Every dance studio relies on parent volunteers for dozens of jobs, but it can be difficult to get the help you need. Don’t worry though, these tips can help your studio get more volunteers.
Elastics keep the pointe shoes on the dancers’ feet, and the ribbons give the feet and ankles vital support when dancing en pointe. If you don’t want your dancer to get hurt, you need to make sure the ribbons and elastic are attached properly. My daughters have both been dancing en pointe for several years now and they sew on their own ribbons and elastics, but I will still sometimes check their pointe shoes and add another layer of stitching or two if the ribbons or elastics aren’t well attached.
If you are a parent of a dancer who is in the midst of choosing colleges, then you will know how much researching, preparation and planning has gone on before an actual dance audition for a college even occurs!
If your dance mom college audition experience for your dancer is anything like mine, you will see yourself on the end of a video camera (or your phone) filming video auditions, or video pre-screening auditions which are followed up by an in-person audition.
If your dance college audition experience is anything like mine, your dancer will pick about a dozen colleges, some with in-person dance auditions, some with video auditions, some requiring classical ballet variations, some requiring a self-choreographed solos, some requiring written essays, some requiring interviews, and all with different timelines. So how do you prepare for all that???
When my mom taught me how to sew, I was terrified of cutting the pattern out wrong and wasting a bunch of fabric, but I soon learned that laying out and cutting out a pattern is really not that hard, and it’s a great way to help out at your child’s dance studio, even if you don’t sew. So grab your fabric and scissors and you’ll be an expert in no time!
It’s so exciting when your daughter gets her first pair of pointe shoes, but it can also be stressful. She’s gotten the ribbons and elastics sewn on, but what are they actually for? How should she tie them so they do what they’re supposed to do? We will describe the two most common ways to tie pointe shoe ribbons. She should choose the method that’s best for her.
Everyone knows the frustration of spending time and money on costumes that only last a couple of performances. It’s hard to know how to best balance cost and quality. If you follow these tips, you can create costumes that last but don’t break your budget.
Fosse Jazz was created in the 1940’s and 50’s by Bob Fosse as an offshoot of Broadway jazz. Fosse pulled inspiration from his background in vaudeville, the teachings of Broadway jazz founder Jack Cole, his work with Fred Astaire, and his own insecurities (he did not like his hands or his thinning hair and didn’t have good turnout), he developed a unique choreographic style and terminology.
Broadway jazz, or theater jazz originated in the 1920’s. It was the first time dance was an important part of a play’s plot, and viewers fell in love. It is a unique blend of ballet, modern, and jazz and is distinguished by its emphasis on exaggerated movements, high energy, and story-telling. It is almost always performed by a troupe of dancers, with few solos.