Tag Archives: dance teacher

January Challenge: What’s in Your Bag?

Posted in Blog Challenge by

Did anyone ever have any of the bags above? (The first one is a vintage bag from Etsy)

A dance bag is a dancer and dance teacher’s most valuable possession.  Back when we used to use CDs instead of iPods, my bag weighed 50 lbs from the giant CD case I lugged around… now it still is pretty hefty, because I filled the empty space with water bottles and props. #notthesharpestpointeinthebag

January’s Blog Challenge Mission:

So for the first Blog Challenge of the new year, I want to know:

What’s in your dance bag?

 

Grab this snazzy badge for your post
if you’d like to  be-dazzle your blog!

How to Participate: 

If you have a blog:

1) Take a picture, make a video, write a post or find one that fits the theme (it doesn’t have to be a new post if you’ve already written something that answers the question).


 2) Then make sure you leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can all read it!

Don’t have a blog? 

No problem!  Participate by leaving a comment below, tweeting @thedancebuzz or posting to our Facebook wall a picture of your dance bag, or comment with your favorite item in your dance bag.


I’m getting my post ready to go and am looking forward to taking a peek inside of everyone’s bag! 🙂

SOBuzz: Employee or Independent Contractor?

Posted in Studio Life by

If you’re a Studio Owner (SO) or a teacher, there comes a time when you must decide: are you an employee or an independent contractor?

dance class

In most cases of studio owners I’ve encountered, your teachers are considered employees, not independent contractors.

However, the business of dance studios is a very diverse group when it comes to schedules and employee structures.  One studio could be run like a fitness club with changing instructors and schedules, another could run year-round.  Between these extremes exist a multitude of other possibilities.

And the consequence of choosing incorrectly can be costly.  If you pay your employee as an independent contractor when they should be an employee, you and your teacher could owe back taxes and employment taxes, complete with interest and penalties!

Quick aside:  The rules I will be discussing will apply to the United States.  If you’re outside the U.S., consult with an accountant or lawyer for the laws governing your business.


Employee or Independent Contractor?

It all comes down to how much control the SO has over the employee.

Continue reading →

Currently Loving: New Capris!

Posted in Studio Life, Teachers by
I was recently doing some shopping for fall clothes (online, of course, because who has time to go to the store anymore?!) and I grabbed two pairs of these babies from Forever21.
I use Forever21 for cheap tank tops and basic T-shirts to teach in and to layer under other shirts / over leotards, basically anything under $5 because I know its not great quality, but I’ll get some good wear out of it and I like options.  I had a gift card to use and they had a sale so I added something over my usual $5 limit:  the Contrast Ruched Athletic Capris (colors too!).
Just got them in the mail today and I LOVE them!
I was expecting the usual cheap cotton fabric, but they’re actually quite nice being spandex, nylon and polyester.  They fit like leggings rather than capris, but I like that there is color on the bottom.  They ran me $15.60 each – I think they’re now $17.80, but that’s not too bad considering I will probably wear them every week or so.
They will be a cute update to my usual BLACK on BLACK teaching uniform.
What do you wear to teach in (or take class)?  Score any new stuff for the new teaching season?

Review: Ballet Words of the Week

Posted in Teachers by
I am happy to report back with a review of the “Ballet Words of the Week” that I received from Dance Teacher Press in Dance Advantage’s giveaway back in February.
We were more then mid-year through our classes when I won the Words of the Week booklet, Ballet Combination Book and Ballet Step by Step.  I brought all three tools into the studio for my teachers to use and I will say the one getting used the most is the Ballet “Words of the Week“, probably because it was the easiest to integrate into our syllabus.
The Words of the Week is made out of calendar-sized sturdy cardstock and is spiral bound.  It fits nicely in a dance bag or it could be hung on a wall.  We keep ours on our studio bookshelf.  The colors are bright and not too girly, which was nice since I have a few boys at the studio.  It includes 50 terms, which cover basics to more advanced vocabulary.

I ended up using the word booklet once a month with my Ballet I class and they always looked forward to it.  This class is age 7-9 and it is their first year of ballet.  I would bring out the book after our stretching time.