Happy Wednesday!
If you’re super crazy this time of year like I am, here is a short video to give you a break from the chaos and to just enjoy the dance and cool visual effects.
Talk about theater tech and dance coming together. So cool!
Hope you enjoyed 🙂
I came across this great app that I just started using for cleaning dances and am loving it!
It’s called “Coach’s Eye”
(link opens in iTunes) and it works on iPhones, iPads and iPods. It $4.99, but its a worthy investment of five bucks – let’s face it, I’ve spend more on coffee in one day (not sure if I like what that says about my caffeine addiction).
This app allows you to record a dance, play it back for your students (in regular or slow motion) and even draw on the video like a football coach or the play-by-play guys on TV do.
You can also record yourself critiquing the video and then share it or send it to your students.
I am trying it out this week and will let you know what I think!
Grab Coach’s Eye:
Looking for more advice on cleaning dances? Check out this post.
Looking for more apps to make your life easier? Here are a few posts you might like.
Tell me: Do you use your iPhone or iPad in class? What do you use it for?
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| Crossed arms mean love – but be careful – make those hands into fists and you may be saying something completely different! |
My students and I had a conversation about ballet miming this week: Did you know dancers are storytellers as well as actors and actresses too?
Ballerinas and ballet dancers even have their own special hand gestures to tell stories – sort of like ballet sign language!
You may already know some common gestures:
– Both hands to the heart for “love”
– Hand cupped by ear for “hear”
– Bowing or curtseying to show loyalty
– Strong motions with fists to show anger
Then there are some you might not be as familiar with:
– Tapping the forehead twice for “princess” and three times for “king” or “queen”
– Crossed hands with fists for “death”
– And “dance” is said by circling your arms overhead in 5th position
Here are some links for more ballet mime:
Learn the conversation between the Swan Queen and the prince from Swan Lake with this fun video from The Royal Ballet:
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
Just watched a great video from Marie Forleo discussing the “friends and family discount” that could easily apply to any dance studio owner.
When you own your own business, your friends and family often want to support you, but sometimes they are looking for a discount in return. The message of the video below is whatever you choose, be clear and upfront about your policy.
If you can’t afford to give discounts because you’re just starting up or because you simply value your time, say so (in a polite way of course) and give them the opportunity to choose another dance studio.
Marie offers a script (around 2:14 in the video) to say to your family and friends when you don’t have a discount and I’ve adapted it so it works for dance teachers and studio owners.
“I’m so excited Susie wants to take dance. Know that I’d never expect you to choose my dance studio because of our relationship. Before she registers, make sure that our studio is the right fit for you because I don’t offer a friends and family discount. If you want to move ahead, here are the tuition rates and available classes.”
This gives them an ‘out’ if they were only looking for a handout and let’s you be clear in advance without all the uncomfortableness that would come if you let them know this AFTER she signed up for classes.
What’s your policy for friends and family? Share in the comments!
The Dance Buzz debuts its first video!
If you’ve ever needed to fade a song to fit a time limit or your choreography, the OS X program GarageBand has some great features that make it really easy to do.
GarageBand was made for recording music or making podcasts, but we are going to use it to end a song early and fade it out. This is one of the easiest and simplest edits to do.
For those who want technical nitty gritty: I’m using GarageBand ’11 (version 6.0.4) on my MacBook Pro, which is running OS X Lion.
Give me a shoutout in the comments if you found this video helpful or informative – I’d like to do a series of videos showing more complicated edits. Would you be interested in that?Video transcript and more tips (not included in the video) after the jump:
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| Are you on Pinterest yet? If you were, you wouldn’t have missed this awesome picture! |
Yes I am aware that monthly re-cap would make more sense at the end of the month, but its been a busy month! And at the end of the month we have to have yearly recaps… so here is December’s (a bit early) recap.
What You Missed From The Dance Buzz
Dance Happenings Around The Internet
http://www.hulu.com/embed/-BDNppU0h2YS1oZ1lag4jQ
And if this doesn’t spread some holiday cheer, I don’t know what will…
Oh, I did? Well then, why haven’t you voted yet! Tuesday is the last day for comment voting for Round #1
Just wanted to share this little video! The human body is pretty amazing.
The Dance Buzz 