Most dancers live for the day they are finally allowed to dance en pointe! Dancing en pointe requires a student to meet certain milestones before they can begin, and one of those is having enough ballet training.
Dancers should study ballet for at least three years before beginning pointe. Those three years should be consistent, focused ballet training. But the length of study is not the only requirement for dancing on pointe.
Dancers who practice at home have a leg up on dancers who don’t, and luckily, there are ways to make practicing jazz dance fun! From focused exercises to silly games, practicing jazz dance at home does take some effort, but the results will be worth it when your child and their teacher sees their progress.
If you’re new to the dance studio world, there are tons of new things to learn, from different dance styles to different hairstyles! One thing that might be surprising to a new dancer or dance parent is that there are several ways dancers can gain knowledge outside of the dance studio, and one of those ways is by attending a dance convention.
A dance convention is usually a weekend or one-day event held by a company to teach various dance classes to students from different studios.
Dance teachers and dancers are always looking for new music to use in jazz class, both at home and at the dance studio! Sometimes we just need to shake things up a bit and find music that will give our dancers some new inspiration, new rhythms, and new ideas!
Some of the best songs for kids’ jazz dance classes include old favorites, unexpected artists, and of course, clean lyrics and themes!
This list includes just a few of my favorite songs to use for kids’ jazz classes – feel free to go down the rabbit hole of Spotify by following some of these artists and seeking out similar sounds if you like what you hear!
Ballet is challenging enough when you have good vision, but for dancers who need glasses, things can get even trickier. While it’s true that you rarely see professional ballerinas performing in glasses, young dancers are a different story.
Ballet and other styles of dance are possible to do while wearing glasses, but some steps and styles are harder to perform bespectacled. By securing glasses properly, and choosing the right frames, you can dance in glasses easily.
So what is the difference between lyrical and contemporary dance or hip hop break dancing and krumping? The Dance Parent 101 team has you covered with simple explanations of every dance style you might come across.
Have you ever seen a soccer player wearing basketball shoes? Or a football player wearing ice skates? Probably not! In the dance world, dancers are expected to wear the kind of shoes that correspond to the style of dance they’re taking. You do need to wear ballet shoes to ballet class most of the time. Occasionally, there are instances where other footwear is acceptable, but the best shoes to wear for ballet are ballet shoes!
Ballet shoes have unique qualities that make them appropriate for ballet class, just like jazz shoes have specific functions for that style of dance. For more about jazz shoes and why they’re necessary for learning jazz dance, check out our article Can I Wear Ballet Shoes in a Jazz Dance Class?
In nearly every photo or video of a ballet dancer, you will notice they always wear a few key things – a leotard, tights, and their hair in a bun. The bun hairstyle is a staple of the ballet world, but you may be wondering why that is.
Ballerinas often have to wear their hair in a bun to adhere to a dress code, because of the traditional aesthetic that the ballet world follows, and to keep their hair out of their face while dancing.
Jazz dance, with its origins in African music and culture, has long been a way to celebrate, communicate and entertain. The history of jazz dance isn’t often taught in the studio setting, but understanding where this commercially successful form of dance comes from, and how it has evolved, is an important part of improving as a jazz dancer.
Dancers dream of getting their first pair of pointe shoes! The beautiful satin slippers are sturdy enough to support the beautiful pirouettes and arabesques that dancers perform, but there comes a time (and it’s sooner than you would think) that pointe shoes become unusable.
A pointe shoe’s lifespan ranges from 2 months to one year, depending on your age, skill level, and schedule. There are some handy tips and tricks you can try to extend the life of your pointe shoes!