Posts Tagged ‘teacher’

Grant Davies; photo courtesy ABC

The RG Dance Studio in Sydney, Australia, has closed after its founder and internationally-known dance teacher Grant Davies was charged with multiple child sexual assault offences—prompting officials to take steps toward regulating the dance studio industry.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said Davies, the 39-year-old founder of the studio, is facing four counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated indecent assault of a person under 16. Davies, who was arrested last week, has also been charged with grooming teenage girls and storing hundreds of pictures of naked children on his laptop.

His sister and RG Dance co-director Rebecca Davies sent out an email to parents saying the number of clients withdrawing children from classes meant the business would be closing down.

RG Dance acrobatic teacher Tracie Seipel believes a change is needed in the dance industry. “We need to have somebody to step up and take order of our industry and get some regulations in there and start making people accountable so that we can run a preventative industry, not a reactionary [industry].”

NSW Children’s Guardian Kerryn Boland says problems within the dance industry have already been recognized. “We are currently working with the dance industry to work on codes of conduct on information sessions about what constitutes keeping a child-safe environment,” she said. NSW Children’s Guardian is an independent statutory office within the Minister for Family and Community Services department that promotes the best interests and rights of children and young people in out-of-home care.

For more information, visit http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-22/greater-scrutiny-of-dance-industry-needed-says-former-teacher/4707248 or http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-23/dance-school-closes-after-founder-charged-with-child-sex-offen/4709148.

Teachers and dance education professionals can learn about ideas and concepts in the field of dance education that can’t be found in traditional technique classes, conventions, or workshops through a series of online mini-courses offered through the National Dance Education Organization’s Online Professional Development Institute (OPDI).

The NDEO courses run for four weeks. They are introductory in nature and appropriate for new dance teachers or those thinking of becoming a dance teacher, as well as seasoned teachers who wants to try online learning for the first time. This summer, offerings are: Pedagogy—Learning Styles and Theories (July 8 to August 4), which explores some of the educational theories that dance educators apply in the classroom and studio; and Elements of Movement (August 5 to September 1), which explores the universal language used to describe movement and dance in particular.

Application/registration deadlines are June 24 for Pedagogy and July 22 for Elements of Movement. Before registering for this course, students must be formally accepted into OPDI and have a current individual NDEO membership (Professional, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Retiree, or PhD/EdD membership).

For more information, visit http://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=136490.

DLTC; photo courtesy DSL

The vendor section at the DanceLife Teachers Conference is always a highlight of this four-day event, but this summer promises a virtual overload of dance-centered services and products.

More than 60 vendors—the largest showing ever—have already signed up for the DLTC, set for August 1 to 4 at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. And it’s more than just great shopping—this is your chance to get all the tools and information you need to make your studio shine during the coming school year.

Vendors lined up so far include: 3D Dance Network, Angelina Ballerina, Art Stone/The Competitor, Adrenaline Dance, Artists Simply Human: The Workshop Experience, Australian Teachers of Dancing, Backdrops Beautiful, Backdrops Fantastic, BA STAR, Bloch, BRAX Fundraising, Celebrity Dance Competitions, Cicci Dance Supplies, ClassJuggler, and Contest of Champions.

Also, Costume Gallery, CostumeManager.com, Curtain Call, Dance Class by Trimfoot, Dance Era, Dance Sites Done Right, Dance Studio Coach, Dance the Magic, Dance The World, Dancers Inc., Dansco, Dréa’s Dream, Encore Performing Arts, En Pointe Designs, En Pointe Enterprises LTD, Express Payroll, Four Seasons Tours/Rock The Boat Cruises, GTM Sportswear, International Dance Challenge, Jackrabbit Dance, Jay Distributors, Just For Kix, and Katrina Activewear.

Also, M&I Dancewear, Magical Kingdom of Dance, Markel Insurance, More Than Just Great Dancing, National Dance Week, Pacific Floor Company Inc., Revolution Dancewear, Rhinestones Unlimited, Royal Academy of Dance, School Empower, Specialty Mail & Services, Stagedoor Connections, Stagestep, Stars at Sea, Statler Music, Step in Time/Tia’s Dancewear, Talent on Parade, Talmi Entertainment, Theatricals Dance Footwear, TutuTix, Twinkle Star Dance, Weissman Costumes, Yofi Cosmetics Inc., and Worldstrides Heritage Performance.

Visit http://www.dancelifeteacherconference.com/ for details.

Michelle Spillman emphasizes to her students that there is always room to grow as dancers and students—and hope that her example of attending this summer’s DanceLife Teacher Conference will help to hammer home that point.

“I tell them all the time that I love taking class almost as much as I love teaching it,” Spillman, owner of Dorr Dance Academy in Dorr, Michigan, said. Perhaps that is why her students entered a video about Spillman and her love of teaching in the recent DLTC video contest and won her a full scholarship to this summer’s DLTC, set for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona. “They were trying to keep it a secret, but I found out anyway,” she said. “I am not sure if all dance teachers feel that they have the most dedicated and amazing students in the world, but I am certain that I do.”

While Spillman looks forward to the wide variety of challenging technique classes and insightful, motivational teaching seminars that will be offered, her husband [Lee Spillman, studio office manager] will be taking advantage of the many business and marketing classes especially designed to help studios run efficiently and effectively. “It will be our first time attending, and hopefully, the first of many.”

Spillman’s scholarship was provided by MusicWorks Unlimited, a company she knows well. “I love MusicWorks and have attended their conventions for the past four years. They have an outstanding program for teachers and an extensive library of music that is age-appropriate and wonderful.”

For more information, visit www.dancelifeconvention.com.

DLTC; photo courtesy DSL

Shari Trujillo of On Your Toes School of Dancing in Rapid City, South Dakota, will be celebrating her studio’s 10th anniversary with a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, to attend the DanceLife Teacher Conference—thanks to a video contest scholarship sponsored by Hollywood Connection Dance Convention and Competition.

“I am so thrilled and beyond thankful to Dance Studio Life magazine, Hollywood Connection, and to everyone who ‘liked’ my video to be able to have won this opportunity,” she said to DSL. “Living in South Dakota and being a smaller studio, I didn’t even think it would be possible to win. This couldn’t have come in a better year. I am celebrating my studio’s 10th year in August. So this is the cherry on top.”

Trujillo said when her senior competition team shows her the video they had created, “we all cried watching it because it was so touching and meaningful.” As a solo teacher/studio director handling more than 30 classes a week, she could never find the time to attend the DLTC convention and do “something just for me.”

“I think I am most excited to get to learn things to bring home to share with my studio, and also to talk to someone else who is in the field I’m in,” Trujillo said. “I don’t think everyone understands a dance teacher unless you are another dance teacher, and I’m excited to just be with ‘my kind.’ ”

The DLTC is set for August 1 to 4 in the luxurious, five-star Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, and will include four ballroom/theater spaces running simultaneously with technique classes, business seminars, and motivational sessions. Visit www.dancelifeconference.com for more information.

DLTC conference; photo courtesy DSL

“Thank you for giving me such a golden opportunity!”

Misty Christopher-Mollitor of Dance Dimensions of SWFL wrote to Dance Studio Life to thank Jackrabbit Dance and all the companies who sponsored scholarships in the recent DanceLife Teacher Conference video competition.

“I have wanted to attend a DanceLife Teacher Conference for years, and something has always taken priority. It always seems that my family, my kids, studio priorities, or finances take the front seat, and my ‘want list’ sits anxiously in the back seat waiting for a turn. Every time I start a new dance season, I regret that I didn’t get to attend the convention to get the much-needed fresh motivation and fresh ideas for the upcoming year.

“This year there are no more excuses! Rhee Gold and the DLTC are now in the front seat, and I’m driving full steam ahead to get a healthy new outlook on dance, my business, and my career, thanks to all of you!”

Christopher-Mollitor, who has been teaching for 30 years and runs two studios in two states, knows firsthand the often “overwhelming, exhausting” job of a studio director, and didn’t even realize DLTC scholarships were available until her students submitted a winning video.

“As I listened, tears rolled down my face at the beautiful things that the students said about me and all the time that it took to make the video. It really made me feel loved, and past emotions of not being appreciated were all erased. It’s amazing what ‘Thank you’ and other kind words can do!”

“This video was the beginning of becoming more inspired, and ready to teach and carry on my love for dance for many more years to come. The trip to Arizona to the DLTC will be one of my greatest gifts, and just what I need as a teacher/owner to continue to share my love of dance with students and families for years to come.”

To learn more about the DLTC, summer and fall session at the DanceLife Retreat Center, and other programs for dance teachers and studio owners, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com and www.danceliferetreat.com.

DanceLife Retreat Center; photo courtesy DSL

Some days don’t you just wish you could vent about the crazy, complicated dance studio world to someone who truly understands? Then sign up for one of the summer sessions at the DanceLife Retreat Center and spend a weekend with adults who know exactly what you’re going through—and who care.

Limited to 30 participants, DanceLife Retreat seminars are not only a chance to learn successful strategies for running both the business and creative end of your studio, but three blissful days surrounded by colleagues with a passion for quality dance education. Rhee Gold has spent his entire career encouraging teachers and studio owners to stay strong, believe in themselves, and focus on providing the best dance education they can for all their students—a dance philosophy rooted in positivity that’s shared by educators from across the country and the world who attend his seminars and conventions.

Come spend a weekend in Gold’s rustic hideaway in the pine forests of Norton, Massachusetts, and make personal connections that you will keep for a lifetime. Not only do attendees trade advice and troubleshoot issues as they enjoy scrumptious catered meals and informal jam sessions, the conversation with these new friends continues every day on the DanceLife Retreat Center Facebook page.

Talk dance, make friends, relax. It’s the perfect summer self-indulgence.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday sessions are set for June 14 to 16, July 12 to 14, July 19 to 21, August 16 to 18, and August 23 to 25; plus July 7 to 9 (Sunday/Monday/Tuesday). Visit http://www.danceliferetreat.com/ for all the details.

UDMA teachers, from left, Roni Mahler, Patricia Dickinson, and Madame Peff Modelski; photos courtesy UDMA

Two popular DanceLife Teacher Conference master teachers, Roni Mahler and Madame Peff Modelski, will join Dance Theatre Southwest director Patricia Dickinson in a series of workshops to be held at three United Dance Merchants of America (UDMA) Dance Resource and Costume Show locations this fall.

The new UDMA Dance Seminar Workshop aims to provide an extra opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills for teaching techniques to young students. Classes will run 90 minutes and will be taught by a different master teacher in each city: Patricia Dickinson in Atlanta (October 5 from 1 to 2:30pm), Roni Mahler in New Jersey (October 12 from 10 to 11:30am), and Madame Peff Modelski in Chicago (October 19 from 10 to 11:30am).

Following the theme “Celebrate Teaching: Exploring Ways to Teach Technique,” material will

focus mostly on ages 6 to 13 and apply to every level and any dance style. Using ballet and contemporary dance, the class will break down how to teach the basics: turnout, extension, placement and alignment, jumps, turns, moving through space, and more. The class will combine fun and easy demonstrations, plus discussions. Teachers are welcome to wear comfortable, danceable clothing and participate, or observe and take notes.

UDMA shows are free and open to all dance teachers and studio owners. Admission to the seminars is $25 in advance, or $30 at the door. Call 800.304.UDMA (8362) or email office@udma.org with questions. For the latest UDMA news, visit http://www.udma.org/.

DanceLife Retreat Center; photo courtesy DSL

It’s recital season, and we all know what that means—running around and last minute details, headaches and heartbreaks, problems piling up, and that sinking suspicion that there’s no way all those dances will ever be clean . . . !

Need to de-stress? Visit the DanceLife Retreat Center Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/#!/DanceLifeRetreatCenter?fref=ts), and spend a minute with studio owners and teachers who understand exactly what you’re going through. Peruse the uplifting messages and video snippets from Rhee Gold, then take a gander at the latest news about what’s planned for this summer’s sessions at the Retreat Center—a secluded hideaway built in the woods of Norton, Massachusetts, by Gold just for teachers and studio owners like you.

Or, as Gold says: “No students, no parents, no mob scenes: simply about you and your business.” Sound good? Registration is now underway for six summer sessions. Visit www.danceliferetreat.com for details.

Dance Studio Life, a magazine with a back-to-basics approach, is a division of the Rhee Gold Company, whose mission is to be at the forefront of dance and education by promoting the highest possible standards in teaching. Dance Studio Life understands the soul of the teaching field.

COLUMNS
Ask Rhee Gold Advice for dance teachers
2 Tips for Ballet Teachers | At the Barre By David Arce
2 Tips for Hip-Hop Teachers | Slides By Geo Hubela
2 Tips for Modern Teachers | Discovering the Spine By Bill Evans
2 Tips for Tap Teachers | Turns and Flaps By Gregg Russell
A Better You | Shape Up for Summer By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT
EditorSpeak By Karen White and Lisa Okuhn
FYI What’s Up In the dance community
On My Mind | Words from the Publisher By Rhee Gold

DEPARTMENTS
Classroom Connection  By Debbie Werbrouck and Debra Danese
Ideas to incorporate into your curriculum
Click! | A new look for the DanceLife Retreat Center website  
Online must-sees from the Rhee Gold Company
Mail Words from our readers
Mindful Marketing | Tempting Adults With Tap By Thelma Goldberg
Teacher in the Spotlight | Lisa Swenton-Eppard Teachers who make a difference  
Thinking Out Loud | Dancing Again, Ballroom Style  By Lois O’Brian

FEATURES
Ballet Scene | Ballet Meets Ethnic in Atlanta By Mary Ellen Hunt
Ballethnic’s uncommon blend of African and European dance.
Bright Biz Idea | Business No-Brainer By Julie Holt Lucia
Better at choreographing than accounting? Let a financial whiz handle the numbers.
Capturing the Truth By Joseph Carman
Rose Eichenbaum’s personal view of the icons of dance.
Dancing Big By Ryan P. Casey
Jimmy Locust’s kid-oriented mission matches his high -energy career.
Hooked on Horton By Eliza Randolph
Ana Marie Forsythe on Lester Horton’s legacy and the need for codified modern dance.
Inside the Dancer By Kerry Ring
Why you should learn what makes your students soar or stumble.
Making Space for Modern By Bonner Odell 
Why offer modern dance? Five reasons to get you motivated.
Tap Festivals
A guide to 2013 tap festivals in the U.S. and abroad
Tap Pups, Top Dogs By Kay Waters
Teaching older students new tricks.
You Say ‘Modern’… By Jennifer Kaplan
I say ‘contemporary.’ Rethinking the nature of ever-evolving dance.
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It’s always exciting when a dance teacher realizes a student’s artistic talents extend past the studio. Now that Marianne Kelley has been awarded a DanceLife Teachers Conference scholarship thanks to a video created by her student Molly Jenks, the teacher has another assignment in store for the talented dancer.

“I plan to give her a very special assignment to create a promotional video for the studio as her next project,” Kelley said of Molly. “She has always exhibited leadership qualities, and this proves that she certainly has a knack for direction as well. I have taught Molly for eight years, and it warms my heart so much that she nominated me.”

Kelley, an instructor and studio manager at Jessica Morgan’s School of Dance in Midlothian, Virginia, is the recipient of a scholarship sponsored by Studio Director software. (Also winning a scholarship from Studio Director was Don Flores of Element Dance Studio in Hillsboro, Oregon.)

She’s looking forward to “gaining fresh approaches to teaching that I can pass on to my fellow teachers,” focusing on teaching techniques, and learning about time management, discipline, and placement. As a mother of five, she also sees the conference as a chance for some “me” time.

“It will be nice to be doing what I love, in the company of many like-minded individuals. I hope to make new friends, and have some fun too!”

She’ll be joined at the DLTC by her fellow Jessica Morgan’s School of Dance instructor, Christy Costello Burke, winner of a scholarship sponsored by Costume Gallery. Some of the other contest winners include: Jackrabbit Dance Scholarship, Misty Christopher of Dance Dimensions of SWFL, Cape Coral, Florida; and MusicWorks Scholarship, Jade Greenough of D’ette and Company Dancers of Austin, Texas.

To learn more about the DLTC, visit www.dancelifeconference.com.

Derrick Yanford leads a class at a DanceLife Teachers Conference; photo courtesy DSL

“Attending conventions with my dancers is fun, but I don’t feel like I retain as much because I am focusing on the girls and not myself.” That comment from Susan Knisely of Dance Academy in Thomasville, Georgia, is certainly not a complaint, but an explanation of why she is “beyond excited” to be the winner of a 2013 DanceLife Teacher Conference video contest scholarship.

Knisely’s senior tap class and performance group—dancers who are actively involved in studio fundraising for causes such as breast cancer—created the winning video, which featured instructors, moms, and Knisely’s six-year-old granddaughter. “I was very touched and surprised when I saw the video,” she said. “Most of the group was there when I heard that I had won, and saw my ‘happy’ tears.”

Attending the DLTC has been on Knisely’s wish list for a long time, she said. “Several of my friends are teaching there this year, so I am looking forward to seeing them, as well as taking classes from all the amazing faculty members. I am just so excited that I will be with so many other dance teachers at one time!”

Knisely’s scholarship was sponsored by D.A. Designs Dancewear. Some of the other 15 scholarship winners and sponsors included Carolyn Hoffman of Main Street Dance Academy, Marshalltown Indiana, who won the Weissman Costumes Scholarship; and Lauren Flores of Element Dance Studio, Hillsboro, Oregon, who won the Dance Studio Life Scholarship.

The DLTC is scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, visit www.dancelifeconference.com.

Advice for dance teachers

Dear Rhee,

I have a dedicated 14-year-old student who shows up for every class and rehearsal by walking or taking the bus to the studio. Her life has been one tragedy after another. Her mom died when she was 8. For a while relatives dropped her off and picked her up at the studio. They were always late with tuition and other payments, but I let it go. About three years ago her older brother was killed and recently her father had a mental breakdown. Now no one drives her to dance or pays her tuition, but she manages to get to the studio almost every day.

A few weeks ago she showed up at my house asking if she could stay the night because she was locked out of her house. I invited her in, fed her, and called the uncle she was staying with. He didn’t respond until the next morning, when he told me that the girl knows the house key is in a secret place. He seemed angry and didn’t offer to pick her up. He said he had to go to work and that she could get in the house if she needed to.

Ever since then I have felt the need to check in on this girl. She has stayed overnight with me a few times, and no one seems concerned when she is not in her own bed at night. I asked her if she wanted me to call the authorities or another relative to get her some help, but she cries and tells me that she doesn’t want to go to a foster home and that all she wants is to dance.

I am not sure what to do. I don’t want to cause her more trauma. Do I continue to help and keep quiet? Do I contact Child Protective Services? I am willing to have her move in with me, but I don’t want her to be put in a foster home or have to stop dancing.

Dance seems to be her thing, and it might be the key to keeping her on track. Please let me know your thoughts. —Concerned Teacher

Dear Concerned,

Wow, what a story! Thank you so much for being a concerned teacher. Often I tell teachers that dance involves a lot more than classroom instruction, and you have proven that point vividly.

Please know that I am not a professional and can only offer you advice from my heart. I think I would contact Child Protective Services anonymously to find out what the possibilities are. You might be able to become her foster parent or guardian if her uncle or other relatives welcome the idea. It doesn’t hurt to inquire.

Try to speak with the uncle soon to learn more about the girl’s circumstances. Does the father show any concern for his daughter? Is he still her legal guardian or is he out of the picture? These questions might help you decide what to do to help the child.

It is obvious that she looks up to or feels safe with you, because she sought your help even though she has a home. That means that you have made a positive impact on her life already. Be proud of yourself for that.

I am assuming that you have provided this child with costumes, shoes, and other dance-related needs, so you have already taken on more responsibility for her than would be expected. Pursue your options for continuing to help, because this could turn into the most rewarding experience of your teaching career. I wish you all the best. —Rhee

Dear Rhee,

My heart is broken at the loss of one of my longtime teachers and friends who taught for my studio since it opened more than nine years ago. It all came out of left field when I got an email telling me she could not return to her employment with me because her new husband felt that I have been ripping her off all these years. He thinks I should have made her a partner in the school or at least offered her a percentage of the profits because she had been with me for so long.

I wanted this teacher to be my partner when I opened, but she didn’t accept at the time and never mentioned it again until this email. She started at a rate of $15 an hour and it rose to $44. As the school grew, I gave her raises and bonuses, and I took her to conventions, covering all of her expenses.

She was one of my best friends until about six months ago, when the man she married came into her life. I accepted that our friendship had changed but never expected that she would quit without talking to me. I am willing to talk this out with her and her husband, but she doesn’t return my calls or respond to my emails.

The kids and parents are asking about her, and I have a hard time explaining what happened. Do I just move on, or should I continue to try to reach her? —Heartbroken

Dear Heartbroken,

My instinct tells me that you should move on. Your pain seems to be more about losing a friend than an employee. It’s time to move forward knowing that you have done the best you could. It is she who won’t return your calls, and it is she who chose not to become your partner when the option was offered.

This is not the first time I have heard this story. Apparently some non-dancing husbands believe their dance-teacher wives are being ripped off by rich school owners. Forty-four dollars per hour is actually above the standard rate for dance teachers—which most often runs $25 to $35—and you went beyond that by covering her expenses for continuing education and giving her bonuses. And I get the feeling that if she had asked for a raise you would have given it to her. But she never gave you that opportunity.

My guess is that your former employee will come to realize she didn’t have it so bad, especially if she pursues another teaching job. You made the choice nine years ago to invest in your business and to work hard to establish it; obviously you have done something right. Pat yourself on the back—and know that this probably won’t be the last time you will be dumbfounded by one of your employees.

As for what to tell the students and parents, explain that the teacher has decided to leave and that you will miss her. Don’t reveal any hard feelings on your part. Show the respect for her that she didn’t show for you. Good luck! —Rhee

Dear Rhee,

As far as I know, dance studios traditionally run their schedules on an academic school-year calendar. However, more and more people want to register halfway into the season, in January. It’s a great problem to have, but it does raise other issues, such as students missing the groundwork of technique from prior months and late recital costume orders. Should I run semesters/sessions or keep our traditional schedule? The way we are set up now gives me the advantage of knowing what my income is for nine consecutive months. Any suggestions? —Diane

Hello Diane,

Maybe you should consider running a separate 10-week (or longer) session for the new, mid-season students. They would not participate in the recital, but you could give them two complimentary tickets so that they can attend and get excited about it. Then, if they want to continue with classes, register them in the regular program for the following fall. You won’t be turning them away, and you’ll avoid some of the issues you mentioned. All the best to you. —Rhee

By Geo Hubela

Tip 1
To teach what looks like a knee slide, have students crouch with feet shoulder-width apart and put the left hand on the floor. They push off, transferring the weight to the left arm as they slide on the side of the left calf around the supporting arm. As the slide begins, the torso remains lifted and away from the supporting arm. The right leg remains parallel to the left, held off the floor in somewhat of a side attitude, foot flexed.

Tip 2
In a combination, have students start on the right with a kick ball change (1 & 2), then repeat left (3 & 4), and then do a quick ball change right-left (& 5) while squatting and prepping for the slide. As they slide past the supporting arm, the right foot moves toward the front of the body and the weight transfers onto it. Rise, turning outward over the left shoulder and stepping onto the left foot, facing front. Repeat, starting with kick ball change on the right foot again.

By Gregg Russell

Tip 1
Isn’t it funny how when you add a turn to a basic step (Irish or Buffalo, for example) students miss their sounds? Try having them face the mirror, step toward it and open their arms to second (seeing both arms in the mirror), shuffle to the side of the standing leg, then turn the hop or jog. This method will keep the shuffle consistent, so that the turn doesn’t affect their technique. Remember, it is easier to turn during a hop or jog than during a shuffle.

Tip 2
Teaching flaps to beginner students can be tricky. Have them visualize pieces of satin and sandpaper. Mimic the slide of the satin across the floor (it’s smooth), then the sandpaper (it resists). Thinking of the toe tap as sandpaper helps students understand how to brush the shoe front, lift it, and then jog, making sure the other foot is off the ground, ready to flap. This helps their balance and weight transfer, and the sound comes out of the floor instead of sliding across it and being muffled.

All Eyes on You

I was proofreading an upcoming “A Better You” by Suzanne Martin when one statement smacked me in the face. “And unlike performers, who are only ‘on’ onstage, a teacher is ‘on’ as a role model all of the time. Don’t let your students see you slump!”

Suzanne was addressing posture, but I couldn’t help but see a deeper truth in her admonition to us all to “stand up straight.” Because anyone who has taught dance in a small community knows that dance teachers are celebrities. And just like Angelina Jolie, who never leaves the house without makeup or a paparazzi-perfect outfit, dance teachers never know whose eyes are watching.

Frustrated with the ditzy clerk at the donut shop? Don’t lose your temper, because standing three customers behind you might be New Saturday Mom—who will surely recognize New Saturday Student’s preschool teacher. Ready to blow your lid with the slow-as-molasses restaurant hostess? Bite that tongue, because the next thing out of her mouth after “Table for three?” could be “Hey, didn’t you used to teach dance at Miss Jenny’s Jazzorium?”

The two kids I gave birth to (as opposed to my hundreds of dance kids) used to joke that we could never go to the grocery store or Walmart without running into someone Mom knew from dancing school. Their eyes would roll as I would flash my best front-line smile, pleasantries spilling from my lips, steeled and ready to counter complaints with a glowing commendation for Little Miss Tuesday 3:30 Pre-Ballet.

Fear kept me in line—fear of opening the studio door on the first class day in September only to see the bank teller I snapped at clutching the wrists of 4-year-old twins. Her “You!” of recognition would echo in the lobby for months, where it would mix with unhappy comments about costume choices and class levels, creating a poisonous stew that one day—after I feebly attempted to give the twins a time out—I would choke on.

“Not me,” I always said. Big Brother is real, he’s out there, and he’s got one Smoky Sienna-lidded eye trained on the dance studio world. So stand up straight, and smile! —Karen White, Associate Editor

Joyful Living

The writer Zadie Smith recently wrote an essay that ran in the New York Review of Books (nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/jan/10/joy) about the difference between pleasure and joy. Pleasure, she says, is easy to come by and easy to replace if it dissipates, which it always does. Joy is more complicated and more essential. It too is fraught with impending loss, though one that is deeper and harder to bear. But toward the end of her essay, Smith quotes Julian Barnes about losing someone or something that has brought us joy. “It hurts just as much as it is worth,” he told her.

Minutes later I came across Terry Gross’ Fresh Air interview with Maurice Sendak, who died last year at the age of 83. (Search for “Gross + Sendak” on YouTube.) In this 2011 interview the beloved author of Where the Wild Things Are talks about aging and joy. “ . . . I miss people,” he says. “They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me, and I love them more.” But, he says later, “There’s something I’m finding out as I’m aging—that I am in love with the world. . . . I see my trees, my beautiful, beautiful maples that are hundreds of years old. . . . I can see how beautiful they are; I can take time to see how beautiful they are. It is a blessing to get old.” Sendak closes by saying, “I wish you all good things. Live your life, live your life, live your life.”

Together Barnes’ and Sendak’s words simply make me realize how many things there are in the world that create deep, resounding, lasting joy: our children, nature, loved ones. And dance. I want to remember to be grateful for all of them, every day. —Lisa Okuhn, Associate Editor

Kathy Kozul teaches a ballet class at DLTC; photo courtesy DSL

“Being a studio owner is NOT a job for the weak,” said Nikkie Frost of Studio Dance in Kentwood, Michigan, one of 15 scholarship winners in the DanceLife Teacher Conference video contest. Frost contacted Dance Studio Life to express her gratitude and thanks as the winner of a scholarship sponsored by the dance competition and convention company, Dancers Inc.

“As a studio owner and instructor, I try to get out to as many conventions as I can. I only ever dreamed of making it to a DanceLife Teacher Conference . . . the ‘mack daddy’ of all conventions,” she said.

Although her studio has only 75 students, a video made by parents and students received almost 400 “likes” to propel Frost into the finals. “August can’t come soon enough. I really look forward to taking class from the best of the best. Learning from amazing people like Misty Lown will be unbelievable. She is brilliant and I can’t wait to learn more from her!”

Other DLTC scholarship winners included Michelle Spillman of Dorr Dance Academy, Dorr, Michigan, winner of the MusicWorks Scholarship; and Linda Mercer-Botelho of Onstage Academy of Performing Arts, Fall River, Massachusetts, winner of the Center for the Performing Arts in Memory of Caitlin Ledwell Scholarship.

The 2013 DanceLife Teacher Conference is scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona. To learn more, visit www.dancelifeconference.com.

Words from the publisher

When was the last time you took a vacation? How about a day off just to rest and refuel? If you’re like many of the dance teachers and school owners I talk to, you’ll say you don’t have the time or the money. If that sounds like you, then maybe it’s time to rethink your priorities.

Most school owners will spend money on a dressmaker to alter recital costumes; that’s certainly an expense that can be justified. You can easily rationalize laying out cash for basic equipment, the newest technological advances, and more faculty. Covering costs for a few kids who still owe payments for their ballet shoes is OK, too. And that visiting choreographer you brought in for the seniors? Sure, her time was expensive, but you felt obligated to make the seniors feel special during their last year at the studio.

Another thing we spend like it’s small change is our time. Texting, emailing, and checking our Facebook pages hourly are important. The many all-day rehearsals to get the kids ready for performances are time well spent. And you had to spend a couple of days at the studio during the holiday break to get caught up after the first four months of the season, right? And that half a day spent on the phone with an irate mom, trying to convince her to keep her daughter in the school—surely that was worthwhile.

But if I suggested that you spend a few days away doing something for yourselves, I’ll bet your immediate reaction would be to feel guilty for even thinking about it. And what would others, especially your clients, think when they found out you spent money and time on yourself? Oh no. They would make nice gifts for someone else, but time for relaxation and replenishment aren’t things you give to yourself.

Dig a little deeper and you’ll probably discover that almost everything you do is part of keeping the business of life under control—and attempting to please those around you. Maybe it’s time to cut back on the number of days of rehearsal, or stop giving out your personal phone number to your students’ parents. Maybe it’s time to stop long enough to fuel your own soul. A few days to tend to yourself might actually allow you to enjoy all the rest of your days a little more.

Yes, you deserve it. You probably have trouble accepting that because saying we deserve something makes most of us feel self-serving. I am not sure if I feel bad about writing those words—you deserve it, I deserve it, we all deserve it—but I think I’ll figure it out on my vacation!

Change It Up

It’s easy to let classes fall into a too-comfortable routine that can dampen dancers’ enthusiasm. To keep things fresh and interesting in all types of classes, change things up! Here are some ideas.

• Have students change from their usual place at the barre or center. Continue to do so throughout the class.

• Begin combinations on the left side or on a different count of music.

• Change the music you normally use for class. Explore using popular or ethnic music for ballet class or classical music for jazz, tap, or modern.

• Have a music theme week using a particular musical artist, composer, or style.

• Let young students know that at each class, one of them will be selected to be the class leader. Don’t tell them ahead of time who will be selected. No one will want to miss her turn. Keep track so that everyone gets a turn.

• Ask students to retrograde combinations (perform the steps in reverse order), being careful to use age- and ability-appropriate combinations that won’t turn challenge into frustration or failure.

• Assign older students “homework” to create a 16- to 32-count combination, and randomly choose one student per class to perform her combination for the class.

• Have each student choose one movement or step and randomly place students (and their steps) in order to create an 8- to 16-count phrase. Change the order one or more times. This exercise can produce interesting combinations, and working together to add connecting movements that make the phrase flow helps students understand transitions.

• Bring in photos of famous dancers or choreographers and teach your dancers about them and their contributions to the dance world.

• Have students mirror each other in pairs for port de bras or other movements. It develops focus and is fun for students of all ages.

—Debbie Werbrouck

Dancing Through Decades

I recently reintroduced an idea I incorporated a few years ago, called “Dance Thru the Decades.” It was a response to the fact that my students seemed to lack knowledge of past dance styles, and did not realize that their “new” cool moves are actually derivative of steps that have existed for years.

I find that this works well with my intermediate-level students, who love learning about different periods in dance history.

Every other month I choose a decade and we spend 10 to 15 minutes in each class learning about it. We look at video clips to find out which dancers and choreographers were popular during that time, learn about the dances or steps that were made famous during the period, and listen to music that was commonly danced to.

After two months of learning about the dance and dancers of the decade, we devote a whole class to revisiting what we learned. I allow students to dress in the style of that era and award a small prize for the most authentic outfit. I also give them a trivia sheet to complete and we learn a combination influenced by the music and dance style from that time period.

To get started, choose a decade to focus on. Internet searches will help refresh your memory about what was trending during that time. I start with the 1920s, when the charleston was the rage. As we move ahead, I can then show how this style was incorporated in the 1940s with the jitterbug. I play big-band music and teach swing and lindy hop phrases. We dance a combination to Benny Goodman’s “Sing Sing Sing” and watch a dance clip from the movie Swing Kids.

I continue the theme and format, always emphasizing the evolution of dance, until we reach the present. It is a fun yet structured way to introduce and incorporate dance history into your class curriculum.

—Debra Danese

By Thelma Goldberg

Adult tap classes are a great way to boost enrollment and build your studio’s presence in the community. Whether you aim for a recreational program or an expansion of your company, adult tap dancers will bring enthusiasm, dedication, and long-term support to your studio’s programming.

First, consider your market and resources. Will your audience be young working professionals, mothers looking for a morning class, or middle-aged and senior adults? Do you have an experienced tap teacher who enjoys working with adults and has a great sense of humor?

An adult tap program requires an experienced and dedicated teacher who can work well with mixed ages and levels. My adult program students range in age from 16 to 87, and although I now offer three levels and four classes a week, I initially had one class. Being able to accommodate a wide range of personalities and abilities is key to building a strong adult tap program.

Getting them in the door

Thirty years after starting my program, I now have 50 weekly participants. Word of mouth is the best advertising, but it’s not enough to establish or sustain a program. I’ve offered guest passes, free trial classes, and “bring a friend” classes; placed flyers at supermarkets, coffee shops, and gyms; and done demonstrations at senior centers, nursing homes, and community events. And I feature adult students on my website, YouTube account, Facebook page, and, most important, in my recital.

Students’ parents are ready-made fans of your school and often will try a class. Create a special “pitch” during observation weeks.

In every recital, I include the three adult tap levels in one production routine, which accomplishes two important things: it brings my adult tap students together with a common goal and shows off a large and successful adult program. People who say they never realized what a big adult program we have often talk about it in the community—more word-of-mouth advertising.

Market to your students’ parents. They are ready-made fans of your school and often will try a class. Create a special “pitch” during observation weeks.

Emphasize the benefits of tap dancing. It offers a low-impact, weight-bearing activity that builds coordination and strength and boosts overall wellness through musical aerobic activity. It’s also a great way to connect with new friends. Consider offering refreshments after class to promote a sense of community.

Offer a free trial class with a discount on a class card if purchased the same day, senior discounts, or a two-for-one special if a friend signs up. Adults love a bargain!

Getting them to sign up

Make the price right. Class cards and drop-in prices offer flexibility. Julia Boynton of Boston Percussive Dance Center offers short sessions that cost less than paying week by week.

If possible, offer day and evening options. To build a strong adult tap program, you need to be sensitive to the work and personal demands that might interfere with students’ weekly attendance.

Collect old tap shoes and let new students borrow a pair until they’re sure they want to commit to class. Make sure to mention this in your marketing materials.

Make new students feel welcome. Introduce them to everyone and compliment them by name during the first class. Instill an attitude of acceptance within your adult community by making each dancer feel wanted.

Follow up new students’ first classes with a phone call or email to say how much you enjoyed dancing with them.

Maintaining a vibrant adult tap program

Be passionate about teaching adult tap and committed to a long-term relationship. An older, experienced teacher who knows how to structure a class for adults and is sensitive to aging bodies is imperative to building a strong program. Whether your students want to dance like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire or Chloe Arnold and Jason Samuels Smith, once they start making rhythm they’ll be hooked for life!

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Photo courtesy DSL

Tiffany Owen of The Dance Gallery in Robinson Creek, Kentucky, had no idea a competition team dancer and her mother had created a video filled with praise and positive thoughts until it was posted on the Dance Studio Life Facebook page in this spring’s DanceLife Teacher Conference video contest.

“I was extremely touched and honored to be nominated by their efforts,” Owen said about the mother/daughter video team. “I have thanked them over and over again!”

Winning the scholarship to this summer’s DanceLife Teachers Conference—one of two scholarships sponsored by Costume Gallery—will allow Owen to absorb plenty of information vital to the growth and continued success of her rapidly-evolving studio. “Four months ago we finished construction on our new studio, which has been a lifetime dream of mine,” she said. “It has been wonderful to see how much we have grown and hopefully will continue to grow. But like with all growing things, we are having growing pains—finding qualified instructors and studio management software, working to retain students, expanding our competitive team program, thinking of ways to give back to our community.

“So, as you can see, not only will I benefit from attending this conference, but my entire studio will benefit. I have wanted to attend this conference for quite some time!”

Fifteen teachers/studio owners were awarded scholarships to this summer’s DLTC conference, set for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition, runners up (winning a $200 gift certificate to a DanceLife Retreat Center seminar, courtesy of the Rhee Gold Company) included Gail Skinner of Joan’s Dance Studio, Brookhaven, Pennsylvania; Claudette Lee of Discovery Dance of Fennville, Fennville, Michigan; and Beth Trombley Wildes of Eleve Danse Centre, Bellingham, Massachusetts.

For more information on the DLTC, visit www.dancelifeconference.com.

DanceLife Retreat Center; photo courtesy DSL

“This was the most amazing weekend I have had in a long time! It is with an uplifted spirit but a heavy heart that I am leaving.”

That sentiment was voiced by Neala Dunn of Dance Alive, Bourbonnais, Illinois, but shared by many of the studio owners and teachers who attended last year’s inaugural season at the DanceLife Retreat Center.

Based upon the accolades and thanks that poured in from participants, the unique three-day sessions designed by Rhee Gold specifically to address the business, creative, and motivational needs of studio owners and dance teachers were a huge hit.

“It was a difficult decision to spend the money for both my daughter and myself to come to this retreat, but it was worth every cent. You are a warm, caring, and inspiring person. You have changed my life, business, and my students’ lives for the better by inspiring me and giving me the tools and renewed inspiration to continue to do what I love and do best,” said Kathie Morris of Kats Dance Centre, Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The seminar price includes all activities at the Retreat Center including lectures and classes, manuals and other materials, catered lunches and dinners, snacks, and beverages, plus shuttle service to the nearby Holiday Inn (which offers a special discounted rate for attendees).

Interested? Don’t hesitate, because all seminars are limited to 30 attendees. Summer sessions in 2013 have been set for June 14 to 16, July 7 to 9, July 12 to 14, July 19 to 21, August 16 to 18, and August 23 to 25. Visit www.danceliferetreat.com for more information.

Why offer modern dance? 5 reasons to get you motivated

By Bonner Odell

You’ve thought about it. You really have. But you’re on the fence about adding a modern class to your studio schedule.

You’re tempted. You’ve seen modern performances that moved you, and you can picture a handful of students—the ones who love to experiment with new ways of moving—eating up modern-dance classes. Maybe you’ve even studied modern yourself. Yet you’re doubtful that it will appeal to most of your clientele. You wonder if enrollment would cover the cost to pay a teacher. Or maybe you’re just not sure which style to teach or where to find a qualified instructor.

These are valid concerns among studio owners for whom ballet, tap, and jazz have long been their bread and butter. But there are compelling reasons to offer modern dance at your studio and, for your more serious students, even to require it.

Expand understanding of movement and the body

Modern dance, by nature, seeks to explore the unexplored. Ballet, tap, and jazz each take a specific approach to movement. Classical ballet strives to express the ideals of harmony and dignity inherent in its origins among the European nobility. The movement quality is predominantly light, smooth, and sustained, with a frontal orientation to the audience.

The pioneers of modern sought to break from classicism by exploring themes they thought more relevant to 20th-century life, including the angst of modern warfare and the social effects of industrialization. They explored these themes by experimenting with movement, drawing inspiration from their contemporaries working in music and visual art. Angular hands, flexed or turned-in feet, contracting torsos, and a sense of weight and effort replaced ballet’s verticality and appearance of ease.

Ballet, tap, and jazz each take a specific approach to movement. Modern dance, by nature, seeks to explore the unexplored.

The best of modern dance today retains that emphasis on relevance and movement investigation. “Sometimes students who study only ballet or jazz can develop an ‘external’ approach to their dancing,” says Cathy Young, director of the dance division at The Boston Conservatory, the first college in the U.S. to integrate ballet and modern. “The focus is primarily on imitating what they see in their teachers without an in-depth understanding of how the body works or what movement principles are informing the technical training.”

Modern, Young points out, can be profoundly helpful for young dancers because it guides them toward a more internal experience of dance based in anatomy.

Because today’s modern-dance teachers have such a rich, diverse legacy to draw on, they can expose students to a whole new world of movement qualities. An undulating spine, a snap of the hip, a vibrating shoulder, an indulgent arch of the upper back: the possibilities for combining qualities are endless. As a result, modern explodes the potential for expressing complex and mercurial moods and emotions. (Hello, adolescence!)

The process of exploring and refining new movement also builds physical strength, control, and flexibility in under-utilized parts of the body, resulting in more finessed, articulate dancers.

Open doors to dance beyond the studio

Once the applause has died down after the senior solo, what’s next for that graduate you nurtured through her teen years? Whether she wants to enter the professional dance world straight out of high school, audition for a dance conservatory, or explore courses through a college dance department, you’ll invest in her dance future by sending her off with experience in modern. College dance departments are overwhelmingly modern-dance based, and modern features prominently at most dance conservatories, even those with a ballet emphasis.

The Boston Conservatory has graduated many dancers who now dance for top ballet companies, but Young believes that “even a dancer who is focused on ballet as a career path needs some modern-dance training to be competitive in the field today.” She points out that “most ballet companies now perform contemporary ballet repertory, which requires the dancers to be able to fall, curve, spiral, roll on the floor—all learned through training in modern dance.” Ballet companies are also increasingly commissioning works from modern-dance choreographers.

Even the playing field among students

You may be surprised when a dancer who still can’t seem to land a pirouette after two years of practice nails a backward shoulder roll on the first try. And so will his peers. One of the best ways to combat a culture of envy and comparison in the studio is to diversify the class offerings. Because modern dance is in itself diverse, it invites all kinds of bodies and propensities for movement. The acrobatic risk-taker, the quirky, meticulous mover, the aggressive space-eater? All are likely to find that what once seemed a liability proves to be a strength in modern.

A lens for young dancers

Those of us who started dancing as children would be lying if we claimed to be drawn to dance by anything other than romance and flash: those sparkly tap shoes, the graceful flit of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the sexy Fly Girls on In Living Color. But mature dancers possess an awareness of dance’s role in society, past and present. They have knowledge and experience of dance not only as a means to transcend or escape from reality (a gift it will always bring), but also to respond to it.

Perhaps no period in history has seen such rapid, sweeping changes in culture and society than the 20th and 21st centuries. Because modern dance arose out of and in answer to these changes, it gives students an embodied understanding of the unique and complex era in which they live. It also gives them a vocabulary for expressing the sometimes dissonant and confusing aspects of modern life.

If you want proof, try watching Martha Graham’s Heretic with a group of teenagers. The dance pits an individual dancer in white against an unrelenting wall of women costumed in black. The clenched fists and oppressive movements of the group, set against the tense resistance of the kneeling “heretic,” speak worlds to the experience of teens today. Graham choreographed the dance about a rebel pitted against the social structure of 1929 America, but it could just as easily be about the barrage of peer pressure faced by teens in 2013.

Modern encourages innovation

Concert dance is an endangered species in this country. To survive, it needs to cultivate new audiences among rising generations. This is no easy task since it must compete with unprecedented digital alternatives, from Netflix to high-definition video games. But the limitations of dance may prove its salvation. In a world where we’re wired 24/7 and log more daily hours of screen time than face time, the novelty of live bodies in motion has the potential to stop us in our tracks.

That said, dance will keep our attention over the long term only if we refuse to reinvent the wheel by choreographing in the same styles our dance mentors did, and teach our students to do the same.

Because the modern tradition is one of innovation and experimentation, no modern-dance curriculum can be totally true to the form’s roots unless it includes a creative component. Giving students the chance to improvise, choreograph, and experiment with movement—be it a teacher’s, their own, or each other’s—can revolutionize their relationship to dance. It develops their sense of agency. It prepares them for a professional landscape in which dancers are increasingly called upon to contribute to the choreographic process. And it nurtures young dancers to become the great choreographers of the future.

What and how

All right, you may be thinking, all this sounds convincing enough. But what kind of modern dance are we talking about?

“I encourage studio owners to think about which types of modern-dance training might best support the work they are already doing,” says Young. “A studio owner who feels that her students need to develop more strength or flexibility, or a better understanding of line and shape, might consider one of the classical, architectural modern techniques—Graham or Horton, for example. Cunningham and Limón techniques both develop dancers with beautiful facility in the legs and feet and the ability to curve and spiral the upper body.”

Dunham technique is another classic that develops fluidity and control in the torso and hips, perfect for helping ballet-trained dancers discover the expressive potential of the spine. Itself inspired by Afro-Caribbean dance, Dunham is a cornerstone in the curriculum at The Ailey School.

For students who need help developing a stronger personal voice, Young recommends focused work in improvisation. Contact improvisation develops partnering skills that are useful in all dance forms.

If you don’t have a teacher at the ready who is trained to teach one of these styles, techniques can be integrated based on the instructor’s experience. The majority of teen modern-dance classes across the U.S. are an amalgamation of styles. A typical across-the-floor combination might progress from a sweeping Limón curve into a Humphrey fall and culminate in a handstand inspired by release technique, a recent style that emphasizes gravity, momentum, and ease of muscular tension.

Combining styles gives teachers creative license in crafting curriculum. It also exposes students to the rich, varied legacy of modern dance, particularly if the teacher takes the time to point out whose style she is referencing throughout the class. Teachers can also incorporate short dance history lessons. Dance artist Kiki Jenkins tried this approach when she launched a modern-dance curriculum at Dance Arts Studio in Morehead City, North Carolina.

“I wanted the students to learn about great modern dance choreographers,” she says. “So I had them read brief bios and watch short video clips while they stretched in the beginning of class.”

Jenkins says she was heartened by her experience teaching modern in a small Southern town. “I found that two types of dancers readily enrolled—those who love to dance and take every class that is offered, and those with a more artistic bent who are interested in choreography and ways to express themselves more freely. Mostly older students signed up the first year, but the young dancers signed up the second year. I think this might have been because they liked the modern-dance piece in the recital.”

Jenkins suggests gauging student interest by offering a master class or a summer intensive if you are not sure you will get the necessary enrollment to merit hiring a teacher right off the bat. If the timing is right for an ongoing class but no qualified teacher presents herself, you might try emailing the dance department at the nearest university or statewide dance consortium. Many state and regional dance organizations, like the North Carolina Dance Alliance or California Dance Network, send out regular e-blasts in which you can place a listing free or for a nominal fee. Even if the announcement doesn’t reach a potential teacher directly, it might reach someone who has a contact.

Another option is to invest in training studio faculty who have experience performing modern dance but little to none teaching it. Many studio owners fall into this category. If you’re among them, consider attending some dance education workshops with a focus on modern or creative dance. Conferences such as the National Dance Education Organization’s annual event offer invaluable teacher-training opportunities and chances to network with other educators.

Whether you take a week away for a teacher-training intensive or a single Saturday for an afternoon conference, the investment in your professional development will invigorate your overall teaching practice. If we want our students to take risks and experiment, we have to be willing to do the same. Diving into new teaching territory can be disorienting and a little scary, but it can also be exciting. The spirit of modern dance, after all, is about learning to expect—and relish—the unexpected.

DanceLife Retreat Center; photo courtesy DSL

It’s almost here! The second summer season of three-day business sessions with Rhee Gold promises to be an inspirational and informative one for the studio owners and teachers heading to the DanceLife Retreat Center in Norton, Massachusetts.

Space is still available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday sessions on June 14 to 16, July 12 to 14, July 19 to 21, August 16 to 18, and August 23 to 25; plus July 7 to 9 (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday).

In the quiet seclusion of the sparkling new Retreat Center, participants can rest and rejuvenate as they learn how to maximize the potential of their dance studio business. Limited to 30 teachers and school owners, each session will be led personally by Gold, who shares advice and strategies collected over a lifetime of business success.

Seminar sessions will touch on some of the most pressing topics for studio owners: from income-generating strategies to innovative marketing techniques, maximizing managerial effectiveness to enhancing communication, and step-by-step instruction on creating clear and useful policies. In this relaxed and comfortable environment, participants will collect the information they need to help them amp up their studio’s ultimate potential.

“For those who are ready to explore new business strategies and rejuvenate your dance spirit, I guarantee you a one-of-a-kind experience,” Gold said. “You will learn, grow, laugh, definitely make new friends, and gain the confidence to make your business the best it can be.”

To learn more, visit http://www.danceliferetreat.com.

The Chicago National Association of Dance Masters will be accepting nominations for its 2013 Outstanding Member of the Year honor through May 1.

This award recognizes an active member who has gone above and beyond in promoting CNADM within their studio, as well as in supporting the art of dance within their community

at large, and will be presented at CNADM’s 101st Annual Awards Banquet on July 25 during the

Summer Dance Workshops and Convention in Oak Brook (Chicago), Illinois.

The successful candidate will be someone who contributes greatly to the operation of a successful studio or demonstrates outstanding teaching skills; who promotes the art of dance within their community; and has a positive impact on their community outside the field of dance.

Only current CNADM members in good standing are eligible. Extra consideration may be given to nominees based upon their longevity of CNADM membership. Members of the current

CNADM Board of Directors are not eligible for consideration.

Anyone may nominate a CNDAM member; self-nominations are also welcome. The nominations will be reviewed by the CNADM Awards Committee and one award winner will be selected. Winner must be able to attend the Awards Banquet in July.

For the nomination form and further details, visit http://www.cnadm.com/assets/pdf/CNADM-MOTYA-Nom13.pdf.

Nancy Stone; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Nancy Stone.

When did you first start dancing and why?
Nancy: I was about 9 years old. A traveling dance teacher visited our town once a week and taught class. That was the first time I had a chance to dance.

Did you ever seriously consider a career in another field? What was it?
Nancy: I wanted to go into the medical field.

What person/event was the biggest inspiration in your life?
Nancy: Many people nurtured and cared for me. My father died when I was 9. I was an only child and I had many guardian angels that inspired me.

What do you see as the most-pressing challenge facing dance studio directors/teachers today?
Nancy: Fighting all the other activities that children do.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Nancy O’Meara; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Nancy O’Meara

What do you do for fun (other than dance)?
Nancy: I try to make everything fun. I love fun.

What is your favorite movie/book/TV show?
Nancy: My favorite movie is Patch Adams. My favorite book is currently Fifty Shades of Grey Books 1 and 2, but I don’t think Rhee will let me print that answer! Favorite TV show is 30 Rock. I love to laugh.

What was the hardest thing you ever did in dance?
Nancy: Moving to Los Angeles and making a living at my craft.

A genie in a bottle is granting you three wishes: what are they?
Nancy: 1. For every homeless person to have a roof over their head. 2. For a doctor to tell me cheeseburgers are healthy. 3. That every child be exposed to the beauties and possibilities of dance.

What has dance meant to you in your life?
Nancy: Dance is my recipe to life. I still tap dance in the shower.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Maureen Gelchion Corso; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Maureen Gelchion Corso.

In your opinion, who is the greatest dancer to ever dance? The greatest choreographer? The greatest teacher?
Maureen: Dancers: Natalia Makarova, Anthony Dowell, Fernando Bujones, and Alicia Alonso. Choreographer: Marius Petipa. My greatest dance teacher was Peter Nelson, and my greatest life lesson teachers are my husband and Rhee Gold.

What do you see as the most pressing challenge facing dance studio directors/teachers today?Maureen: For studio owners/directors: there are many, but I think sticking to your studio policies and making sure your staff and faculty on 100 percent on board with you is most important. For teachers: there are also many things facing teachers today. For me, it is making the students really think about what they are learning and why they are dancing.

What has dance meant to you in your life?
Maureen: When I danced it was my passion, my fuel, my escape!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Misty Lown; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Misty Lown.

What do you like best about teaching at the DLTC?
Misty: I love teaching for Rhee’s DLTC! There is literally something for everyone at this conference—no one gets left behind. Attendees can get motivated in the business sessions and refreshed in the dance sessions. You will laugh and you will cry. But most of all, you will remember why you became a dance teacher or studio owner in the first place.

If Rhee could hold his DLTC anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Misty: Well, I am from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, so I would have to vote for somewhere tropical mid-January . . . ha!

If the DLTC attendees could only take home one lesson/message from your classes, what would it be?
Misty: Hope. You can do it! Seriously! You can make a life (and a living) doing what you love. It may not look like what you thought it would, but it will be beautiful. Never, never, never give up!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Hedy Perna; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Hedy Perna.

What is your version of the perfect day?
Hedy: Doing absolutely nothing. It doesn’t happen often, so that’s why it would be perfect.

If you could have lunch with three great villains from history or fiction, who would they be?
Hedy: Not a fan or very interested in villains; however, I’d take a lunch with the Wicked Witch of the West. She definitely needed some make-up tips.

If you were a superhero, what special skill would you like to have?
Hedy: I would fly. I’m always running not to be late, so I’d get there faster by flying. Or I would have the ability to be invisible. It would be fun—and I would even go out into the lobby [of my studio] and listen to what’s going on.

A genie in a bottle is granting you three wishes: what are they?
Hedy: Health for my family, happiness for my family, and a little more time in each day for sleep.

What has dance meant to you in your life?
Hedy: Everything. It’s my passion, my creativity, my discipline. And since it’s a family business (my husband and I both work at the studio), it is my livelihood and my future.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Madam Peff Modelski; photo courtesy DLTC

Madam Peff Modelski; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Madam Peff Modelski.

What do you do for fun (other than dance)?
Peff: I love needlework. I mostly love to crochet and knit toys and flowers, but I also do Kumihimo, which is a Japanese form of counted braiding. I am looking forward to learning how to spin, weave, and tat, which is lace-making. I learned to embroider in first grade, and my mother taught me to sew while she was making my clothes and costumes.

What is your favorite movie/book/TV show?
Peff: Movies: The Gods Must Be Crazy, The Princess Bride. TV: Great Performances, Dance in America, and Live at Lincoln Center. Book: Jonathan Livingston Seagull—because anything is possible!

What was the hardest thing you ever did in dance?
Peff: Learning fouettés on pointe to the left; and my whole first year learning Graham technique at age 12.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?
Peff: Making a living only as a dancer/teacher my whole life, and raising a child as a single parent in New York City. I battled severe asthma for most of my life up until 12 years ago, so every breath was an accomplishment!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Gregg Russell; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Gregg Russell.

What is your favorite movie/book/TV show?
Gregg: Movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Book: The Alchemist. TV show: It’s a toss-up between Family Guy and Fringe.

If you could have lunch with three great villains from history or fiction, who would they be?
Gregg: Interesting question: I think it would be interesting to meet Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, and the Unabomber.

If you were a superhero, what special skill would you like to have?
Gregg: The ability to stop time.

A genie in a bottle is granting you three wishes: what are they?
Gregg: 1. Financial security 2. Good health 3. More wishes!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Stacy Eastman; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Stacy Eastman.

When did you first start dancing and why?
Stacy: My aunt owned a dance studio and she was my babysitter, so I was always at the studio with her. The rest is history.

What person/event has been the biggest inspiration in your life?
Stacy: My mother and my aunt are two of the biggest inspirations in my life. In the earlier years of my life I would have to say my aunt, who was my dance teacher, truly inspired me to be the best I can be. A few years ago my mother got sick and I see her struggle on a daily basis, and she is so strong, so she inspires me to be more positive.

What has dance meant to you in your life?
Stacy: Dance has been the biggest part of my life. I am lucky to have a career that is not really a job, and I get to work with children whom I love and I get to be a big part of their lives—which is awesome. It has allowed me to travel the world and meet many people who are now my best friends—that’s one of the best parts of this crazy life.

I always say, “We are dancers, we are different,” and it’s the truth. We just get things that others don’t. I am so glad I get to share that with a lot of my students and friends. Dance is something I have always loved and always will, and it definitely defines who I am in a lot of ways.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Mike Wittmers; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Mike Wittmers.

Did you ever seriously consider a career in another field? What was it?
Mike: Back in high school, I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. I am still a huge sports fan.

What do you like best about teaching at the DLTC?
Mike: I love the instant reaction I get from other dance educators when I share pieces of information and their faces light up with that “ah-ha” moment. . . . It really makes me feel like I am making a positive impact in the dance community.

If the DLTC attendees could only take home one lesson/message from your classes, what would it be?
Mike: Learn music and musicality. Dance is music first, movement second. If nobody wants to listen to a singer who is off key, they certainly don’t want to watch a dancer who doesn’t hear/feel music.

What person/event was the biggest inspiration in your life?
Mike: The biggest tap and musical theater inspiration in my life was Gregory Hines. I got to see him on Broadway in Jelly’s Last Jam.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey; photo courtesy ADTNJ

The Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey is now accepting registrations for its summer teacher workshop, Fundamentals of Teaching Dance, scheduled for August 13 and 14.

The workshop will be held at Mary Lou Hale’s School of Dance, 135 North Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey, and is appropriate for veteran dance teachers, new teachers, and studio owners and directors. Weekend classes will cover dance technique and provide complete curriculums for all levels of ballet, tap, and jazz.

Lectures will focus on basic anatomy, music theory, and choreography, plus “Helpful Teaching Tips” and “Tried and True Dance Education Insights.” A certification examination day for potential ADTNJ members will be held August 15 from 9am to noon.

Early bird registration (until May 1) is $265 or $245 for ADTNJ members; regular registration (after May 1) is $315 or $295 for ADTNJ members. For more information, visit www.associateddanceteachers.com or call 800.825.0933.

Diane Gudat; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we learn more about Diane Gudat.

What person/event was the biggest inspiration in your life?
Diane: The birth of my children probably tops it all. When you realize that you have the ability to create such beauty, and then have the responsibility to protect and nurture it, it’s pretty life changing.

What do you do for fun (other than dance)?
Diane: I enjoy drawing and studying French. I’m mediocre at both!

What is your favorite movie/book/TV show?
Diane: One of my all-time favorite movies to quote is Drop Dead Gorgeous. I also enjoy the series of [Christopher Guest] movies that includes Best in Show. When I watch a movie I want to relax and laugh! I enjoy a good sitcom and would love to be a comedy writer on a show like Modern Family or The Middle. I am sad to say that I am addicted to several reality shows, my favorites being The Amazing Race, Project Runway, and The Biggest Loser!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Derrick Yanford; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Derrick Yanford.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?
Derrick: I’m going to replace greatest with most memorable for I don’t wish to rate or compare them to each other—they are all great!

As an amateur: achieving my goal of winning the titles of Mr. Dance of America and America’s Dancer of the Year.

As a professional dancer: probably my first professional gig. I was so young and had only been dancing for a short while, so I’m pretty proud of that. Also, being chosen to dance with Ballet Hispanico. They were only looking for one male dancer. I was only 20 and a sophomore in college, and was in the audition with some really talented seniors from my school. But they chose me . . . that was cool!

As a choreographer: the last performance of my company, Bridge Dance Concepts. We performed at the EDANCO Dance Festival in Santo Domingo last September and were very well received. The show order changed for the second night to allow us to close the show and the festival. I love what I came up with, and my dancers performed beautifully. It was a really great experience.

As a teacher: the many offers I’ve been given to teach around the world. I have been fortunate to have been contacted by people whom I’ve never met, asking me to teach for them based on what they heard about my teaching style, or by either watching me teach, taking a class, or through word of mouth passed along by my students or colleagues. I feel very fortunate and blessed to have the respect of my contemporaries.

As a person: without a doubt my 15 soon-to-be 16-year relationship with the love of my life. I am so glad the universe brought us together, and I’m looking forward to the next 15.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Ashley Stone; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Ashley Stone.

What do you see as the most-pressing challenge facing dance studio directors/teachers today?
Ashley: Keeping high school children dancing despite their varied commitments to school and other after-school activities.

What do you like best about teaching at the DLTC?
Ashley: I like teaching at DLTC because I like that there’s a young people’s forum where we can really relate on another level—a personal one.

 If Rhee could hold his DLTC anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Ashley: Australia. As long as I can get there for free!

If the DLTC attendees could only take home one lesson/message from your classes, what would it be?
Ashley: I will be talking about the passing of the torch from one generation to the next, and so I would want people to remember that on the toughest days, there are always better ones ahead.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Dance Studio Life, a magazine with a back-to-basics approach, is a division of the Rhee Gold Company, whose mission is to be at the forefront of dance and education by promoting the highest possible standards in teaching. Dance Studio Life understands the soul of the teaching field.

COLUMNS
Ask Rhee Gold Advice for dance teachers
2 Tips for Ballet Teachers | Rigor and Nuance By Mignon Furman
2 Tips for Hip-Hop Teachers | The Shoulder Bounce By Geo Hubela
2 Tips for Modern Teachers | Investigations By Bill Evans
2 Tips for Tap Teachers | Shuffles and Pullbacks By Gregg Russell
A Better You | Getting Out with Grace By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT
EditorSpeak By Karen White and Lisa Okuhn
On My Mind | Words from the Publisher By Rhee Gold

DEPARTMENTS
Classroom Connection  By Kerry Ring and Lizanne McAdams-Graham
Ideas to incorporate into your curriculum
Click! | New DanceLife Teacher Conference website
Online must-sees from the Rhee Gold Company
FYI What’s up in the dance community
Mail Words from our readers
Mindful Marketing | Marketing Ideas for Summer By Teri Mangiaratti
Teacher in the Spotlight | Erin Spriggs Teachers who make a difference  
Thinking Out Loud | Hip-Hop Gold  By Carol Crawford Smith

FEATURES
Ballet Scene | Russia Calling By Joshua Bartlett
For authentic Vaganova training, head to St. Petersburg.
Bright Biz Idea | Rehearsals Made Simple  By Karen White
Online scheduler takes the pain out of private rehearsal planning and payment
Higher-Ed Voice | Dance Steps, Next Steps By Lisa Okuhn
A San Francisco school helps teens navigate the path to college dance programs.
Kicking Off Summer By Megan Donahue
In five short weeks, Kick Start gets kids jazzed for fall.
Stay-at-Home Summer Dance Intensive By Julie Holt Lucia
How to challenge and transform dancers right in your own backyard.
Summer Inspiration on a Shoestring By Julie Holt Lucia
Do-it-yourself staff development and continuing education.
Summertime Teacher Training 
Your guide to workshops and intensives across the U.S. and beyond.
Top of the Class By Jennifer Kaplan
Never mind the trophies and the technique-dance honor societies value effort and commitment

.

The editing of a song can make or break a competition routine, recital number, or concert piece, and finding a user-friendly editing service is a top priority of many dance teachers and studio owners today.

The editors at Dance Studio Life magazine are wondering if anyone has used either of these professional music editing services: Dancers Delight (http://www.dancersdelightedits.com/Welcome_To_Our_Studio.html) and Marquette Productions (http://www.marquetteproductions.com/).

If not, who or what do you use? If you would like to share your findings with other DSL readers, please send your comments to Lisa at Lisa@RheeGold.com. And, as always, thanks for your input!

Nancy Stone; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Nancy Stone.

What do you like best about teaching at the DLTC?
Nancy: I am on a high from the minute I am asked until days after it is over. It is inspiring for dance teachers and faculty alike.

If Rhee could hold his DLTC anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Nancy: Italy, my favorite place on earth.

If the DLTC attendees could only take home one lesson/message from your classes, what would it be?
Nancy: Love what you do and do your very best.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Limón Teacher Workshop; photo courtesy José Limón Dance Foundation

Three summer workshops for teachers will be held in New York City; Linz, Austria; and Montreal, Canada. The all-day, Monday through Friday sessions will explore the use of Humphrey/Limón principles in contemporary dance training. Workshops are open to teachers and graduates of teaching programs and to dancers trained in the Humphrey/Limon tradition who are interested in learning to teach the technique. Faculty includes Alan Danielson, Roxane D’Orleans Just, Ann Vachon, and Geraldine Cardiel. Those attending the New York workshop may earn credit through New York University.

The New York City workshop runs July 1 to 12; Linz, Austria, July 15 to 26; and Montreal, Canada, August 12 to 23. Tuition for the New York workshop is $900 plus $50 application fee. Tuition for Austria and Canada workshops is $900. Register before April 15 to receive a 10 percent discount on Austria and Canada tuition.

For more information and to apply visit http://limon.org/school/summer-workshops/workshops-for-teachers/.

Nancy O’Meara; photo courtesy DLTC

In this installment of “Get to Know Your DLTC Faculty,” we continue our conversation with Nancy O’Meara.

What is your version of the perfect day?
Nancy: Well, I’m on a plane to Las Vegas . . . and so far it’s perfect.

If you could have lunch with three great villains from history or fiction, who would they be?
Nancy: Hmmm . . . no villains come to mind. . . . But I would love to have lunch with Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball, Brit Hume, and Sherry Gold. And Robin Williams would be my waiter.

If you were a superhero, what special skill would you like to have?
Nancy: I would have the ability to stop hate and anger in the world. Maybe with a magic device like they have in Men in Black . . . “look into my light” and bam—no more hate or the ability to take a life.

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Misty Lown; photo courtesy DLTC

When did you first start dancing and why?
Misty: I was born with a clubfoot and had childhood asthma. My mom enrolled me in ballet at age 3 to help with the asthma and to help strengthen my foot, which by that time had been broken and reset in a forward-facing position.

Did you ever seriously consider a career in another field? What was it?
Misty: Yes. Believe it or not, I went to college to be a Spanish teacher. I thought it would be a nice, “safe” career. I even spent a month in Guatemala honing my skills. But my first student-teaching experience in a Spanish classroom was a huge disappointment.

I remember standing in front of a room of high-school students who could not have cared less about conversational Spanish or verb conjugations (which I thought were kind of fun!). It was such a contrast to the excitement I saw from my students at the dance studio!

I did end up finishing my master’s in education, but wrote a tap curriculum for my exit project instead of a Spanish curriculum. Then, I put aside the “safe” path and followed my heart; throwing everything I had into opening a dance studio and developing my true love—teaching dance!

To learn more about the DanceLife Teacher Conference scheduled for August 1 to 4 in Scottsdale, Arizona, visit www.dancelifeteacherconference.com.

Advice for dance teachers

Dear Rhee,

I own a school that was founded by my grandmother. I grew up knowing that someday I would take the reins and I always looked forward to it. I am proud of what we have built, but my children have their own interests, and they don’t include directing the family school.

After 30 years of running the school, I plan to retire with my husband and move to our house in Florida within the next couple of years. The responsibility to carry on the family legacy has turned into a burden for me because we have come to the end of the line.

My dilemma is that my mother and my grandmother each turned over the school to the next in line, but never thought of retiring; both taught until they died. I think they expected me to do the same, but my husband and I have worked very hard to save enough money to retire.

I have thought about selling the school to one of our teachers, but a friend of mine would like to purchase the building to open a restaurant. At first I was against doing anything that would hinder the school from continuing, but now I think it would be easier to sell the building and let the business end. My problem is that I can’t get over the guilt of ending the family legacy. I am hoping you can offer me some insight. —Carol

Hi Carol,

My family’s school is now owned and directed by my brother Rennie, but I do relate to your feelings about keeping the legacy going. When my mom died I had my own businesses and made a good living, but I took over the school for a couple of years because Rennie was unable to at the time. Like you, I felt guilty at the thought that the legacy might end. But I worked so hard that I was completely burned out. When Rennie was ready to take over the school two years later, I was thrilled.

For many years after my mom’s death, I thought the school had to continue no matter what; it seemed like letting it go would, somehow, be letting my mother and her memory down. But I don’t think that way anymore. As I’ve grown older I have realized that life is all about change, and we have the choice to accept that or not. However, if we choose not to accept it, we will end up unhappy because we will always mourn what was instead of accepting what is. Embracing change makes for a life that is always filled with exciting opportunities to grow and discover.

I can honestly say at this point that if my brother were to close or sell the school it would be OK with me. Each of us has continued our mother’s legacy in our own way, just like your own children will do with the choices they make for their future. They might not have chosen teaching dance as their profession, but through your hard work you have influenced their work ethic and pursuit of their dreams, just like your mom and grandmother did for you.

Please let go of the guilt and do what’s best for you and your future. If selling the building to your friend will make this transition easier, then do it. And you could sell the business itself to one of your teachers, who could move it to a new location, or maybe one of them will open a school of their own and you’ll know that your legacy continues in a new way. You have the right to retire and spend time with your husband. And who knows—you just might end up teaching dance in Florida! —Rhee

Dear Rhee,

It has always been a policy at our school that students who want to take non-ballet classes must also take ballet. Until the last couple of years that policy has gone unchallenged, but now I feel like we are losing out on new students because nearby schools let students take whatever they want, and ballet is not required.

The problem started when we added hip-hop to the curriculum, because those students don’t want to take anything else. As a result of our ballet requirement, the hip-hop classes have four or five students, while other schools in the area have 20 students in their hip-hop classes. A side of me wants to get rid of hip-hop altogether, but I worry that we would lose even more potential students.

I have always felt that all students need ballet as a base, and I have a hard time letting that belief go. Any suggestions? —Jeannie

Dear Jeannie,

I too believe that ballet is the foundation for all solid dance training, but I would make an exception for those who take only hip-hop, Zumba, or adult classes. You are right when you say that most hip-hop dancers don’t want to take other dance forms. But in my experience, that’s when they are first starting to dance. Many hip-hop students move into other styles of dance once they are exposed to them.

The key is to get those new hip-hop students into your school so that you have the opportunity to show them all the options dance has to offer. At this point, that’s exactly what the schools in your area are doing. So eliminate the ballet requirement for hip-hop students, but do keep it for those who take jazz, tap, modern, and contemporary. Good luck! —Rhee

Dear Rhee,

Last year I went to one of your seminars, where I learned that I needed to run my school more professionally, especially from a business perspective. I knew I had to hire an office manager to help me with the day-to-day operations and lift some of the pressure of the business off me. I was so excited when my office manager first started working for me because I felt like I had done something for myself. Before I went to the seminar, I wasn’t sure I deserved that.

Now we are into our third month of working together, and I am feeling a new pressure. My office manager is late for work almost every day. At first she would apologize and come up with an excuse, but now she doesn’t say anything and ignores the fact that I had to take attendance and collect tuition before starting my classes for the day. She lets things go until the last minute or until I say that they need to be done immediately.

I feel like I need to start doing some of the things I hired her to do in order to feel confident that they are getting done. I am also afraid she will be mad if I let her know I am disappointed.

I need help in developing the skills needed to be a good boss. How do I let her know that I want her here on time and that she needs to follow through on her responsibilities? —Tricia

Hello Tricia,

You deserve to have help, and good for you for making it happen. Being a boss is not an easy job. Sometimes it takes several tries before you find an employee who understands your needs and her responsibilities. But I have learned that it is OK to let someone go who is not performing as expected.

One of the things I have discovered is that I need to be better about communicating my needs. For instance, if an employee is late more than a couple of times, I need to speak up before it becomes the norm. Most likely your silence about your office manager’s lateness has made her complacent about it, especially if she senses that you’re uncomfortable discussing it. And if you are worried about making her angry, maybe she isn’t the right fit for the job, or for you.

A good way to keep her on her toes is to change her start time. Tell her she needs to be on the job 30 minutes before classes start, to meet with you regarding your needs for the day and update you on the happenings in the office. Make the commitment to be really organized for the daily meeting, with your notes for discussion written out and a copy for her. That will minimize the chance for misunderstandings about her duties and your expectations.

If this method doesn’t work, then it’s probably time to start looking for a new office manager. That’s OK. You deserve to have an employee who will satisfy your needs rather than add to the daily stress of owning a business. I wish you all the best. —Rhee

By Geo Hubela

Tip 1
There are many variations on this simple and fun hip-hop move. As you step with the right foot, pop the shoulders up-down (count 1&) and repeat while stepping on the left foot (2&), continuing through 8 counts. Then have the dancers reverse the shoulder movement (pop down-up) as they step, and try it stepping backward as well. Now step it up by alternating shoulders right-left (1&2&3&, etc.) while stepping right-left on 1-2-3, etc.

Tip 2
Add footwork beyond the basic walking step to the shoulder work. While bouncing the shoulders in any variation, add popping up to both heels at the same time. Make it more complex by popping up to the right heel (foot turned out) and the ball of the left foot (turned in). Reverse to the left heel turned out and the ball of the right foot turned in. Alternate for a full 8 counts. Stress that the movement should be clean but not too stiff; you want it to look funky!

By Bill Evans

Tip 1
Opposites provide variety. Rudolf Laban framed all his movement inquiries as investigations of opposites. He believed that things are defined by what they are not and that exploring all the possibilities between two extremes helps us understand the choices available to us. This guiding principle leads me to design classes that include a balance of large/small movements, strong/gentle forces, front/back spaces, set phrases/improvisation, musical/breath rhythms, outward/inward rotation, fast/slow tempos, inward/external focus, and strength/flexibility. Variety creates balance, and balance creates well-being.

Tip 2
After almost six decades of teaching, I am still amazed and delighted that each “crop” of students is different. I am more effective as a teacher when I see each student with fresh eyes rather than make assumptions. The lesson plans I have used for years may not be right for the particular students I am teaching now, and I need to look at, listen to, and respond to the needs and learning styles of the people in the room. I don’t teach technique, I teach people, and each group needs something different.

By Gregg Russell

Tip 1
You can’t do the second shuffle before the first. That sounds like simple logic, but many students tense up and try to do both at the same time. To teach them to do a clean double shuffle, have them finish the first shuffle off the ground and then start the second one. Let them hear the rhythm of the four sounds (five for double shuffle step), and remind them that a basic shuffle starts and ends in back. For a quicker shuffle, do it on the inside of the foot.

Tip 2
For pullbacks, instead of focusing on the feet, try fixing the jump. I like to teach a standard two-sound pullback starting with “rainbow” jumps. With legs together, have students jump up and out, moving backward (like the shape of a rainbow) to land in a relaxed plié, heels off the ground. Once they are consistent, tell them to “rainbow” jump, tap their toes in the middle, and then land. With practice they will be able to move in any direction.

How to take care of yourself and your future when leaving a job or folding a business

By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT

Most teachers, myself included, have witnessed messy employee/employer breakups, or worse, been a party to the dreaded dance divorce. Sometimes teachers are fired. By the time that happens to you, there’s not much you can do except maintain your dignity and keep your chin up. But making a decision to quit, and doing so in the most positive way possible, requires thought, planning, and maturity.

The dance community is small and news travels fast, which means a poorly executed exit can have effects days, months, or even years later. Here’s some guidance on how to decide whether a less-than-perfect employment situation is salvageable or untenable, and then, if it’s time to go, how to do so as positively as possible.

First, don’t quit impulsively. Give yourself time to assess your work situation before you take action. Is it really right for you to leave? Be honest.

As dance artists, for better or worse, we are conditioned to believe that sacrificing for the sake of art is right and necessary. We hold high goals and expectations for ourselves and our students. We’ll do anything for art. But if some divine authority told you that it would be OK to change your situation, would you sigh with relief and jump at the chance? Or, after evaluating your job, your employer, and yourself, would you decide to try to make improvements that would make staying more palatable?

Avoid the common exit interview mistake of outlining all the organization’s defects. Even if you’re asked what can be improved, be brief and non-committal.

If you’re considering making a career move as drastic as quitting, it’s time to take out a pen and paper and examine what about your working situation is and is not working for you. Rank your satisfaction or dissatisfaction on a 1-to-5 scale (1 = very satisfied, 5 = very dissatisfied) in the following categories.

• Pay. Like it or not, this is a business relationship. Dance is not a lucrative field—and that’s probably not why you chose it—but you have to survive. Are you making enough to allow you to be the best teacher you can be? Anxiety about money can affect your well-being and attitude, and spreading yourself too thin in order to make ends meet is physically and emotionally exhausting.

• Work conditions. Are you pressured to put in unpaid overtime during production time, or at other times when workloads increase? Are you expected to take on jobs for which you weren’t hired?

• Communication and support. Does your employer show respect for you and your colleagues, both privately and in public? Does the management offer support when employees are taking heat from irate students/parents, or is there an automatic “customer is always right” policy? Good employers allow all sides to be heard. And management should be open to and offer opportunities for employees to discuss any concerns that arise.

• Quality. What is the studio’s approach to technique quality or production quality? Do you see the school’s values as lining up with your own?

• Health and environmental conditions. What are the studio’s policies on sick days or leaves? Are the floors too hard, the rooms too hot or cold, the restroom facilities inadequate?

• Schedule flexibility and fit. Does the schedule fit well with yours and/or with your family’s schedule? Does it offer advantages like a welcoming and safe place for your children to study or relax after school while you’re teaching?

• Career enhancement. Does the school enjoy great prestige or provide useful connections? Are you given the opportunity to work on your own choreography? Are you learning management and other skills? Consider whether this job is a good stepping-stone to another career or a rung on the ladder to ownership.

Even if your evaluation turns up negative results, ask yourself whether you can salvage the situation. It may be time to assertively state what you need. Would a pay raise, lighter load, better boundaries set around time demands, or paid teacher training make you want to stick around longer? Can you tweak the situation to make it work? If you and your organization share mutual dreams and goals for your students, is an open-ended agreement to pursue those goals sufficient? Can you and your employer agree on a specific plan and concrete timeline to make the changes that will render your job acceptable to you?

If no feasible solutions can be found, acknowledge that it’s truly time to go, and plan your exit. Give yourself a timeline of at least a few months. Be reasonable and empathetic. Consider the institution’s needs, and avoid burning bridges at all costs. Leaving just before a major performance or parent review could cause havoc.

You will also need to get your finances in order. Start planning and saving for a possible period during which you won’t have an income. Make a budget.

If you’re looking for other teaching or studio work, be cautious about your job search, and discreet when making inquiries. Nothing will make a difficult situation even more toxic than information—true or untrue—circulating about your impending “defection.”

Next, dial up your performance. If you’ve been feeling resentful and operating at a less-than-optimal level, up it to 98 percent. If you’ve been squeezing blood out of rocks, ramp it back down to 98 per cent. Doing extra tasks and putting in unreasonable hours to please an employer will not rectify an untenable situation. Perform with integrity, do your job; but the time has come to start reducing your investment in the enterprise.

Once you have your strategy in order, give notice. Make sure you mean it and that management knows this. Do it in person, and again, do it with empathy. You’ll burn fewer bridges. Avoid the common exit interview mistake of outlining all the organization’s defects. Even if you’re asked what can be improved, be brief and noncommittal. After all, if you’re at this point, you’ve probably already tried to negotiate a better situation for yourself, and it hasn’t worked. And if you’ve followed the steps in this article, you’ll likely have worked through the first part of your emotional separation and can be more detached in your delivery.

Follow up your conversation with a letter outlining the terms of your departure such as the stop date, or negotiated items like ongoing studio rentals for your private students. Throw in a compliment for good measure, and be sure to thank your employer(s) for the opportunity to work with them.

Next, allow closure. If the organization and/or parents want to give you a party, let them. If not, find a way to say your goodbyes. Keep it upbeat, light, and above all, remain detached. If you’re asked the reasons for your departure, keep them to yourself. Accentuate the positive by repeatedly explaining how much you’ve enjoyed and valued all the students you’ve watched blossom.

Do expect to feel a sense of loss, separation, and perhaps anxiety. Change is scary, but it offers the possibility of opening new doors on exciting new vistas. Making necessary changes—and doing it right—will help you develop resilience, new approaches, and new skills; all of these make you more employable, not less.

Be smart. Be discerning. Do your homework. Breathe, and take the step.

I have faith in you.

Words from the publisher

We are in conference mode here at the Rhee Gold Company and Dance Studio Life. What started as Project Motivate with 20 attendees in 1998 has morphed into the DanceLife Teacher Conference, which attracts more than 700 teachers, school owners, and studio managers from across the United States and Canada, and from as far away as Italy and Australia.

As we celebrate our 15th anniversary as conference producers, we’ll offer more than ever—well over 100 classes and seminars in the first four days of August, presented at the five-diamond Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. The diverse faculty includes some of the brightest minds in the field, coming from backgrounds in hip-hop, classical ballet, tap, contemporary, jazz, preschool education, and more.

It’s important, I believe, to get back to basics with dance classes. Although there are numerous conventions that offer advanced master classes, few provide the chance to learn new concepts for preschool, beginner, and intermediate students. Yet these classes are exactly what every school owner or teacher needs to do well, in order to maintain their school’s financial health.

A full track of business sessions for studio owners includes concepts and techniques for marketing, office organization, summer programs, websites and social media, building new profit centers, plus more. In addition, there will be special sessions for studio managers and closed “studio owner only” events.

Since communication is key in dance education, many schools have brought their entire faculty and staff to our last few conferences to ensure that everyone is learning and sharing with a singular mind-set. Often, while the teachers take classes, the studio managers and school owners attend the business seminars. Together they build camaraderie and bring a bounty of new ideas back to their home studios.

As the conference director, I have a goal of bringing the dance community together to share a love for the art of dance, while simultaneously providing opportunities to learn and grow as professionals—and thus improve as teachers and as business owners. I look at the conference as a way for attendees to rejuvenate their dance spirit, build confidence, and learn new teaching skills that will not only improve students technically but also inspire them to develop a lifelong passion for dance.

As I look back to the beginning of my journey as a conference producer, I remember the skeptics who told me that dance teachers and school owners were too competitive to want to share their knowledge. My instincts told me that wasn’t true. As the DanceLife Teacher Conference has proved over and over again, dance educators embrace the chance to communicate and to celebrate their common bond.