Partner Stretches and Exercises for Dance Classes

partner stretches

Check out these wonderful classroom partner stretches and stretching exercises from Magical Kingdom of Dance! Our goal for February is to teach our students to build bridges instead of walls. The focus is Teamwork! “Togetherness is learning to work, play and dance together, for it’s far more fun to share our satisfactions with others. Great things happen […]

10 Dance Convention Tips!

dance convention tips

The dance convention environment is an important component in building strong, confident, adaptable, and resilient dancers. The experience is unique, challenging, and, when approached (and presented) correctly, highly effective and beneficial as a supplemental training opportunity. Here are 10 Tips for making each dance convention a successful experience for your dancers! 1. Dress to Flatter Yes, […]

Alternating Sides in Your Across the Floor Exercises

across the floor

When going across the floor, it is important to practice the right and left iterations of skills. A few weeks ago in a jazz class, my students were reversing an across the floor progression to the left side, and the groans immediately started. I stopped the music and explained that one-sided dancers are one-minded dancers. […]

Ballet Vocabulary: 3 Easy Lesson Plan Ideas

ballet vocabulary

We’ve gotten great feedback about our article on Ballet Vocabulary Terms for Beginners, and have put together some ideas for easy class activities that teachers can include in their lesson plans. Do you have other activities that you use to teach the little ones essential vocab? Ballet and Dance Move Alphabet This one is great even for […]

How to Promote Productive Dance Practice

dance practice

For studio dancers, input typically comes in the form of dance practice (rehearsals, solo lessons, cleaning sessions, technique, conditioning, etc.). Input = Output is an important concept to accept and embrace. When results are measured, it is important to consider this equation. Did you invest the work (input) that was required to produce the outcome (output) […]

Tips for Teaching the Chasse Step to Younger Dancers

chasse step

Chasse is a basic, fundamental skill for dancers. Here are some tips for teaching the chasse step progression. Chasse Step Progression 1) Younger dancers begin learning the chasse as a gallop. We pretend to ride our horses, placing one foot in front of the other and chasing it around the room. Even with my youngest […]

Dance Instruction: Eliminating Sloppy, Floppy Fingers Through Specificity

dance instruction

To complete the arm lines on the body, the fingers must be placed and engaged. One of the most prominent and noticeable choreographic errors may be found in “sloppy, floppy fingers.”  It breaks the line of the body and is terribly distracting. Thankfully, with some specific critiques and dance instruction, we can fix that! Placement […]