The Dance Buzz

Year Look-Back: 2017

2017-11-02T14:27:00.002-04:00

At the end of each dance season, I like to do a wrap-up of the songs I used during the year - a sort of song "yearbook" for myself. It's mostly for me to be able to look back and say "when did I use that song"? , but maybe someone will enjoy it too. (Here's a link to 2014, 2013... and 2012... and 2011) This year's recital was entitled "A Kaleidoscope of Dance", but most of my pieces were competition and unrelated to the theme. Links open in iTunes, unless otherwise noted :)

TEENS

The Projectionist (Sleeping at Last) - Advanced contemporary, ages 14-18 - loved how this piece came together. Concept was they were in the audience at the movies, then got "lost" in the story.
Hunger (Of Monsters and Men) - Beginner contemporary, ages 13-18
Fix You (Coldplay) - Intermediate contemporary, ages 11-17
People Get Ready (Eva Cassidy) - Intermediate lyrical trio, ages 14-16 - danced with suitcases
Honest (Shawn Mendes) - Sr Tap solo, age 18 - dancer is a huge SM fan... had to do a song by him for her senior year!
Dance Dance (Vitamin String Quartet) - Advanced tap solo, age 16 - I think this was the most difficult tap solo I've choreographed to date - dancer was up to the challenge!

TWEENS

Rockelbel's Canon (The Piano Guys) - Advanced tap, age 10-13 - my favorite routine this year - really had fun pulling out the different rhythms in the song
A Thousand Years (Christina Perri) - Intermediate ballet, ages 10-12
Sing (Pentatonix) - Intermediate tap, ages 10-13 - loved this song - so much fun!
Hip To Be Square (Huey Lewis) - Intermediate musical theater jazz, ages 10-13 - the kids had so much fun with the characters.. half were nerds, half were cheerleaders. Our story was they learned from each other and became friends by the end of the dance.
Unwritten (cover by Boyce Avenue) - Advanced tap solo, age 12
I Feel Pretty (Oscar Peterson Trio) - Advanced tap solo, age 11 - super tricky time signature changes for this dancer

CHILDREN

Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) - Intermediate Ballet for ages 9-11 - costumes half in black, half in white - was a lot of fun to be dramatic
Try Everything (Shakira) - Beginner jazz, ages 6-8 - the kids loved this song so much, they sang the first part of it, even for the show (oh oh oh oh OHH!) - I like the message behind the song as well - don't be afraid to try something
At The Hop (Danny & The Juniors) - Beginning tap, ages 6-8
Various selections from Narnia soundtracks - Beginner ballet, ages 6-8, called this "The Golden Coronation" - had girls dressed up in golden tutus as princesses, my gentleman in gold top (the prince). He had a scepter and "crowned" all of the princesses. They loved it. Music was a little hard to follow sometimes.
Fairy Dance (James Newton Howard) - beginner ballet, ages 6-8 - I liked how the tempo changed during the song.
Three Little Fishies (Finding Nemo soundtrack) - beginner tap, age 4
Dinosaur Rock N Roll (Joanie Bartels) - beginner jazz, age 4 - my assistant was the "dinosaur" for this one! Super cute.
Brave (cover by Savannah Outen) - intermediate tap, ages 9-11 - in hindsight this piece was a bit to mature for them to pull off... but they worked hard on it!

RECITAL OPENER

Over the Rainbow (Pentatonix) mixed with Let's Go (Tiesto ft. Iconapop) - we started in black and white and then when the 2nd song began, the kids came out with tie-dye shirts (our recital T-shirt was tie-dye this year)

What was your favorite song that you used from last year? Share in the comments

New Music Monday: Alone - Jessie Ware

2017-10-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

Loving this new song from Jessie Ware called "Alone". Would be a great lyrical or jazz piece.

When the chorus comes in it has a really nice pick up and the whole song just kind of grooves.

Enjoy!

Guest Post: 5 Things Good Dancers Do Differently

2017-09-18T08:36:00.000-04:00

With competition season rehearsals kicking off for our studio, soloists are always looking for ways to outshine the competition. This week we have an article from guest contributor Wendy Dessler, about what you can do differently to set themselves apart from the pack - enjoy! Wendy is a "super-connector with Outreachmama who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking." Hope you enjoy her insights!
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Source: https://static.pexels.com/photos/211757/pexels-photo-211757.jpeg

In 2009, it was recorded that there were more than 450 million professional dancers in the world. As with any difficult profession, (and dance is a difficult profession) there are levels of expertise. There are great dancers and good dancers and many dancers who are talented but will never reach their ultimate goal of being the best.

There are certain things that a good dancer does differently than the talented but not spectacular dancer. These are tips they learned from someone better than them and incorporated into their lives. This is how we grow. So, let us give you a few tips to help you see the world of dance through their eyes.

Take inventory of your surroundings

Every platform and venue are different. The dancer has been practicing in a particular studio and without even knowing it, in their mind, they know every inch of that studio. They know the distance they have to turn, jump, and move. If there is anything around the floor, they know exactly where it is and as they practice, they calculate those inches.

Before a performance, test out the stage if possible. Take inventory of the area you will be given to perform. This will maximize your comfort and control.

Floor, lighting, props, and distractions

Check the floor. Where are the markings? How do your shoes perform on the floor? (Always have rosin with you to treat your shoes if needed) Where are the props and what are they made of? Are there mirrors, spotlights on the floor, sound or other lighting equipment? All of these things could potentially distract the unprepared dancer.

Cross-train

Incorporate other physical challenges into your life. Build your body and muscles in every area for longevity in your performances. Try swimming, biking, or running in addition to your dancing and you will realize a major return on that investment.

Dress appropriately

Take into account what you are doing and use your attire as a tool. If you are practicing, wear your dance attire made for that purpose. You can take advantage of a good discount dance supply store and always have the right tools on hand. If you are auditioning, impress them with your talent and the fact that you know what to wear for every style of dance. Few ballerinas will get a part when they audition in hip-hop clothes.

Learn to listen to your body

A good dancer is in tune with his or her body. They understand that food is fuel, but the body needs different fuels for different demands placed upon it. If you are preparing for a long performance, you need protein and lots of it. But, if you have been performing for longer than expected, and you are running out of steam, you need some fast acting carbs. Know how to use food. Chocolate milk is a great instant refuel drink for times like that. Experts agree it is better for you than those expensive protein drinks. It gives you instant energy from the sugars and carbs and protein that rebuilds the muscles.

While dancers must eat a healthy diet, do not discount the need for special treats and your ability to draw something good from them. You can use candy as a quick fix in some occasions. There are proven benefits to athletes eating small amounts of candy. However, it’s definitely not wise to go to the candy counter every week. You could order some in bulk and have it around for yourself and your dance friends when needed or wanted. For a supplier, check this out.

Practice these tips and you will soon find yourself growing as a dancer and helping others to reach their goals as well.

Thanks Wendy for your post - Wendy is a super-connector with Outreachmama who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking.

Summer Playlist 2017

2017-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy (End of) Summer! Keep the summer vibes going as we move towards fall and update your playlists with fun summer tunes! Here is a list of songs I've mixed into my classes to keep them feeling updated. Most links open in iTunes store - The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate. All opinions are my own.

Is This Love (LVNDSCAPE & Bolier Remix) - Bob Marley: Instant beach vibes remixed into a good 3-minute warm-up song. (Link to YouTube)

Believer (Kaskade Remix) - Imagine Dragons: A fun twist on this summer hit.

Thunder - Imagine Dragons: Another one from Imagine Dragons, love this song right now

Someone Who Can Dance - Icona Pop: Another good steady beat for warm-ups

Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld: My middle school classes love this song

LovE is LovE is LovE (Benji Schwimmer Edit) - LeAnn Rimes: Great message, fun song - have been using it for leaps and turns class (link to YouTube)

Celebrate (feat. AJR) - Ingrid Michaelson: A nice laid-back summer tune

Told You So - Paramore: Have been using this for tap warm ups in my senior classes. Has a good steady beat.

Switch (feat. Anitta) - Iggy Azalea: Would be fun for a tap, jazz or hip hop combo.

Location - Khalid: A nice groove for cool down and slower warm-ups. I also used it in tap with my seniors for a nice mellow

Enjoy!

Life Update!

2017-08-06T16:06:00.001-04:00

Hi all! It has been quite a while since I last posted...but I had good reason, honest!

I am going to blame my absence of that on the pregnancy, birth and first year with my son. Babies are good to use as an excuse, right? Plus they're adorable (at least I think so):

My husband and I welcomed our son to the world in February 2016 and since then, it has been a crash course as I adjusted to my new role as Mom in addition to Wife, Studio Owner, Teacher, Choreographer, etc. I was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least.

2 weeks old.. already at play practice

Luckily, I have a wonderful support team at my studio and an amazing husband, and of course a darn cute little boy, and we are figuring it out day by day. But it is only now, as my son reaches the 18 month mark, I am *just* starting to feel like I have some breathing room and can begin to take up my "hobbies" again. I am still treading water, but lately I actually feel like I am above the surface, instead of coming up for a breath every now and then.

My 'baby', helping out at Dance Camp this year... time flies!

I don't anticipate being able to post nearly as often as B.B. (Before Baby), but I am certainly going to try to step it up from the ZERO posts in 2016 :) #goals

So hello again and I am looking forward to re-connecting in the upcoming dance season. What have you all been up to?

Candy Alternatives for Halloween

2015-10-20T19:25:00.001-04:00

As Halloween approaches, we often do special activities at my studio or allow students to wear costumes. Many teachers like to reward their classes with a special treat, which historically has been candy. I feel that as dance teachers, we have a responsibility to celebrate healthy choices and I like to search out alternatives to candy--especially with all of the food-allergies and preferences that my students have.

Coloring Pages
Such an easy and low-cost "treat"

Glow Bracelets
This is my choice for this year - trying something new and potentially something that they kids can take with them on Halloween. I found glow bracelets on Amazon for $8.79 for 100 bracelets, so for under $20 I was able to get enough to cover my 16 weekly classes.

Stickers, Stamps & Temporary Tattoos
My elementary-aged kids love stickers, stamps and tattoos. Not sure if their parents love them as much, but its fun to do a grab-bag of these items.

Rolls of 500 Halloween Stickers: $9.99
72 Glitter Halloween Temporary Tattoos: $5.50
24 Halloween Stamps: $7.95

"Haunted House" Class Picture
This one is fun to do with the older kids or students who love social media... the "Haunted House" class picture - take a group picture but tell your students to make a face like they are going through a haunted house - leads to lots of funny faces!

Slap on a filter/background and send to your students and watch them share :)

More Ideas For Those Blessed in the Craftiness Department (THANK YOU PINTEREST)

Do you do something special with your classes for Halloween? Do you hand out any treats? Share in the comments!

Summer Playlist

2015-07-20T17:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Summer! Time to refresh those playlists with some fun summer tunes from the Billboard Top 40! Here is a list of songs I've mixed into my classes to keep them feeling updated.

That's How We Do - Teen Beach Movie 2: Super fun and upbeat song - would be great for a tap or jazz combination - currently using it in my 7-10 year old tap class

Drop That - Jacob Plant: A nice funky electronic beat - fun for tap or hip hop - totally instrumental

You Know You Like It - DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge - have been using this in teen tap

This Feeling - L’Tric: A fun feel-good song - great for warm-ups

I Don't Like It, I Love It (feat. Robin Thicke & Verdine White) - Flo Rida: My other go-to warm-up song

Fire Under My Feet - Leona Lewis: A nice moderate tempo for tap or jazz

Fun (feat. Chris Brown) - Pitbull: Another moderate tempo

Lean On (Remixes) [feat. MØ & DJ Snake] - EP - Major Lazer: Steady beat for across the floor combos for older students

Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix Radio Edit) - Omi: This song. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The kids love it and it has a nice calypso-y feel to it that makes it fun for tap, so I had to include it. Be warned - this will be the song that plays over and over in your head when you go home for the night.

Rude (Acoustic) - MAGIC!: This is from last summer, but I have been loving using the acoustic version for tap. Such a fun little groove.

Enjoy!

What songs have you been obsessed with this summer?

NMM: Promised Land - Hannah Miller

2015-01-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

You know how you start on YouTube looking up a ballet step and then you end up down a weird alley of YouTube and don't know how you got there? Or is that just me? Anyway, this time I ended up at drone videos of Chernobyl (what?), but at least I got this haunting song out of it. Happy Monday!

iTunes link to Promise Land by Hannah Miller

And here is the drone video of Chernobyl:

New Music Monday: Maps (Maroon5 cover) by Madilyn Bailey

2014-12-15T12:14:00.000-05:00

Loving this cover by Madilyn Bailey of the Maroon 5 song, Maps. I've been using it with my advanced tappers for a little combination. My tappers call this style "lyrical tap" - when you tap to a song that could traditionally be for contemporary or lyrical. I like that this song has a lot of pauses in it which are fun to fill with tap!

Grab this song on iTunes

Enjoy - happy Monday!

Fall 2014 Playlist for Teens

2014-10-28T22:35:00.001-04:00

We interrupt this renovation saga with a playlist! I was updating my playlists for the fall and here are a few new songs my teen/college classes have been enjoying. I say "teens" because some of these songs have some questionable PG-13 subject matter, so use with caution (as far as I know, there are no swear words).

Stretching Songs

Stay High (Hippie Sabatoge Remix) - Tove Lo (questionable subject matter)
Unkiss Me - Maroon 5
Stolen Dance - Milky Chance
My Fault - Imagine Dragons
Work Song - Hozier
First (Hold My Hand) - Cold War Kids

Upbeat Songs

Celeste - Ezra Vine - an indie rock tune, good for warm-ups
Let The Groove Get In - Justin Timberlake
Flirt (Acoustic or regular version) - Zac Waters - both links link to YouTube because this song is not on iTunes yet!!
King of the World - Young Rising Sons
Dear Future Husband - Meghan Trainor (some questionable lines in this song, so beware)
Fireball (Instrumental Version) - In the Style of Pitbull

Lyrical/Contemporary Songs

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Bootstraps - link opens in YouTube
Still - Daughter
Photograph - Ed Sheeran Riptide - Vance Joy

How has the beginning of the new dance year been for you? Found any new music? Share in the comments!

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate

Renovation.. Unsteady Progress

2014-10-15T01:06:00.000-04:00

A few weeks into June, with nothing other than a new wall accomplished, I admitted to myself that having the room ready for July summer classes was a bit ambitious. Could we have held classes with a boombox on the carpet? Sure. Was that the first impression of the new and exciting space I wanted to give my clients. Uh, absolutely not.

So, onto painting. But wait! First the other studio location has to have a pipe burst! And flood the entire space! And ruin lots of things! And require insurance inspectors and summer camp last-minute changes and new rugs and potentially ruined marley! Because chaos!

::deep breath::

So that was a fun weekend of clean-up and tears and then realizing that a pipe bursting during summer and destroying a bunch of old costumes is not the worst thing in the world, even if it is inconvenient and a pain to clean up (imagine if it happened a week before recital and ruined THOSE costumes?!). It is also just a bit disconcerting to find your entire space covered in water.

But, back to the matter at hand - oh yeah, I was supposed to be painting, not mopping up water.

And look, a new window!

It turned out, when picking out window sizes that this size was the best one to go with because any bigger was a big jump in expense.

Making progress...

To Do List
X Connect spaces
X Build waiting room wall
X Waiting room window
X Paint waiting room
X Paint dance room
- Install dance floor
- Furnish waiting room
- Buy sound system
- Ballet barres in dance room
- Order and install mirrors

Next up... flooring!

The Renovation Begins...

2014-10-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

So the first task in the New Space, was to connect the new space to the old space.

A refresher on what we are trying to accomplish:

So I began renting the space in June with the very, very VERY optimistic goal (did I mention VERY optimistic) of having it ready in time for July summer classes.

My contractor and I went over what I wanted and he gave suggestions and little tweaks that made more sense with things like electrical outlets and windows and building code.

And then on June 2 (five days before our end of year recital) the work began!

It was amazing how quickly the wall went up - they framed it out and had the sheetrock up in no time. The hole is for the observation window eventually.

Looking through the "window" into the dance room.

And connecting the two space (new space is purple, existing studio is beige).

Ahhh! I don't know why, but when I saw this, I started getting super excited! It's real, it's real!

Looking back through at the narrow waiting room.

So that was pretty much it with the professional help other than the mirrors and window installation, the rest is on me and my husband!

To Do List
X Connect spaces
X Build waiting room wall
- Waiting room window
- Paint waiting room
- Paint dance room
- Install dance floor
- Furnish waiting room
- Buy sound system
- Ballet barres in dance room
- Order and install mirrors

Next up... painting!

Summer Moving, Happened So Fast!

2014-10-10T00:30:00.000-04:00

Summer moving, havin' a bla-a-ast!

Summer? In October? Ok, its been a crazy last few months - but I finally have had some time to write about my summer adventures! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your school years - I've missed blogging and am happy to get back to it.

A little background - I have two studio locations, with the smaller location having one dance room. We are in a strip of businesses and we are currently the second-to-last unit from the end. The last unit on our end used to be rented by a Curves (workout for women), but the owner decided to move on and the space went up for lease last January. It sat vacant for a few months and I looked at the space, did some calculations, negotiated the price and by June, we were in contract!

It may sound like I jumped in quickly, but in reality, I tried to make sure it was a smart decision, talked it over with just about everyone I could think of who could give me some perspective and triple-checked my break-even calculations.

So here is a super short tour of what we started with, and I apologize for the poor quality cellphone pictures:

That is standing in the front of the building, looking towards the back. The doorways back there lead to a utility closet (furnace / AC units) and bathroom.

And here is standing in the back by the bathroom and looking at the front. Our existing space is to the right ("through" the purple wall). Windows look out onto the sidewalk and parking lot and there is an exterior door to the left. Also strangely located air conditioner to the left and yellow ladder, which did not come with the space, much to my husband's disappointment.

Here is a floorplan to help visualize. The new space is in purple:

So as you can see, the purple Curves space is a loooong room, but with a lot of potential! And a lot of PURPLE. Purple walls, purple trim, purple rug. What's hard to see in the photos is that the ceilings are actually 10' tall - which is awesome!

After brainstorming, our potential game-plan into turning this into a functional dance studio was this:

1) Divide the space and create a waiting area - one of the biggest struggles of our existing space was the waiting room was very narrow and small. It was impossible for anyone with a stroller to enter and would be crazy when one class was leaving and another arriving. I wanted to make the new waiting room a little bit deeper to help fix this problem.

2) Adding connecting doorways - we needed to connect the two spaces together, by joining the waiting rooms and in another spot. In the waiting room, I wanted an open doorway to make the rooms feel very open and encourage overflow from the narrow waiting room into the larger one.

I also wanted to a door connecting the two studios, but <> apparently the wall between the two studios was filled with bricks?! My contractor found this to be annoying and confusing (as did I). The only other place that had just sheetrock separating the two spaces was all the way in the back through the furnace closet. Not ideal, but as Tim Gunn says, we made it work.

I know you are anxious for beautiful before and after photos, which I PROMISE will happen, but in another post!

2014 Music Selections

2014-08-15T23:14:00.001-04:00

Because I'm a huge music / stats nerd, I like to share my song choices from each year. It's mostly for me to be able to look back and say "when did I use that song"? , but maybe someone will enjoy it too.

(Here's 2013's music list if you're curious... and 2012... and 2011)

Our first half of our recital had a theme which was "dance inspired by literature or literary themes", so you may notice that some of my songs are related to books.

Links open in iTunes, unless otherwise noted :)

TEENS

A Little Party - Fergie: Senior large group tap, called this "At The Ball" and had the girls dress up in fancy dresses, gloves and masks as if they were at a ball out of a fairytale.
Talk Nerdy To Me - The girls titled this dance! We mixed together three songs for this "nerd" dance: Cool Jerk, I Wish (Skee-Lo), and Boom! Shake the Room (whattup Fresh Prince!?). This was a lot of fun to put together...:P
Royal Rebellion - another WAY overused song, but I mixed Royals (Lorde) with the instrumental half of Emily Well's Symphony 2 and the Click Boom Boom (to attempt some originality) for a large group contemporary, ages 15-18
Medicine - Daughter: large group contemporary, ages 15-18
Youth - Daughter: senior contemporary duet, age 17
Roar - cover by Tori Kelly & Scott Hoying: Tap solo, age 17 (YouTube link)
Miss Otis Regrets - Bette Midler: Musical Theater Tap solo, age 14
Eet - Regina Spektor: Contemporary solo, age 16 - can't pass up a year without using a Regina Spektor song!

TWEENS

Crazy In Love - The Puppini Sisters: Small group tap, ages 13-15
My Anthem - Christina Grimmie: solo, age 11
Wings - Little Mix: SO overplayed at competitions, but my kids loved this one. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't picked such a popular song. Small group tap, ages 11-13
Torn - Nathan Lanier: small group modern, ages 9-11
The Gravel Road - James Newton Howard: Large group ballet, ages 9-12. Theme was "The Giving Tree", costumed half as trees and half as children

CHILDREN

"I'm Late" - white rabbit tap solo
Loved this one!

I'm Late - Mary Martin: solo, age 9, costumed as white rabbit
Mr. Sandman - The Puppini Sisters: Trio, age 9
Jungle Rhythm - The Jungle Book 2: Large group tap, age 5-6
What's New At The Zoo - Do Re Mi Soundtrack: Large group jazz, ages 5-6, hilarious song, costumed as different zoo animals. I only wish I had a little boy to costume as a zoo keeper
Technologic - Daft Punk / Happy - C2C - Large group tap, ages 6-9. Entitled "Cookies", they used Girl Scout cookie box props.
Wizard Wheezes - Harry Potter soundtrack: large group tap, ages 7-10, called this "It's A Mystery" and we used magnifying glasses - theme was supposed to be mystery books
Hawaii 5-0 Mix - JiveBunny / Wipe Out - Surfaris: Large group jazz, ages 7-10. Used beach props (towels, beach ball, surf board)
Define Dancing - WALL•E: Large group ballet, used for ages 6-8 and 7-10, entitled it "The Jellyfish Ballet" and used umbrella props

Can I get a show of hands for who used an "over popular" song this year and regretted it? What was your favorite song to choreograph to this year? Comment below.

Our "Frozen-Inspired" Dance Camp: Activities & Games

2014-08-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

This post is part of our "Frozen-Inspired" Dance Camp Series.

Activities / Creative Movement

Melting & Freezing
We explored the movement qualities of melting and freezing by pretending to be Olaf melting in the summer or freezing with Elsa's help. We melted for 16 slooooooow counts, and froze again for 16 then repeated in 8 counts, 4 counts, 2 and 1! We melted with a friend, froze into different shapes or poses, started on one leg, etc. Lots of variations to be had with this one!
More Melting Inspiration from Maria's Movers Blog

Journey to Elsa's Castle
We pretended to be Anna and Kristoff making their journey to or from Elsa's castle. We did this by playing Going on a Bear Hunt, but we changed the words to "We're going on a journey, we're gonna go get Elsa, I'm not scared, I'm not scared". For the next part ("we can't go over it, we can't go under it, I guess we'll go... through it!"), we encountered :

Deep deep snow - big slow marches to lift our feet through the snow
A dark forest - tip toes
A cold frozen stream - skating
A big tall mountain - climbing actions
An icy staircase - careful climbing actions

Until we got to the castle and knocked on the door and found... MARSHMALLOW (the snow monster)! Reverse all the actions as fast at you can to go back to Arrendale and climb into bed with the covers over our head.

Creative Movement based on Scenes or Characters from the Movie
We did a lot of creative movement / free dance, based on settings and characters from the movie. We would first describe the scene / character, then talk about the movements the characters did (running, rolling, climbing, skating, etc) and then dance them using those movements. Some of our favorite scenes:

Olaf In Summer - skipping, laying (sun-tanning), swaying, blowing dandelions, floating

Skating on Elsa's pond - skating, twirling, sliding

Dancing like Marshmallow - "stompy", angry, slow

They also enjoyed pretending to be at the coronation ball, dancing like the trolls, pretending to be a snow-swirl created by Elsa, and of course, being Elsa.

Games

In addition to the usual run of camp games (Freeze Dance, 4 corners, relay races, etc), we added a few or tailored them to better fit our theme:

Obstacle Course - We set up various obstacles around the room relating to the trip to Elsa's castle. We used cones to tip toe around like trees, a tunnel to go under, a gym mat to roll across, a "tightrope" (tape line on the floor) to walk on, ice puddles to jump over (little rugs)

Pin the Nose on Olaf - we had an Olaf-shaped posterboard and had the girls take turns being blind-folded and pinning their "nose" onto Olaf. Since we had a large crew, we split them between three different groups so we could have three people going at the same time.

Our life-size Anna & Elsa was a
big hit for photos!

Red Light, Green Light, Frozen Variation - Basic Red light/Greenlight rules - in our version instead of being a redlight/greenlight, the "It" person is Elsa - and freezes people when she turns around. We used the terms "WINTER" for STOP and "SUMMER" for GO. If anyone was caught moving when the "It" person said WINTER, they had to go back to the starting line. First person to touch the "It" person gets to be "It" for the next round.

One other thing that we used during the week was this Life-size Anna & Elsa - we found this great life-size cardboard cutout from Amazon. They have other characters, but I really liked the two girls together. We used them for a backdrop in our pictures and the kids loved "holding their hand" and just seeing them in general.

What other games / activities can be adapted to fit a "Frozen" theme? Are you sick of the music yet? Will you use it in your classes next season? Comment below!

Our "Frozen-Inspired" Dance Camp: Crafts

2014-08-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

"Do You Wanna Dye a T-Shirt?" (sung in the melody of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman")

This is part of our "Frozen" (inspired) Dance Camp Series.

We spend about 30-40 minutes on crafts, but always have a back-up plan for those who lose interest fast (some of the 4 year olds are more interested in the process, than the final product) or who are very detailed (need to place every piece of grass just so).

Good ideas of back-up plans are coloring pages (link to free printable Frozen coloring pages) / activity sheets or clips from the movie, if you have a TV or screen. I actually made a YouTube playlist of Frozen clips on our computer just in case, but we never had to use it.

Now... onto the crafts!

My Camp Director and I pulled a lot of the craft and activity ideas off of Pinterest, so I will try to credit our original inspiration when possible.

Craft #1: Tie-dye T-Shirts

You Will Need:
- White T-Shirts
- Fabric Dye (for Frozen, I recommend Purple, Pink, Blue and Light Green)
- Buckets
- Rubberbands

10-second Overview: Wrap shirts with rubber bands. Dip in tie-dye. Rinse. Unwrap and hang to dry.

More Details: The first day of all of our camps we traditionally do tie-dye, as the shirts take some time to dry and we sometimes use the tie-dyed shirts in later projects. This year was no different and we took to the sidewalk outside our school to tie-dye. Before heading outside, we wrapped our shirts with rubber bands. Depending on the age of your kids, you can get pretty creative. Our campers favored the Spiral, Stripes and Dots techniques.

We are fortunate to have a spigot in the front of our building, so we use that to fill up a bunch of tubs mixed with tie-dye and place them on the sidewalk and let the kids have at it. We had a large group, so we took them outside 5-6 at a time so we could keep an eye on everything.

Tip: The younger children always want to dip their shirts in Every. Single. Bucket. because... well, its just fun to dip in the buckets! If you use dark colors, their shirts will end up a not-so-pretty brown color. We try to get colors that are light and will mix well if layered (purple, pink, blue, green).

Craft #2: Elsa "Magic Ice" Ribbon Bracelets

The inspiration photo, from an item selling on Etsy

Etsy Inspiration Credit

You Will Need for each Camper:
- 2 hairties big enough to go around the wrists comfortably
- Various color ribbon (we used white, blue, purple, silver)

10-second Overview: Tie ribbons onto hairties and wear!

More Details: We used this craft for whenever anyone finished their first craft, they could add more ribbons to their bracelets. We pre-cut the ribbon, but older kids could do the cutting themselves if you wanted. Even the youngest kids could manage to tie. You could also do slipknots.

We used these in our dance and had the girls ball up the ribbon into their fists until the "let it go" to create "ice and snow" during our Let It Go dance. You could also make these into hair accessories.

Some of our finished ribbon bracelets...

The ribbon bracelets in action!

Craft #3: Troll Rocks

Pinterest Inspiration Credit

Our Pinterest Inspiration for trolls

You Will Need for each Camper:
- One medium sized rock
- Googly eyes
- Artificial moss, leaves, grass, straw (for hair)
- Markers, paint, or glitter
- Glue
- Small paintbrush

10-second Overview: Glue eyes and hair onto rocks, draw in other features with marker

More Details: We poured Elmer's glue into dixie cups, enough for one cup per two campers and gave each camper a paintbrush to apply the glue.

Each camper got to choose what type of "hair" their troll would have and they glued that and the googly eyes to their rock, then drew in features and accessories with a marker.

Campers who were done early made "pet" and "baby" trolls out of smaller rocks.

Tip We Learned The Hard Way: Write each child's initials on their rock BEFORE starting the project. The rocks take at least overnight to dry, so turning them over to write names leads to rapid troll hair loss.

Some of our 4-year olds' finished Troll Rocks

Another beautiful creation

Craft #4: Sven The Reindeer

You Will Need:
- Craft clothespins (the kind without a spring)
- Googly eyes
- Pom poms (for nose & tail)
- Felt (for saddle)
- Black felt (for eyes, nose and hooves) OR black marker
- Glue

10-second Overview: Glue clothespins together. Glue eyes, nose, tail, saddle onto clothespins. Decorate.

More Details: This craft was a little harder to do with a big group as we had to go step-by-step and wait for each child to be finished with each step to move on. It also required some prep work of my Camp Director, who put together little reindeer packets of all the "ingredients" into plastic sandwich baggies.

Directions: Option #1 - Reindeer like ours
Directions: Option #2 - Sideways-standing Reindeer

Craft #5: Tissue-Paper Olaf

Example of tissue-paper snowman.
I didn't get a chance to take any photos from
our camp!

You Will Need:
- Construction Paper (orange, black, white and any color for background)
- White tissue paper, cut into small squares (~2")
- Glue
- Google eyes (optional)
- Crayons or markers (optional)

Overview: We pre-drew an outline of Olaf onto large piece of construction paper. Glue tissue paper in either crumpled balls or flat onto outline. Add other parts (nose, buttons, eyes, arms).

Tip: This can be a very time-consuming activity for those campers who like to be meticulous, but also one where some kids finished really quick. Have a 2nd activity ready for those fast crafters.

Craft #6: Paper snowflakes

You Will Need:

Can't have a dance camp without glitter!

- Construction Paper (white or silver)
- Scissors
- Decorating supplies (we used glitter and glue)

10-second Overview: Cut-out snowflakes, decorate.

More Details: This was one of those "if you're finished early, make this" crafts. We pre-folded the squares of construction paper and the kids cut out various shapes to make paper snowflakes. Then we let them decorate them with glue and glitter. We used these to decorate our performance space.

For "fancier" snowflakes, check out these instructions:

6-sized snowflake instructions (via HighHopes.com)
3-D Paper Snowflakes - better for older kids (via Instructables)

I hope you enjoyed our Frozen-Inspired craft round-up!

Did you do a Frozen-themed camp this year? What crafts did you make? Any suggestions?

Our "Frozen-Inspired" Dance Camp

2014-08-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

Our most asked camp question since last December has been "Are you doing a Frozen Camp?" So due to popular demand... a Frozen (inspired) Camp is what we did!

Our studio offers two types of camp: 5-day "Dance Camp" for ages 6-10 and 4-day "Princess Camp" for ages 4-7. For both camps, the students come each day for three hours from 9am - noon and we dance and do arts and crafts. Each year we do a different theme and base the week's lessons around that theme. We hold an impromptu little "show" on the last day of camp for family and friends.

I would say our approach to camp is very relaxed - focus on dance, crafts without a lot of theatrics / costumes - it works for us and leaves us with a lot of happy campers.

We did the Frozen (inspired) Camp for our Princess age group (ages 4-7) at the end of June, and we actually had to close off registration a week prior because of the demand! (For comparison, our July Princess Camp was half as full as the Frozen Camp was).

I'm going to break up the posts into a few different sections, and hopefully they will give you some ideas for your own camp.
1) Music (this post)
2) Crafts
3) Games & Activities

General Camp Agenda

8:50-9:05am - Parent Drop-off and Student Sign-in
9:05-9:30am - Warm-up and "Get to know you" activities - I like doing the Name Game as an icebreaker
9:30-10:00am - Ballet Dance class (learning choreography / technique)
10:00-10:45am - Craft Time
10:45-11:00am - Snack Time
11:00-11:40am - Tap class (learning choreography / technique)
11:40-12:00pm - Games / Cool-down

Dance Camp Playlist

All links open in iTunes - the Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate
I know you will all be surprised when I tell you that the most used album during our Frozen-Inspired Camp was... the Frozen album. Shocking, I know! But we also used a few other non-Frozen songs during our camp so that we (the teachers) didn't go crazy from having songs stuck our head all day!

Songs We Used for Choreography
Let It Go - Idina Menzel - for a ballet / lyrical
Love Is an Open Door - Kristen Bell - for jazz
For the First Time in Forever - for lyrical / sing along
In Summer - Josh Gad - for tap
Fixer Upper - Frozen - for tap

Songs We Used in Class (for creative movement, games, and technique)
Winter's Waltz - Frozen good for across the floor in ballet
Ice Dance - Edward Scissorhands - creative movement and free-dance
Let It Go / Vivaldi's Winter - The Piano Guys - good one for dramatic dancing, freeze dance
Waltz of the Snowflakes - The Nutcracker
Love Is an Open Door (Instrumental Karaoke version) - good for pass the beanbag, or warm-ups

What non-Frozen songs can you think of that would fit in well?

Summer Playlist Updates!

2014-07-17T15:52:00.002-04:00

Hope you're all having a great summer!

Need some refreshments for your class playlists? Look no further - here are a few tunes to change up your playlist. I'm teaching mostly tap this summer, so my playlist tends to lean in that direction, but most of these songs could easily crossover into jazz / children's hip hop / contemporary.

CHILDREN / TWEENS

- Call It Whatever (Bella Thorne)
- Really Don't Care (Demi Lovato)
- Dar Um Jeito/We Will Find A Way (Avicii / Santana) - the theme to the World Cup, a really good upbeat song
- Can You Do This (Aloe Blacc) - I've been using this as part of an improv combination - on the chorus we trade 8's in tap class
- Classic (MKTO)

TEENS

- Love Runs Out (One Republic) - its been all over the radio stations, but I love using this in tap class for warm-ups
- Basically I (Robert DeLong) - good warm-up / across the floor song
- On Top Of The World (Imagine Dragons) - a happy little song that makes me smile
- Luck (American Authors)
- Sing (Ed Sheeran)
- Problem (Ariana Grande) - another Top 40 rounds out my summer playlist update

See music player below to hear clips:

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

8 Instagram Post Ideas For Your Dance Studio

2014-04-22T18:03:00.002-04:00

Is your dance studio or company on Instagram? Scared to take the leap? (dance pun intended) Here's a few tips on how to get started and what to post.

Don't worry about posting daily - in fact, if you post too many times a day, you may annoy your followers. It seems like the sweet spot is once a day to a few times a week. For my studio, I end up posting on average 3-4 times a week unless I'm running a contest or it's a big event for the studio (recital or competition weekend, for example).

Ok, so now you've made an Instagram account... what do you post?

8 Instagram posts ideas for your dance studio or company

1. Your dancers: The most obvious is to post images and videos of your students dancing! Be sure to mix it up - some of the cute babies in class mixed in with your best students along with some great action shots from performances.

2. Behind the scenes: Making costumes? Folding programs? Hanging the backdrop for the show? My students and parents love to see the "behind the scenes" photos.

3. Class videos: This is a great way to expose potential students to the different class types. Post a short clip of your newest class offering to show students what that class might be like.

4. Hold a contest or photo challenge: I like to hold contests during school breaks because it gives the kids something to do and keeps them thinking about dance. Our most recent one was "Spring Break Photo Contest" and dancers had to post a photo of themselves dancing on Spring Break. We got a lot of fun pictures back that we shared in-studio and on Facebook. Make sure to use a hashtag for your contest (#ABCstudio).

Leap / Jump Contest - followers have to post their best leap or jump
Favorite Costume - post a photo of their favorite costume
First Year Dancing - any photos from their first year of dancing
Dance Everywhere - post a photo of them dancing in an unusual location

5. Dance education: Post a photo of a famous dancer and have your followers guess who it is. Share photos of famous ballets and dance companies.

6. Motivation & inspirational quotes: I like to post these every so often. I find a lot of them on Pinterest. Instagram Etiquette Tip: If you borrow someone's quote, play nice and credit them.

7. Hashtags: (Or should I say #hashtags) Hashtags are a fun way to make your post accessible to more people and are good for when you're looking for an idea to post something. My favorite dance-related hashtags are:

#TutuTuesday - anything ballet!
#TiltTuesday - just what it sounds like
#TBT or #FBF - (Throwback Thursday & Flashback Friday) - post an older photo from months or years ago. These posts usually get the most "likes" on our studio Instagram.
Make up your own! What about #musicmonday and post some songs from the upcoming performance? Or #flexibilityfridays and showcase some tips on how to get more flexible. Check out this great idea from Maria's Movers on creating a hashtag for your performances. Some more hashtag ideas from Dance Spirit.

8. Integrate your posts with Facebook and Twitter: Instagram makes it easy to connect your account to your Twitter and Facebook accounts and you can share the same posts on all three social media sites at one time.

Have fun!

Further Reading: http://schoolempower.com/blog/posts/20...

Follow The Dance Buzz on Instagram!

Do you use Instagram? What tips can you share about posting photos and videos? What are your favorite photos to see? What gets the most likes?

Light Dancing

2014-04-09T22:29:00.000-04:00

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 :)

Refreshing Covers of Pop Songs: Postmodern Jukebox

2014-03-30T15:42:00.001-04:00

I regularly troll YouTube looking for covers of pop music, however when you search "cover + song title", you inevitably end up with 100 acoustic covers done by anyone with a piano, guitar and a voice. Generally nothing too exciting, usually a slower version of the pop song.

Side note - if you ARE looking for acoustic covers of pop songs done really well, check out Boyce Avenue, Madilyn Bailey, and Savannah Outen.

Anyway, when I stumbled onto Postmodern Jukebox, I knew I had struck gold. Pop songs with a vintage twist, they are such a unique cover band. Do you like Doo Wop? Ragtime? Swing? Ever wonder what pop songs would sound like if they were sung in speak-easies? Yeah, me neither, but now I can't stop listening.

Here are my three favorites (although it was very difficult to choose - check out their album, aptly named "Twist Is The New Twerk" on iTunes for more!):

We Can't Stop:

Their doo-wop cover of "Timber" is pretty amazing as well.

A little jazzy version of "Careless Whisper" with a little "Take 5" thrown in there for fun:

And this last one has to be my favorite, simply because it includes tap dancing (!!!):

Grab their album on iTunes and listen on repeat!

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

Camp Tuition Calculator

2014-03-21T23:11:00.001-04:00

Holding a dance camp this summer and wondering what to charge?

Camp in a Can has a handy tuition calculator downloadable for free on their website (scroll to the bottom and click on the blue folder).

Updated: The current version of the calculator is using 7 days for the week (most camps are 5 days...I sure as heck don't want to work 7!!), so make sure you change the formula under Step 3 "Total Hours Per Week" to be multiplying by 5 or however many days your camp is. If you'd rather not change formulas, then just input how many hours your camp is running per week in the grey box under Step 3.

New Music Monday: Torn - Nathan Lanier

2014-03-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

Another great instrumental track (see "Let It Go / Winter" mash-up from last month if you want another instrumental), here is "Torn" by Nathan Lanier. It's very "epic soundtrack-y" - I'm using it this year for a modern class who requested a dance where half could be good and half could be evil. It seems to be suiting them well.

I believe it was used on SYTYCD a few seasons back, but haven't seen it hit the competition circuit too hard yet, so I figured I'd share!

Grab it on iTunes:

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

NMM: The Piano Guys - Let It Go / Vivaldi's Winter

2014-02-24T12:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday! Here is a beautiful classical music mash-up of from The Piano Guys, mixing Vivaldi's Winter and Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" to start your week off right:

Download the track from iTunes

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

Winter Olympics-Inspired Movement

2014-02-13T17:48:00.001-05:00

While my studio is in the process of getting buried under a foot of snow, I figured I would spend my surprise free time planning some olympics-inspired creative movement for tomorrow's classes.

Pass The Torch - Traveling

You could pass an imaginary torch or a "real" prop (as simple as an orange scarf). Have your dancers spread out around the room. When the dancer has the "torch", them must dance the torch to the next person and then sit down to indicate they already had a turn. The final dancer brings the torch to the designated "torch lighting station" (could be teacher, or spot in the room).

Pass The Torch - Stationary

Spread out in a line or a circle close enough to touch another person's out stretched hand. Begin to pass the torch using different levels and different body parts until it reaches the end. If you are using a prop, see how far the class can pass it without dropping.

The Slowest Bobsled Race Ever Won

Connect your dancers into teams of 2, 3 or 4 dancers and have them sit one in front of each other in a straddle (like a caterpiller). Have them hold onto each other at the shoulders or hips so that they are connected.

The goal is to move as a unit over a certain distance (we used tape lines about 5-6 feet apart). Give them time to practice--they will learn quickly they have to work as a team to move without becoming disconnected!

Line up your "bobsleds" and the first group to completely cross the finish wins. Disqualify any team that separates.

Variations: Try a whole-class bobsled! Or backwards or sideways bobsled race!

Ice & Snow Improv

Adapt usual creative movement exercises to be set at the olympics.

Suggested Musical Tracks

Song: Olympic Fanfare and Theme - traditional fanfare
Album: Champions Will Rise - Audiomachine - if you like epic music, this is for you
Song: Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks & Water Music

Have you been watching the olympics? Have you done any lessons based on the olympics? Is anyone else ready for spring?!