Studios – Page 4

Dance Book: Codename: Dancer

June 8, 2011 by 4dancers

Thanks so much for having me here today! I’m very excited to speak with dancers about my new YA book, Codename: Dancer.

I’ve been dancing pretty much my entire life. My mom enrolled me in a ballet/tap combo class at age 3 because she noticed I would jump around and spin whenever the Coke commercial came on. From that point on, I was hooked!

As a preteen and teen, I was in my dance studio’s company, and was dancing around 30 hours per week. Then in college, in addition to double majoring in Political Science and French, I studied flamenco, ballet, and ballroom. My junior year I auditioned for the ballroom dance team, and spent the next two years competing against other schools up and down the East Coast. It was a lot of fun!

I decided to write Codename: Dancer because it was the type of book I would have loved growing up. There were tons of fiction books about dancers for little girls, but not much for teens. There still isn’t, really, except for books about the ballets and choreographers. In other words, non-fiction.

So I decided to do something about that. I’ve always loved mystery novels, so why not write a mystery series about a group of dance students at a performing arts boarding school? And thus, Codename: Dancer was born.

Of course, I’ve never solved a mystery, nor did I go to a boarding school, so I still had a lot to learn. But I’d started reading Nancy Drew books in elementary school, and always used to win at Clue, so how hard could it be?

It actually ended up being a lot more difficult than I expected, but readers tell me they don’t figure out whodunit until right at the end, so hopefully I met my mark!

I hope you’ll enjoy my book. Here’s a little bit about it:

“Aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak is thrilled when hit TV show Teen Celebrity Dance Off comes to the campus of her performing arts boarding school. She trades the barre for the ballroom and gets set to cha-cha-cha to stardom with Hollywood wonderboy Nick Galliano.

At first their partnership is awkward, because Dani is in awe of her longtime teen idol crush. But soon their chemistry is heating up the dance floor and the attraction moves into real life.

Her excitement is short-lived, because someone wants her off the show. Bombs, poisoning, arson… Will Dani’s 15 minutes of fame be over before she reaches age 15? Dani and her friends are suddenly at the center of some serious sabotage. And if she doesn’t find out who is behind it, her next pirouette could be her last.

It’s like Nancy Drew in toe shoes in this light-hearted tween mystery, a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® Award for Best Young Adult Romance.”

You can learn more at www.amandabrice.net.

Would you like to win a copy of the e-book? If so, just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite dance book or dance movie is. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Choreography Help From DancesToGo.com

May 26, 2011 by 4dancers

Today we have with us Frances Hellens McDonald, co-founder of DancestoGo.com, talking about the site and introducing one of their newest choreographers…

12CFrances — Frances Hellens McDonald, co-founder of DancestoGo.com

Can you tell readers what DancesToGo.com is, and who it is for?

DancesToGo.com is a unique website featuring a collaboration of award winning choreographers, talented performers and teachers. It offers specialized and exclusive choreography for all age groups in a variety of dance styles. Whether you are a studio owner, dance teacher, performer, or school teacher, DancesToGo offers excellent choreography and musical dance activities. Our notes are easy to read and our suggested music is linked directly to iTunes from DancesToGo.com. Obtaining, reading the choreography and purchasing related suggested music from iTunes becomes very easy and convenient. We also offer some videos of the routines and will be producing a larger selection. DancesToGo is proud to be a monthly choreography contributor over at DanceStudioOwner.com.

What types of dance are covered by DancesToGo.com?

DancesToGo.com features a wide variety of dance styles including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Hip-hop, and Pre-School. We even have The School House Rocks section for choreography and upbeat dance and learning activities for grade school. The dance world and dance studios are our primary focus.

What are some of your most popular items? [Read more…]

Teaching First Time Movers at Any Age

May 25, 2011 by 4dancers

Dance can be a very intimidating art form for adults who have never danced before or who do not have an awareness or appreciation of their bodies. People have an image of a dancer and if they don’t fit the mold then they think they can’t dance. I felt this way as a young dancer. I wanted to look like and dance like every dancer I admired. What I discovered is that I had to listen to my own body, my own creative spirit and turn away from the mirror and turn off the judgment in my head. And that is exactly what I asked of a group of pre-teens and parents who took part in a Fit For Kids program I taught at a local hospital where I live.

The focus of the Fit For Kids program is to introduce different ways of exercising to kids and parents who have sedentary lifestyles. If you have the opportunity to teach dance to adults or a mixed age group who are either not used to moving, reluctant about moving or first time movers, it can be quite a challenge. My program started as it usually does when I work with nervous kids and adults: most of the kids were chatting with each other and the parents were trying to disappear into the back wall.

Here are a list of ideas, activities, and tools that I find helpful when teaching a class to people who are hesitant to participate:

1. It is important to engage the adults right away and encourage a positive social interaction between parent and child. Don’t ask if the adults would like to join in. Instead ask them to help by participating. They are more likely to participate if they feel they are being helpful instead of being put on the spot.

2. Adults are used to giving directions and children are taught to follow. Switch this idea around. Have the children lead an exercise and teach a movement to the adults. Also, create an activity where the children and adults have to be partners. In this situation the adults can feel safe by not having to lead something in which they are not comfortable. You are empowering the children to be in charge of their bodies and are giving them some control as well. [Read more…]

Teaching Tip: How To Explain

April 5, 2011 by 4dancers

One thing I’ve learned in my 24 years of teaching dance is that not everyone hears a correction or explanation the same way. As an instructor, you are trying to give students that “aha” moment, and it can be a challenge. In order to be effective, you need to come up with a variety of ways of saying the same thing. Just because it makes sense to you doesn’t mean it will ring true for everyone else.

I was thinking about this in class last night when I was teaching. I had instructors who would always say the exact same thing. “Pull up–like there is a string attached to the top of your head” or “tuck your bottom under” – and I don’t think they made a lot of sense to me. When I pulled up under those directions, I became stiff and held my breath. When I “tucked my bottom” I would respectively hunch my shoulders forward.

This isn’t to say that these corrections are wrong–I understand the meaning now–but at the time I didn’t understand how to make my body obey. If the teachers would have given several different explanations, it may have saved me some time.

You never know what a student will respond best to, so the more ways you can communicate what you are trying to say, the better. It will challenge your mind as a teacher, and it will help students have a larger framework to draw from as they try to master technique. Make it part of your lesson plan time–you won’t regret it.

10 Questions With…Suzanne Blake Gerety

March 30, 2011 by 4dancers

SuzanneBlakeGeretyRecital1982 — Suzanne Blake Gerety, Recital, 1982

Today we are happy to present Suzanne Blake Gerety for our “10 Questions With…” feature…

1. Can you tell readers who you are and how you are involved with the dance world?

I was born into the dance world: it is all I have known, my entire life. I’m an only child, the daughter of two parents who were both talented dancers. While other kids may have grown up playing little league and going on trips to Disney, I spent my days at dance competitions and traveling the world via cruise ship where my mom was a guest ballroom instructor for many years.

Personally, my own training peaked when I was thirteen. Having learned to sew fringe on leotards and the basic steps to the cha-cha before middle school, it was at this time I realized I was most comfortable backstage calling the show, working on costumes, and organizing the productions. My mom was so supportive and encouraged me to follow my heart, I stayed involved in the studio but also ended up excelling in sports in high school and college and knew that my dance training contributed to that success.

Fast forward about 20 years, I’m now a mom of two, my son is 6 and daughter is 4, I have an entrepreneurial spirit and heart I’m proud to be the 2nd generation in the family business of owning and operating the dance studio. I get to experience the joy of dance not only through the eyes of our students, but also through my own children.

2. How does Dance Studio Owner serve the dance community?

Primarily through our website and also by speaking at live events such as the Dance Teacher Summit and other dance conventions, we work with new and experienced studio owners who are interested in resources and support to start, run and grow their business. It’s like having a dance studio management team at your fingertips 24/7.

Our big focus is in giving our members and readers information that not only saves them time and money but also contributes to growth in their business both financially and artistically. It’s easy to burn out if you are trying to do everything yourself, working fourteen hour days, dealing with parent complaints, and lack of resources. We help you keep your passion for dance alive as you grow your business.

3. What are some of the “perks” of membership in DanceStudioOwner.com?

Our members often say that they don’t know what they would do without the personal support they receive from my mom, Kathy Blake, myself and the other successful studio owners on our discussion forum.

Everything we share and coach our members on is relevant and based on tried-and-true experience from having over thirty five years of consistent growth in the face of changing trends, personal losses, studio splits, and economic ups and downs. Each day we are actively running our studio so we can relate to and help our members with managing the million details it takes to keep your studio running and growing.

They also say that they love the hundreds of resources on our site including: useful customizable downloads, templates, interviews, coloring pages, printable choreography routines, forms, surveys and more. These save time and money when it comes to things such as writing a letter to collect over due tuition, interview and hire a new teacher, contracts for staff, or create a studio rental agreement to name a few.

Plus it’s the best of both worlds, you get to collaborate with owners all over the globe through technology that allows you to do so from the comfort of your home or business.

4. You recently signed on with Dance Teacher magazine. Can you tell readers about that?

It is such a privilege to contribute to Dance Teacher Magazine, “Ask the Experts” is a great advice column for the dance world.

Specifically we have been invited to serve as columnists to focus on the issues that keep dance studio owners and directors up at night and concern them most: many of which we’ve experienced ourselves.

We understand that most dance studio owners and directors have been or continue to be actively teaching. The added complexity of being responsible for handling parent concerns, staffing issues, marketing challenges, and setting policies is what we focus on in this column.

SuzanneBlakeGerety2010 — Suzanne Blake Gerety

5. You work with a lot of studio owners. What do you find they have in common with one another?

Whether a studio focuses on ballet, middle eastern dance, adults-only, ballroom, musical theatre, Irish step, dance fitness, or general performing arts they all need students in order to stay in business.

The other commonalities include staying informed on the latest technology to collect tuition, automating registration, marketing, website and social media communication to name a few. Not to mention each studio owner faces the challenge of a suitable space and facility plus the right schedule to fill their classes.

Although the dance disciplines, teaching methods, and personal student concerns can vary widely, I find that each studio owner has a lot in common with one another when it comes to starting, running and growing their studio.

6. What do you enjoy most about being involved in the dance community?

Being able to lift a dance studio owner or teacher’s spirits, encourage them, and contribute information that makes a difference. This is one of the most creative and enthusiastic communities: often working incredibly long hours, giving so much, whose rewards and satisfaction are found in areas that aren’t often measured monetarily.

In everything I write and create I always imagine that my best friend and trusted business partner is reading and using it. That’s who I feel our members and readers are: friends and trusted colleagues. I’m incredibly grateful and lucky that they give me the grace and opportunity to contribute to their lives and businesses.

7. What is the biggest change you’ve seen in dance studio ownership over the past 10 years or so?

I’d say the marketing channels. It used to be that you could print a nice looking brochure, send it to your mailing list, wait for the phone to ring and people would call to register. Or you could run an ad in the local paper and people would know you were open for classes. There were a few direct paths for people to follow.

Now we have online registration, automated billing, instant website updates, social media interactions, video sharing/critique from our teachers, email groups for communicating, and text messaging. There are review sites like Yelp, Merchant Circle; mobile check ins with Facebook and Foursquare; advertising online and offline, and much more.

Not only do the dance studio owners have many, many more marketing channels to communicate with current and potential students, they have to learn how to compete against the information overload to keep their business running and growing.

8. What has been the largest challenge for you in terms of serving the dance community?

I’d say the largest challenge has been to remind and encourage them to treat and relate to their studio like a business. This goes for everything from charging what your time is worth, properly setting tuition rates and fees, to learning when to let the wrong teachers go or how to hire the right ones.

The other challenge is the lack of time to focus on planning. When you spend so much time working in the day-to-day aspects of your business without taking time to really plan and work on the business you end up reacting to situations. This causes overwhelm and often feast or famine marketing attempts to find students.

9. What do you think about the recent explosion of dance blogs and online dance resources?

As creative and prolific as the dance world is, I think it’s a natural extension to see so many dance blogs and online resources available, they are outlets and access to further self-expression for both the writer and their audience. The other bonus is that the world is that much smaller now, you are not limited by your location anymore, from videos to online learning, you can get instant information when you want it and on very specific topics.

10. What is next for you and for DSO?

KathyBlakeSuzanneBlakeGeretyDSO — Kathy Blake and Suzanne Blake Gerety

My mom, Kathy Blake and I will be presenting seminars again at the Dance Teacher Summit in New York City from July 29-31, this is such a great event for teachers and studio owners. We’d love to see you there! We are also going to offer some limited opportunities for aspiring and experienced studio owners to work with us in a more personalized way to accelerate their results. The site will continue to be enhanced, in fact we just rolled out a new website forum upgrade that members love. Plus we’re working on some products that stand alone and can be purchased separately. So stay tuned, there is much more to come!

BIO: Suzanne Blake Gerety owner of On Pointe Media LLC, the parent company of DanceStudioOwner.com, is the daughter of Kathy Blake and Vice President of Kathy Blake Dance Studios.

She is a regularly featured contributor in various pieces for Dance Teacher Magazine including, “Ask the Experts”, business articles, and has presented live workshops at Dance Media’s Dance Teacher Summit in New York City and the Turn It Up Dance Challenge Conventions. Suzanne is a featured contributor in the The FabJob Guide to Become a Dance Studio Owner, FabJob Guides have been featured in stories at The Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine sites.

In addition to a degree in Psychology and Child Development, Suzanne has training and experience in communication and leadership from one of the world’s foremost personal development companies. She is the mother of two young children and is an advocate for dance education throughout the world. Suzanne brings the resources and support to current and future dance studio owners to help them achieve success.

You can follow Suzanne on Twitter:

http://www.Twitter.com/SuzanneGerety or connect on Facebook:

http://www.Facebook.com/DanceStudioOwner

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