Tag Archives: diy

Valentine’s Day Craft

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Here is a quick and easy craft you can do in your classroom or studio:  Make a wall of hearts!
We started ours last week – I left out heart-shaped red, pink and white paper and a bowl of crayons next to a sign that says “Why Do You Love Dance?“
“I like dancing because it is fun”
Dancers (and brothers, sisters, moms and dads) have been writing and drawing why they love dance all week.
Even the Big Girls got in on the action!
And a note from a “Dance Daddy”:
It says “I like to watch my girls grow with dance”. 
The Heart Wall has been a nice addition to our waiting room  – everyone has enjoyed reading the responses.  I think I’ll leave it up for the rest of the month!
If you can’t wait until next year to try this, you could do this any time of the year – or go with the next holiday… clovers for March:  “I’m Lucky To Dance Because…” or Spring umbrellas… be creative!

More Valentine’s Day dance ideas:

Attempted DIY: Dance Quote Wall Sign

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Please ignore my alien hand and unpainted fingernails.  Ok admit it, now you’re staring.

The Problem

Last year, we installed a drop-ceiling in one of our dance studios to relieve some echoing and to save some heating costs.  Can I get a “what what” for leasehold improvements?
While the studio looks great, it left this ugly spot in our dressing room area where the back of drywall shows through.
Unattractive dressing room side.
I didn’t have any leftover paint from that room to disguise the grey sheetrock.  I did however find a piece of wood they removed during the project and Voila! an idea was born!

The Plan

I would make a sign with a dance quote on it to help fill in the empty space!
I debated for a while about what to put on it… should it says something bold like “Through this door, stars are made” or something inspiring like “Dance like no one’s watching” or something strict like “RESPECT“?  I finally settled on an inspring, but not quite as cliched quote:

“We are the dancers. We create the dreams”*

* Side note… this is actually then ending of a longer quote that I love:  “Dancing in our heads… We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” This source attributes it to Albert Einstein, but don’t quote me on that (pun intended).


The Process


To begin, I made a mock-up of my design on the computer and played around with fonts and layouts.  


 

 

Looking back, I wish I had gone a little bit bigger with the font-size, so that the quote filled in more of the sign, but I still like how it turned out.
I printed out the design onto paper and taped it onto my board:

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Rock Star Camp Day 2: Rockin’ Guitars & Hats

Posted in Studio Life, Teachers by
See more about our camps here – Rock Star Theme Camp.  

Day #2 Set List

  • Warm-Up:  Jazz warm-up and across the floor progressions
  • Class Time:  Jazz class – learn dance #2
  • Craft Time:  Guitars, Hats, Microphones
  • Snack
  • Class Time:  Tap class – learn dance #2
  • Fun Time:  Limbo & Beanbag pass
Microphone bases (left) and guitar necks (right)

Main Craft: Guitars

You Will Need:
– Various cardboard boxes (tissue boxes, shoe boxes, pasta boxes, etc) – 1 per guitar
– 1-foot piece of cardboard tube (wrapping paper or paper towel tube) – 1 per guitar
– Construction or contact paper to cover box
– Rubber bands (6 per guitar)
– Crayons (2 per guitar)
– Paint & paint brushes
– Hot glue gun
– Glue sticks for glue gun

1.  Paint cardboard tube.  Set aside to dry.

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How To Get A Clean Music Edit Using GarageBand

Posted in Music, Studio Life, Teachers by

For our 200th post, I am excited to debut the second video in our GarageBand Tutorial Series:  How To Get A Clean Edit Using GarageBand (see How To Fade a Song here)!

Check out the tutorial below or click the jump for a full transcript with additional notes that aren’t in the video.


 Side note…  200 posts!  I feel like that is an exciting milestone.  Fellow bloggers – do you get excited for “milestone” posts?  Or do you celebrate your blog’s “birthday”?  Or am I alone in being dorky?

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10 Hair & Make-Up Tutorials For Recital

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Recital season is upon us in the US, and with it comes lots of parents and kids who have never done stage hair or make-up before!  I used to do demonstrations for some of my classes, but it is difficult to find the time when everyone is available, so I have switched to emailing YouTube links.  My students’ parents love it when I point them to a YouTube tutorial – and I have learned a few tricks myself!

Here are some of my favorite tutorials for applying stage make-up and doing hair.  And be sure to share your favorite tips and tricks in the comments!

MAKE-UP TUTORIALS

For older students:

(JAM Cosmetics)
For children:

(JAM Cosmetics)

From start to finish w/little explanation, just her applying make-up:

More specific tutorials

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