What’s the most important part of being a dancer? Some might argue that it’s the thrill of performing before an enthusiastic audience. Others may care more about winning competitions. But being a great dancer is about much more than wearing elaborate costumes and impressing crowds or judges with complicated steps and flawless form. It’s about […]
Education
Kids Learn Crucial Life Skills from Extracurricular Activities
When parents sign their children up for extracurricular activities, it’s often because the child expresses an interest in a particular sport or art form. Though these activities can help children stay busy and out of trouble, they also teach kids important skills which they can carry with them throughout their lives. These would include: 1. […]
Encouraging Healthy Habits in Your Childcare Center: Movement, Part 1
While seeing young children sitting quietly at desks and doing worksheets may seem like a great start to a successful academic career (see this previous post), that kind of setting is actually far from ideal for the developmental needs of young children. Instead, movement and sensory experiences provide children with what their bodies and brains […]
Child Care Tips – Teaching Life Skills: Sharing, Part 1
Sharing is definitely an important life skill, when it comes to getting along with others. Children will not only utilize this skill throughout their childhood, but they’ll also reap reward throughout adulthood, both socially and professionally, if they learn to share well. For young children, learning to share can definitely be a challenge; however, this […]
Dance Studio Management Software Review
As the American painter Robert Henri once observed, “A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle.” That could be said for any artistic form, including the invisible lines traced in the air by a skilled dancer. The night of the recital, the audience stands in awe of all of those adorable dancers […]
Inspirational Quotes: Metaphors of Dance
Once you’ve read our ideas of how to incorporate inspirational quotes into your dance studio’s repertoire of ways to serve your dancers, we hope you’ll find inspiring some of these quotes below about the heart of dance and dancers and some quotes that relate more to the broader themes of dance, especially as it relates […]
Inspirational Quotes: The Artistry of Dance
Sometimes all artists can get too caught up in their technique and forget about the artistic side of what they’re doing. Dancers, of course, are no exception. Particularly when you’re teaching budding dancers the basics, you can get a little caught up in the details and forget what you actually want to inspire them to […]
Inspirational Quotes: The Heart of Dance, the Soul of Dancers
With so many quotable lines about the beauty and art of dance, it may be difficult to choose just one for an entire year. Feel free to sprinkle these around your studio or on your social media pages and use them to inspire and encourage the dancers in your life. The Heart of Dance What […]
The Importance of Nurturing Curiosity in Children, Part 4
Now that we’ve established how crucial curiosity development is for children (see Parts 1, 2 & 3), the question remains, how do we encourage kids to grow in this vital skill? In this final article in our series, we’ll take a look at some ways you can nurture curiosity in the children who are within […]
The Importance of Nurturing Curiosity in Children, Part 3
Curiosity is essential to both new invention and innovation of current systems (see Parts 1 & 2). Curious people are the ones who tend to become the movers and shakers in the world. The more our culture continues to advance technologically, the more vital it will likely become for kids to develop these life skills […]
The Importance of Nurturing Curiosity in Children, Part 2
In our first article in this series, we looked at how our current entertainment and device-driven culture tends to stifle the natural curiosity of children. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the ways you can recognize whether or not a child is developing a healthy curiosity or not. You may be […]
The Importance of Nurturing Curiosity in Children, Part 1
For the average person, curiosity seems like a natural inborn trait. After all, no one has to teach a baby to start reaching out to touch, taste and seek to discover more about the world around them. In fact, if you’ve ever had a toddler, you know how difficult it can be to prevent a […]
Essential Character Qualities & Habits of Successful Dancers, Part 3
Not every dance student who starts out in a beginner class will make it to an intermediate level. Only a choice few of those who get to an intermediate level will end up becoming advanced students. Those who rise to the highest levels in their schools tend to develop some unique character qualities that put […]
Essential Character Qualities & Habits of Successful Dancers, Part 2
In our first article in this series, we focused on basic rules for dance etiquette. Our next article deals with some important habits which dancers should seek to incorporate into their lives. These are some of the building blocks you’ll need to spring forward on your pathway to success in the realm of dance. These […]
Gymnastics Center Goals: Developing Physical Fitness Goals for Kids, Part 2
At your gymnastics center, you want to do more than provide one more “extracurricular activity” for the kids you serve: you want to help them establish healthy habits that will lead to lifelong physical fitness. In that endeavor, it’s important to not only understand what “physical fitness” entails but also the most significant areas of […]