Now that the recital is a thing of the past and you should be pretty much over it, why do you only remember what one mommy said to make you crazy?? You know you did a great job. Who else is crazy enough to take on a 2 hr show when half the people in the show are under age 8? 

You got all the music picked out, you picked out and ordered all the costumes, you wrote all those instructions about which color tights to wear, what color lipstick, which side the bow goes on the hair, low pony tail or high pony tail, you made arrangements for the venue, you got the tickets printed, you wrote out the program and got that printed, you decided where and how the scene changes would work, you hired or talked a lot of people into helping you back stage and out front, directed the light crew and I'm sure you did it all perfectly! 

Now, why do you still only remember that one crazy mommy who said "WHAT??? We have to come to TWO rehearsals??? Didn't you rehearse them in class?? We have to PAY to get into the show??? What do you mean, you are charging us for a full month in May with one of those lessons will be missed by the show?The parking lot was awful. We couldn't find a place to park", and my personal favorite: The kid who didn't get to dance in the show because the mom didn't bring her until the second half (why did SHE have to sit thought the entire show just to see her kid dance in the second half?) and the fire marshal was at the door and wouldn't let them into the auditorium because we were at capacity. 

But now, it is August and you can still only remember that one crazy lady who doesn't have a clue that it takes to put on a show and how she attacked you.

I know you will now forget about that crazy woman. I know you will not let her sign her kid up for the fall and you are going to be soooooo happy next recital because she isn't there. But for now, please pat yourself on the back. Good job! Well done! You were great! This is not a job for sissies!

We are missing the 2015 Dance Teacher Summit this year and I'm really missing meeting new teachers on the West Coast. 

I have made it possible for teacher's who are attending this year's Dance Teacher Summit to get our 9 Month Creative Movement Program for FREE!!!

All you have to do is email me and get the code to put in at the check out and you can download this entire program for free!

I will see everyone next year in NY.

Enjoy!  Deanna

Free music to new teachers who are opening a studio

Free Music to teachers who are opening a studio

I am giving away free music to get new teachers started in their studio. If you are a new teacher or a recent graduate in dance and want to get started with a studio please call me (or internationally email me) and I will help you pick out a Danc'eM program for your new studio and I will give it to you for free!

When I was young, I danced professionally in summer stock, night clubs, in NY and in touring companies. I moved back to my home town and started a dance studio. I really didn't know that much about how to do that but I just jumped right in and rented a place, ordered mirrors, and put up my own barres (banisters on the wall-worked great!), but, I had a hard time finding music. I didn't know where to go or what to do to get the information. Sure, Dance Magazine was published then but I was in a really small town in the South and couldn't find a copy anywhere. Finally the local library got a copy for me and I got some phone numbers and got started. It wasn't until later (MUCH LATER) that I found good age appropriate music for small dancers and ordered that. I had my studio broken into twice and all the 45 and 331/3 RPM records taken. I'm sure the thieves put them right in the trash when they realized they were mostly baby music! But, I still had to re-record them all. (no way at that time to record anything for use in class, just reel to reel).

I would have loved a mentor that would have helped me or at least gotten me on the right track. It took me years of trial and error to get anywhere. I got married about 4 years after I opened up that studio and we moved out of state. I found a teacher who said she would buy the studio (we had an arrangement that she would pay me a certain amount each month for 6 months and then it would be all hers). Well, she didn't pay me anything, just went to the landlord and said she was the new owner and signed a new lease and stole everything.

Boy, did I have to learn the hard way about lots of things even after that. Where was my mentor??

That is one reason among many that I try to help teachers find age appropriate music for their school.

We are a small personalized company that is trying to make a difference in dance teacher's lives.

So, please contact me if you need a helping hand getting started. I will give you free music to get you going.

Hand Props at the Recital

Hand Props at the Recital

When a class is using hand props, I usually use my own. You buy them and you own them. Just hand them out at the side of the stage before the dance and collect them as the dancers go off the stage. Practice this in the classroom for about 2 months before the show. Hand them out when they are lined up and then stand with a large plastic bag held open and they just drop the prop into the bag as they leave the wings of the stage. No one leaves their prop at home, no dog chews up the prop, no dad drives the wrong car with the prop in the other car etc… Try to eliminate all the problems you can so the parents only have to bring the child to the stage in the tights (you gave them) the correct shoes, and the costume (you gave them) and the head piece (you gave them).

Ron Oates and Danc'eM music

If you have any of Danc'eM's Creative Movement CDs or the 9 Month Creative Movement Program or the Circus Recital CD you have Ron Oates playing in your studio. He wrote the arrangement, played the piano and was the leader on the sessions for the album and movie, Sesame Street Follow that Bird that won the Grammy Award. He has 38 gold and platinum records. Just click on the link at the end to hear the original demo for Wind Beneath my wings. He also arranged and played on the Gladys Knight record which was the first record ever of Wind Beneath My Wings. Isn't it interesting to get a behind the scenes look at how this song got it's start?
Love dancing to Ron Oates' music!
This quote is from Kevin Montgomery. “One day Larry Henley walked into my dad's (Bob Montgomery) office with his co-writer, Jeff Silbar and they played him two songs. Dad noticed the third song on the reel to reel and asked them, "What's this third song?"…….Larry said, "oh, it's a piece of s**t……we don't want you to hear it"……….Dad said, "it's a great title. I want to hear it"………….they repeated, "no, we don't want to play it for you"…………Dad said, "play the damn song"………after it was over Dad said, "Guys this is a hit song"………they had recorded it as an uptempo. He told them to redemo it as a ballad.

Dad called his piano player and arranger Ron Oates and asked him to come down immediately and work his magic, and then called Jim Hurt to sing on it. Dad said no one ever sang it better than Jim Hurt. God rest his soul, too. Another great that has passed.
So, what you are hearing here is that original demo……….that day……….the rest is history.”
Here is the youtube link if you want to hear how the original demo sounded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmNckQWW530
Ron Oates is the composer, arranger and producer for our Creative Movement Vols. 1-6 and the 9Month Creative Movement Program and the Recital Circus CD.

Winter Blas

Winter Blas
Winter blas can strike any time between December and whenever spring finally gets here. It is Spring already and we have a snow forecast for today.  In the states where it gets cold and snows it is usually the worst but Southern states can have them full force also.
When they hit your dancers be sure you are prepared. Do something to shake up the class. In the really younger classes you might have crazy hair day, weird tights day, pajama day or make up day. You can have a ‘dance with your friend day’ where the students bring their friends and the friends dance in the class with the regular students (be sure you have something that day that the non- dancers can do plus, offer free tights, free ballet shoes or free registration if they sign up for classes). I love to use the 'stories to dance'. You can always make up some or order some to have for these special occasions. The little kids love Toy Store and Deep Sea Diving and the older ballet dancers (ages 6-8) love Magic Carpet Ride and Dancing Princesses and the tappers love Candy Land. You might get the Wedding Dance and make some brides' bouquets or bridesmaids' flowers. You can do some steps that you have been working on to this music with the dancers holding the flowers. You might let a different students lead each barre exercise, or let them wear hats for the lesson. Take pictures! You must do SOMETHING to keep them interested during this time or they will drop out or you will start to get those phone calls: “she just doesn’t want to come, she says she doesn’t like it any more, she says her friends are better than she is” etc…… Nip all this in the bud by creating excitement at the studio during the winter bla months. I used to take my Great Pyrenees with me to the studio in Colorado and he just sat in the very back and watched or slept. I would let the dancers say goodbye to him and let them hug him goodbye if they wanted too. Another studio in Colorado Springs had a resident cat that lived in the studio. He just stayed there all the time and the dancers could pet him and visit him when they were there.
Another thing you can do is get out your scrap book. I hope you are keeping a scrap book of pictures you take in class, at the shows, recitals and any other place where your dancers are. It is fun to look back and see the kids at a younger age. You can't do this on your cell phone, you have to take the picture and then print it! The dancers get a kick out of seeing themselves a year younger or even years younger. It only takes 5 minutes in the middle of class to do this then put it away. You don’t want to do it at the end of class because the moms are listening outside the door and won’t hear any music and then you will have to explain what you were doing.
Let me know what you do to pep things up in the winter.
And remember: There’s no crying in dancing school.

.

No Surprises

No Surprises

When I first started teaching I made a handbook that had the calendar, prices of classes and costumes, recital and rehearsal dates and make up info. When parents would question me about anything I’d say “I think that is in your handbook”. Sometimes they would say things like “Oh, I threw that out.” YIKES!!!

Some of the problems/parents never change and they are the parents who want to argue about their bill, the make-up time, the snow policy, the break at Christmas, the rehearsals for the show, the price of the costume, how much the shoes cost, WHY do they have to wear pink tights, (she has some really nice striped ones that are new), she has to have another pair of pointe shoes?, the hair bun, (I don’t know how to make a bun), and the ever popular: we forgot her shoes, leotard, hair clips, pony tail holder, scrunchie, dance bag, etc today.

You should have a ‘studio policy’ on your web site or in a handbook that you print and hand out, or email that says what you will do about all that stuff. Just put it out there, up front so the parents know what they are signing up for at the beginning of the dance year. All the prices of the classes, the costumes, the recital tickets, the cost of the shoes, leotard, tights, dance bag (if you sell them at your studio), the make-up times (when the dancers can come and ‘make up’ the class they missed). The date and times for all the rehearsals, the show time (when they will need to be there not the actual time that the show will start), the no jewelry policy for the show, and anything else you want them to do or not do. If you require that they pay by withdrawal from their checking account or with a monthly charge on a credit card, put it all in writing. Don’t wait until November to tell them what the costumes will cost. You know pretty much what the cost will be so just decide on a price and then get a costume in that price range. At least they know up front what all the charges will be for the entire dance year.

One the great things about having everything up front is when parents are ‘dialing for dance studio info’ (calling all the names in the computer under dance studios) is you can tell them the prices of your costumes, tickets, classes, shoes, etc. right on the phone. When the call the next studio and the owner or office manages says they don’t know the cost of the costumes yet it seems like they aren’t as organized as you are and might seem like they are hiding something. They know what is expected at your studio when they sign up so there are no surprises.

Remember: There is no crying in dancing school.