutes, cancellations, and performances, are managed at the school by my office staff. 

My office staff and I hold a two-hour leadership meeting at the school every Monday. I get feedback regarding the previous week’s operations, set priorities for the week, explore ideas for new development, and discern potential trouble spots that may require my attention. I often communicate with my office staff by email or phone as needed throughout the day.

In addition, I visit the school three or four times each week to walk the hallways, meet with parents, talk to students, observe classes, and check my mail and messages. My studio visits can last a couple of minutes or a couple of hours, depending on whether I have kids in tow. 

I moved my office to my home in order to be more available to my family. I now stay home with my two youngest children most days and greet my three older children when they get off the bus from school. I can be home most evenings for dinner, kids’ activities, and bedtime routines. I am even able to keep laundry going between projects. About the only thing that working from home hasn’t improved is my cooking. (Maybe that just needs more time.)

There are side benefits as well. I am able to focus better on big-picture tasks like planning because there are fewer distractions and interruptions. Not that there aren’t distractions working at home with little kids, but the phone isn’t ringing off the hook and there are no quick questions from parents and no hip-hop music bouncing through the halls. In fact, if I can get both little ones to nap at the same time, I can work for a few hours in total silence, which I love.

Not that there aren’t distractions working at home, but the phone isn’t ringing off the hook and there are no quick questions from parents and no hip-hop music bouncing through the halls.

Naturally, working from home has its challenging moments. At times my employees feel as if they are on their own, parents have to wait for an answer, and the students miss me. To remedy this I try to make the time I do spend at the dance school be all about people. If I am on site, my goal is to contribute positively by listening, watching, encouraging, challenging, teaching, and even learning. When I see my staff I try to ask three questions: “What is one thing you are having success with? One thing you need support with? One idea you have to make our school better?” Email and phone calls are efficient, but sometimes nothing replaces eye contact.

If managing a school is a challenge, managing small children while working at home is another. At first I tried to be Super Mommy, but I have since overcome my pride about doing everything myself and I am much happier. I pay for housecleaning and childcare (about 15 hours per week) so I can run errands or get to meetings. I do paperwork, planning, and emails while the kids are sleeping or while Sesame Street is on TV. 

Working from home isn’t for everybody, but if you are balancing building a family and a dance school, you might want to give it a try. With good systems and good people in place, you might even find that you prefer it.

One night when I was out with a friend, he asked me who or what inspired me to do what I do. Immediately I began to rattle off all of the names of people who I feel were and are my mentors. On the ride home I thought about his question, and my answer, a bit more. I realized that my mentors were certainly awesome but that one of my biggest motivators has always been being told, “Rhee, you can’t do it!” Sometimes the person who said that was right, but I had to figure it out for myself.

When I was a young dancer, everyone thought it was my twin brother, Rennie, not me, who possessed the drive to become a successful dancer. And Rennie certainly did. The perception of me was that I wasn’t serious and that I was an OK dancer. In retrospect I understand why—I was more apt to skip class or joke around when I should have been more focused.

When Rennie and I were teenagers, my mother entered Rennie into Dance Masters of America’s “Mr. Dance” competition. I didn’t participate because my mother’s perception of me was that I wasn’t serious enough. Watching the whole process, I knew I could do the competition and that I would be good at it.

A couple of years later I joined DMA and entered myself in the competition. I locked myself in the studio for a few months, choreographed my own piece (and even made my own costume), and picked out a suit for the interview. And I worked harder than I ever had before. It was time for me to say, “I am serious and I do want to dance.” When my name was announced as the winner of the competition, I felt a validation that set me free to accomplish anything.

Later, when I started Project Motivate, friends told me, “Dance teachers want to take class, not sit around and talk.” They said that because no one had offered anything other than classes, so the concept was a foreign one. However, my gut told me that if I engaged teachers in the right kind of conversation, they would want to talk and would probably never stop.

During the first couple of years I did have some very small Project Motivate events, and I questioned whether the skeptics were right. However, within a few years attendance started to grow, and today Project Motivate is always sold out. And its offshoot, the DanceLife Teacher Conference, is one of the largest gatherings of dance educators in the world. Of course dance teachers want to talk!

I could go on and on, because this story has played out over and over again in my life. But my message is this: surround yourself with great mentors and friends who will help you grow and achieve—but let your inner voice speak louder than all the well-intentioned voices of those who surround you.

Only you know why or how you can accomplish your dreams, because they are born of your soul. No one but you can feel what you feel or judge whether you’ve got what it takes to accomplish your dreams. You know what you can do!

Words from our readers

Thank you for inviting our studio to be a part of the October issue. I loved the diversity of ideas regarding recitals. One thing I love about your magazine is that it reminds me that I am not alone in this wonderful business of teaching dance. I love learning and being inspired by my peers. I appreciate your hard work and dedication to inspiring us!
Robin Stuyverson
Wildwood Ballet
Tallahassee, FL

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The feature on our ABT exhibit looks great [“FYI,” October 2011]! Thank you so much for including us in the magazine—we sincerely appreciate it.
Ruby Whitney
Design & Development
National Museum of Dance
Saratoga Springs, NY

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Thanks for the recent article on copyrighting choreography [“Thinking Out Loud: Choreography and Copyright in the Digital Age,” September 2011]. This is something I’ve been struggling with and have added a clause to my registration form about it. I’d really like an article to help me figure out how to copyright my pieces. I’ve been online and read the forms and process but still can’t figure it out. Just a thought.
Toni-Lynn Miles
Middlesex Dance Center
Middlefield, CT

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As a filmmaker and documentarian about the dance world (Why Dance? 2006), I am troubled by the series Dance Moms and the way it portrays a dance studio environment [“Thinking Out Loud: Dance Moms Sells Out Dance Education,” October 2011]. I am married to a studio owner and have seen the dance studio operation up close.

I have seen the benefits of dance on our youth. I have seen kids transformed into confident and skillful dancers full of poise and grace. Most are the product of hardworking dance teachers who themselves possess such traits. What I see on this show is a playbook of what not to do when running a studio. Some viewers [may] blow it off as entertainment instead of reality, but I believe it reflects the dance industry in an unfavorable light and has the potential to make people think twice before committing their [children] to such abuse and criticism.

As for the mothers, the fact that they would participate with their kids on this show says more about them than I ever could.
James E. Manning
Half Moon Bay, CA

By Diane Gudat

Recently I sat down to watch the new season of The Biggest Loser. I love the first week of shows like this, when the contestants are like blank canvases. They are such a mess, yet so full of hope—not unlike many of the dancers who come to our studios.

You meet the contestants for the first time through their home videos. You get a glimpse of how they let themselves get so out of control. You meet their families. You see their past and begin to care about their future. And then the miracle begins!

You see them enter the gym. You feel their fear, and then they are introduced to the treadmills. Their lack of knowledge about physicality is obvious, yet they mount the treadmills and obediently begin to walk.

As the trainers scream and morph into maniacs, the contestants begin to show their level of commitment. And almost every season it happens—someone falls off the treadmill. Backward.

Imagine what it must feel like to weigh 350 pounds or more and fall backward off a moving treadmill. What amount of courage does it take to keep going until you are propelled onto the floor simply because you know it’s the only way to succeed and move forward?

I am inspired to the core by the trust these people place in their trainers. Watching them, I am forced to examine my own commitment to my goals and inspired to expect more of the dancers placed in my charge. The show is painfully hokey, but I envy the blind trust it shows and wonder if I am evoking that level of commitment from my dancers. That questioning forced me to examine what I was doing in the classroom. Was my level of physicality equal to what I expected of my dancers? Could I expect more of them without expecting more of myself? The answer, of course, was no.

With an aging body and a bum knee, how could I change things? How could I keep up with my students physically and inspire them emotionally? I actually began to question if it might be time to step aside and let a younger, more fit teacher work with the dancers.

My ability to explain what I’m teaching in great detail and to inspire my students is more valuable than any amount of turns or high kicks I could possibly display. If I bring my best self to the classroom, that’s more than good enough.

Then it occurred to me that viewers never see the trainers on those shows working out alongside the contestants. The contestants, much like our students, are led to assume that the trainers are completely capable of accomplishing everything they are asking the contestants to do. The trainers’ attitude does not allow the contestants to question their capabilities. It is clearly not their job to perform the exercises for either the contestants or the camera.

I now realize that the combination of the excitement my dancers hear in my voice, my many years of experience, and the fact that I care about each and every one of them is an invaluable gift to those who enter my classroom. My ability to explain what I’m teaching in great detail and to inspire my students is more valuable than any amount of turns or high kicks I could possibly display. If I bring my best self to the classroom, that’s more than good enough. My students will always sense when I am doing less than that and will respond accordingly.

So now we have a new saying at the studio. When I want the best from my students, I yell, “Fall off your treadmill!” And they give me just a little more than they were willing to give me before.

Assistant director and teacher, Wasatch Ballet Conservatory, Lindon, UT

NOMINATED BY: Clarissa Rees, student: “Stephanie’s students admire her for her care and devotion in helping them reach their potential by making sure they dance with their whole capability, no matter the age or skill level. What really makes her shine is her choreography. Every piece is fueled by her passion for dance and unique in nature, emotion, and spirit. Her extraordinary style radiates from choreographer to dancer to audience, bringing with it her fervor and brilliance as a teacher. One need only lose oneself in her choreography to understand Stephanie’s true love for dance and for her students.”

YEARS TEACHING: More than 15 years

AGES TAUGHT: 3–18

GENRES TAUGHT: Ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, creative dance, and character dance

WHY SHE CHOSE TEACHING AS A CAREER: While earning my BFA in ballet from the University of Utah, I sustained an injury for a big part of my senior year, so I wasn’t ready to pursue a dance career upon graduation. I got a job teaching jazz for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and School in Aspen, Colorado, and I fell in love with teaching. I loved the challenge of learning to break down movements and present them in a way that young dancers understand and enjoy.

GREATEST INSPIRATION: My students. I love seeing them grow and mature as dancers and as people. Every once in a while I get a note from a student or have a conversation that reminds me of the influence I have on these young, impressionable dancers. There is so much pressure on young girls to have a certain body and look a certain way, and dance can help girls to understand their strengths and weaknesses. And through dance, they can learn to respect and love the body they were given.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: I believe each student is on a unique journey. I do my best to help them reach their personal potential. I know that a commitment to ballet can teach you so much more than how to tendu. It can teach you how to make goals and accomplish them, how to work your hardest, how to make mistakes and take constructive criticism. And most important, how to be the best you can be at something.

WHAT MAKES HER A GOOD TEACHER: I respect my students and they respect me. Without that, there would be no foundation for the progress that I have come to expect from my students. I make an effort to get to know my dancers as individuals. I appreciate their strengths and work to strengthen their weaknesses.

FONDEST TEACHING MOMENT: I have a lot of fond memories, and most of them are about helping dancers discover something about themselves. I love the moment when I have been working on something specific for a few months and then it clicks and the dancers understand the correction and have figured out how to execute it. It is pure joy!

ADVICE TO DANCE STUDENTS: Learn how to let go and enjoy dance. If you can let yourself experience that freedom in the studio, it will carry over into so many other aspects of your life.

IF SHE WASN’T A DANCE TEACHER: I would pursue a schoolteacher position. I feel it’s important for me to make a difference in people’s lives, and I love kids. I’m touched by their openness for learning and experiencing, and I love being a part of their lives.

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.

Dance teacher turns entrepreneur with hip-hop teaching tool

By Jennifer Kaplan

From the classic Ronco Veg-o-Matic to the newfangled best-selling ShamWow, product designers and developers have one thing in common. They see a need—from turning lights off from your bed to washing your feet in the shower without bending down—that other products in the cluttered marketplace didn’t fulfill.

The same goes for Torrance, California-based dance teacher and choreographer Tricia Gomez, creator of Hip Hop in a Box. The owner of Hype Studios Cultural Arts Center near Los Angeles, Gomez had developed a program and curriculum for teaching hip-hop to youngsters as young as 3. “When I started teaching hip-hop to 3-year-olds back in 1993, I didn’t know that a lot of studios say you’re not supposed to teach it until [children] are 7 or 12, or whatever age [studio owners] decide,” Gomez says. “Well, I started teaching hip-hop to 3s and it worked great for me and for the kids, too.”

Gomez grew up in a small town studying ballet, tap, and jazz at an even smaller studio. In high school as a member of the dance team, she began teaching herself hip-hop moves from music videos, starting with the Roger Rabbit. After she moved to L.A. and became a Laker Girl, she gained more experience from a wide range of choreographers.

But a decade later, she was teaching 21 classes a week, running a booming dance business in one of the busiest dance cities in the country—L.A.—when misfortune hit. “I wasn’t feeling well,” she says, “and ended up getting diagnosed with lupus.” That put a kink in her teaching load, which she could mostly fill from her roster of teachers. But Gomez couldn’t find anyone to teach her hip-hop classes for the youngest students—those bouncy 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. She felt that the experienced hip-hop dancers couldn’t break down the steps well enough, nor did they have the patience needed to handle the youngest students, who lose focus more quickly than older children do.

“I wished I had something I could give to the teachers and say, ‘Here, teach this in class,’ because I knew it was easy,” says Gomez. “The simple things I was teaching them just made sense to the kids.” Then a friend chimed in with an idea: make three-by-five cards with various steps and exercises to give to substitute teachers. That’s when Gomez’s entrepreneurial streak took off.

“I played around with the idea,” she says, “talking about it with a couple of people in my studio.” One parent offered graphic design services and, coincidentally, Hype sits next door to a recording studio where music and videos are often produced. With someone to design the cards and packaging, and someone else to create and record original music on a work-for-hire basis (so rights and permissions wouldn’t become an issue) and shoot video for an instructional DVD, Gomez had pulled together a team. She paid for all services she used, whether offered by parents of her students or professionals in the community. She put the product on the market in 2006 and is now close to recouping her initial investment.

Working on instinct, without a formal business plan, Gomez knew she needed to put the teaching material in a form that could be broken down into teachable steps, phrases, and combinations, both on paper and on video.

Hip Hop in a Box grew from that initial spark of an idea. The product, which retails for $69.95, features 100 mix-and-match cards, each containing instructions and pictures for a different hip-hop step (fundamentals and some with a hip-hop flavor); a DVD with Gomez demonstrating each step; a CD with five original hip-hop songs; and a “teaching tips” workbook.

Aside from helping dance teachers who lack hip-hop expertise, Gomez has found that physical education teachers and other educators, and even teachers in adult programs, find the material useful. She’s also used the cards with older students as an exercise in creative choreography: they deal out the cards and use them to build their own phrases and combinations set to music. “So a step like crack-a-stick would have four different picture positions,” says Gomez, “and those positions, when you link them together, create the step.”

 In the process of creating Hip Hop in a Box, Gomez says, “I spent a solid six months on it, every day, all day, in some manner, whether it was writing the list of steps I wanted to include, all the way up to editing the pictures, which I did myself in Photoshop.” It was a long, hard, time-consuming process, and some days she wanted to drop the idea. But Gomez believed her product would fill a need in the dance education and studio community, so she pushed herself to complete it.

Her best, simplest—and most obvious—advice? “It helps to have a deadline. It pushes you to spend time on the project every day until it gets done.”

As the product development neared completion, Gomez worked with a local printing agency on how to produce (design, photography, etc.) and manufacture the product at a reasonable cost. She had to decide how many to order and at what price point she could sell it. Ultimately, the local printer jobbed the project offshore, so the cards and box are printed and assembled in China. “I wish I could have manufactured it in the U.S., but it would have been impossible” due to the costs, she says.

Gomez had done no pre-marketing and had no advance orders, so she simply ordered what she and her husband, who works in the technology industry, could afford: 2,000 units. She’s just now getting ready to reorder. She stores the boxes at home and fills all orders herself. At some point, as her number of products and popularity increase, she hopes to hire an assistant.

On the heels of Hip Hop in a Box, Gomez has developed a companion product, 1-2-3 Dance, featuring additional hip-hop steps and materials to help overworked teachers plan lessons for their youngest students, ages 3 to 5.

On the heels of Hip Hop in a Box, Gomez has developed a companion product, 1-2-3 Dance, featuring additional hip-hop steps and materials to help overworked teachers plan lessons for their youngest students, ages 3 to 5. Her goal with both tools is, she says, “to allow people to do things they didn’t think they could do.”

That’s exactly what happened to Gomez. She never thought she’d become a product innovator, designer, marketer, and jack-of-all-trades in creating her own products. But now she is.

Gomez has promoted Hip Hop in a Box primarily at conferences and conventions. She hasn’t invested much in advertising aside from Google Adwords, but the kit has gained a few brief editorial mentions in dance and education magazines, plus a featured spot on TV’s The Dr. Phil Show, during a show devoted to parents who want their kids to become stars. Somehow a producer came across Gomez’s product and invited the dance teacher to serve as a judge in a mini talent competition in which kids used the cards to choreograph and perform short phrases on the show. “What’s great is that now I have Dr. Phil announcing me as ‘our dance expert Tricia Gomez with Hip Hop in a Box.’ That gave me a boost,” she says.

 For Katie Whorton, who owns and directs Beatniks Dance & Tumble in Platte City, Missouri, Hip Hop in a Box has been a lifesaver. Whorton teaches ballet, tap, jazz, tumble, cheer, and hip-hop. “I have more traditional ballet, jazz, and tap training,” she explains, “and always felt inferior in the hip-hop world. Even in college, I struggled with hip-hop and found that I shied away from it.”

She found that she needed a strong, easy-to-use curriculum that would allow her to provide the same quality classes in every genre she offers. “Hip Hop in a Box has a lot of desirable qualities,” says Whorton, who has taught for more than a decade. “The steps are so basic that even someone who was ‘hip-hop challenged’ like myself could execute them with confidence and skill. The breakdown of each step and the level of counts for different age levels is a quick, easy way to turn a basic piece of choreography into an intermediate one, and [then] on to advanced.”

She also likes the various types of explanations—written out and sketched on cards and demonstrated on DVD—along with the interactive possibilities the cards provide in getting children involved through putting together their own steps. Best of all for Whorton, “it eliminated my weekly stress of getting through three 50-minute hip-hop classes.” Now, she says, “I am a good hip-hop teacher and my kids learn a lot from me.”

Another fan of the product, Megan Mendoza of Cheryl’s School of Dance in Carlsbad, New Mexico, is an experienced hip-hop teacher. However, she says, “I was not experienced in teaching young children. I had such a hard time coming up with things that were ‘simple’ or easy to explain, let alone keep the class fun and interesting.” Using Hip Hop in a Box, she says,” I have been able to have successful classes for 4-year-olds.”

For Gomez, the venture boils down to persistence and determination. The difference between her and everyone who says they could have thought of it is that she “sat down and did it,” she says. “I didn’t know if it was going to work, and that first year I sold maybe 70 units. I could have just said it wasn’t worth it, but I’m stubborn. I knew it was going to work.”

As for her future, she says, “I think I’ll see where it takes me.” She runs Hype and holds two other part-time jobs: operations manager/choreographer for Dance the Magic and teaching artist with Disney Performing Arts Program at Disneyland.

“I would love to see Dance In a Box take off to become a full-time job,” she says. “But knowing me, I’d still keep my part-time jobs, too. I can sleep when I’m dead!”

By Debra Danese

 “For immediate release.” Utilizing these three words in a press release—a written statement to the media announcing your news—is an easy and economical way to publicize your dance studio. It is also an efficient way to promote a new business, product, or service to a broad and diverse audience. For example, I have sent out press releases about student and faculty accomplishments, performance dates, and master classes, which have been published by media organizations at no cost to me. 

A press release can be sent by email, snail mail, or fax. Email is the fastest and most efficient way, and widely accepted by media groups. It’s best to ask for submission guidelines, but if you send the release as an attachment, also paste the text into the body of your email since some companies will not open attachments due to concerns about viruses. Consider including one or two pictures with good reproduction quality. (Print media will need a higher-resolution photo than electronic media.)

You do not need a PR professional to write your release. However, keep in mind certain guidelines when composing your press release.

First, it should be written in the third person. The content should be factual and avoid any evidence of ego. Resist the inclination to sell by using phrases such as “committed to quality.” Remember, the organizations you submit your information to aren’t interested in helping you make money or promote your business; they are looking for news that will inform and entertain the public. The idea is to get your release published and ideally garner enough interest to be contacted for an interview and possible feature.

There is an established format for writing a press release, although I have seen slight variations. (You can find many examples online.) It should be double spaced and set in a basic, 12-point font. Include your company logo with a contact name, address, phone number, and email and web addresses at the top. (This should be the name of the person sending out the release, who may or may not be the person to contact for more information mentioned at the end of the release.)

 This should be followed by the words “For immediate release” in all caps and centered. (Or if embargoed until a certain date, indicate that.) Next comes the headline or title of your story, which should contain the most exciting news in your release. Make it short but attention grabbing.

The lead paragraph should begin with the date and city the release is originating from. Then state the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the story. Keep to the facts and remember that this is not an advertisement; it is a notice. Keep it general and get more specific in the next paragraph.

In the second paragraph, explain why the reader should care and give more specific information about when the event will happen, and how one can find more information about it. This might be through a website, the person sending out the release, or someone else; for example, an office manager for information regarding a new class or a box office for ticket sales. Including a quote can put things in perspective and add a personal touch.

The content should be factual and avoid any evidence of ego. Resist the inclination to sell by using phrases such as “committed to quality.”

The third paragraph should be a summation and include information about your business. Consider limiting your press release to one page. Again, the idea is to stimulate interest, not to tell the entire story. Center three hash marks (###) under the last line of your release to indicate the end. Last, include a sentence at the bottom such as “For additional information, contact” followed by the contact person’s name, title, phone number, and email address.

Several weeks before sending out your release, compile a list of media sources. Include local papers (daily, weekly, and monthly circulations), magazines, radio stations, and online dance news sources. Check with community dance organizations as well as those on the state and national level. Look at the kinds of news and calendar items they run. Does your release look like a logical fit? Be sure to find out which department covers news like yours and what the deadline is. Follow up within two days to confirm the receipt of your submission.

Finally, send a thank-you email to the organizations that publish your press release. Ideally, you will begin to build media contacts for future newsworthy events. 
 

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

Tips for Timeliness
Using class time to its best advantage is a challenge for teachers of all age groups. Here are some tips to minimize transition time and maximize instruction time.

For 2- to 6-year-old students, playing a greeting song adds a sense of excitement and encourages little ones to get into the classroom (and away from their parents). Using a special song to signal the transition from circle to across-the-floor activities can be a real time saver too. Pick something fun and stick to it. I like “Skip to My Lou” because it’s upbeat and calls out the action.

In my 7- to 12-year-old classes, my teachers take time at the beginning of the year to assign places at the barre, center, and across the floor. Having assigned places means less wandering around the room before class and during the transitions from barre (or warm-up) to center to across-the-floor combinations. In chatty classes, I play a song and give the students 32 counts to transition to the next segment of class with a certain step. This quiets them and helps them stay focused.

Teens can be as hard to get going as little ones, often rushing in from sports practice or chatting on their phones. To encourage timeliness, I start the music and movement as soon as the class hour begins. Music is my warning bell. The students know, when they hear that first song, they’d better scoot into class.

Avoid wasting time while taking attendance. For little ones, I do it after their welcome song. As their names are called they stand up, make a ballet pose, and freeze, showing me they are ready to dance. For the older students, I take attendance during barre or warm-up. This gives me a chance to circulate around the room, which also gives them a chance to go through the warm-up exercises from memory.

Students (and their parents) will treat class time the same way you do. If you make it a point to start and transition in a timely way, they will too.

—Misty Lown

Skype in the Studio
Skype, video conferencing technology that’s used for business and social purposes, can be a teaching tool as well. Skype offers teachers a high-tech way to introduce into the classroom new opportunities for learning. By working in conjunction with another school or studio, you can offer your students immediate access to additional training methods and techniques.

I set up a Skype class when I started teaching internationally. Many of my foreign students were curious about how they compared to their American peers. I contacted a colleague in the United States and we started with a monthly class in which the students could dance and interact in real time. This was also a unique opportunity to discover new music, languages, and culture. I have used Skype with master teachers from other states who welcomed the chance to teach without the time constraints of travel.

To start, plan shared classes with another school, alternating which school will be the guest and which will be the host. The instructor of the hosting school will lead the class. The students at the guest school will benefit from a class they might not normally have the opportunity to attend, and they can see how other students at a similar level are working in class. Allow time at the end for students to ask questions and discuss the similarities or differences in their schools’ approaches.

Another option is to give the students a project, such as creating choreography to a pre-selected song with specific parameters. Give the classes a time limit before they must present their work via Skype and discuss their creative approach.

These shared classes and creative projects are a wonderful way for us teachers to develop and continue the professional relationships established at conventions and conferences and in our own towns. By collaborating with other studios and letting students interact with other dancers, we are also teaching them the benefits and joys of being a part of the larger dance community.

—Debra Danese

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

Profile: New York State Dance Education Association
Dance educators from private studios, K–12 schools, community centers, and institutions of higher education all play a part in supporting dance education through the New York State Dance Education Association (NYSDEA).

Founded in 2007 as the New York State affiliate of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), NYCDEA has its roots in the New York State Dance Association, a now-defunct organization of dancers and dance educators stemming from the 1970s.

NYSDEA is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the advancement of dance education through workshops, conferences, and regional meetings. Former NYSDEA student representative Barbara Angeline explained the group’s impact this way: “In the midst of a very busy life of teaching and family responsibilities, NYSDEA helps to raise my eyes from my own whirlwind to the larger world of dance education and the important work each one of us must do to advocate for and expand the field.”

Workshops and conferences are held throughout the state at locations such as New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, SUNY University at Buffalo, and SUNY College at Brockport. Conference presenters have included noted dance educators such as Anne Green Gilbert, author of Teaching the Three Rs Through Movement Experiences, Creative Dance for All Ages, and Brain-Compatible Dance Education; Thom Cobb, associate professor and senior faculty member in the Department of Dance at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Hagood, associate professor and chair of the Department of Dance at Florida International University.

At these events, dance educators can explore many aspects of their field, from technique instruction in ballet, modern, jazz, and world dance to topics such as injury prevention, creativity, teaching standards, and various somatic approaches. Presenters have included dance-field professionals from such organizations as the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries and the Dance Kinesiology Teachers’ Group.

Workshops and conferences strive to address the best ways to teach and to help hone dance educators’ skills so that they can clearly articulate the movements and theories to their students, thereby addressing the needs of both educator and student. Executive board president Abigail Agresta-Stratton stresses that the name of the organization is not the New York State Dance Educators Association—it is the New York State Dance Education Association.

Dance educators who join NDEO as a New York State resident or professional working in New York State also become NYSDEA members. This dual membership gives members access to dance education resources on a local and national level, such as the statewide NYSDEA online forum (available through the NDEO website) that allows educators to ask questions of and share information with colleagues throughout the state, as well as NDEO online national forums on a number of topics such as dance and disability and early childhood.

NYSDEA continually advocates for all dance educators in the state and represents dance in meetings with the New York State Education Department, the New York State Union of Teachers, and the state legislature. NYSDEA advocates for an anatomically sound, standards-based dance-as-art curriculum so that every adult and child can be exposed to the beauty and the complexity of dance on a physical and intellectual level.

To learn more about NYSDEA, visit nysdea.org.

January Events

Arizona Dance Education Organization    Azdeo.org
Event: 8th Annual Pink Tu-Tu Flu
When: January 20
Where: Valley Vista High School, 15550 North Parkview Pl., Surprise, AZ
What: A day of professional development for dance educators. Members are free (non-members $20). Lunch is included.

Dance Masters of America N.E. Chapter 5     Dmachapter5.com
Event: Winter workshop
When: January 22, 9am–4:30pm
Where: Shawn Terenzi’s Academy of Dance, 28 Hampshire St., Lawrence, MA
What: A day of workshops for teachers and students (ages 8 to 12; 13 and up).

Missouri Dance Organization    Missouridance.org
Event: Meet and Greet
When: January 28
Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO
What: MDO members and guests are invited to a meet-and-greet with the Dance St. Louis staff and members of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, including light refreshments at 6:30pm, followed by a pre-performance talk in the Terrace Lobby at 7:15pm, and an 8pm Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performance, compliments of Dance St. Louis.

Texas Dance Educators Association    Tdea.org
Event: Texas Dance Educators Association Convention
When: January 4–7
Where: Houston Marriott Westchase, 2900 Briarpark Dr., Houston, TX
What: Workshops, professional choreography sessions, recognition dinner, banquet, Entertainment Night.

Dance Organization News
An initiative by Florida Dance Masters to nurture students’ choreographic skills, “CBS: Choreography by Students,” was included in this year’s Teachers Continuing Education Seminar held in September at Dr. Phillips High School, Orlando, Florida.

Through CBS, student-created choreography was performed in a workshop led by FDM members who offered critiques and suggestions. These teacher/mentors then observed as the students reworked their pieces, and the pieces were performed later in the seminar for all attendees.

Valerie Weld, publicity chairman, said CBS was created by FDM three years ago and has been growing in popularity. This year, eight students of member teachers presented pieces choreographed on 4 to 15 fellow students. The students’ pieces will be performed again at the organization’s 2012 Breakout! dance competition, she said.

In other FDM news, the group decided at its summer board meeting to move several events from April, where they conflicted with holidays and school events such as proms, to other months of the year. Title competitions for Miss and Mr. Dance and Jr. Miss and Mr. Dance were moved to the FDM November convention, held November 25 to 27 at the Renaissance Resort at Sea World in Orlando. Also, next year’s edition of Breakout! will be held February 24 to 26 at the Marriott Resort in Coral Springs, Florida.

Goh Ballet Academy’s two-generation team

By Barbara Stowe

Four principal dancers in one family—impossible? Not for the balletic dynasty of the Gohs, who run a well-known school in Vancouver, Canada.

What began as a single studio in a dark basement has expanded over the course of 33 years into an academy in a beautiful heritage building with four studios, showers, air conditioning, and skylights. Enrollment at the school, which offers a Junior Program and a Senior Professional curriculum (by audition only), ranges from 400 to 500 students per calendar year; full- and part-time staff number between 15 and 20. Although the curriculum is built around classical ballet, Goh Ballet also offers classes in contemporary, jazz, Chinese dance, and choreography. Ballet history and nutrition round out the intensive Senior Professional program.

Founders Choo Chiat and Lin Yee Goh, now semi-retired, still come in to coach and observe classes, while their daughter, Chan Hon Goh, and her husband, Chun Che (vice principal of the Academy), teach classes on a regular basis. The school teaches the Vaganova method, with Royal Academy of Dance training also forming part of the curriculum. The school attracts teachers of the caliber of Vera Solovyeva, who received the Best Ballet Teacher of the Year award at the Youth America Grand Prix in both 2004 and 2005.

The history of the Gohs reads like something out of a novel. Choo Chiat (who goes by “Chiat”) was a star with the National Ballet of China who went to Canada in 1976 to make a new life for himself and his family. Lin Yee (also a principal dancer with the same company) and Chan, then 8, joined him a year later, and Chiat and Lin Yee decided to open a school.

Chan inherited the dancing bug and her parents’ talent, becoming a principal dancer with National Ballet of Canada (NBC). She retired from dancing in 2009 and is now director of her parents’ school, which is graduating dancers who are working in companies around the world.

The Gohs sat down with me to talk about their achievements. (Years ago, I’d studied and taught at their school.) Chiat explained how his career started when he was growing up in Singapore.

“My father took us to see The Red Shoes. I was so inspired by that. Singapore, it was an island culture, a desert—there was no culture. But my sister Soo Nee Lee was studying dance and so I studied at the same studio as her.”

A chance encounter with a dancer from England’s Royal Ballet changed his life. She encouraged him to come to London and study at The Royal Ballet School, and recommended him for a scholarship. He moved to London and at 16 was invited to join London Festival Ballet. But he wanted more training, and a rare opportunity arose. “The famous Russian ballet master Pyotr Gusev [who had taught Nureyev] was teaching at the Beijing Dance Academy. I desperately wanted to study with him,” says Chiat. “I’d had a lot of [disparate] training, and I was very lucky to study with this Russian master every day, eight hours a day, for two years. It gave me a solid foundation. Besides technique classes we had dance history, repertoire, pas de deux. It was there that I met my wife.”

Lin Yee nods. “He was at a higher level, so we were not in the same class at first. Then we started doing pas de deux together. I thought he was a nice man, with lots of passion, but I didn’t think he was interested in me.”

She was wrong. Chiat was smitten.

“I thought Lin Yee was a very interesting woman,” says Chiat. “She was an outstanding student, with great technical ability and everything. Plus, she was very beautiful.”

Lin Yee had been selected to join the Beijing Dance Academy at age 11. She had wanted to be a doctor, not a dancer, but when she was asked to audition her father decided it was a good opportunity for her. After she was accepted, he gave her a cultural education. “Every week he’d take me to see dance, music, plays, and to galleries,” Lin Yee says. “He said, ‘If you’re going to be a dancer, you have to see art.’ ”

It is tempting to draw parallels to the life of dancer Li Cunxin, subject of the book and movie Mao’s Last Dancer, as the Gohs recall their lives in Communist China. “After the Cultural Revolution, no classical ballets could be performed,” says Lin Yee. “So we needed a revolution in the brain. Suddenly, everything we were doing was wrong. We felt very confused.”

Chiat leans forward, emotion suffusing his face. “Before, we were performing the great classical ballets: Swan Lake, Giselle, Le Corsaire. Now, we could only perform the two revolutionary ballets: The Red Detachment of Women and The White Haired Girl. That time was very difficult because we had no classical repertoire. The classical repertoire is my soul!”

He calms himself and continues. “Suddenly we are all [portraying] peasants in blue uniforms. In Mao’s time we had to be brainwashed, we had to go to the factories. I feel, I can’t reject everything, say everything is wrong. As an artist, as a human being I have to explore so many things.”

Chiat and Lin Yee were married in 1967. When Chiat made the difficult decision to leave China in 1976 it wasn’t easy, either to get out of the country or to start a new life. Lin Yee had to wait a year before she could get permission to join him.

Because Chiat’s sister Soo Nee (also a dancer and teacher) and her family were in Vancouver, Chiat and Lin Yee decided to go there. For the first two years they lived in Soo Nee’s basement. Then they found the financial guidance they needed to start a school. “The Royal Bank was very helpful,” Lin Yee says. “I needed a piano, and it was going to cost a thousand dollars. In those days, a thousand dollars was like a million dollars to me. My friends said, ‘You can get a loan.’ The Royal Bank, they said no problem. And I paid it off every month.”

“My father took us to see The Red Shoes. I was so inspired by that. Singapore, it was an island culture, a desert—there was no culture. But my sister Soo Nee Lee was studying dance and so I studied at the same studio as her.” —Choo Chiat Goh

Besides Soo Nee, some of Chiat’s other siblings were also talented artists. “My brother Choo-San Goh, who was resident choreographer at The Washington Ballet, came to teach at our school,” Chiat says, “and he set a ballet for Chan.” She was just 15 years old at the time.

Chan says that at first dancing was just fun, but at 11 she became serious about it. “I didn’t know what serious was; I just knew I wanted to do more classes. By age 12 I was taking four classes a week.”

“I didn’t want her to be a dancer, because Lin Yee had arthritis and it is such a hard life,” Chiat says. “But one day she came to me and said, ‘Why don’t you coach me?’ ” His face reddens with emotion. “I cried.”

Once she was in high school, school began to feel like a hindrance to Chan, who wanted to take more dance classes. But her parents told her that “academics are very important,” she says. They said, “As much as you’re passionate about dance, you have to be an intelligent dancer. How can you learn how to discover [the characters of classical ballet] within yourself if you don’t have an educational background?”

Chan kept up her academic studies during her ballet training. “Chan worked very hard,” her mother says. And her hard work and talent paid off. At 16 Chan was a finalist for the prestigious Prix de Lausanne, and at 18 she won the silver medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition in London, England. Before she finished high school she was offered a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, a stepping-stone to New York City Ballet. She chose to join National Ballet of Canada instead.

Lin Yee encouraged Chan to maintain a balanced lifestyle. “Especially when Chan went to Toronto [to dance with NBC], I told her, ‘Don’t just have dance friends,’ ” she says. “I wanted her to be mentally as well as physically healthy. This is the new type of dancer. I didn’t want her to copy the old habit” of being completely immersed in ballet.

Chan joined the NBC corps in 1988, and by 1994 she’d become a principal dancer. Asked what inner qualities she credits for her rapid ascent, she says, “It’s a combination of people giving you a chance, and guidance. Reid Anderson [then NBC’s artistic director] knew what roles to give me to challenge me, and I had so much support from coaches, and the generosity of people like Karen Kain, people who believe in you and help you. I was really fortunate.”

Prodded to talk about internal, rather than external, forces that propelled her, she says, “I tend to veer away anyway from bad energy. I very much want to learn, and in retrospect I think I was quite undistracted. I was very focused. I put faith in people who were coaching me. Somehow, my naiveté worked out for me. I trusted the process.”

In 2001 she was invited to dance with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet as a principal artist. She thrived on the challenge.

“The National has about 60 dancers, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet has only about 30 or 35,” says Chan. “There are no full-length ballets. Their repertoire is predominantly [George] Balanchine and some [Jerome] Robbins. I worked with Suzanne daily. I couldn’t get closer to Balanchine than working with her. We toured lots of cities in the U.S. and were at the Kennedy Center for weeks at a time. It changed my dancing.”

Working with Farrell was a revelation, she says. “I’d never been exposed to anyone who worked the way she did. Nonstop. And non-invasive, respectful. She doesn’t try to get you to dance a certain way but respects you as an individual and helps pull things out of you. She said one thing that really resonated with me: ‘The act of trying makes you better.’ ”

Chan is now fully engaged in her role as director at Goh Ballet. “It’s a privilege to take over and grow this academy. We’re now graduating dancers who become principal [dancers], such as Frances Chung with San Francisco Ballet. For me also to bring my experience at this time in my life, it’s wonderful timing. I have a 5-year-old, and had this transition taken place before I was a parent . . .” She searches for the right words.

“Now, I can see it from the professional artist side and the parent side. And I always remember when I was a student. And there is such a great team here, building the academy and working together. It’s a very nurturing environment.”

Geo Hubela puts his brand on hip-hop for kids

By Eileen Glynn

“Be ICONic!” is hip-hop artist Geo Hubela’s motto. It’s both a positive message for his students and a catchy marketing brand.

Whether performing in front of an audience of millions on TV or teaching hip-hop to tots in his own New Jersey studio, Hubela attracts fans both large and small. Drawing on 15 years of experience touring with artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Pink and teaching at conventions, in 2006 Hubela launched ICON Dance Complex in Englishtown, New Jersey. After only five years, the 5,000-square-foot complex has an enrollment of 700 students, of which 120 to 150 are boys. Along with hip-hop, the school offers ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, break dance, and cheer/funk.

Hubela began dancing in the ’80s. “Break dance is what got me started,” he says. “It was the Michael Jackson era, jazz-based but commercial choreography. What he was doing then would be called hip-hop now. That’s what got me interested.” Hubela took classes with Frank Hatchett, drawn by what he describes as Hatchett’s “funky style of street jazz”; lyrical with Michèle Assaf; lyrical and jazz with Joe Lanteri; and AC Ciulla’s grungy street style jazz at Broadway Dance Center.

While taking class at Horizons in Dance in Brooklyn, Hubela started teaching his own class, which he called hip-hop. He booked his first job at Disney World in Orlando, “and that was the start. I taught at Star Power in New York City, and Allison [Ellner] from Broadway Dance Center stopped in and asked if I’d be interested in teaching there. It was a dream come true.” And he hit the convention circuit with Tremaine, Monsters of Hip Hop, and Darrin Henson’s Dance Grooves, “I love teaching huge ballrooms full of kids,” he says. “Teaching helped support me. I taught at the Edge, close to 100 studios around the country, wherever there was an opportunity.” Now on the Showstoppers faculty, he tours on the weekends and runs his studio the rest of the time, teaching 20 hours per week.

Hubela came up with the name for his school when he was staying at Hotel Icon in Houston and saw the name on the hotel stationery. “It was like ‘Boom!’—a light turned on, and I knew that I had found the name for my studio,” he says. “Now, when people hear [the word] ‘icon,’ they think of our dance complex. And when they hear ‘iconic,’ they think of our ICONic Boyz and ICONic Girlz crews.” As for his motto, he calls it “inspiring,” a catchphrase that “pushes kids to do their best.”

Performing with his own ICONic dance crew on the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew helped put Hubela’s brand on the map. “The school opened with 300 or 400 students, and then we went on the show,” says Hubela. “I used my credits with people in the industry like J-Lo and Will Smith in my marketing, and that was a big draw.” This year his ICONic Boyz crew performed on the show’s sixth season. Ranging in age from 10 to 14, the seven boys are the youngest crew to have performed on the show to date. “Season 6 was the first time they let kids on the show,” Hubela says. “The Boyz were the only kids who made it. The Girlz went all the way to contracts. They didn’t make the show, but they did very well.”

Hubela’s crews are required to take at least four classes per week: two in hip-hop (which include strength and core work) and one each in jazz and break dance. Rather than holding auditions, Hubela handpicks his elite crews, basing his choices on “talent, attitude, looks, style, and ability to pick up choreography quickly and execute it well. They have to work hard.” There’s no age minimum; some crew members have been as young as 9.

National TV exposure has given the ICONic Boyz a large following and has led to numerous performance opportunities at conventions, competitions, and charity events. “They are like pop stars,” Hubela says. “Wherever we go, there are hundreds of girls showing up to see them dance. They are like the first boy band of dance—and they don’t even sing!”

But Hubela cautions them to remain humble. “I tell the dancers, ‘No one job and no one experience can make you better as a person than anyone else.’ I don’t want to create an uncomfortable dynamic with the other students in the studio,” he says. “Instead, I hope that the ICONic Boyz crew inspires even more kids, especially boys, to take dance classes.”

Indeed, the heart of Hubela’s business is his dance studio. Hubela and his sister Beth, a former professional cheerleader, co-founded the dance complex and direct its curriculum. Their mother, Karen, handles the accounting, while their father, George, signs students in at the front desk. Another sister, Jeanine Sottile, and her husband, Chris, were two of the studio’s main investors, while Hubela’s brother Michael manages day-to-day studio operations.

“For a while we all lived together under one roof in order to get the business up and running. We knew that we had to make sacrifices in order to get where we wanted to get,” Hubela says. “Even now, whenever we get together, 90 percent of the conversation at the dinner table is about the dancing school, and then you go to bed thinking about it. It becomes your life. These kids become so important. You are giving them your passion.”

Founding a family studio was always in the back of his mind, says Hubela, who grew up—and took dance lessons with his siblings—in Brooklyn. Later, as he traveled the country teaching master classes in hip-hop, he paid close attention to the studio environments he encountered. “Every time I walked into another studio, I’d say, ‘Hmm, I like this,’ or ‘I’d never do that,’ ” he says. “As a working professional, I had to be an entrepreneur from a young age, doing things like negotiating my own salaries, for example. For me, being at work was like being in school. I paid attention to everything around me. I knew I wanted to open my own studio someday and I didn’t want to have to worry about how to do it.”

“I wanted a name that was going to stand out. Now, when people hear [the word] ‘icon,’ they think of our dance complex. And when they hear ‘iconic,’ they think of our ICONic Boyz and ICONic Girlz crews.” —Geo Hubela

Hubela sharpened his entrepreneurial skills by working as an assistant for Henson, who won an MTV Award for Best Choreography for *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.” (Hubela performed in it on American Music Awards.) “Darrin would show up at conventions with T-shirts and videos for sale. He told me, ‘You have to brand yourself. You are an inspirational role model for kids. Make a T-shirt; it gives you something to sign for them,’ ” Hubela recalls. “So I started with ‘Geo’ merchandise and now I have ‘ICON’ merchandise. I owe that advice to Darrin.”

Selling merchandise is just one of a number of marketing ideas that Hubela swears by. “A great website is a busy studio owner’s first tool, followed by a great use of social media—Facebook and maybe Twitter,” he says. “This gives people somewhere to go in order to find out more about you.”

Hubela also recommends becoming involved in the community by performing at charity events and festivals. Just before launching his studio, Hubela, his sister Beth, and several friends performed at the local Manalapan Day festival. “We had our logo, T-shirts, and signs, and put on a 15-minute show with just seven dancers,” Hubela says. By the following year the studio had enrolled 200 students, and Hubela brought them all back to the festival. “We wore a common color and put up a huge tent to continue our branding,” he says. “By the year after that, we had doubled our enrollment again to 400 dancers. This year, thousands OF people came to see the ICONic Boyz perform at the festival.”

Community performances that feature Hubela’s polished male dancers are a tremendous boost to ICON Dance Complex’s enrollment, as was being on national TV, of course. But according to Hubela, word of mouth is his biggest marketing tool. “We have a good, young, trained staff. We stay fresh and new, with new music,” he says. “The kids are walking out smiling and that’s what you want.”

He is careful to make male dancers feel welcome by keeping the decor in a gender-neutral color scheme. “I stayed away from pink and purple because those colors are isolating to boys,” he says. “I chose silver and a deep blue—we call it ‘ICON blue’—to make it very hip to all kids. I want anyone and everyone to feel welcome in the studio.” These days he’s teaching three boys’ classes—that’s about 100 boys—back-to-back.

Widespread public interest in hip-hop classes has also increased the school’s enrollment. “There has been a surge in hip-hop since the ’90s and early 2000s, when it started appearing in conventions and then on reality shows,” Hubela says. “Hip-hop is vital to a studio’s curriculum, especially if you are branching out from ballet, tap, and jazz. You need hip-hop too, in order to survive. Many people think hip-hop music is negative. But there are plenty of positive commercial songs that are remixed, clean, and kid friendly. The majority of the music we teach to is pop.”

Although ICON Dance Complex offers a wide variety of classes, Hubela’s hip-hop classes pull in the largest numbers for both professional-track and recreational dancers. He and Beth have also begun a “Hip-Hop for Tots” program that introduces the basics to 3- and 4-year-olds. “Like ballet, hip-hop is an art form that has its own technique and terminology that can be introduced at an early age,” Hubela says. “We teach popping, cutting, gliding—all of the basics—to the little ones. It’s not just moving to Britney Spears music.”

While many studios don’t offer hip-hop to students under age 7, Hubela recommends introducing it to younger kids—and potentially retaining those students for the next 15 years. Chances are the young hip-hop dancers will find other dance forms that interest them too, and gradually increase the number of classes they take per week.

In Hubela’s experience, many young children also enjoy freestyling, an important part of hip-hop culture in which kids “step into the circle, dance the way they want to dance, and express themselves through the music,” he says. He saves the last five minutes of class for freestyling. “It can be easier to dance in front of a huge group, where you can block out the audience, than in front of a small group of your peers. I don’t push kids who don’t want to enter the circle on their own. I tell them it’s an expression of who they are. There’s no wrong step. It’s the music telling them what to do.” He gives them a few weeks to feel it out. “And once they go in,” he says, “I really praise them for trying.”

Positive reinforcement is a great motivator at ICON Dance Complex, and Hubela models that behavior through his own actions: “I strive to work harder and sweat more than the kids in class. Also, I learned from other people that it’s easy to be negative.” But, he says, focusing on the students who are doing something correctly motivates those who aren’t. “The kid who’s doing it wrong wants the attention,” he says.

Also motivating are the numerous photos of Hubela’s performance career that line the walls. “Every time I took a photo with a star, I had the thought that I would hang it in my studio someday—not to show off, but to inspire my students,” Hubela says. “I have a passion for teaching and I’ve always wanted to do it in a place that I can call home.”

The ICONic Boyz will perform at New York’s Apollo Theater on December 10. Plans are in the works for a possible 12-city tour in 2012 with a dance convention, open to the public.

Pittsburgh’s all-hip-hop studio is spreading the word 

By Steve Sucato

Dance studios that offer hip-hop dance alongside classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern are everywhere these days. Studios devoted solely to hip-hop are rare, but if you visit the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suburb of Emsworth, you’ll find one: Brenna Jaworski’s Pittsburgh Heat Hip Hop Dance Company.

Founded in 2005, the studio is the only one of its kind in the area (and quite possibly in the state). Even though Pittsburgh has had a burgeoning hip-hop dance scene since the early 1980s, Jaworski, 28, says she started Pittsburgh Heat partly because the community craved even more of it.

“Although there are more studios today offering hip-hop classes, when I started my studio there was still a need for a studio that offered the real urban hip-hop style of the streets, which is what we do,” says Jaworski. The other reason for founding the studio, she says, was that she simply loves the form. “I like the spontaneity of hip-hop. You could be at a park with your friends and one of them will start break dancing—and before you know it, a dance battle will break out.”

Jaworski grew up in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland, where hip-hop culture and street dance were prevalent. At age 5 she entered competitive cheerleading and spent the next 20 years competing in the sport. “It seems silly, but it’s the norm in competitive cheerleading and dance to start kids out at age 4 or 5,” says Jaworski. “When you start younger you don’t have that fear to learn how to tumble, stunt, and do the bigger tricks.”

As a child Jaworski also took dance lessons at Tammy Lee’s School of Dance in Pittsburgh, which at the time did not offer classes in hip-hop. “If you wanted to learn hip-hop you had to learn from street dancers or trying it on your own,” she says. She eventually began integrating hip-hop dance moves into her competitive cheerleading routines, with successful results. She also began coaching and choreographing for competitive cheer teams and judging competitions, all of which she continues to do as a separate business from Pittsburgh Heat.

A single-minded approach
Why a hip-hop–only studio? Says Jaworski, “Everybody has something they love. I left a very successful career as a hairstylist because I believed in hip-hop—so much so that I wanted it to be the only form of dance we do at Pittsburgh Heat.”

The decision to start her studio also came from a desire to create a studio free from the politics, negativity, and parental interference she says she witnessed at some of the studios she had worked with as a freelance choreographer and coach. She also felt, from talking to dancers and others in the community, that there was enough desire for hip-hop dance that it could support her single-minded studio.

“When you do something a little bit different you attract those people who have been waiting for that difference,” says Jaworski. “Kids in urban areas looking for something or somewhere to belong are drawn to hip-hop. I feel at times hip-hop gets a bad rap because of how it has been portrayed on television. I see hip-hop dance as having a positive impact in the community. Here, in the 1980s, crews used dance and dance battles as a non-violent way to claim territory.”

Jaworski posted 8,000 fliers on telephone poles around the area announcing the opening of her studio and soliciting students. She got 13—not a lot, but enough to start a competition team that was the studio’s sole focus for three years. It was after the success of that team, Jaworski says, that people began contacting her about classes.

Pittsburgh Heat’s facility features a 1,400-square-foot studio with mirrors, a surround-sound stereo system, and a no-impact, foam-cushioned dance floor. Yet to be renovated is another room (2,600 square feet), which will become a second studio and performance space.

In keeping with the hip-hop focus, the main studio’s walls feature graffiti art, including some by the members of the dance crew POREOTICS, the Season 5 winner of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, who recently held a workshop at Pittsburgh Heat. “I gave them a can of spray paint and told them to tag the walls,” says Jaworski. “What other studio does that?”

Hip-hop and breaking teacher Mario Quinn Lyles, one of six instructors at Pittsburgh Heat, says, “We’re street, nitty-gritty down to the core, the real deal. It doesn’t matter what your age is, where you come from, or how much experience you have. We invite everybody to come learn. We will work with you.”

Classes
The studio operates seven days a week, teaching a mix of styles found in various regions of the country. Classes generally begin with a stretching and warm-up period, followed by a choreographed routine, with the instructors breaking down the movements step by step. Open classes include kids’ hip-hop (ages 3 to 8 ) and break dancing (ages 5 to 12), beginner hip-hop and intermediate/advanced hip-hop (ages 9 to 14), tumbling, krumping, and popping/waving classes, as well as a guys-only class and private lessons in hip-hop and break dancing.

While there’s obviously a big maturity gap between the 3- and 8-year-olds in the kids’ class, Jaworski says almost all start out at the same level of dance skills and that the youngest kids’ desire to emulate the older students aids their progress.

Competition team students take class twice a week. Jaworski says the studio averages 200 students a month, three-quarters of whom are walk-ins.

“That is one of the things I love about hip-hop—it reaches a lot of people across generations,” she says. “I have had adults in their mid-60s take class.” She says the clientele crosses socioeconomic lines—everyone from students and street dancers to businessmen and police officers.

While some of those 200 students take classes in other forms of dance at other area studios, Jaworski says for many of them—especially on her competition teams—hip-hop is the only form of dance they take, and only at Pittsburgh Heat.

Competition team students sign yearly contracts, paying for their classes in installments while everyone else pays by the class or purchases a pass for four classes at a discounted rate.

Jaworski teaches classes and choreographs for and coaches many of the studio’s All-Star competitive dance teams. The “All-Star” moniker is a designation used by several national cheer and dance competition companies and governing bodies such as the U.S. All Star Federation to delineate their most extreme approach to competitive cheer and dance routines. All-Star teams all follow a standardized set of competition and safety rules and regulations.

Like Jaworski, Pittsburgh Heat’s other instructors are also active in the Pittsburgh hip-hop community. Some—like dancer and hip-hop recording artist Chris “Choze” Jaeger, who appeared in the 2008 movie Step Up 2: The Streets—are members of Pittsburgh dance crews.

In hiring teachers Jaworski says she looks for individuals who are kindhearted and as passionate about hip-hop as she is. “I am looking for street dancers who have it down to a science so they can relay what they know into a class,” says Jaworski. “I don’t have to advertise for teachers; they find me. They like the company and what it stands for and want to be a part of it.”

“I like the spontaneity of hip-hop. You could be at a park with your friends and one of them will start break dancing—and before you know it, a dance battle will break out.” —Brenna Jaworski

Beyond a few rules on conduct, Jaworski says she’s hands-off, letting her instructors bring their personalities and teaching styles and methods to their classes.

Last July Lyles taught an all-ages hip-hop class in which he instructed a group that included studio regulars plus walk-in dancers and instructors from another studio. Lyles taught choreography he made up on the spot, set to a song from his own hip-hop band, 30 Realm.

A native of Buffalo, New York, who sports dreadlocks and an easygoing demeanor, Lyles describes his teaching style as “boom boom pow,” meaning he uses markers in the music rather than counts to teach his steps. The approach is engaging, with Lyles sometimes becoming downright giddy at some of the choreography being created, which he hoped would be used in a music video of his band’s song “Chasin.”

One element that defines hip-hop—and gives it its edge—is the dancer’s look, including attitude and facial expressions. But how do you teach more privileged students that street attitude and “mean mug” without them appearing disingenuous? Both Jaworski and Lyles say what’s most important is teaching confidence. Lyles says he instructs his students to move with a swagger that is reflected in their faces.

“We are putting on a show when we dance,” says Jaworski. “At times we need to act. Facial expressions do not always have to look mean; they go with the music and what the dancer is trying to convey. A dancer’s facial expressions and performance attitude are important in competitions because you are scored on them.”

Competition teams
Since Jaworski comes from a competition background, it comes as no surprise that she considers her five competition teams, for kids ages 3 and up, the heart and soul of her studio. “They really drive me,” she says.

The teams average 12 competitions a year, a number that Jaworski says her dancers would like to see increased. “They love it,” she says. “That is what they work for, to go to competitions and do the best that they can.” The teams compete primarily in the Pittsburgh region (to cut down on expenses and raise awareness of the studio) in competitions hosted by companies such as AmeriDance, National Dance Alliance, and Xtreme Spirit. The teams learn one routine per team each season, honing it throughout the competition season to improve their scores.

In a rehearsal of a routine Jaworski choreographed for her Blaze (ages 14 to 18) and Inferno (ages 18 and over) competition teams, the school owner coached 13 girls through a routine featuring group formations, sharp arm movements, and body isolations, à la a Janet Jackson music video. A vocal coach, Jaworski barked out instructions and corrections over loud club music. After instructing one unfocused student to run a lap around the studio’s parking lot, she greeted the girl with a motherly hug when she returned. The method worked: the girl rejoined the others a more focused dancer. “I nitpick my competitive teams like crazy,” says Jaworski. “I just want to get the best out of them.”

Jaworski then joined two other women from the Inferno All-Star team as they moved through choreography similar to the Blaze dancers’, with some added break-dance elements. The dancing was much sharper and was delivered with more impact, a lesson not lost on the younger girls who were watching. Jaworski sees continuing her own dance career as a way of teaching and leading by example.

In the community
Pittsburgh Heat’s dance teams do more than competitions. “We get out into the community and perform” at community outreach events and corporate events and in local hip-hop shows, says Jaworski. She and her instructors also are regularly invited by area schools to present workshops in which they educate students on hip-hop’s history as well as teaching them steps.

The studio’s efforts have earned it the distinction of being named best dance group at the 2010 and 2011 Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards.

Pittsburgh Heat’s mission is to spread the word of hip-hop. And by making the studio and its classes accessible to everyone, Jaworski is doing so at the community level—much the same way as the dance form she loves got its start, one street at a time.

A sneak peek opens students’ eyes to the college experience

By Eliza Randolph

Parents of teenagers know the drill—college tours, college applications, college admissions—the agony and the ecstasy. Starting in their junior year, the question of college looms on the horizon for many high school students. But what about studio owners? How much do you know about your students’ plans after high school, after the bittersweet final recital? How much do you participate in shaping those plans?

One school owner, Crystal Draper of Kinetic Expressions Dance Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, so loved her college experience that she wants to send all her students off to school. She even took them on a road trip—not for a competition, but to visit her alma mater, Shenandoah University and Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia.

While most college dance programs offer tours, lectures, and classes as part of their audition process, Shenandoah offers “Dance Days” during which even high school juniors who are not yet auditioning can sit in on classes, auditions, workshops, and performances. As an alumnus, Draper made special arrangements and took her one junior and seven other interested students (some as young as 12) there last fall. They drove up from Florida to Virginia in one shot, with some parents as chaperones and Draper’s 2-year-old son in tow. Everyone chipped in to cover expenses.

“It was about opening their eyes,” says Draper, to what college in general and dance programs in particular can offer students. “Obviously it was extra special because it was my school and I could show them all my old stomping grounds.” But she also wanted very much to share with her girls “the same thrill I got when I went for my audition.”

Draper grew up in Ohio, and despite a rewarding stint of training and performing with a local studio, she knew she wanted college. And she knew she wanted to go far from home to stretch her wings. “The best thing I ever did was go away where I didn’t know anyone,” she says, “too far away to bring the laundry home on the weekends, far enough to miss my mommy. I felt like a big girl, like I was growing up.”

The sense of independence Draper developed at school carried over into her professional life. “Moving away to Florida where I didn’t know anybody and starting my own business—I don’t think I would ever have done that if I had been living down the street from where I grew up.”

Her students, she says, “need that push” to strike out on their own. “If they can afford it, if they can get the scholarship, if they can make it work, then I say, ‘Go away. It’ll be the best thing you’ll ever do.’ ”

The trip gave Draper and the young dancers both a look back at the past (hers) and a glimpse of the future (theirs). “We had so much fun,” she says. The students took classes all day, and Draper took the first ballet class with them, overwhelmed by nostalgia. “I stood at my favorite spot on the barre where I stood all four years when we were doing ballet,” she says. “And all my kids lined up on the barre behind me. It was so awesome for me to see them in there, in my [former] studio with my teachers. That makes me really proud.”

“Probably the most eye-opening thing was seeing Miss Crystal dance with us. I’ve grown up dancing with her, and she taught me basically everything I know. But being back where she learned everything she knows is crazy to me.” —senior Mary Rebekah Barto

For senior Mary Rebekah Bartos, the trip revealed what the college experience might be like, but it also revealed her teacher in a new light. “Probably the most eye-opening thing was seeing Miss Crystal dance with us,” says Bartos. “I’ve grown up dancing with her, and she taught me basically everything I know. But being back where she learned everything she knows is crazy to me. I could see exactly where she gets her combinations, and everything she had been pushing in ballet, I could see where it was coming from. The school itself was gorgeous, and I fell in love with it. And I could see why she was encouraging us all to go to college for dance. She’s always encouraged everyone to go to college, whether it be for dance or anything.”

As for taking class with college students, Bartos says, “I was excited rather than nervous, because it was a place I was looking at for college. It was kind of like an audition before auditioning. And, being with Crystal, it was like home away from home. She was in class with us, and so it was comfortable.”

Raven Brown, who was a freshman at the time of the visit, says, “I was really excited, and I looked over [in class] because I was on a different barre from Crystal and the other students, and it was like, ‘OK, this is kind of scary.’ And I would look over at Crystal and think, ‘It’s OK, you’re fine. Relax.’ ”

Brown was surprised by the atmosphere of the class—simultaneously gentle and rigorous. “I expected it to be a lot more strict, but it really wasn’t. [The instructors] were laughing, but they were on you about technique. It wasn’t controlling and a lot of yelling like I thought it was going to be. They’re there to help you.”

In addition to taking class, the students attended a workshop for prospective students, ate in the cafeteria, toured the campus, and watched a performance.

Draper was delighted by her students’ excitement about Shenandoah and says she’s open to future visits. She’s also open to the idea of taking students to visit several schools. In the context of learning more about college experiences and options, she says, “it would have been much more worthwhile if we could have taken a whole week and stopped at a bunch of schools, and let them do it all week long.”

The girls’ parents were equally enthusiastic about the college visit. Draper says, “I got great feedback from their parents about that trip. They couldn’t get [the kids] on that van fast enough. They thought it was a really great experience, couldn’t believe I was taking eight teenagers all the way to Virginia.”

Draper contrasts this visit with the usual competition road trips. “It was so cool, because most studios require you to pay hundreds of dollars to get on a van and go to a competition where you do one dance and get a trophy and go home,” she says. “This was lifetime-rewarding. They’ll never forget the time that we had, the whole experience. They just had their mouths open the whole weekend. They absorbed it like sponges.”

Tremaine tells all on jazz, teaching, and his own high-stepping life

By Karen White

Joe Tremaine is the quintessential jazz dance pro. Growing up in the New Orleans area, immersed in what he calls “the best music on Earth,” Tremaine danced his way to New York City and Europe, cruised through TV jobs and Vegas shows, and eventually landed in Los Angeles, where he ran a “studio for the stars” for almost 30 years. He combined that teaching experience with his insider’s knowledge of show biz to create his Tremaine Dance Conventions and Competitions, now heading into its fourth decade. Through it all, Tremaine has been an ambassador for his own brand of heart-pumping, high-kicking, funky-and-fun style of jazz dance that still thrills his students and fans today. We caught up with him this fall, fresh off his appearance at the DanceLife Teacher Conference.

At the DLTC, the teachers couldn’t get enough of your jazz classes. What’s your secret?

I want everybody to have a great time, and I think number one is the music. Music is what jazz is all about. It’s the vernacular form of dance based on American popular music. My first trick is to have them dance to the hottest music possible. Get the class engaged in a few steps, then put the music on. The pacing of the class is extremely important, especially if you’re teaching younger kids. When I teach 6-, 7-, 8-year-olds, I’ll teach them an 8 or two 8s, and I’ll go, “Do you want to do it with music?” “Yes, yes, yes,” they’re screaming right away. As you progress from there, you can correct the technique and so forth.

How long have you been teaching?
I started teaching a little bit in high school. I didn’t want to, but I lived in the cotton fields of Louisiana. In that area I knew more about dance than most people, which is not saying a lot! People had to drive 35 miles to get to a dance studio, so they said, “You can teach us.”

Did you always gravitate toward jazz?
Jazz was always my favorite. I tapped at first, then modern jazz, as they called it, was beginning to evolve and I said, “Oh yeah, that’s what I want.” When I was 8 or 9, I was dancing to music on the radio in my dad’s grocery store, and I remember one of the workers said, “Man, you’re good! When you grow up, you’re gonna be an exotic dancer!” He didn’t know what an exotic dancer was, and neither did I. I felt it was a great compliment at the time.

 But I had that influence, considered back then the street influence. It wasn’t hip-hop obviously, but it was called freestyling. I got many jobs because I could tap dance, I could do ballet, and I could out-freestyle anybody. I’d go into nightclubs and clear the floor dancing if I wanted to. But again, it’s all about the music.

You worked in the early days of TV, on The Jackie Gleason Show, The Jerry Lewis Show.
I moved from the cotton fields into New Orleans and worked in the French Quarter in legit shows, then moved to New York on a one-way bus ticket and lived at the Y. I started getting jobs. June Taylor hired me for a show called Mardi Gras starring Louis Armstrong and Joel Grey, and we played at Jones Beach in New York. After eight weeks June took me and three other guys to Miami to do The Jackie Gleason Show.

Most TV shows in those days were done live. How did that help you grow as a dancer?
It’s either do it or die. Today they call a season 12 shows—we did a 32-week season, and I did two years of live TV with many, many stars. It was the best training ground ever. There were no second takes—you really had to know what you were doing.

And I never stopped taking class, ever. We finished a show or walked out after rehearsal, where would we go? We would go to class. It was the best thing I ever did. You can never stop working on your instrument, on your body.

How did that all lead to teaching?
I was very lucky because I met so many stars on The Jerry Lewis Show—Jane Powell to Bobby Darin to everyone imaginable, and they would be like, “You’re really good—would you work for me?” That’s when I started choreographing. Eugene Loring had a school in Hollywood [Loring was director of the American School of Dance] and he said, “I want you to teach for me.” I opened my own dance center in 1971.

What was your studio like?
It was almost all adults. When I first opened I don’t think I let in anyone under 14, and then eventually dropped it to 12. But they were stars. Choreographers would take my class. Even Cyd Charisse took my class.

That was before people were going to gyms to get physically fit, so everybody would come to dance class. I’m not being egotistical, but my beginner and intro jazz classes would be huge—50, 60, 70, 100 people in a room that should only have 35 or 40. So I’d teach class harder and weed out the people who couldn’t keep up. Every secretary, every waiter, everybody out here wanted to be actors. That’s how my studio mushroomed—because they came to class.

How did you develop your style of jazz?
Every night I would go out dancing in the discos—not just to dance for my pleasure, but to hear the music, see all the street stuff. I’d say, “Boy—that could make a great step.” I would make it mine. I’d put it in a jazz form, and that’s how I developed my style.

What was best about running your own dance studio?
The freedom to do what I wanted to do, and do it the way I wanted to do it. I’m kind of strong-headed in the things I believe in. I like to teach fast and challenge people.

And worst?
I don’t know that there was a worst part. I feel selfish sometimes that I am able to do what I want to do, having the time of my life and meeting incredible people. I really don’t know how to do anything else, and I don’t care how to do anything else. I just want to dance. I always wanted to dance.

“When I was 8 or 9, I was dancing to music on the radio in my dad’s grocery store, and I remember one of the workers said, ‘Man, you’re good! When you grow up, you’re gonna be an exotic dancer!’ He didn’t know what an exotic dancer was, and neither did I.”

How do you see jazz dance changing?
Jazz encompasses so much, from lyrical to boogie-woogie to basic jazz to Broadway-style jazz. The most popular form now is probably contemporary. Everyone wants to do contemporary, even the 6-year-olds. My one concern is they don’t know why they’re doing it. I don’t think kids who lack emotional maturity should be doing it in competition. But in studios across the country they’re all trying to emulate the TV dance shows to some degree.

Teachers say they’re confused about what jazz is and that at competitions, different styles end up in the same category.
Jazz is open-ended. If you’ve got five people, you’ve got five opinions. There’s basic old regular jazz, funky jazz, then all the others. Obviously there is a Broadway-style jazz, but what is the fine line between that and musical theater? It depends on the competition and the way the judges define those genres. I think teachers have to define for themselves what it is and enter their numbers accordingly.

So jazz is connected to popular music, and since the music has changed, the movement has changed.
Jazz has no boundaries. Everybody is still going to dance to “Hit the Road, Jack,” or “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” and that’s the old kind of jazz stuff. The great thing about jazz is that it’s an amalgamation. It’s a big stew. You throw in anything and stir it up with some good music and that’s jazz.

Is hip-hop jazz?
I said that jazz dance is an American form of dance which comes from the vernacular. It’s the same with hip-hop. It’s picking up on the trends in the music, and that’s street stuff and the kind of jazz I’ve always tried to incorporate. So I guess yes, hip-hop is a derivative of jazz.

Where is jazz going?
I think it’s going to continue just as it is with all kind of variations on the theme. The direction of popular music is what drives it. That’s what has driven it all along, all the way back to the cakewalk and the black bottom to jitterbug and boogie-woogie swing, Caribbean influences, everything. It’s so wonderful and it’s all interconnected.

What was your reaction to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the DanceLife Teacher Conference?
I almost fainted dead away. I had no idea I was getting an award. I was sitting there, enjoying everybody else’s performances, then suddenly it’s all about me, which was just astonishing. I was almost speechless, which I’m usually not. It was great to be honored in such a way by your peers. It can’t get any better than that.

Do you have any advice for studio teachers?
Keep training the kids to the best of your ability and know that we all get frustrated. Teachers say, “I haven’t taught in four years and I want to start again,” and my first reaction is that they should have never stopped. You can slow down; you can change your pace. You don’t have to teach four million classes a week. Teachers have to remember we’re training bodies, minds, and souls, not just bodies to do hop shuffle ball change or boogie-woogie. I always say dance training is life training. I would tell them not to stop—don’t give up.

Any last thoughts?
Anybody who moves to music or without music, if they consider it dancing, I think it’s fabulous. Everybody should be moving all the time. Get out of the damn chair and lift your legs and roll your head and snap your fingers and sway to the music. It’s so important to our lives.

What a dance teacher dreams of finding under the tree

By Diane Gudat

Dear Santa (or, just to cover my bases, Père Noël, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kwanzaa Spirit, Walmart Layaway, or whoever or whatever delivers gifts to my house around December 25),

I have been an extremely good dance teacher all year. I have been polite when possible to the parents, excused hundreds of absences, have already picked out a recital theme and even a few songs, got my staff lovely gifts, and planned the studio holiday party. I have assembled the following list to help you determine which gifts might be best to reward my obvious accomplishments.

Please note: Some of these items might be readily available, while others might require a little creativity from your capable elves.

1. An air freshener that would dispense a mild sedative into the waiting room, thus calming chatty parents and out-of-control siblings.

2. A lifetime subscription to my new dream satellite radio station, Dance Teacher Music Unlimited. Designed specifically for dance teachers, this amazing station would feature pre-cut music for recitals and solos. It would come with the capability to replay any song as many times as requested and would allow downloads directly to any iPod, free of charge.

3. A one-year pass to my favorite coffee shop, with an option for free delivery to the studio.

4. A hip-hop teacher who comes every week and arrives on time. I know these teachers exist; I just have not been able to find one yet.

5. A magic wand that collects crushed Cheerios and Goldfish crackers, sparing me from bending over or moving the lobby furniture.

6. New ballet barres that disperse disinfectant to kill the germs that dancers carry into the classroom. Hopefully this will put an end to my yearly bouts with colds and the flu. While you’re at it, could you have the elves design a line of dancewear for teachers that also repels germs? You might as well throw in control-top panels and something that gives the illusion of removing 10 pounds.

7. A ban on all props and sets for one full year, in effect on every competition circuit in the United States and Canada. As a teacher, I would love a year without worrying how to make, transport, and (worst of all) store them. As a competition judge, I would love a year of not having to wait for them to be set up and torn down.

8. A variable-speed MP3 player. Not an app—the real thing!

9. One class each week that begins on time, full of students who dress correctly, follow every rule, do exactly what they are told, have cooperative parents, and are thankful for the opportunity to study with me.

10. At least one male student for every class.

I promise to continue to be the best dance teacher I can be and plan on leaving you a nice box of wine and Godiva chocolates in case you are actually a woman.

P.S. I also considered asking for a hidden lobby camera to catch the parents’ conversations about the studio, but I think that might be a case of “Be careful what you ask for!”

James Robey’s syllabus builds dancers from the ground up

By Joshua Bartlett

“You need a stable, grounded lower body,” says James Robey to his attentive students in an advanced jazz class, “and an expressive, mobile upper body.”

Robey, who directs Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance in Ridgefield, Connecticut, is passionate about jazz dance as a serious art form and wants it to be taught with integrity. Over the past 15 years he has worked on a syllabus to teach jazz technique that parallels modern and ballet techniques, which have been well codified for decades. The result: the Jazz Dance Technique and Syllabus.

“I first started trying to figure out what was available to teach at what level and at what age, to build up to the level of the end product—being able to perform the difficult steps with proficiency,” says Robey. When he took the leadership position at the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance in 2001, after teaching there since 1996, he was charged with creating a ballet and modern syllabus for the school. “I was researching the Vaganova and RAD syllabuses and studied how they structured their lessons and how the system works,” says Robey. “I used all of that and applied it to jazz.”

So why the need to put jazz, a dance form that has historically been a little bit rebellious, into a systemized format for teaching? “Some of the pillars of jazz and pioneers like Gus Giordano and Luigi—their technique and class process has been codified and it’s wonderful—it’s part of the history that we draw from,” says Robey. “But the system of actually training from beginning to end has not been codified. I saw that as a real hole in jazz dance education.”

With ballet training, Robey points out, teachers can obtain plenty of guidelines with different syllabuses; and dancers, to get decent training, can find teachers who use a particular method all over the globe. Jazz methodology, on the other hand, has been more haphazard for teachers to find structured training.

“Mine is a codified, progressive syllabus that takes teachers and students through the very first physical abilities all the way through the advanced,” says Robey. “One thing I think is important about this syllabus is that it is free of stylistic conventions. Jazz dance is so sensitive to time. It changes and shifts according to the whims of popular culture. A lot of the material out there for jazz dancing is just the latest, trendiest combination of styles. I didn’t want to compete with that—there are tons of stylistic stuff out there. This is a real foundation for teachers of any style, whether they are musical theater jazz dance teachers, street jazz teachers, traditional or contemporary dance teachers. They can use this as a base and put their style on top of it.”  

Robey began his jazz training in college with Priscilla Wagner at the University of Akron. It was Wagner, whose style was drawn from Matt Mattox and Jack Cole, who mentored him and instilled in him a respect for jazz as a profoundly serious dance form. Robey earned his BFA in dance from the University of Akron and also studied with Gus Giordano and Luigi, as well as being schooled in Horton modern technique. During college he worked at Disney World and after college as a jazz dancer on cruise ships and at Tokyo Disneyland. “It was mostly the commercial side of jazz, and I wanted to take a more serious, artistic approach to my career,” says Robey.

He eventually earned his MFA in dance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and served as director of the dance program at Western Reserve Academy and of the Jazz and Modern Program at Eastern Connecticut Ballet. Additionally, he has been a faculty member in the dance programs at The Hartt School/University of Hartford and the University of Akron. As a professional performer, he danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, GroundWorks Dance Theater, and numerous other troupes.

Robey initiated the development of his jazz curriculum in 1996, but it started to take a specific shape in 2000–01. He put it into effect when he took the leadership post at Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, implementing it at all levels. “Now that I have been here for 10 years, I have been able to see it taught from the youngest all the way up,” says Robey. “I have also applied it with students when I taught in Manhattan and when teaching the BFA students at the University of Hartford.” Robey formally released the syllabus for purchase in July 2010.

To give teachers an idea of what the syllabus covers, Robey breaks it down into six levels. Jazz 1 (ages 7 to 9) introduces traditional musical theater steps that involve weight changes. “For young beginning dancers, just knowing when to put weight on your foot and when not to, plus all the tricky rhythms you can create, is something you can delve into for a long time,” says Robey. Some of the Jazz 1 steps include the lindy, the sugar, and truckin’ (hopping on one foot consecutively and then the other). Jazz 2 (ages 8 to 11) continues with more weight changes and adds other traditional steps such as the camel walk (bent-kneed walk with undulating pelvis), stag leap, and crazy legs (legs bent while bouncing knees together). Each level is normally an academic year but depends on the student’s progress.

Jazz 3 (ages 10 to 13) adds more sophistication and finesse to the movement. “The students learn a lot more about how line comes into the work, how the effects from ballet and modern techniques like Horton take hold, and seeing how the steps really begin to develop,” says Robey. Jazz vocabulary like the clip turn, jazz slide, and over the top are taught in Jazz 3.

With Jazz 4 (ages 11 to 14), which introduces moves like the barrel turn (a leap that involves arching the back, throwing the head back, and turning in the air), the bison, and Cuban walk, Robey stresses that having a strong ballet and modern foundation with the jazz training is vital. “At level four you start to see the advantage of all the ballet technique and the energy and the weight of the modern,” says Robey. “They add to the dynamics and the explosiveness of jazz dance. I believe that cross-training is the key to the future because dancers today aren’t expected to do just one thing.”

Jazz 5 (ages 13 to adult) and Jazz 6 (ages 14 to adult) coincide with ballet syllabuses in relation to the techniques of turning, jumping, phrasing, and transitions. Steps such as the axle turn (a turning jump with both knees bent), straddle leap, and calypso come into the Jazz 5 training, while Jazz 6 introduces advanced steps like the double fan-kick turn, tour jeté fouetté, and turning scissor leap. “Level 6 is an open-ended, advanced professional lifelong journey,” says Robey.

In July 2011, Robey and his wife, Melissa Gerth, held a teacher-training intensive in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to teach his jazz syllabus to dance instructors. According to Robey, those who benefit the most from learning the syllabus are instructors interested in teaching pure jazz movement through progressive levels.

“There are important elements that make jazz dance unique from modern dance. . . . The core elements are dynamic rhythms that come from syncopation and jazz music, initiation from the solar plexus, the low center of gravity, and openness to individual style.” —James Robey

“What they learn from this training program is how to teach a strong foundation, free of stylistic limitations,” says Robey. “There are important elements that make jazz dance unique from modern dance—today there is a lot of fusion going on. The core elements are dynamic rhythms that come from syncopation and jazz music, initiation from the solar plexus, the low center of gravity, and openness to individual style. We list those as foundational elements in our teacher training.” Teachers also come away with some historical information—every jazz-dance legend has a small bio or a slice of historical context that teachers can pass on to their students. “They get that jazz dance is a respectable, noble art form,” says Robey.

One teacher who has adopted Robey’s jazz syllabus is Genevieve Zerf, who has owned Flying Free Dance and Pilates Studio in Pretoria, South Africa, since 2010. “I wrote my own syllabus for ballet,” says Zerf. “In South Africa we have two syllabi for ballet, RAD and Cecchetti. I wanted to offer my students something more and something different. I was exposed to many different forms of dance and really fell in love with jazz dance. I wanted to give my students a chance to pursue any dance career and not just ballet.”

Zerf took Robey’s 2011 teacher-training intensive. “I started looking for jazz-dance teachers’ courses or qualifications,” she says. “The shortest was six months. I don’t have that kind of time at my disposal. I needed knowledge more than a qualification. After months of looking all over the world—on Google and talking to people—I found James’ website. Attending his workshop changed my approach to teaching not just jazz, but my teaching as a whole.”

Normally, when attending a workshop or a course, says Zerf, “there is a lot of hype and excitement that wears off a few days after everyone goes their different ways. This was not the case with James. I had a lot of time to myself after every session and I could process and go through what I learned that day. He gave me tools for how to approach classes and students and individual personalities. I was inspired to teach when I returned to South Africa.”

In his teaching, Robey is particularly adamant about stressing the low center of gravity in jazz. “This is an American art form that has its roots in African tribal dance,” he says. “There is this low center of gravity—watch any of the movies that Jack Cole choreographed. He had them so low to the ground, with knees bent and strength like a tiger ready to pounce.”

Having traveled around the country to judge dance competitions, Robey has seen watered-down jazz that is a poor hybrid of ballet and jazz. “I used to see dancers doing jazz very pulled up, very away from the ground,” he says. “It had a light, poppy feel like ‘We’re off to see the wizard.’ You have to work really hard to get the kids connected to the ground. When you are in ballet class, you pull up. In jazz class, you pull in and down. In modern you are free to go through the whole range.” The distinction is important. “The worst thing you can do is go into a ballet audition and do it like a jazz dancer, or vice versa.”

The next jazz teacher-training intensive is planned for July 2012 in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The last session focused on all exercises in every lesson and on sharing teaching tools. The next intensive will include anatomy and physiology, which are particularly helpful in body placement awareness. Robey has worked closely with his brother, Jason Robey, director of Athletic Training Services for Appalachian State University, in designing a technique that adds current information in physical training techniques.

In creating his syllabus, Robey has included Patterns of Total Body Connectivity, a Laban Movement Analysis method that focuses on basic body coordination and that is sometimes used in modern dance. “Dancers, in their earnestness, put a lot of time into becoming technically very proficient,” says Robey. “We work very hard to put our limbs in the right places, and sometimes we lose the connection through the torso and through the movement. Total Body Connectivity helps to refine that—it makes even the most efficient dancers more organic and artistically expressive.”

Yoga, tai chi, and Pilates are all modalities that Robey has worked with, and he includes elements of many of them in his teaching, especially in the warm-ups. He has also incorporated Buddhist principles into his work, particularly lessons around attitudes and etiquette.

“There are ideas of interconnectedness and approaching others with an attitude of compassion for each other,” Robey says. “It’s different from the common approach of competitiveness—the fragmented feeling of me versus this other person. There is a mildness, a softness to my teaching in that sense. I feel that with my students we are all in this together.”

The Details
The Jazz Dance Technique and Syllabus includes class structure outlines; time-management charts for 60-, 75-, and 90-minute classes; 247 exercise cards with teacher notes; photographic glossaries of body positions; and historical dance references. The program costs $110 for each level of instruction or $550 for all six.

For more information about the syllabus or future teacher training intensives, visit robeyjazzdance.com.

Balancing tendu and plié with popping and locking

By Quinn Wharton

Dance, for me, has always been about having fun. I dance with San Francisco Ballet, but I didn’t start with ballet. I began with hip-hop when I was very young, at Ewajo, a small dance studio in Seattle. At 6, I wasn’t learning a whole lot of technique and discipline; instead I was learning how to have fun dancing. The class blended many styles (mostly hip-hop, jazz, and swing) to create upbeat, exciting movement. I loved the music, the freedom in the swinging, and the flow of the movement.

The contrast when I started ballet two years later was shocking. To go to strict, upright movements that were so stylized and precise was completely foreign to me, the antithesis of what I had fun doing. I stuck with it for many reasons—scholarships, access to boarding schools, and because I got to leave my public school three times a week and go downtown to take ballet in a big, beautiful building—but I wasn’t having fun early on. It was only after many years of dedication that I began to appreciate ballet’s joys and freedoms, buried deep within the structure. It’s as though you need the two styles to introduce movement to people.

As fun as it was, hip-hop would have been a less fulfilling career choice for me. Ballet has the depth and challenge that keep me working and overcoming hurdles to improve. I needed both to fulfill my need to dance and make the most of my talent. Without hip-hop I would have never done ballet, and without ballet I would never have gotten as far as I have. Hip-hop was the joy that got me to love dance, and ballet taught me how to maximize that movement, to finesse it.

Hip-hop has done more for my career than any form of dance other than ballet. I studied most everything when I was younger, albeit briefly—jazz, swing, salsa, modern in many forms, tap. All of them have things to contribute to a dancer’s development, but as a full package, hip-hop offers more. It teaches you improvisation, complicated rhythms and syncopations, and freedom both within boundaries and without. Ballet is all about control, while hip-hop wants you to dance on the very edge of your movement and find your individuality in each step. You almost never conform to the exact style of the teacher, and most teachers couldn’t describe their exact movement if they wanted to. The steps are guidelines for you to move within.

Hip-hop’s encouragement of individuality in movement stems from teachers asking you to do “your own thing” for eight counts before heading back into the choreography, and from participating in battle circles after classes and in clubs. The idea is to set yourself apart as an individual and develop your own unique flavor. Through improvisation (a skill never taught in ballet), hip-hop nurtures individual style. Spending hours making up moves helps dancers discover how their bodies work. Most choreographers today want the dancers to contribute to the pieces they are making. I have choreographed entire phrases that have then become morphed into the work.

I’ve learned that finding my own voice is the most important way to distinguish myself from the masses, even in the corps of a classical ballet company. That voice is also a huge piece of knowledge that can help ballet dancers flesh out how they move. As dancers, we are always learning and absorbing so that we can create a style that is all our own. This can exist within another style, but be individual in its aesthetic on each person.

The importance of individuality is a huge lesson for ballet dancers to learn, one that becomes more and more important in the contemporary dance climate. Developing an entirely new vocabulary, as most choreographers now are doing, takes a lot of creativity and innovation. Today’s choreographers are curators and assemblers almost as much as they are dancemakers, and I’ve found that my ability to improvise has set me apart over and over again in the studio.

At SFB, I’ve encountered works by Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor, and Nacho Duato, all of whom pull from urban movement that is akin to hip-hop. As the pieces move into large ballet companies’ repertories, the need for multifaceted dancers rises. Learning Forsythe was a huge leap for me. It is ballet, but ballet pulled so far off its base that at times it doesn’t even resemble the classical line. I struggled with the process for a long time until I realized that my hip-hop training filled in the gaps in my knowledge.

Through improvisation (a skill never taught in ballet), hip-hop nurtures individual style. Spending hours making up moves helps dancers discover how their bodies work. Most choreographers today want the dancers to contribute to the pieces they are making.

Applying the earthiness that comes from hip-hop to the movements, I changed my dynamic. Take the long lunges and extended legs of ballet and pull them down into the earth, and the movement becomes Forsythe. The popping I learned in hip-hop became the basis for the fast-twitch movement necessary for in the middle, somewhat elevated or Artifact Suite. Krumping teaches you how to throw your limbs to extreme angles without holding tension in your joints, particularly the hips. The repertory of hip-hop is the antithesis of ballet, and in that way it is the perfect partner. Learning both extremes makes dancers capable of doing anything, from the highest, most elegant ballet step to the lowest, most grounded break-dancing move.

I recently saw a work by Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, performed by the Dutch National Ballet, a largely classical company with a strong traditional repertory. This piece was a completely different beast. It involved more floor work than movement on the feet—rolling and sliding and gliding. It was performed in socks, cargo pants, and hoodies—not your typical ballet garb. It was completely different from any classical work, and yet the dancers excelled. I noticed that prominent parts went to people who might have not been so classically trained but had other movement qualities that suited the ballet. They didn’t have perfect feet or legs or much turnout, but none of that mattered. Once they began moving and rolling, they became gorgeous, fluid creatures. Their individuality gave them a huge edge in the current climate of ballet, allowing them to do principal parts they might not have gotten before. As companies keep promoting more avant-garde and varied choreographers, they need dancers who can push the boundaries of their abilities.

Aside from creating individuality and pushing boundaries, hip-hop is fun. It’s easy to forget how much fun movement is in a highly competitive ballet world—and how much you need fun dance in your life. A hip-hop class, with its energy and enthusiasm, has a very different feel than a ballet class, with its serious demeanor. Even if I drag my feet on the way to a hip-hop class, I am always so happy I went. The sense of community and support fostered by the group and the happiness of doing something technical and cool makes everyone feel great. You’re also encouraged to be louder, dance bigger, to step outside of yourself and act out. Hip-hop can become an outlet for feelings and energy that otherwise might get bottled up and explode somewhere else. Who doesn’t like to act silly and ridiculous?

I take class with a youth and young adult hip-hop collective in San Francisco called Funkanometry when I have free time. They rehearse twice a week from 9pm to midnight, hours that seem unreasonable to me. I asked the director how he gets 40 kids, ages 15 to 22, to show up for every rehearsal every week and put so much energy into it. They make no money from it, and they all work or go to school. Yet they set apart these hours each week to come in and exhaust themselves for the group. The director looked at me as though I had asked a very strange question and said they were all there because they wanted to be. That sort of enthusiasm is hard to find in young people (about anything), but these kids are willing to do it for their community.

Hip-hop’s popularity will inevitably cause it to be melded with ballet. Arts need reinvention to draw in new crowds and to progress in their own exploration. Hip-hop has all the energy needed to reinvigorate ballet, as well as an audience that is young and enthusiastic. The ability of So You Think You Can Dance to run tours around the country and sell out arenas is a testament to popular commercial dance. So the challenge for future choreographers is to find a way to create a middle ground that engages people in their 20s to their 50s and speaks of art and energy and enthusiasm.

Melding these styles breathes new life into the art form. Wayne McGregor is already doing this with his work on The Royal Ballet and other major companies. He puts classical ballet dancers on pointe and has them do movement that in no way relates to ballet. It may look a little like ballet, but that’s mostly because ballet dancers are doing it. Because of our training, we infuse his ideas with line and classical forms. McGregor hasn’t embraced a hip-hop sensibility per se, but the idea of contemporary culture is all over his work, which allows younger audiences to relate to it.

I have always felt that hip-hop is the perfect accompaniment to ballet. It is the one style that ballet dancers can’t just pick up; and for hip-hop dancers, taking ballet would add so much grace and finesse to their art. Having a strong base in both allows a dancer to move over any terrain in the dance world with ease. It allows young dancers just entering the professional world to quickly understand the new styles and movements thrown at them. It can reveal talent in a dancer who might not have the strongest classical technique. And if nothing else, hip-hop is a great community builder because the joy that comes from a class ties people together.

Hip-hop will always be a large part of my life. It’s where I began and I continue to cultivate it in myself. I look forward to the day when it has the same legitimacy as ballet does.

Fall back on lessons learned to keep going when times are tough

By Julie Holt Lucia

“What did I get myself into?” It’s a sometimes-unavoidable question for studio owners, particularly for those of us who are newer to the business, and particularly after you’ve had a day that can only be described as pretend-it-never-happened. At those times, it’s easy to stew in anger or stomp around with a rain cloud over your head. When it feels like no one reads your emails, your students would rather be anywhere but dance class, and the new plumbing fixtures you just paid $800 for fail brilliantly, sometimes you just want to wallow in the negative.

An easy antidote is to count your blessings—but sometimes when you’re stuck in the blackness of a bad experience or a rotten day, it can be tough to whip out a smile and tick off the happy things in life.

Instead, when I have those days, I take a page out of my friend Oprah’s book (or magazine, as it were) and ask myself: what do I know for sure? What I know may not be much, but in my short time as a studio owner, I’ve discovered some simple truths—and they are all important reminders that I need to have faith in myself; that I chose this profession for a multitude of reliably good reasons; that my collective experiences (good and bad) have helped shape who I am; and why, despite the rough patches, I continue to do what I do. Sometimes it’s not as much about counting your blessings as it is about embracing what you’ve learned—and are learning—along the way.

Lesson #1
Preschoolers do not allow for bad moods. It’s just not possible to be upset while twinkling your fingers, dancing like a monkey, or pretending to hold a hundred roses in your arms. You have to take time in your preschool classes to soak in the kids’ energy and allow it to buoy you to the next task. Their innocence and delight can be contagious.

Lesson #2
Change your behavior. That sixth-grader you want to gripe at each week? The one whose hair is never up, who never looks you in the eye, who teases another kid, who sighs heavily at everything you say? Maybe today she just needs a compliment and a smile—nothing more, nothing less. She may not respond right away, but because your behavior toward her was different, you have planted the seed of change in her mind.

Lesson #3
Spontaneity goes a long way. When the power goes out during classes the week before the recital, you’ll realize how much fun it can be—yes, fun!—to take your kids into the emergency-lit hallway and rehearse by flashlight in the cramped space. It will be a memorable experience for them because you handled it calmly and made it exciting. (And because it will give them a great story to tell, year after year.)

Lesson #4
Parents can be taught too. It’s incredibly satisfying to see the parent who didn’t know anything about dance, who came to you five years ago with a crying 4-year-old, turn into a knowledgeable dance mom—someone who now helps other parents understand your policies, volunteers for studio events, and above all, unconditionally supports her dedicated young dancer.

Lesson #5
Have confidence in your business. Some of us lack the conviction to enforce our policies because we don’t like confrontation or because we want to make our customers happy at any cost. What really happens is that our customers learn that the rules may not apply to everyone—and they will continue to ask for exceptions. But when we have confidence in our rules and follow through, we earn their respect.

Lesson #6
Giving up on a student is not an option, however exasperated you are. If she loves dance and her family supports her, then keep trying and trying and trying. You may seriously question her talent and skill, but in a few years, that student’s weaknesses may be overcome by her passion and work ethic. Your unwavering encouragement may have influenced her desire to dance so much that she is willing to work twice as hard as her friends to reach her goals.

Lesson #7
Sometimes you have to let a customer go. You could spend hours of your time and energy going around in circles with a customer who disagrees with her child’s class placement. But if she can’t agree to accept your professional advice, then she might have to try another school. It never feels good to lose a customer, but it always feels great to have integrity in what you do.

Lesson #8
Sometimes you have to let an employee go. If your gut feeling is that the teacher doesn’t fit in well or wants to be somewhere else, communicating your suspicions to her is the best thing you can do for everyone. And if changes can’t be made to make things better, then it’s not worth waiting or giving her fourth and fifth chances to do things differently. The sooner you both move on, the better.

Lesson #9
Fun is still important, even for your most intensive dancers. They may be the hardest-working, most dedicated kids at your school, but they still deserve some old-fashioned fun every now and then. Surprise them by asking them to create class exercises one day, or have them play a creative game like dance charades. Organize a group lock-in or have them lead a Parents’ Night Out for the younger kids. Allow those dancers some moments of fun, laughter, and bonding to keep their enthusiasm up.

Lesson #10
Be kind to yourself. We are so often working to make other people happy—our employees, our customers, our families—that we beat ourselves up over the smallest problems. It’s true that we carry a lot of responsibility, and that we help create the work environment or dance environment or home environment for the people we care about. But the cliché is true: we are all responsible for our own happiness. So enjoy a scrumptious dessert, spend an evening at home with your family, go to yoga, see a movie, download Lady Gaga’s latest hit (the one you will never be able to use in class). Do something that will put a smile on your face, so you can pass your happiness along to everyone else.

When those rough patches and snafus and frustrations happen, keep this list in mind. Or make your own. Come up with a way to remind yourself about what you know for sure. Because what you know for sure is probably more than you give yourself credit for, and recognizing the knowledge you’ve gained from those constructive experiences is a perfect way to tone down a soul-squelching bad day. Know that you got yourself into a job that you love, one that allows you to be challenged and to learn and to be yourself. Know that you are passionate about it, because that kind of emotional power can get you through just about anything.

Careful recruiting can save you a lot of grief

By James Careless

Teachers are the lifeblood of any dance studio, no matter what the size or styles taught. The quality of their instruction, combined with their people skills, can make or break a studio. For that reason, savvy dance studio owners take great care in hiring teachers. And the better the fit, the less likely that school owners will have to take on the dreaded task of firing someone.

Paying close attention up front pays off, says Charlotte Klein, owner of Charlotte Klein Dance Centers (two studios in Massachusetts). “In my 58 years of directing my main studio in Worcester and 28 years in my suburban studio in Westborough, I have rarely fired a teacher,” Klein says. “In fact, one of my teachers has been with me for 33 years; others for 29, 25, 20, 15, 11, and 10 years.”

So what does it take to find great teachers? And once you have found them, how do you keep them teaching at their best? If you have to fire them, how do you do it? And could there be a better way?

Finding great teachers
Trained dancers who have professional and/or competitive experience definitely have an edge when it comes to winning teaching positions. But even the best of resumes may conceal problems, such as the inability to stay motivated or deal well with children. This is why many studio owners like to hire former students, whose attitude and abilities they already know.

“Many of my teachers grew up in my studio,” says Klein. “Some were assistants and some were student teachers. Almost all have college degrees and many were dance majors in college.”

Because Klein’s former students have absorbed her school’s culture and style, they don’t have to go through the same philosophical and instructional adaptations that outside teachers do when starting at a new dance school. “Because they were students of mine, they know what is important to me,” Klein says. “And they bring back to the studio their knowledge from college dance departments or the professional world, Broadway or dance companies.”

Like Klein, Kristina Kambalov, co-founder and school director of First State Ballet Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, hires people she knows. Since FSBT is a professional company, she has access to the company dancers as potential teachers. Of course, sometimes teachers can’t be found in the ranks of graduates or company dancers. That is when school owners need to start checking resumes—but only as a starting point for identifying possible interviewees.

“Don’t trust a resume,” says Olivia Gale, a dancer who owns On Stage Studios and Raven’s Wing Entertainment in Orlando, Florida, where she also manages Zebra Room Ballroom Dance Studio. “I’ve found that you can’t take for granted that people are being entirely honest with their experience. You have to get them on the floor to fully assess their true capabilities.”

Klein agrees. “When hiring teachers from the outside world, I first carefully check their resumes, then meet with them and often have them teach a master class,” she says.

“I like to try out teachers during the summer,” says Kambalov. “I will invite them to teach for a week or two and see how they teach and how the students respond.”

Managing teachers
In the corporate world, human resources departments use methods of evaluation such as employee probation periods, performance reviews, and holding employees to set standards. Corporations do this because of their size: there are too many people employed for managers to know them all personally and to track them on an ongoing basis.

However, since dance studios tend to be small operations, school owners typically rely on informal personal supervision.

“I do not use a probation period because I’m pretty confident, when I hire teachers, that they will be a good fit,” says Klein. “I do observe their classes often and meet with them afterward if I have any critiques or suggestions.”

Kambalov uses the same approach: “I will look in on their classes or teach for them occasionally to see how the students are progressing,” she says. “I do not do regular performance reviews. I will speak to the teacher immediately if there are any problems.” And she doesn’t just throw company dancers into the classroom. “I train most of my teachers with a written guide for each year,” she says. “I don’t give them combinations, but I do tell them what needs to be taught during a certain time period. I talk with all of my teachers on a daily basis about their classes.”

But does it make sense for dance studios not to follow the traditional business model of probationary periods and annual performance reviews? Klein worries that firing teachers after a probationary period, rather than assessing their abilities before hiring, could disrupt classes and scheduling. “Standards have to be established beforehand,” she says. “Of course, annual reviews should be done.”

In contrast, Kambalov says she thinks a probation period is a good idea and may do this in the future. As for annual reviews, she finds that “talking with teachers on a daily basis about their classes is much more productive.”

Reasons for dismissal
In general, properly selected and monitored teachers know how to do their jobs, and they do them well. That is why Klein and Kambalov have had to fire relatively few teachers over the years.

“Don’t trust a resume. I’ve found that you can’t take for granted that people are being entirely honest with their experience. You have to get them on the floor to fully assess their true capabilities.” —Olivia Gale

So what leads to termination? Often it is due to teachers losing their drive. An unmotivated teacher is bad news for students and the studio, and the situation requires fast action. Kambalov knows this: “I did have a problem with a former teacher who lost interest in her classes and I let her go immediately,” she says.

Other problems can force a studio owner to let someone go, including “teachers who do not use positive reinforcement in class and may be too hard on an individual student or on the class as a whole,” says Klein. In such instances, the students will become unhappy and complain to their parents, who will likely take them elsewhere. That’s bad for business, and studio owners must do whatever they can to prevent it from happening, even if it results in a teacher’s dismissal.

In cases where a teacher’s dismissal has generated rumors and hearsay, “the manager should have a meeting with the students and the parents to explain why the teacher is leaving,” Kambalov says.

Another cause for termination relates to “teachers who become complacent with their knowledge and neglect to study their craft on a continuing basis,” says Klein. This can happen when a teacher has been doing the same job for too many years. Again, this neglect is bad for business, because it means that the studio’s educational offerings will not be as current as its competitors.

When problems arise, studio owners must act quickly to alert the teacher in question to the problem and address possible solutions. “I arrange to meet with the teacher privately and try to keep notes to discuss at the meeting,” Klein says.

Firing time
When problems cannot be worked out, a teacher has to be let go. Studio owners need to know their state’s specific laws governing employee warnings, terminations, and how many weeks they must give a teacher for paid notice; otherwise they could get sued.

Firing someone is not easy for most people. For dance studio owners, the problem employee isn’t just a name on a staffing chart. Often she’s someone they’ve known for years in the close quarters of studio life. Maybe she’s someone they’ve taught. Her students may adore her. Her employers have probably tried everything they could think of to bring her performance up to par, but nothing has worked. It’s best to put guilt aside and do what’s best for the studio and the students.

If you think firing is inevitable, consider which staff members might be able to take over that teacher’s schedule, or how you could combine classes in the short term. Do some creative thinking in advance in order to keep disruptions to a minimum. Disruptions make students and parents uneasy and can reflect badly on any business.

So what’s the best way to fire someone; one of the worst tasks that any business owner has to face? “I believe the manager should fire a teacher face-to-face,” says Kambalov. “The teacher deserves to hear why she is being let go.” If you are nervous about doing this, consider writing down the reasons for firing on a few file cards so that you can cite the necessary points. It also makes sense to have a staff member with you to serve as a witness and provide you with moral support.

“Firing a teacher has to be done in a tactful way,” says Klein. “If warnings are given when a situation occurs and records are kept by the owner, a formal letter is often the best.” In fact, putting together a paper trail before firing occurs can prove to be a lifesaver if the dismissed employee tries to sue.

Be sure you’ve prepared any outstanding checks and exit paperwork in time for the firing interview. (If possible, have the staff member’s personal effects already collected and ready to go in a box.) Schedule the interview for a time when the studio is empty. You don’t want the fired employee making a scene and upsetting students.

As for breaking the dismissal to other staff, students, and parents, “be as discreet as possible,” advises Klein. “I wouldn’t put it in an email. I would just announce to the class that Miss So-and-So is not with the studio any longer and Miss What’s-Her-Name will be their teacher now.”

“Last year when I let a teacher go, I took over the class,” says Kambalov. “When I was asked, ‘Where is our teacher?’ I simply said, ‘I will be teaching your class until the end of the year.’ All of the students and parents were very happy and no questions were asked.”

Another reason to make the parting as gentle as possible is that someone you fire today might prove to be useful to you tomorrow. For example, when personality conflicts between teachers and studio management result in dismissals, those teachers might be rehired when the person they had a conflict with is no longer there. “I had a teacher leave 10 years ago due to a falling out between her and the artistic director,” Kambalov says. “She is truly a professional with a lot to offer our students, so last summer we had her teach in our intensive.” (Fortunately, the teacher in question and the artistic director had worked out their differences by the time she was rehired.)

Klein, too, has had that experience. “I have hired a teacher back whom I once fired, and he has been with me for a total of more than 25 years,” she says. “I fired him for valid reasons at the time. As he matured, I decided that he was worth rehiring and I haven’t had a problem with him since.”

An end to employees?
A studio owner without employees has no reason to worry about hiring and firing teachers. This is a truth that has seized the imagination of studio manager Olivia Gale.

Gale started her management career by employing teachers—most of whom had been her students initially—at her studio in Perry, Florida. But when she sold the school and moved to Orlando, she says, “I decided on a different plan: I sold floor time to instructors who came to me with a client base.” This practice allowed Gale to staff her studio without any of the hassles of employing and paying teachers.

Gale then took another step further away from the traditional studio ownership model. She closed the physical studio space for On Stage Studios in Winter Park and began teaching at other studios in the area, including Orlando Ballet School, as an independent contractor. She also began dance programs at The Parke House Academy in Winter Park and at The Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland, Florida. The connections she made at Orlando Ballet School gave her a network of quality instructors to bring on board as independent contractors for the programs under her direction. On Stage Studios LLC evolved beyond a physical dance space to a virtual one out of which she operates her various dance projects.

“In addition to On Stage Studios, I now manage a ballroom dance studio with no employees,” Gale says. “All the instructors have their own client base and pay the studio floor time for each hour they teach. Besides managing the operation, I have the ability to teach my dance clients as an independent contractor out of the studio. For me, the independent contractor route has worked very well. And since I have a strong network of performers/instructors, when I need someone for a project I just give them a call.”

A balanced approach
The stakes involved in hiring and firing teachers are too high to be taken lightly since they are a studio’s public face to paying clients. “If you define your expectations and treat your teachers well, like members of your extended family, you will have good teachers remain with you for many years,” says Klein. “They will build a solid base for your studio to gain, and keep, a reputation for excellence in dance education in your community.”

Competitions and conventions for schools of every size, taste, and budget

Access Broadway
516.594.6050; accessbway@aol.com
accessbroadway.com
Competitions, workshops, and talent searches in dance, acting, and voice.

Adrenaline Dance
866.695.4144; Kara@adrenalinedance.com
adrenalinedance.com
New for 2012: teachers can get certified in the Paula Morgan technique at regionals and at nationals.

All American Talent Awards
772.468.1998; info@allamericantalent.com
allamericantalent.com
New: a “Performers Only” non-competitive category and “Dancing for the Cause” (a charity of choice).

American Ballet Competition
970.376.2607; dea.abc@gmail.com
americanballetcompetition.com
Advisors and teachers have included Anna-Marie Holmes, Gil Boggs, Robert Hill, Oleg Briansky, Alice Alyse, and Kee-Juan Han.

American Dance Awards
203.985.8144; info@americandanceawards.com
americandanceawards.com
Competitions and classes in 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada; nationals in Hollywood, FL, July 9-14, 2012.

Applause Talent
513.844.6788; info@applausetalent.com
applausetalent.com
Intensity National Workshops offer scholarships and prizes to Broadway Dance Center, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and more.

Backstage Performing Arts Competition
866.807.9298; backstagecomp@aol.com
backstageperformingartscompetition.com
Eight locations in New York and New Jersey, with nationals July 25–27, 2012, in Pennsylvania.

Beyond the Stars Talent Competition
609.259.8760; info@beyondthestarscompetition.com
beyondthestarscompetition.com
Brand-new: a production company offering studio pictures and recital videos.

Boston International Ballet Competition
617.314.6236; info@bostonibc.org
bostonibc.org
The second IBC is set for June 12-17, 2012, at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater.

BravO! National Dance and Talent Competition
877.272.8641; info@bravocompetition.com
bravocompetition.com
Special awards include People’s Choice, Most Entertaining, Outstanding Performance, and Most Photogenic.

Canadian National Dance Championships
800.413.0114; Alison@cdo-online.org
cdo-online.org
Dancers can qualify for the International Dance Organization World Championships.

CanDance
866.305.6174; info@candanceeg.com
candanceeg.com
New categories for 2012: Improv and Most Photogenic.

Cathy Roe’s Ultimate Dance
800.800.5437; manager@crudance.com
cathyroe.com
New for 2012 finals: Heart and Soul Dance Company and Audition! Performance program.

Celebration Talent Competition
888.610.8882; info@celebrationtalent.com
celebrationtalent.com
In lieu of trophies, some studios support the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Celebration’s national charity partner.

Celebrity Dance Competitions
877.326.2394; celebrity@dancecelebrity.com
dancecelebrity.com
“Nationals at Sea” sail from Los Angeles (July 14-20, 2012) or New Orleans (June 29-July 5 or July 8-14, 2012).

Coastal Dance Rage
888.838.8358; registration@coastaldancerage.com
coastaldancerage.com
Participants can earn scholarships in every class every day.

Co. Dance
888.473.5383; info@codance.com
codance.com
Founders Tracie Marciniak and Dana Giordano have led Co. Dance for 15 years.

Dance Champs
816.452.1440; Sandee@DanceChampsEvents.com
dancechampsevents.com
Three levels let dancers compete against their peers.

Dance Educators of America
914.636.3200; dea@deadance.com
deadance.com
DEA’s 80th anniversary “Pearls and Diamonds Tour” kicks off January 13-15, 2012, in NYC.

Dance Expressions
215.661.9296; TapKat5678@aol.com
danceexpressionscompetition.com
Features single-day competitions in Claymont, DE, and Allentown and Doylestown, PA.

Dance Magic Conventions
228.437.6251; dancemagic@bellsouth.net
dancemagic.net
2012 season ends with a nationals on the beach in Panama City Beach, FL.

Dance Makers Inc.
866.443.5300; info@DanceMakersInc.com
dancemakersinc.com
Faculty includes Barry Lather, Roni Mahler, Debbi Dee, Gina Badone, and SYTYCD’s Joy Spears and Kourtni Lind.

Dance Masters of America
718.225.4013; dmamann@aol.com
dma-national.org.
DMA awards more than 600 educational and monetary scholarships annually.

Dance Olympus/Danceamerica
800.443.2623; danceolympus2@aol.com
danceolympus-america.net
This season, Danceamerica competitions and Dance Olympus workshops will visit 17 U.S. cities.

Dance Ovations Performing Arts Competition
781.233.3455; info@danceovations.net
danceovations.net
Fun at nationals includes a cookout, banquet, show, and Independence Day party and parade.

Dance Power Competitions
800.418.9460; info@dancepower.com
dancepower.com
“Triple Threat Power Solo” competition held for students entering more than three solos.

Dance Rave
818.888.3628; danceravecompetition@gmail.com
dancerave.com
Team Rave performs at nonprofit and charitable events, theme parks, and fund-raisers.

Dance Revolution
407.208.1035; info@dance-revolution.com
dance-revolution.com
Attendees can be critiqued in Dance Revolution’s non-competitive Showcase.

Dance Showcase USA
817.483.4004; Glenda@danceshowcaseusa.com
danceshowcaseusa.com
New for 2012: online registration, new choreography award, grand showcase at finals.

Dance Troupe Inc.
276.656.1882; dti@DanceTroupeChallenge.com
dancetroupechallenge.com
Added for this season: “Superstar of the Competition” award.

Dancers Inc.
732.685.8182; info@dancers-inc.com
dancers-inc.com
Teachers’ roundtable discussions, full-day workshops, and three competition divisions.

Dancexplosion Talent Tour
516.781.3400; DXPDance@aol.com
dancexplosiontalent.com
Technique categories plus baton, character, clogging, acting, modeling, and folkloric.

Dupree Dance
888.498.2998; Dupree@DupreeDance.com
dupreedance.com
Fun fact: founder Roland Dupree worked as a flying and action model for Disney’s Peter Pan.

Dynamite National Talent Competition
877.935.5678; dynatalent@aol.com
dynamitecompetition.com
Founded by entertainer and TV personality Stepp Stewart in 1998.

Elite Dance Challenge
401.334.4067; Sandra@elitedancechallenge.net
elitedancechallenge.net
Competition in dance plus modeling categories: formal wear, fashion wear, and photogenic.

Elite Dance Cup
985.851.508; elitedancecup@att.net
elitedancecup.com
Scholarships awarded to Oklahoma City University dance intensive.

Encore Dance Competition for the Stars
803.319.3295; Rhonda@encoredcs.com
encoredcs.com
Contributes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and others.

Encore Performing Arts Showcase Inc.
817.926.9686; info@encoreperformingarts.com
encoreperformingarts.com
2011-2012 tour: Texas, California, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arizona, Nevada, and Washington.

Encore! Talent Productions Inc.
513.759.5057; encore@zoomtown.com
encore-competitions.com
2012 nationals planned for Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH.

Fire and Ice
504.469.4171; FireandIceDance@hotmail.com
fireandicetalent.com
The Force In Redefining Education dance intensive offers classes and scholarship auditions.
 
5-6-7-8 Showtime
604.945.7469; info@5678showtime.com
5678showtime.com
Host of the 5th annual Dance World Cup in Montreal, July 6-10, 2012.

Fluid Dance Conventions
866.659.5554; fluid@fluiddance.com
fluiddance.com
Fluid Dance Ambassadors promote Fluid at events and performing-arts activities.

Hall of Fame
866.326.2399; info@halloffamedance.com
halloffamedance.com
HOF Foundation provides college scholarships to graduating senior dancers.

Headliners
973.927.8007; info@headlinerscompetition.com
headlinerscompetition.com
Dancers can represent the U.S. at the World Show Dance and World Hip Hop Championships.

Hollywood Connection
323.462.4500; info@hcdance.com
hcdance.com
Opportunities include private auditions, mini photo shoots, and visits by Hollywood agents.

Hollywood Vibe
818.567.2359; hollywoodvibe@hotmail.com
hollywoodvibe.com
Classes include jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, and musical theater.

Hype Dance Competition
646.215.1279; info@hypedance.co
hypedance.co
New competition from the creators of Intrigue Dance Intensive.

iHollywood Dance
818.353.5678; info@ihollywooddance.com
ihollywooddance.com
Featured: custom-made online registration form for studio owners.

I Love Dance
503.253.2020; kim@ilovedance.com
ilovedance.com
Includes Best of Show, Best Musicality for teachers, and Sweetheart awards.

International Dance Challenge
800.797.2145; info@intldancechallenge.com
internationaldancechallenge.net
All competitors receive a DVD of all routines presented by their studio.

Intrigue Dance Intensive
646.215.1279; info@intriguedanceintensive.com
intriguedanceintensive.com
Nationals include three days of classes plus competition.

Kids Artistic Revue
714.826.2117; info@dancekar.com
dancekar.com
Novice-to-elite divisions allow all dancers to compete in appropriate levels.

L.A. Dance Magic
818.541.1316
ladancemagic.com
Awards include two-week scholarships to L.A.’s Performing Arts Center.

Leap! National Dance Competition
877.272.8641; info@leapcompetition.com
leapcompetition.com
New 2012 competition with levels for recreational and more experienced dancers.

Legacy Dance Championships
866.6Dance5; legacydancechampionships@yahoo.com
legacydancechampionships.com
Scholarships awarded to Be Discovered, Broadway Dance Center, NYCDA, and more.

Limelight Dance Convention
916.412.0108; Christina@LimelightDance.com
limelightdance.com
Audition prep classes feature technique tips and how to get started in show business.

Marvonna Productions, Inc.
336.626.2786; info@marvonna.com
marvonna.com
Visiting a new area in 2012 with regionals planned for Chattanooga, TN.

Masquerade Dance Competition
985.651.0001; missy@masqueradedance.com
masqueradedance.com
Competitions conclude with the “school spirit” Second Line Spirit Challenge.

Monsters of Hip Hop
888.566.6787
monstersofhiphop.com
Club Style, a dance party for all ages, held on Saturday nights.

Move Productions
310.216.5855
moveproductionsonline.com
In its second season, nationals are planned for Chicago, IL, and Palm Springs, CA.

National Dance Showcase
908.874.0040; nds@nationaldanceshowcase.com
nationaldanceshowcase.com
Planned for 2011-12: 17 weekends of dance competitions in the Northeast.
 
New York City Dance Alliance
212.725.7225; info@nycdance.com
nycdance.com
NYCDA Foundation awarded $2.8 million in college scholarships at its 2011 Gala.

New York International Ballet Competition
212.956.1520; nyibc@nyibc.org
nyibc.org
Dance education and employment opportunities for dancers ages 17-24.

NYLA Dance Conventions & Competitions
212.222.2772; dance@nyladance.com
nyladance.com
Choreography Award for Inspiration lets choreographers show work in NYC.

Nexstar National Talent Competition
937.376.7777; contactus@nexstarcompetition.com
nexstarcompetition.com
Three levels: recreational (PreStar), intermediate (NewStar), and competitive (NexStar).

Odyssey Talent
866.92.DANCE; odysseydance@gmail.com
odysseytalent.com
Founded by husband-and-wife teams from L.A. Dance Magic and American Spirit Championships.

“On Stage” America
301.654.8939; ona@onstageamerica.com
onstageamerica.com
Dance teams have represented the U.S. in Beijing and Shanghai.

Onstage New York
877.NYC.5678; info@onstagenewyork.com
onstagenewyork.com
Top five high-score entries compete for Critics’ Choice Award.

O!vation Dance Convention
877.272.8641; timaree@ovationconvention.com
ovationconvention.com
Single day of technique classes and performance showcase, plus scholarships.

Platinum National Dance Competition
404.551.4518; info@danceplatinum.com
danceplatinum.com
Technique classes, plus a scholarship audition for Broadway Dance Center classes.

PrimeTime Dance
972.681.7177; info@showbiztalent.com
primetimedance.net
New for 2012: intermediate Cutting Edge and advanced Xtreme levels.

Rainbow Connection
714.995.5883; schedule@rainbowdance.com
rainbowdance.com
Rainbow, entering its 18th season, has partnered with Kids Artistic Revue.

Revolution Talent Competition
240.412.1948; info@revolutiontalent.com
revolutiontalent.com
A portion of each entry fee goes to Larry King Cardiac Foundation.

Rhythms in Dance Competition
732.493.0402
rhythmsindance.com
Four regionals and one national competition, all in New Jersey.

Rising Star Talent Productions
800.438.0886; rstp@risingstartalent.com
risingstartalent.com
Run by directors Gail and Sharon Jordan since 1986.

SHOCK! The Intensive
336.993.9073; star3524@aol.com
shocktheintensive.com
Faculty includes Dominic Sandoval, Nick Bass, Tina Cyphert, Gustavo Vargas, Hannah Wintrode.

Showbiz National Talent Competition
972.681.7177; info@showbiztalent.com
showbiztalent.com
New this year: Diamond and Ruby levels at all regionals.

Showstopper National Talent Competition
843.357.7469; information@showstopperonline.com
showstopperonline.com
Showstopper is now in its 34th year.

Sophisticated Productions
413.568.4815; info@sophisticatedproductions.com
sophisticatedproductions.com
Awards include $2,100 at every regionals and $30,000 at nationals.

Spotlight Dance Cup
208.939.1017; Brianne@spotlightevents.com
spotlightevents.com
Unique categories include Dance Down, Interpretive, Spotlight Title, Triple Crown, and Studio Achievement.

Stage One Productions
405.573.7733; director@stageonedance.com
stageonedance.com
Twenty-city 2012 tour begins January 20 in Mobile, AL, and ends May 13 in Tulsa, OK.

Starbound
609.693.0563; starbounds@aol.com
starbound.net
Directors strive to speak with each studio owner at competitions.

Starpower
301.870.9550; margo@starpowertalent.com
starpowertalent.com
Sixty-nine tour dates (including London, England, in May) scheduled for 2012.

StarQuest Performing Arts Competitions
919.363.2900; concierge@starquestdance.com
starquestdance.com
Features: paperless computer scoring, single-CD judges’ critiques, and recreational category.

Star Systems National Talent
336.993.9073; star3524@aol.com
starsystemstalent.com
Staff for this family-run business include founder Marcy Tuttle’s son, husband, and friends.

Step Up 2 Dance
781.231.0211; carol@stepup2dance.com
stepup2dance.com
Participants enjoy personal attention from national director Carol Wallace.

Talent Explosion
570.751.8449; talentxplosion@yahoo.com
talentexplosion.net
Categories include Hawaiian, Tahitian, novelty, pantomime, and clogging.

Talent on Parade
316.522.4836; info@talentonparade.com
talentonparade.com
2012’s 22-city tour includes new stops in Milwaukee, WI, and Savannah, GA.

Tap2You
314.827.6659; info@tap2you.com
tap2you.com
Focus on rhythm, musicality, timing, performance, and education.

That’s Entertainment!
877.381.0450; info@thatsentertainmentpa.com
thatsentertainmentpa.com
Nationals set for Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ, July 15-19, 2012.

The Beat
917.685.6778; contact@thebeatdance.com
thebeatdance.com
New convention from SYTYCD finalist Courtney Galiano.

The Pulse On Tour
877-PULSE-01; info@thepulseontour.com
thepulseontour.com
Classes, performance showcase, a Q&A and photo opportunities with faculty, and more.

Thunderstruck Dance Competition
702.838.6878; info@thunderstruckdance.com
thunderstruckdance.com
Twenty-five regionals in 2012, with finals June 29-July 2 in Las Vegas.

Tremaine Dance Conventions
800.832.2050; conventions@tremainedance.com
tremainedance.com
Competition/convention founded by Joe Tremaine enters its fourth decade.

Triple Threat Dance Convention
888.414.3332; info@triplethreatdance.com
triplethreatdance.com
Faculty includes Tyce Diorio, Jason Samuels Smith, Chonique Sneed, and Tovaris Wilson.

Turn It Up Dance Challenge
508.633.5202; info@turnitupdance.com
turnitupdance.com
Conventions run through January, with competitions through May, and June nationals.

United States Tournament of Dance Inc.
631.744.6171; info@ustd.com
ustd.com
Only competition licensed to award the title Miss Dance of the United States.

USA and World Hip Hop Dance Championships
800.NOW.JUMP; info@hiphopinternational.com
hiphopinternational.com
2012 championships planned for July 30-August 5 in Las Vegas.

USA International Ballet Competition
601.355.9853
usaibc.com
Every four years, dancers vie for gold, silver, and bronze medals, awards, and scholarships.

VIP Dance
504.305.6060; VIPdance@mac.com
vipdanceonline.com
Two levels of competition and a Dancing for Charity program.

West Coast Dance Explosion
702.368.6228
westcoastdanceexplosion.com
 “The Final Showdown” set for June 30-July 6, 2012, at Las Vegas’ Mirage Hotel.

Youth America Grand Prix
201.444.3121; yagp.regional@gmail.com
yagp.org
More than $250,000 in scholarships awarded annually.