Competition and Convention Prep
You may know the simultaneously exciting and stressful feeling of walking into a convention ballroom room bright and early on a Saturday morning. You immediately feel the rush of energy and nerves surrounding you. If you are anything like me, you can't wait to spend the weekend learning from amazing instructors and meeting new people. But what can you do to ensure that you make the most of your time? The right preparation can make a world of difference when it comes to long weekends of conventions or competitions.
Ava’s Tips for Long Days of Dancing
By Ava Budish, DWC Ambassador
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You may know the simultaneously exciting and stressful feeling of walking into a convention ballroom room bright and early on a Saturday morning. You immediately feel the rush of energy and nerves surrounding you. If you are anything like me, you can't wait to spend the weekend learning from amazing instructors and meeting new people. But what can you do to ensure that you make the most of your time? The right preparation can make a world of difference when it comes to long weekends of conventions or competitions.
Physical Preparations:
Everyone’s body is different and has distinct needs but some general things that help me feel ready for a long weekend of dance include rest, stretching, and fueling my body. I like to be extra mindful to not push my body too hard in the days leading up to a convention weekend. I often still have classes throughout the week even up until the day or night before the convention, so making sure I’m not overworking myself is helpful and keeps me energized throughout the whole event!
Additionally, keeping my body warm and stretched can make a long weekend of classes easier and more enjoyable. Some light warm-ups before class like prances, relevés, or even a short yoga flow all warm me up without tiring me out. One of the things that I find most beneficial is to make sure I am fueling my body! Keeping myself fed with food that energizes me is the key to my happiness and success over long days of dance.
Mental Preparations:
Beyond just the physical aspects of preparing for a competition or convention, an important piece to consider is the mental side. Convention and competition weekends can be just as exhausting mentally as they are physically. I don’t dance my best if I am frustrated, insecure, overwhelmed, or even just flustered. Conventions are often in new surroundings filled with loads of new instructors, styles of dance, and choreography. All of these things can be overwhelming. The same goes for competitions. Many times, there are lots of nerves and anticipation. Sometimes you may be rushing to change costumes and then run right back on stage. To clear my brain, I meditate or follow guided breathing exercises. Sometimes just putting in headphones and listening to my favorite music while I warm-up or stretch can help calm my nerves too. Everyone has different rituals or ways to calm themselves, but going into the day with a clear head is the most important part. Both of these things help me to center my thoughts and feel more prepared to learn, create, and dance my best!
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A large aspect of competitions and conventions that can cause nerves is thinking that everyone around is judging me. It’s important to remind myself that everyone is more worried about themselves. Everyone in the room is in the same position as you and they are too preoccupied with their own dancing to judge you.
The final thing that makes me feel prepared going into a long weekend of dancing or even an audition is picking out an outfit that makes me feel confident! If my leggings keep falling down or my leo is uncomfortable it can be distracting. However, if I am wearing an outfit that makes me feel amazing I automatically walk in more confident and I can focus on my dancing!
I hope that you find these tips helpful when preparing for competitions and conventions this season!
Starting Ballet in Adulthood
Starting ballet as an adult can be a terrifying and nerve-racking experience. But it should not limit you from giving ballet a chance because when you look back, it will be worth it.
Coco’s Tips and Tricks for Your First Class!
By Coco Liu, DWC Ambassador
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Carmen Wrap Sweater Wear Moi | Hanami Stretch Canvas Ballet Shoe Capezio
Starting ballet as an adult can be a terrifying and nerve-racking experience. But it should not limit you from giving ballet a chance because when you look back, it will be worth it.
My Very First Ballet Class
At a young age, I was able to see quite a few well-known ballets, such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. I was just mesmerized by the dance form itself, I never truly understood how difficult and technical ballet was. It took several months of taking ballet classes that I truly grasped the difficulty. To this day, I still remember stepping into my very first ballet class. It was winter of 2018, I found a beginner ballet class at The Ballet Studio in University District. The moment I stepped into the classroom, I felt like I didn’t belong. The studio was wooden-floored, the barre and mirrors were a bit outdated, a pianist was sitting in the corner of the studio, and several students were already stretching by the barre. The teacher, Renzo, came up to me and introduced himself: “Is it your first-time doing ballet? Just follow along!” Renzo asked me to stand in between some experienced students so I had someone to refer to on both sides. We then started the class. Throughout the class, Renzo used ballet terminology in French and my brain just went, “sorry Tendu what?” I tried to copy whatever Renzo was demonstrating, but was not able to focus on my form. I didn’t know what I was doing. At the end of the class, I honestly felt a little bored and did not think ballet was physically challenging, simply due to my lack of knowledge in ballet technique and lack of preparation for my first class. Since I was determined to dance ballet in the center, I wanted to give ballet a shot for at least a month. After gaining more understanding of the technical aspects of ballet a month later, I realized how difficult it is.
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How to Prep and What to Expect For Your First Class
Here are some tips I wish I would have known before attending my first ballet class.
Learn basic terminology, for example:
Turnout: feet are pointed more to the sides of the body than the front and legs are rotated outwards
Tendu: working leg is extended along the floor until only the tip of the toe remains touching the floor
Plie: knee bending; used in jumps and turns to absorb shock
Eleve: lifted up; rise to stand on the balls of your feet
Watch some Youtube videos from the comfort of your home
Be patient!
I went back home and reflected on my first class then decided to do some research on my own about basic ballet techniques. I watched hours and hours of YouTube videos on basic techniques like tendus, plies, arm positions, etc. I wish I had some of these basic terms in my back pocket before going into my first class. Ever since then, I would watch a couple of new technique videos before attending ballet classes.
Here are three Youtubers I watched:
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I started truly loving ballet after learning the basic vocabulary and having some understanding of how to use my muscles correctly. Then, when I attended classes, all the basic movements became so much more interesting and challenging because I was able to focus more on muscle movement.
Introduction to ballet can also be quite boring because all the movements are slower and smaller. But these basic movements are crucial for building the correct muscle for all the big jumps, turns, and fancy movements you will get to do down the line. So being patient at the beginning is key!
How to Make Progress
One of the main practices that helped me was to set a weekly or biweekly goal. For example, I wanted to have a better second position arm placement at the barre and in center. Then, for the next week or two, I would constantly make mental checks on my arms at the barre and in center to make sure I was engaging the correct muscles and training my body to remember this position. By repeating this, my body would eventually build the correct muscle memory so it can hold the position without me giving it too much thought. Then, I would focus on something else. I have been using this technique for the past 3 years and have been very happy with the progress.
Set Your Expectations and Goals
Imposter syndrome in the dance community hits me quite hard. Whenever I browse Instagram or watch a professional ballet performance, I always wish I could be more like the professional ballerinas. But realistically speaking, I was not able to train at a young age, I am not able to dance every single day due to my full-time job, and the list goes on and on. As someone who began dancing as an adult, it would be very difficult for me to have super-high extensions, out-of-this-world flexibility, or do thirty fouetté turns, so it is important to set our own goals and create our own challenges. Ballet has become an important aspect of my life and a passion I would never give up. Dance can still bring us so many benefits in our life, such as providing us with a safe space to express ourselves, becoming healthier, stronger, and more confident, and building a supportive community that shares the same passion as us.
If you are reading this blog post and have some desire to try ballet, please don’t hesitate to try a class! I would strongly encourage anyone to step out of their comfort zone and give dance/ballet a chance. I currently dance at Dance Underground with 2ndActDance and also teach a beginner class that focuses on fundamental movements and muscle usage so dancers can move to the next level with a strong foundation. Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @x.co.x.co.x or visit our website at https://www.2ndactdance.com/
Tips For Setting Dance Resolutions For the New Year
Before the start of a new year, it’s commonplace for people to set goals they hope to achieve following 11:59 PM on December 31. People set goals of all shapes and sizes, some small and realistic and others large and out of proportion.
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Before the start of a new year, it’s commonplace for people to set goals they hope to achieve following 11:59 PM on December 31. People set goals of all shapes and sizes, some small and realistic and others large and out of proportion.
As dancers, we’re well-aware of what it’s like to work towards goals we set for ourselves and goals that others set for us. In dance class, it often feels like there is always something we are working to improve upon. Sometimes within our dance training, setting goals can feel futile, particularly when we start comparing ourselves to others. It can also be challenging to know where to begin. For instance, a consistent goal I have for myself within my dance training is improving my turn-out. But what exactly do I mean by that? How will I measure my progress towards achieving this goal? Is there a deadline I want to achieve this goal by? And how on Earth do I begin? Rather than having questions like these swirling around your head, it’s much more effective to make a plan. Fortunately, utilizing strategies like the SMART goals acronym and planner tools like Whimsy & Rhyme’s “Pirouette Planner” can help you out.
The SMART goals concept is widely discussed in academic and professional settings. The acronym was first written about in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran, and since then has received wide praise in a variety of industries. Each letter in the SMART acronym stands for a specific attribute you should make your goals, to ensure they are clearly defined and achievable.
The S stands for specific. The goal you set for yourself should refer to a particular objective you hope to achieve. The more details, the better. For instance, if your New Year’s resolution is that you want to “improve your extension,” that doesn’t provide enough information to help you work towards achieving that goal. However, if you reframe the resolution as wanting to be able to “hold your extension at a 90-degree angle,” that provides a clearer target to aim for.
The M stands for measurable. How will you track your progress towards achieving that goal? Once you outline the specific details of your goal, you will have greater clarity on how exactly you can measure your progress. Let’s say you hope to “eat more vegetables” in 2022. A way to measure progress towards that goal would be to set a target quantity of vegetables to purchase at the grocery store each week. That way, you can have an actual, quantifiable metric to determine whether or not you are working towards that objective.
Photo by Alexandre Dinaut from Unsplash
The A stands for achievable. Is the goal you’re setting for yourself doable? Do you have the time, energy, and resources to be able to accomplish it? If you are a perfectionist, it can be common to set a goal that’s out of the scope of what you can actually accomplish. However, it’s much more effective to set a goal for yourself that is challenging, but still attainable, and then set increasingly challenging goals from there. If I’m working on landing a double pirouette, setting a goal for myself to nail a quad pirouette is probably unattainable. Once I land that double though, I can up the challenge for myself!
The R stands for relevant. Is this goal necessary to achieve your larger mission? In the age of social media, it can feel like we’re constantly being bombarded by pictures and videos of advanced and professional dancers showing off their extreme strength and flexibility. While such feats may look cool in photos and short-form videos, we shouldn’t necessarily work towards them if they’re not relevant to our actual dance training goals. Being able to perform a “needle” stretch successfully can look exciting, but what’s more important is ensuring that we’re setting goals for ourselves that advance our technique in safe and healthy ways.
Finally, the T stands for time-bound. Another useful way to ensure that you actually accomplish the goal you set for yourself is to set deadlines to mark your progress. Some goals may take a few weeks or months to accomplish and others may take the entire year. Whatever time frame you have in mind, set some realistic markers along the way to ensure that you’re making the progress you want to.
A particularly helpful tool for marking your goal progress is a planner. The Pirouette Planner by Whimsy and Rhyme available at Dancewear Center is an especially useful planner for dancers, as it was designed for dancers by dancers. The Pirouette Planner is designed to help dancers maintain an organized schedule to help them reach their goals. Each month contains a coaching page on a different, specialized topic, including nutrition, audition preparation, team building, and more. There are also guided journaling prompts and areas to track stretching and strengthening activities, class corrections, and observations, as well as daily expressions of gratitude.
By following the SMART goals acronym and utilizing tools like the Pirouette Planner, we dancers can be on our way to achieving our goals. Let’s set ourselves up for success in 2022!
Mental Recovery in the Dance Realm
For many, dance is a means of mental escape from the day-to-day stressors of life. Having a creative outlet that allows for self-expression, laughter, and challenge can be extremely valuable to live a balanced life. Nevertheless, there are times when dance can go from being a stress reliever to the source of stress itself. Local dancer and DWC Ambassador Niki Kothari speaks on perfectionism, the fear of being judged when going “full out” in dance, and how having social support and stress-relieving activities can help reignite the passion for dance that can sometimes feel lost.
with Niki Kothari, DWC Ambassador
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
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For many, dance is a means of mental escape from the day-to-day stressors of life. Having a creative outlet that allows for self-expression, laughter, and challenge can be extremely valuable to live a balanced life. Nevertheless, there are times when dance can go from being a stress reliever to the source of stress itself. Local dancer and DWC Ambassador Niki Kothari speaks on perfectionism, the fear of being judged when going “full out” in dance, and how having social support and stress-relieving activities can help reignite the passion for dance that can sometimes feel lost.
Like many young kids, Niki began dancing early in life around the age of three. She took classes in tap, ballet, and Bollywood styles of dance. Niki stopped dancing for a while in elementary school to try other sports but returned to it around the end of third grade. “I started with just hip hop because I thought it was so cool,” she explains. Eventually, she added back ballet, jazz, and contemporary before joining the competition team at her studio.
While dance can be a great way to connect with yourself and an external audience, there are undoubtedly some elements of the practice that can be mentally taxing. Niki shares how it can be stressful to feel everyone’s eyes on you, particularly the eyes of critical dance instructors. “I always feel like I’m being stared at,” she shares. Niki points out that always feeling like she’s being watched can cause her to put her guard up and not dance “full out.”
Niki recalls feeling this way when she was practicing a competition solo last year. She explains not being eager to show her solo to others at the studio unless she was rehearsing, and even then, “still kind of mark[ing] it” rather than performing full out. At her first competition, she asked her dance teacher to not watch her solo due to her nerves. “I had all my friends backstage with her, making sure she wasn’t out there, watching me,” Niki describes.
Another mental obstacle Niki faces in dance is encouraging her brain to allow her body to heal when recovering from an injury. It can be hard to wrap her brain around the fact that the body often needs rest to heal and can’t constantly push itself. Many dancers grapple with the added challenge of perfectionism and the pressure to push through discomfort, which can compound with this issue to make taking needed rest a tough mental predicament.
Dealing with complex mental sensations and emotions about dance can be difficult. There isn’t a foolproof way to rid yourself of them. However, it’s certainly useful to remind yourself that you aren’t alone in the way you’re feeling. Niki explains that it’s often helpful to talk with her friends about the mental challenges she’s facing in dance, such as her uneasiness about constantly being watched and scrutinized by dance teachers. Even reaching out to your dance teachers or studio director and communicating the emotions you’re feeling can be effective, as they can collaborate with you to find out how to best support you in class.
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Niki also shares that writing in a journal can help her take care of her mental health. Journaling is a useful tool for many people to work through their challenges and practice mindfulness, all of which are important for the dance realm. Niki says that it often helps her mentally to write “letters” to the people or things that are making her particularly happy or upset, but not sending them. This strategy can be a great way to gain some sense of her emotions.
Further, capitalizing on time outside of the studio can be just as significant as the time you spend in the studio. Taking time to do activities that fill you with confidence and allow you to be mindful of uncomfortable emotions can translate to more assurance and mindfulness in the studio and on stage.
Since physicality is such a crucial aspect of dance, many industry professionals take care to preserve the physical health of performers. However, across the dance industry, taking strides to maintain and improve the mental health of students is just as important. Niki says that teaching students that it’s okay to “laugh at yourself” is useful, as “we’re going to mess up and that’s okay.” As hard as they may try, dancers are infallible people and can’t be expected to do everything perfectly. Cultivating a safe space in the studio where dancers can feel comfortable making mistakes can lead to them feeling confident and dancing more fully out.
In addition, promoting genuine, holistic dance training that covers mental health maintenance can be invaluable for dancers. Niki recognizes that many studios are offering mental health workshops, but that they can often come off as performative, as the principles promoted aren’t translated across the rest of the training experience. Shifting this attitude to valuing mental health comprehensively would be more effective.
It’s possible to love dance and also face mental challenges from time to time when training and performing. These two phenomenons can happen together, not always separately. Through using individual coping tools like talking with trusted loved ones and journaling, and advocating for holistic, mental health-focused training industry wide, there is a way to help lessen the discomfort that can arise in our brains when dancing.
Building the Community You Wish to See
After relocating from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Bellingham, Washington, Brooke Evans noticed that her newfound home was lacking something near and dear to her: high-quality dance. Through copious research and collaboration with local parents and dancers, Brooke and her fellow community members were able to build Opus Performing Arts: a robust dance school composed of experienced faculty and tasked with the mission of “fostering a lifelong love of dance.”
Brooke Evans on the Formation of Opus Performing Arts
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by: Michelle Smith Lewis
After relocating from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Bellingham, Washington, Brooke Evans noticed that her newfound home was lacking something near and dear to her: high-quality dance. Through copious research and collaboration with local parents and dancers, Brooke and her fellow community members were able to build Opus Performing Arts: a robust dance school composed of experienced faculty and tasked with the mission of “fostering a lifelong love of dance.”
Like many youngsters, Brooke got involved with dance because her older sibling did it. She began her training at age three in her hometown of Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Dance Foundation, now known as the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. At age 23, Brooke got pregnant which required her to shift her life focus. She ended up moving to Bellingham, Washington, where she has been ever since.
“When I got up to Bellingham, I didn’t really know much about the dance community and had just had a baby and I didn’t go the traditional college route,” Brooke shares. “So I just started exploring the dance community a little bit and I found that there wasn’t as much dance here...I was expecting more and I was expecting a higher quality of dance.” Brooke realized that if she wanted to see a more expanded, potent dance community in Bellingham, she needed to be a part of building it.
Photo by:Juliette Machado
Brooke became a co-founder of Bellingham Repertory Dance, a professional contemporary dance collective full of local dancers who are eager to challenge themselves and work in the industry. Brooke was a part of the founding member team, along with other local dancers who were looking for a professional level experience. Through Bellingham Repertory Dance, dancers have gotten the opportunity to work with renowned regional, national, and international choreographers like Mary Shelton Scott, Eva Stone, and Joshua Beamish. Bellingham Repertory Dance is currently going on its sixteenth season. Brooke left the dance collective after eleven seasons, but is gratified to see “this new generation really carrying it forward.”
Eventually, one of her sons expressed interest in beginning dance classes himself. She started looking in town for classes she saw fit for him, and wasn’t coming up with much. There were other parents in the Bellingham community who were feeling similarly, namely Opus owners Allan and Marie Redsone, who struggled to find a local dance school offering high-quality instruction for their own daughter. Allan and Marie networked out into the community, found a space and conducted research to bring their vision of Opus to fruition, finding Brooke in the process. After her first year of teaching at Opus, Brooke became the school’s artistic director to help sculpt and shape the school’s direction, again having the opportunity to build a stronger dance community in Bellingham.
Opus Performing Arts offers tap, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, pointe, and ballet classes for both kids and adults. “I have just an incredible team of teachers,” Brooke gushes. Throughout the past year, Opus was also offering seminars on topics relating to mental health and self-compassion with ballet teacher and licensed mental health professional Rachel Coats as a way to provide more holistic services. Rachel will continue her self-compassion work with students this fall as Opus’ wellness consultant.
Photo by: Juliette Machado
“We really put an emphasis on instruction at Opus and making sure that dancers are being really safe,” Brooke says. For instance, the school administers “pointe readiness” evaluations that students must pass before earning their pointe shoes. “It’s not something that you get, it’s something that you earn over time. It’s a step in your progress.”
Opus is excited to be returning to in-person classes in the fall, after nearly 14 months of online learning. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooke and the rest of the staff at Opus worked hard to communicate to students the importance of making dance feel like home regardless of where they are. She shares that the lack of community engagement, specifically due to canceling live performances, was a challenge for the Opus dancers. “I think the students are just so hungry to be not only getting in-person instruction again but also just to be with their friends and be in their community,” Brooke says. “There’s something so energizing about being with each other that we can’t feel over a computer screen.”
Another exciting update at Opus is that the school is moving to a bigger location with more studio space in 2022. “The space we’re looking at has the potential for five studios, three big ones and two small ones,” Brooke says. “It’s going to be really exciting when we get to move and then we get to offer more classes and provide more for the community as well.”
Ultimately, through her work with Opus Performing Arts and throughout the dance world, Brooke hopes to see dance professionals draw greater attention towards the self-compassion and mental health aspects of dance. “That’s something that I think is a missing part of the dancer’s health puzzle that we’re not quite up to par on,” she says. “‘Perfect’ doesn’t exist and it’s important to be able to have that positive self-talk, acknowledge your growth, and realize your wins.”
If it weren’t for the community building efforts of Brooke Evans and many others, Bellingham wouldn’t have the energetic dance scene that it has today. Since its founding, it’s clear that providing access to safe, high-quality dance instruction that can benefit a dancer for a lifetime will continue to be a top priority at Opus. “We want to instill a love of dance that [students] can carry forward through their lives,” Brooke says.
Starting Ballet as an Adult: Things I Wish I Knew
Starting dance as an adult often means that you have to manage your training on your own. You may start taking a few open classes but then be unsure about how to improve or how to make the best out of it.
Over the past few years, I looked back at what I learned in the process. Here are some things I wish I had known when I started.
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Starting dance as an adult often means that you have to manage your training on your own. You may start taking a few open classes but then be unsure about how to improve or how to make the best out of it.
Over the past few years, I looked back at what I learned in the process. Here are some things I wish I had known when I started.
Finding the right classes and teacher
This might sound like an obvious one, but when I started, I mostly stuck to the same studio and classes. It took me some time to build confidence when dancing, so it felt easier to just go back to the same classes and teacher. Only after a while, I tried different studios and saw the variety of teaching methods and the impact it had on my training. Some teachers would provide very little feedback and others would give corrections to every student in the class.
Given the time and investment I was putting into dancing, I realized how important it was to have a teacher that really cares about your progress and gives you good corrections to help you improve. Having a good teacher became one of my top criteria for choosing a school or studio.
Knowing the differences between the teaching methods
I used to think that the differences between the various ballet styles were mostly artistic. But later, I realized that the corresponding teaching approaches are very different, and some might be a better fit for me than others. Some styles will focus on speed and powerful jumps, others will focus on precise footwork or on expressive port de bras.
Good technique can be achieved through any of these methods, but I feel like it’s important to choose one that fits your artistic preferences and the way your body likes to move naturally.
The more dancing I do, the more conditioning I need
I started getting pain from overuse when I went from one class a week to two or three classes per week. Doing more classes helped me improve my technique, but it wasn’t enough to build the required strength to sustain my class load. It was especially true since I was only taking open technique classes, which don’t always include conditioning. I realized that I needed to spend extra time strengthening my core and my ankles. Once implementing more conditioning, not only did I progress faster--it also helped me prevent injuries.
Now that I’m doing four to five classes a week, I need to do even more conditioning and recovery routines to stay in good shape. Some schools will include such training as part of their program but if not, you may need to do it on your own time.
There are more opportunities than I think
This might be the biggest tip for me! I used to think I would only be able to do open classes and stick to that. The dance world has a lot of learning opportunities that are geared towards younger dancers, so I thought those opportunities would not extend to me.
Later, I met other adult dancers who did performances, went on pointe, did summer intensives or even landed dance gigs! That’s when I realized I shouldn’t limit myself and I should try to actively search for these opportunities. They’re not always easy to find, but I can see that more and more schools and studios are offering programs for adult dancers. I realized that one of the reasons I didn’t find these opportunities before was simply because I didn’t look for them in the first place.
These things have really helped me improve over the past few years. Everyone’s dance journey is different, but I think it’s important to find the training that works best for you, and to not limit yourself in your dance practice!
Teaching with Intentional Positivity
As I grow in my role as an instructor and choreographer, I have reflected on my dance journey and the people who influenced me through teaching. Most of my free time growing up was spent in the dance studio under the instruction of Jennifer Picart Branner, or as I know her, Ms. Jen. When I consider the kind of teacher I am today and the teacher I hope to be, I often draw from my experiences as a student. Under the instruction of Ms. Jen, I felt a sense of accountability and support that allowed me to develop self-discipline positively. Through the intentional teaching methods modeled for me growing up, I grew as a dancer and a person. I attempt to inspire my classroom in the same way I felt inspired as a young dancer through modeling the importance of self-worth and resilience while creating a positive learning environment.
By Madison Walker. DWC Ambassador
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As I grow in my role as an instructor and choreographer, I have reflected on my dance journey and the people who influenced me through teaching. Most of my free time growing up was spent in the dance studio under the instruction of Jennifer Picart Branner, or as I know her, Ms. Jen. When I consider the kind of teacher I am today and the teacher I hope to be, I often draw from my experiences as a student. Under the instruction of Ms. Jen, I felt a sense of accountability and support that allowed me to develop self-discipline positively. Through the intentional teaching methods modeled for me growing up, I grew as a dancer and a person. I attempt to inspire my classroom in the same way I felt inspired as a young dancer through modeling the importance of self-worth and resilience while creating a positive learning environment.
Studies show that students who have positive and trusting relationships with their teachers, show more engagement in learning and achieve their learning goals at higher rates (Rimm-Kaufman, S., 2010, April 19). When students are positively engaged in the process of learning, they grow to enjoy learning in general. By positively engaging with my dance class, I am creating an environment in which my students can become more self-directed and resilient in their dance education. While technique is a crucial aspect of growth in a person’s dance journey, dance is also an art that requires vulnerability and creativity. I have great respect for the emotion that goes into a dancer’s execution of choreography. I also have great respect for my students as they grow into their own as artists and begin creating their own work. Since it requires so much vulnerability to improv and perform choreography, it is imperative that students feel comfortable and supported enough to explore the performance aspect of their dancing.
Providing critiques is a crucial part of teaching and something I have always valued. As Ms. Jen would often tell my class, “The day I stop critiquing you is the day I stop caring”. When I was a student, I learned to appreciate the individualized attention and the expectation that I could do better. Knowing that someone else believed I could achieve more, allowed me to have the confidence to push myself there. Teaching in my classroom today, I echo this motto and work diligently to acknowledge each of my students for the work they are putting into my class. I often say that ballet, while an art form, is a strict discipline that teaches us respect in addition to many other life lessons. It is out of respect that I address each of my students and critique them in a way that builds them up rather than tears them down.
“By encouraging my students to compete with themselves rather than comparing themselves to the person next to them, they learn to set and achieve realistic goals while appreciating their skills and ability level. ”
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In dance, there is a constant drive for perfection. Although we as dancers and as humans know that perfection is almost unobtainable, we push our minds and our bodies in the pursuit of being as close to perfection as we can be. As an instructor and choreographer working with young dancers, I strive to foster a love for the process of learning and put an emphasis on resilience. Through dance and specifically ballet, I learned the meaning of work ethic. My students know that when they come into my classroom, there is an expectation that they are working their hardest. I aim to hold my students accountable in a positive way by challenging them to développé higher than the time before, jump higher than the day prior, and push for more rotations in every turn. By encouraging my students to compete with themselves rather than comparing themselves to the person next to them, they learn to set and achieve realistic goals while appreciating their skills and ability level.
Working in mental health with youth by day, I am always engaging in training and with resources that translate to my dance classroom. Although as dance instructors we are responsible for our student’s technical growth, we are also playing a role in our students’ social and emotional development. I believe that all dance instructors should aim to educate themselves on the development of youth and how we as instructors can improve our teaching methods to best serve our students.
Below I have comprised a list of my main teaching tips that have helped me develop a positive dance environment. For more information on how you can create a better learning environment for your students and why it is important, check out the links listed under “Resources/Articles”.
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My Tips for Teaching with Intentional Positivity:
My number one rule for myself when teaching is setting expectations. When your students know what is expected of them from day one, it is easier to hold them accountable in a constructive way.
Positively acknowledge each student during class. When students feel like they have been acknowledged in a positive light, they are more receptive to criticism.
Create structure. Having a routine in the classroom assists in keeping your students on task and leaves less room for shenanigans, allowing you to focus on the positives!
Give space for creative exploration. I love to incorporate improv into my classes to allow my students to apply the technique they learn in class while also pushing themselves to grow as artists. When students find a personal connection to their movement, they remain motivated in their dance education.
Give meaningful feedback. When students are given meaningful feedback, they can improve at a faster rate but it also builds a sense of self-worth to be acknowledged. Every dancer goes to class to improve so it is important as an instructor to ensure that each of my students walks away from each class with valuable feedback.
Know your students. There is great importance in knowing your students as people and dancers. I want to be able to help my students set and achieve goals by holding them accountable. When I know where my students are skill-wise, I am better able to recognize progress and regression.
Resources/Articles:
https://www.danceinforma.com/2012/09/03/guiding-students-towards-positive-thinking/
https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/creating-a-positive-learning-atmosphere
http://www.citraining.com/Teaching-the-Dance-Class-Strategies.html
Partnering as a Larger-Bodied Dancer
Partnering in dance is a beautiful thing. The agility, strength, and trust shown between two dancers is a breathtaking connection to watch. The grace of the dancer being lifted blended with the power of the dancer doing the lifting can make a piece mesmerizing. I love watching it, I love choreographing it, and I especially love exploring new ways to create unique, organic movement between two people.
By Austin Sexton, DWC Blog Contributor
Partnering in dance is a beautiful thing. The agility, strength, and trust shown between two dancers is a breathtaking connection to watch. The grace of the dancer being lifted blended with the power of the dancer doing the lifting can make a piece mesmerizing. I love watching it, I love choreographing it, and I especially love exploring new ways to create unique, organic movement between two people.
Partnering takes trust. Dancers need to be able to rely on each other to create a safe and meaningful connection. They need to be vulnerable enough to trust that the other one will catch them as they fly. As a larger-bodied dancer, I was never chosen to do any kind of partnering other than lifting the thin-bodied dancers. I am very good at it. I can lift, throw, catch, and guarantee that the person I’m lifting will look beautiful.
But I have never learned how to have the trust and vulnerability that dancers who get lifted get to have. In my adult life, I have worked with choreographers who have wanted me to be lifted by other dancers and I have never been able to break through the mental block that years of fat-shaming in dance programmed in my brain. I am not comfortable being lifted. I bail. I freeze. I do not have trust because I was never taught how to have it.
After I had a baby, I was cast in a piece with Continuum Dance Collective. The choreographer I was working with, Amber Jackson, asked us to do a partnering exercise where each person took a turn standing in the middle of a circle with dancers around them. The objective was for the person in the middle to fall in multiple directions, and it was the people on the outside's responsibility to catch them. That person was supposed to trust in giving the others their weight. When it was my turn to be in the middle, I could not do it. I would fall, and catch myself, right when it was time for someone to catch me. Every time I’ve tried to be lifted, my brain says “no, they can not catch you.” Even if I know that they are capable of catching me, I do not have the trust in myself to give them my weight.
My brain just freezes and won’t let me give myself to another person when I dance with them unless I am the person doing the lifting. I think that I have conditioned myself to not trust others unless I am the one in control. I was never taught to be vulnerable with another person unless I was the one maintaining the safety of the situation, so I think that I missed out on an integral part of dance training. It’s so important to learn how to trust others, in the dance setting, but also outside of the studio. I think that to an extent, I took some of that lack of trust into my relationships with people. I think that I have built many walls to protect myself because being vulnerable was too difficult to face. I also think that I developed a sort of “do it myself” attitude with things, which can lead to resentment and being overwhelmed.
It’s important to note that I understand that historically, it makes sense to have a larger-bodied person lift a smaller-bodied person. But I think that partnering can be so much more than just impressive tricks and lifts. I think that teaching dancers how to weight share and counter each other’s weight can be a beautiful thing too. I would love to see the dance world start to explore new ways of partnering that don’t further the idea that only small-bodied people can ever be lifted.
Now, as an educator, I teach every dancer that important part of training. Every student in my class gets a chance to learn how to be lifted by another person. I teach trust and the proper way to weight share and counterbalance.
Counterbalance is an incredible way to teach dancers to trust each other because they’re not only responsible for holding the other person's weight, but their own as well. An exercise that I’ve done with my students is to pair them up and have them begin by just looking into each other's eyes. It opens them up to being vulnerable with their partner from the start. I have them start breathing together and try to match breaths. Then, I have them link wrists and begin exploring giving each other their weight. I have them lean away from each other and see how far they can hold each other. We build on that once they’re comfortable, by trying it with only one hand, or different parts of the body, like their backs, thighs, or feet.
At first, many students are skeptical and I see them reacting the same way I’ve seen myself react, with fear, doubt, and embarrassment. But I always reassure them that no matter their size or shape, everyone is capable of being partnered, as long as a foundation of trust is built with their partner. And usually, by the end of the exercise, I see beautiful demonstrations of weight sharing and counterbalance.
Lastly, in my classes and choreography, nobody is chosen to be lifted solely based on size, but rather what works best for the choreography and dancers. I never want to instill the mindset in my students that only the smaller-bodied dancers get to be lifted, and only the larger dancers get to lift. I want to create a space in my class that allows everyone to learn what I deeply feel I missed out on: equal trust and vulnerability.
I hope that the dance community can continue to grow to be more body-positive and allow all dancers to learn all elements of training and partnering.
Filling the Connection Gap: How Dancer for Dancer is Linking “Pals Around the World”
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the only phenomenon that’s caused the dance community to be a bit disjointed. A culture of competition and perfectionism has permeated the dance world, causing many dancers to see others as rivals rather than peers. To help alleviate the challenges that this type of environment can bring about, 17-year-old Samantha Parr has created the organization Dancer for Dancer to unite the dance community through open discussions, mental health support, and mentorship. Through Dancer for Dancer’s Pal Program and with the help of Pal Program coordinators like DWC staff member Emma Neilson, the organization is providing connection and support to dancers worldwide.
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Samantha Parr, founder of Dancer for Dancer
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the only phenomenon that’s caused the dance community to be a bit disjointed. A culture of competition and perfectionism has permeated the dance world, causing many dancers to see others as rivals rather than peers. To help alleviate the challenges that this type of environment can bring about, 17-year-old Samantha Parr has created the organization Dancer for Dancer to unite the dance community through open discussions, mental health support, and mentorship. Through Dancer for Dancer’s Pal Program and with the help of Pal Program coordinators like DWC staff member Emma Neilson, the organization is providing connection and support to dancers worldwide.
Samantha began dancing when she was three years old and started to get involved more seriously with intensives and competitions around age 12. She’s attended intensives with Joffrey Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet West and competed at the Youth America Grand Prix several times. At her studio in the Bay Area, Samantha has performed several lead roles in original ballets, as well as Clara in The Nutcracker. “I think the thing that keeps me dancing is my ability to express myself. At the end of long days, it’s nice to have something that I can work hard at. It keeps me grounded in a way and helps me focus a little bit,” Samantha shares. “I hope to continue to dance throughout college and beyond because I love it so much.”
The idea for Dancer for Dancer first came to Samantha in May of 2020, months into the COVID-19 pandemic. “I felt very disconnected from my ballet community in my studio,” she recalls. She remembers struggling to stay mentally healthy and falling out of love with dance a bit, due to the difficulty of learning at home. Samantha figured she must not be alone in these hardships she was facing, so she decided to schedule a Zoom call to connect with some dancers.
Samantha’s first Zoom call, with around 14 dancers, was towards the end of June. During the first several meetings, the dancers held discussions about racial inequality in the dance industry and later began talking about mental health among dancers. The Zoom calls began with dancers in Samantha’s area, but soon grew as others heard about them and as she informed friends from dance intensives she had attended. Little did she know one upcoming Zoom call would make her idea take extreme flight.
Samantha Parr, founder of Dancer for Dancer
Around January 2021, Samantha’s friend and Dancer for Dancer Ambassador Eleanor Green reached out to Casimere Jollette of the Netflix series “Tiny Pretty Things” to attend one of the Zoom calls. She said yes! Samantha and her cohorts organized a giant Q&A with Casimere and about 300 dancers from all over the world attended. “That’s kind of where it began to take off,” Samantha says.
Currently, Dancer for Dancer is extending its programming beyond Zoom calls through the Pal Program. “In ballet, there’s this unhealthy competition that I had experienced a lot when I was younger and it always left me feeling weird,” Samantha says. “I could have benefited from having an older dancer being my support system...That’s the inspiration for the Pal Program.”
Dancer for Dancer’s Pal Program contains two subsets: the D4D Mentorship Program and Pals Around the World. The D4D Mentorship Program consists of seven mentors from around the world aged 16-19. The mentors have been trained in giving mental health support by a professional and connect with younger dancers to give advice and provide guidance for wherever they are in their dance journey. The D4D Mentorship Program is open to younger dancers of all backgrounds who are interested in connecting with an older dancer, click here to sign up.
The Pals Around the World program is a global, virtual program in which any dancer of any age and from any dance background is paired with another dancer to correspond virtually for four weeks. Dancers can connect through Zoom, FaceTime, social media, texting, or any other medium they see fit. People are welcome to reapply for the program once the four weeks are up to connect with a new dancer. Samantha shares that Pals Around the World is a “chill” and “laid back” program where dancers have the opportunity to make friends with other dancers around the world. Participants also get “special access to D4D Pal Program workshops on mental health, self-improvement, and peer support.”
Pointe Shoe Fitter and DWC Blog Contributor Emma Neilson has recently gotten involved with Dancer for Dancer as a Pal Program Coordinator. Emma began dancing around age 13 to supplement her figure skating training. After training in ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, and contemporary throughout high school, Emma graduated with her AA in Psychology from Shoreline Community College and then decided to take a gap year. Starting in 2019, she began training year-round at the International Ballet Academy in Bellevue, Washington where she is today.
Samantha Parr, founder of Dancer for Dancer
Emma came across Dancer for Dancer while scrolling through her Instagram feed. The organization’s account popped up as a recommended account for her to follow. After looking more into Dancer for Dancer and its offerings, Emma was amazed by its mission. She noticed that Dancer for Dancer was looking for coordinators and decided to apply. Shortly after that, Emma was interviewed and joined the team. As one of the Pal Program Coordinators, Emma’s role with Dancer for Dancer involves her collaborating with local studios in the greater Seattle area to see if they’re interested in participating in the Pal Program. There are numerous positions open at Dancer for Dancer, such as a Tik Tok Coordinator, Discord Moderator, and more, click here for more information.
Moving forward, the biggest change Samantha hopes to see in the dance world is for all body types to be accepted. She hopes that the “ballet body” ideal is eliminated and that companies start catering to dancers of all body sizes. “How your body looks doesn’t determine how your body dances and I feel like if the dance community is accepting of all body types, it would put less pressure on girls and boys to feel as if they have to fit into a certain mold that maybe they weren’t born like,” Samantha shares.
Additionally, Emma says that she hopes to see dance become more accessible to a wider range of people in the near future, specifically people of all ages, abilities, and socioeconomic classes. “Your age and what you think your physical capabilities are shouldn’t impact your ability to participate in something that gives you joy,” Emma states.
Dancer for Dancer was born to fill a gap that Samantha was witnessing in the dance realm. She was able to create a vessel to connect dancers in meaningful ways, something that was sorely missing and needed in the dance industry. For others who are interested in creating their own organizations, Samantha’s biggest piece of advice is for people to give themselves time to let their ideas sit with them. “Think about what the people are wanting or what you feel like they need more of,” she says. Once you figure out what your community is lacking, you can start finding ways to provide what is needed and build from there.
Sources:
https://www.dancerfordancer.com/
https://www.dancewearcenter.net/e-neilson
https://www.dancerfordancer.com/mentorship
https://www.dancerfordancer.com/pals-around-the-world
https://www.dancerfordancer.com/pal-meetings
https://www.dancerfordancer.com/team-1
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSehUadFIwLc4-suEWfAwVkgDUuXsgqD6BYKsMW1fYjQv_7GYw/viewform
Cultivating Community: A Spotlight on Syncopation Dance Project’s Elbert Lubas
It’s no secret that dance is a costly and demanding practice, often completely inaccessible to families and communities lacking sufficient funds and resources. For many aspirational youngsters, obtaining proficient dance instruction is merely a far-fetched dream. But thanks to the nonprofit organization Syncopation Dance Project, this dream of dance training and performing has become a reality for many. Under the dynamic and skillful leadership of Artistic Director Elbert Lubas, Syncopation Dance Project strives to bring dance education and performance opportunities to everyone, particularly to underserved members of the greater Seattle community.
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
It’s no secret that dance is a costly and demanding practice, often completely inaccessible to families and communities lacking sufficient funds and resources. For many aspirational youngsters, obtaining proficient dance instruction is merely a far-fetched dream. But thanks to the nonprofit organization Syncopation Dance Project, this dream of dance training and performing has become a reality for many. Under the dynamic and skillful leadership of Artistic Director Elbert Lubas, Syncopation Dance Project strives to bring dance education and performance opportunities to everyone, particularly to underserved members of the greater Seattle community.
Elbert Lubas began dancing around age 10, performing in musicals, competing, and training in tap, jazz, ballet, and more. “Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money so he had to work and pay for dance himself,” Elbert’s cousin and Syncopation Dance Company member Carlin Leyble shares. Elbert cultivated his passion for dance deeply, even performing alongside Janet Jackson as a backup dancer in his early teens. Elbert graduated high school early at age 16 and moved from his home in Guam to the United States to attend Stanford University where he studied marketing and communications. Elbert later went on to work in computer science. “It’s crazy to see how his brain works,” Carlin says. “As far as in [the tech] realm and then...the dance world and being able to choreograph and find the right music.”
In his early twenties, Elbert began teaching different styles of dance, including hip hop, jazz, and ballet. “He is a very well-rounded dancer and a fast learner,” Carlin emphasizes. He takes care to choreograph based on each dancer’s technique level and puts the right movement on each individual. Elbert also enjoys bringing his students and fellow instructors to dance conventions where they can learn from dancers around the nation.
Carlin shares that Elbert’s whole world revolves around dance and family. “Elbert is the type of person who does everything with a purpose,” she shares. “No matter where he goes, what he does, something is always inspiring him to create more. And I find that amazing.”
Elbert began Syncopation Dance Project in 2014 and since then he has collaborated with an abundance of outreach programs and local organizations to give children and young adults the opportunity to dance. Syncopation has worked with local Boys & Girls Clubs in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond. The nonprofit has also collaborated with Sixth Day Dance to work with performers with physical disabilities, and students in SOAR Academy formerly located in Tacoma, WA. Syncopation even hosts free classes in a variety of styles open to anyone in the community eager to dance.
In addition to Syncopation’s community outreach, the organization also has a select group of well-versed dancers known as the Syncopation Dance Company. The Company works on originally choreographed routines and “serves to demonstrate the breadth of movement and storytelling in dance.” Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Syncopation Dance Company has created several video projects, including concept videos for Josh Pineda’s songs “One in a Million Love” and “Manila.”
This July, Elbert set off to visit his family in Guam for a vacation. However, a few days into the trip, Elbert was admitted to the hospital for a stroke, which has greatly impacted his physical mobility. Even though Guam is a U.S. territory, they don’t accept stateside insurance, meaning Elbert’s medical bills have been extremely high and it’s uncertain how long his recovery process will take. His family can use all the help they can get to defer the cost of medical expenses. A GoFundMe is currently running to help cover Elbert’s medical recovery. People are encouraged to donate anything they’re able to, as any contribution helps.
“Seeing someone so intelligent and so talented lose [their movement] is really heartbreaking,” Carlin shares. “Having your outlet of expression not be fully accessible is heartbreaking.” The members of the Syncopation Dance Company are currently arranging fundraisers and training on their own, but are eager for their fearless leader to recover and return to the States. In addition to donating to the GoFundMe for Elbert’s recovery, any resources (such as advice, dance instruction, rehearsal space, etc.) to assist Syncopation Dance Company with its training are welcome. “Coming together as a dance community will really help,” Carlin says.
“Speaking from someone who is very close to Elbert, I know he would want me to tell others to continue dancing and don’t ever stop doing what you love and training to be the best dancer or athlete or artist you can be,” Carlin shares.
Elbert’s passion for dance shines through in every area of his life, from his inspired choreographic creations to his outreach with organizations in the greater Seattle area. While he is currently “recovering and showing amazing progress every day,” any support for Elbert and Syncopation Dance Project is appreciated.
To support Elbert’s medical recovery, donate to the GoFundMe set up by his family. People can also donate and reach out to Syncopation Dance Project to support the nonprofit and find out more ways to assist.
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