IF EVERYONE GREW UP IN A DANCE STUDIO...

Sometimes I say, "If everyone were raised in a dance studio, the world would be a better place." I certainly believe that many good principals and life lessons are taught and enforced inside the walls of dance studios. Lessons that live on inside souls forever that can carry on for generations to come. Many life lessons I personally learned at home and at church were reinforced by my dance teachers without me even knowing it. Inside those walls things like self-respect, common courtesy, love, respect for others, manners, work ethic, drive, determination, self belief, self worth, discipline, how to work as a team, and how to put others before yourself are not just taught but the expectation of living out these principals are expected and demanded. These values are priceless in the art form and in life. They are necessary for success.

Inside a dance studio, there is gender, but then again there isn't. What I mean is that men do things in dance that women don't, as women do things in dance that men do't. For example, using 3rd position. I was trained that women use 5th and men use 3rd, BUT we all had the same expected of us. There really isn't age. Discipline, manner, and respect, etc., are taught and demanded regardless of age. Technique is taught based on readiness not age. The only limits set are the limits one sets on themselves, so never set limits on yourself! There isn't race. We are all humans. We are all people. We love. Period. There isn't judgement of failure. Everyone is there is help you succeed. When you are down, there is someone to encourage you, to pick you up, so once again you can try your best. We are all dancers and teachers striving for excellence, and to help one another.

Dance competitions provide another wonderful opportunity for dancers to learn valuable life lessons. In a day and age driven by instant gratification, it can be easy for dancers to become focused only on themselves and the awards they receive. In the studio, educators can teach that competitions are about growing from each performance, learning from the judges' critiques, as well as learning from watching others. Dance competitions provide the opportunity to teach appreciation of others, and their hard work. Take time to appreciate the art form, and the dancers that surround you. It is important to remember that everyone has worked hard for their moment on the stage. Take time to appreciate the "prop dads", the parents who paid the entry fees and paid for the costumes, the competition staff, the teachers working ending hours, and the venue staff. This is an excellent opportunity to watch others, applaud for others, and congratulate others. Sportsmanship is a priceless lesson to learn. At some point in life everyone will win and everyone will lose. People must learn how to do both gracefully. Dance studios and dance competitions are a great place to learn these lessons.

Dance studios should be kind. Dance studios should be loving. Dance studios should be a safe place and a place to grow as a dancer, teacher, and human begin. I believe in dance. I believe dance, dancers, and dance teachers can make a difference in this world. How wonderful would the world be if we just were all just people loving and encouraging each other striving for excellence? So today, and everyday, make a difference.

Dance hard. Dance smart.

Meredith
thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.blogspot.com

*Originally published November 11, 2016 on Dance Apps Inc.'s app with NappyTabs, Dancer's Toolbox. You can read more from Meredith on the app under Dancer's Dish.

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3 - 2 - 1 GO!

Sometimes it feels like a race to get in to the dance competitions you wish to attend because many sell out so early! You may have some competition pieces finished and some you may just be starting. It may still be up in the air who is even doing solos this season. But ready or not, registrations are open and it is time to get to work! Some of you have general questions about registering early, scheduling, and levels. Leveling students is an entirely differently ballgame that I tackle in a separate post!

REGISTERING EARLY IS THE THING TO DO! DO NOT WAIT!

Since many competitions have begun a trend of selling out months in advance, do not hesitate when it comes to registration. As soon as you make your final decision on which competitions you will be attending for the year, start looking for the date in which they will open registration. Once it is open, START TO REGISTER! If you cannot put all of your routines in at once, I suggest you call the competition to let them know how many routines you will be bringing if there is not a space to do so in the online registration. You want to secure your spot because you don’t want it to sell out without you! You also need to update your rooster, and/or enter your dancers to let the competition know you are serious about attending if you cannot register your routines at the time you reserve.

Yes, it can totally be misleading. Many websites have in their rules language such as, “Entries are not complete without payment”. That is a yes and no statement. Some competitions will hold your place without a full payment until it either:

A) sells out
B) begins a waiting list of others because others want in
C) until somewhere around 45 days out from the actual event date
OR
D) They may require a deposit to ensure that you will complete the registration, reserve your place, and/or make the payment in full by a certain date.

These are details that may vary from competition to competition. One thing that will not vary is this: GET YOUR ENTRIES IN OR AT LEAST GET STARTED as early as you can. Let them know are coming, but DO NOT register for a competition that you have not fully committed to attend. You can always go in and edit, add to, delete, make change to your registration at a later time. (SIDE NOTE: If you have fully committed to attending a competition’s national finals, a courteous and thoughtful thing to do is let them know now.)

IMPORTANT! Yes, editing and changes happen but please DO NOT WAIT until the week prior to or the week of the competition event to make your changes. I repeat, PLEASE do not wait until the last minute.  Be accurate, timely, and considerate with your edits and changes to registration. A good rule to follow: make them as they occur. Another good rule to follow: read all competition emails immediately and thoroughly, especially when it contains information about an event in which you are competing. This will save you headaches and so much time in the long run!

WHAT DO I DO IF THE COMPETITION I WANT TO ATTEND IS SOLD OUT?

There are two things you can do if an event sells out before you have time to register. You can chose another location for that competition to attend, or you can ask if there is a waiting list before moving on to your second choice. Some have waiting lists and if a venue is available, they have enough staff to produce another event, and they have enough studios and acts to host a second location, they just may do so. Some have a waiting list for the unfortunate situation that someone doesn’t make a payment by the date provided.

SCHEDULING

Once you finally get your entries in and the season is starting to get underway, the scheduling panic may hit. Questions such as, “When will petite solos perform?” and “When will senior groups perform?” just may be questions that are unanswerable months in advance, and sometimes unanswerable weeks in advance. Some competitions list a suggested time table on their website in the rules. Please check the rules of each competition before calling the office. If you call, you may end up frustrated because you will not get a firm answer. MOST OF THE TIME, schedules are set once all of the entries are in, and within a couple of weeks (1 to 3 weeks) of the competition. The reason they are set at this time, even when the competition has been sold out for months, is because of changes studio owners and office managers make to registration. This is another reason it is very important to get all of your changes done, and to double check your entries, before the actual deadline date. Many competitions may vary their schedule pattern from city to city depending on the number of entries in each division in order to make “everything best fit” so to speak in the amount of time allotted for the event. Some may have a set pattern. If they have a set schedule, it will be on the website. If they do not, then the person on the other end of the phone will most likely not be able to give you a definite answer months in advance, sometimes weeks in advance, on scheduling. When putting a competition down on your calendar, it is best for everyone to block off the entire weekend.

Please trust me when I say that the competition owners and the entire competition staff really do want everyone to have a fantastic time. Every event is different depending on the breakdown of the routines entered for that specific competition. A lot of time, consideration, and effort goes into the event planning and scheduling. Please remember many, not all but many, people working in this industry are or once were dancers, dance parents, dance teachers, and/or studio owners themselves.

Competition can be such a great experience and wonderful learning tool. I hope everyone has a fantastic competition season!

Dance hard. Dance smart.

Meredith
thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.blogspot.com

*Originally published November 4, 2016 on Dance Apps Inc.'s app with NappyTabs, Dancer's Toolbox. You can read more posts from Meredith on the app under Dancer's Dish.

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YOU PERFORM LIKE YOU TRAIN: There is a Time and a Place to Show Your Individuality

Dance is a very personal art form, yet it is very structured. There is a time and place to show your individuality. Technique class is not the time to be “yourself”. Group classes, such as your jazz class, really may not be the correct time to work on individually either. Sometimes, these style classes are used to train dancers to pay attention to every single detail, and used to make sure the dancers can transition from technique to choreography applying what they have learned using the skills in "dance" (in practical situations and choreography). These classes are meant for training. Training in a specific style with specific technical elements, learning to dance with others, and how to follow detailed instructions are learned here. Taking the liberties and freedoms to express yourself as an individual dancer and grow in that realm is a necessity that definitely has a time and place, but not while you are training as a technician and to dance alongside others.

TRAINING IS IMPORTANT. You cannot skip the fundamentals. It is the FOUNDATION upon which everything is built. You perform the way you train. If you don’t have the technical skills to back up the style, what do you have? Style is nothing without technique, but also technique is nothing without style. These are two things you must fuse together with great artistry, articulation, and passion. When competing or performing with a group, you must dance as one. The easiest way to clean a number is to learn it clean. The easiest way to learn choreography clean is to train clean. HOW YOU TRAIN IS HOW YOU PERFORM. 

What do I mean by training clean? The way you learn a technical element is the way you will perform that element; plain and simple. Everyone should go into the element exactly the same and finish the element exactly the same…..with the same expression, such a smile. Attention to detail is important and shouldn’t be overlooked at any time for any reason. For example, in a progression across the floor for a pirouette, the focus should be on EVERYTHING not just the pirouette itself. This is prime time for creating technically sound dancers who can stay in straight lines, keep their arms strong and placed at all times, and dance as one even with intricate footwork and directional changes. A BIG KEY TO BEING A CLEAN DANCER: FINISH ONE STEP BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE NEXT! I can’t stress this enough. Often times, a dance is messy because dancers anticipate what is coming next so they move quickly from step to step without completely executing anything. This, in conjunction with multiple dancers showing individuality, produces one hot mess. In progressions, every detail should be taught in a manner that the dancers look the same coming across the floor group by group. This will carry into the way they learn combinations center floor. Combinations center floor should continue training the dancers to be alike. Progressions and center floor combinations ultimately lead to choreography. If this practice is mastered in across the floor and center work, choreography will be so much easier! The dancers will already understand the process, and it will be like second nature. They will learn choreography clean no matter who the choreographer is. This is just like ballet training whether it be at the barre or center floor. Everything comes from ballet, so why should training in another subject be taught differently?

On the subject of dance competitions, a clean number will always score well! It is easy on the eye. The message, if any, comes across in a clear way. Formations are understood and appreciated. The judges are not distracted. If you are competing a solo, clean is still the right option. When a number is clean, there is never a question about what something was meant to be.
Three simple examples:
1) Was that meant to be a coupe’ or a passe’? The foot placement was somewhere in between.
2) Why did you just take two random steps? Were they meant to be there or did you just stumble? I cannot tell partly because your arms were swinging. Should they be placed? If you were taking two steps, you need to walk with determination and clarity.
3) Everyone’s arms need to match. There are different arm placements and I don’t know where they should be. The same goes for your feet. Everyone has their feet in a different place so it looks very messy.

It all comes down to training. TRAINING. TRAINING. TRAINING. Train clean. Remember, energy does not come before effort. Put in the effort to make everything correct and the energy will follow. It will come naturally. If you put in energy first, the effort will not be there, and well, your dancing will just be uncontrollable movement! EFFORT FIRST! The energy follows! That’s what it means to dance smart! Dancing smart produces not only good dancers but clean dancers.

Whether you are wanting to work professionally in the industry as a dancer, or you are working towards competing in a dance competition, or towards a performance of any kind, you are learning choreography that literally is a thought pattern and vision inside the choreographer’s head. You, the dancer, are bringing someone else’s vision to life. With that being said, when performing someone else’s vision, you must remain true to the choreographer’s direction and their artistic vision. Unless specifically told, dancers must keep their lines, angles, and movements exactly alike to avoid chaos and distraction. Dancing as one keeps the number clean, the choreographer’s vision clear, and makes it enjoyable for the audience to watch. If you are performing a solo, you may ask your choreographer if you can take artistic liberties to show your individuality.

BOTTOM LINE: Choreography is one's ideas, thought patterns, and movements. Choreography is nothing without educated dancers. Dancers must be able to properly execute the mechanics of the elements and style to which they are given.  It is imperative that dancers have training and education, regardless of their level of commitment. Everything one learns in technique classes, including ballet class, is applied in choreography. Training and performance go hand in hand. You cannot separate the two. If you train clean, across the floor and center floor, your performances will be clean. You will have a solid technical foundation. You will know how to function as one. You will know how to work well with others. You will also know how to follow directions and execute choreography exactly as directed. When you have a strong fundamental background, you can explore movement and individuality in a private lesson, or a different class such as improvisation. There is a time and place for everything! 

Dance hard. Dance smart.
Meredith
thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.blogspot.com

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For class, choreography, or booking information, please email: meredith@thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.com

You can also read The Competitive Edge by Meredith on Dance Apps Inc's app with NappyTabs, Dancer's Toolbox under Dancer's Dish.

TO ASK, OR NOT TO ASK? THAT IS THE QUESTION

When to ask questions and when to figure it out on your own is as much of a life lesson as it is a dance lesson. Dance teachers have the wonderful opportunity to guide dancers in training and dance etiquette, but also in life lessons, respect, and manners. It to be an honor for teachers to help shape the next generation. While teaching, there are times of joy, laughter, pride, and also frustration. 

Often times, a dancer may think of questions to ask instead of listening to instruction. How do we as teachers address this is a positive way? How do we as dancers know when it is appropriate to ask questions? What can I do as a parent to support my dancer and their teacher?

FOR THE TEACHER:

Most of the time, if you have a dancer asking a million questions, this dancer is the "over achiever" and "people pleaser". They are trying hard to do things correctly and want the teacher to know they are trying. The often want to be reassured that they are being noticed. On the other hand (prepare yourself for my southern bluntness), they may be a dancer who asks questions just hear themselves speak. Addressing when it is and is not appropriate to ask questions in a positive way, helps all the students in the class understand the importance of listening. Reinforce the fact that you will be watching all of the students in the class, and that everyone will receive your attention, whether they notice you watching them or not. We teachers have eyes in the back of our heads, don't we? We see everything! They also need to understand that multiple questions are a disruption to the class and can cause the class to lose focus. As teachers, must do our best to set our students up for success in life as well as on the dance floor. A conversation like this is always a positive learning experience if addressed in the right way. In my opinion, it is a good idea to have this talk each dance year in all classes. This is a wonderful life lesson as much as a dance lesson.

FOR THE DANCER:

As a dancer, it is your job to be on time, to be prepared, to LISTEN and follow instructions with an incredible amount of effort. Although dance is fun and most of the time you are with friends, it is not social hour. It is a time to learn work ethic and persistence. It is a time to work on your technique, your choreography, flexibility, strength, endurance, etc. As a dancer, you must be focused and disciplined, regardless of age. 99% of the time, your question will be answered by the teacher during the instruction, either by explaining the details or by corrections that are given to the class or an individual. One of my teachers taught me at a very early age that if a correction is given to the class in general, or to a specific individual, to apply that correction as if the teacher was speaking directly to me. "Always assume the teacher is correcting you," she would say. That is good advice that I carry with me to this day. If it is clear that the teacher is moving on having not addressed your area of concern, and your question cannot be answered by watching others in the class, then it is appropriate to raise your hand and ask. It is so important to exhaust all efforts to find the answer yourself before disrupting the class flow. This teaches independence and responsibility while increasing your reasoning and listening skills. All of these things can be applied throughout your life.

FOR THE DANCE PARENT:

The teacher really is on your child's side. Dance teachers wear multiple hats. We, I speak for myself too, are "different" in a lot of ways, but I know I can speak for all of us when I say we wouldn't have it any other way. Dance Teachers are often times counselors and confidants, role models, second parents, and/or many other things to your child. Dance teachers care about their dancers both inside and outside the studio. When they are stern in class, they are trying to help them be successful not only in dance but in life. Please help your child to understand the importance of listening, following directions, and reinforce what the teacher is trying to accomplish. Just like school teachers need a parent's support for a student to excel in academics, dance teachers need a parent's support for a student to excel in the art form. We, and I speak to myself too as a parent of a son in competitive athletics, have to remember "fair" isn't everyone getting the same thing. "Fair" is everyone getting what they need in order to be successful. 

Together, the teacher, dancer, and dance parent, can create a wonderful learning environment. Dance is for everyone and should be fun! As exciting and fun as dance can be, remember that a dance studio is a place of learning. It is a school. Education and proper training are important. Teachers have to maintain control of their classroom to create a positive environment that is conducive for learning. Dancers have to be focused. They must put in tremendous effort. Parents have to support the teachers of the studio they chose. Teachers, encourage and inspire your students today! Dancers, encourage and inspire those around you today! Parents, support and encourage you dancer and their teacher today! Your attitude makes a difference to those around you. SMILE. LAUGH. LEARN. ENCOURAGE. Make a difference in someone's life today ... because it's important. 

Dance hard. Dance smart.

Meredith
thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.blogspot.com

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You can read more posts from Meredith on Dance Apps Inc. app with NappyTabs, Dancer's Toolbox under Dancer's Dish.