Why, Discount Dance, Why?

Posted in Studio Life, Teachers by Cait (The Dance Buzz)

It’s the first day of dance and your newest little toddler students enter the room in their new dancewear – hair pulled back, cute little leotards, pink tights and then you look down at their feet and you see:

THE HORROR!

The super soft fake satin ballet “slippers” they unfortunately sell next to dancewear at Target and Walmart. Every preschool teacher’s nightmare. They fall off feet, cause dancers to trip and fall and are simply not suited for a dance class.

But they truly are annoying and I cringe every time I see a parent proudly whip them out of a dance bag… usually just a case of being mis-informed.

Then today I was shopping for some new ballet slippers for myself from Discount Dance and I see this:

Let’s take a closer look…

AHHHHH! Eh tu, Discount Dance?

I mean, I understand that Target and Walmart might not care if the bedroom slippers they are passing off as ballet shoes aren’t ACTUAL ballet slippers, but Discount Dance should have SOME shred of integrity when it comes to shoes that are listed under the “Ballet” category! Whyyyyyy??

At least one of the reviewers (mind you, a 13-year old who has better sense then a dance catalog) wrote:

“I’m just going to quickly say if you are planning on buying these to wear them, don’t…Anyway, I actually made them in to a keychain!”

The only use for this shoe is as a decoration!

Ok… rant over. I feel better now.

At least until the first day of class…

10Sep2011

Dance Studio Season Opener

Posted in Uncategorized by Cait (The Dance Buzz)

Today was the season opener at my dance studio. I don’t teach on Saturdays, so I worked in the office and got to sit back (ha!) and observe for the first part of the day.

On Saturday mornings, we have many of our preschool classes and I always love watching kids experience the joy of dance for the first time! I overheard a little girl tell her teacher, “I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited to do ballet!”

It’s also fun to watch the first-time parents… nervous that their child will follow directions or like the class – as a teacher I used to think the parents were watching me, until I had a niece take class and all I wanted to do was watch her! We had a lot of dads bringing students today, which is also funny to see their reaction to “Daddy, look at my plie!”

After our morning classes, our performance team danced at a local community event (free advertising!) and then I enjoyed the rest of the night off! After our first week back, I plan to take my office manager out for some margaritas… we’ve been working so much overtime these last few weeks to get everything ready for today, I think its high time for a night out!

If your studio opened this month, congratulations on a new season! What did you do on your first day “back to work”? Did you feel prepared? Stressed? Relaxed? Hopeful? Leave a comment!

10Jan2011

New Music Mondays: Zoo Globble

Posted in Uncategorized by Cait (The Dance Buzz)

If you’re looking for new preschool / elementary music, or if you’re a parent of a little one, you will love the Zooglobble blog! Stefan Shepherd, the man behind the blog, reviews preschool albums that parents can actually listen to on repeat without going insane. Check out this post on the Best Kids Music for 2010.

While the site is not aimed towards teaching dance, music and dance go hand in hand, so it is a great resource for any preschool teacher. I have found a lot of new music and sometimes the artists he features will offer free downloads. The posts usually have some way to preview the songs, artists and albums they are reviewing, so you can see if it will work for you.

Even if you don’t have room to add another blog to your reading list, at least bookmark the site for their huge list of children’s music links on the side of their site.

Other ways to find Zooglobble: Facebook Twitter

28Jul2010

Resources for Male Dancers

Posted in Uncategorized by Cait (The Dance Buzz)

If you Google ‘resources for male dancers’ or ‘my son dances’, you’ll get a lot of mother/son wedding suggestions or some suggestions more fitting for the bachelorette party! Here are a few links to some great resources for male dancers, parents of male dancers or studio owners who want to attract more male dancers!

Boys & Ballet – A collection of news stories about boys and ballet. The great part is that the author’s pre-teen sons choose which articles are featured. There is also a “library” section information on training, physiology, nutrition, schools, helpful hints on drawing more boys to your school, and interviews with dancers.

MySonCanDance.net – Another mom’s blog about her and her son’s struggles and triumphs with the world of dance. Many great interviews and suggestions shared.

DanceAdvantage – This site has a TON of useful information for all dancers, but there are a lot of good articles on male dancers (see here, here, oh and here!)

Forum for Parents of Male Dancers – A great forum to post questions and respond or just browse for more information.

Dance Dot Net Forum for Guys – Another forum for guys only!