It's time to CELEBRATE! It's birthday time! Have you ever considered offering dance birthday parties at your studio? Birthday parties = additional opportunities for revenue + introductions to new potential students too! If dance birthday parties feel like uncharted territory to you - overwhelming and a little scary - you can breathe easy. I've got the ESSENTIAL tips to help you create SEAMLESS & SIMPLE parties, with repeatable steps that keep the party experience streamlined and consistent....leading to smiles, happy clients, and more referrals for you. Let's get into it. #1 -- PARTY PARAMETERS Be clear about what you want to offer. There are no wrong answers here! You need to offer only what feels good to you, so that the party process is something that you can look forward to each time you get a booking, rather than something that feels like a burden. Consider the questions below, as you plan your party offers. How long do you want the entire party experience to be? What amount of time will be spent dancing; what amount of time on games? Will you be allowing the birthday family to serve food? Pizza, dessert? If yes, where will you set up the tables and chairs? How much time will you allot to the food portion of your full party? Will you provide the party decorations & tableware, or is the birthday family responsible for their own? Do you want to provide goody bags? (This gives you the opportunity to add in a flyer with a discount code on classes for new students.) How early do you want to allow the birthday family to arrive to set up for their party? Do you want to offer your parties within a certain window of time only (for example, Sundays between 11am-4pm)? Will you allow parents of the party guests to stay, or do you prefer drop-off parties? #2 -- PARTY PRICING Do some birthday party research! In your area, how much does a trampoline park charge for a birthday party? How about the gymnastics place, or the arcade? You need to charge the price that makes it worth it for you (take into consideration your cost to staff the party as well as the extra time for clean-up and set-up), but looking at how much a parent spends on an average birthday party will give you a good place to start when determining your prices. Do you want to offer tiered-pricing, where the party cost is different based on the number of guests? Do you want to offer a discount to the birthday party family, if the birthday child is enrolled in classes at your studio? #3 -- PARTY PLANNING Have a PLAN! Your birthday families can choose-their-own-adventure when it comes to the party theme, or you can ask that they pick from a list of party themes that you have available. It's really up to you! I have found that when I ask the families to choose from a list of themes, it makes the party planning and execution so much faster! I have a party plan template for each theme -- each template lists many options for party activities within that theme, that can work for different age groups and experience levels. If a child has a specific party theme idea in mind, I will create it for them.....and then those party plans become a new template and theme to offer for future parties! When you host a birthday party, some of the guests will be kids who are not used to a dance class setting -- which means that it is important to include dance-related activities that are not strictly dance, so that everyone can feel comfortable and have a good time! I always include:
By having a party template, hosting a birthday party can be as easy as clockwork! Any energetic & enthusiastic member of my staff can step in and be ready to go to host the party. You can get the exact themed party templates that I use, too! The BEST BIRTHDAY EVER PLANNERS are under $25 each, and they virtually pay for themselves in the planning time you save.....PLUS you can use the ideas at dance camp too! Check them out! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
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It's important to give each student individual attention, right? To correct technique, to give positive feedback, and to offer the student the opportunity to celebrate their own growth..........But some students do not like being in the spotlight and they shy away when asked to perform a skill individually. As a teacher, it can be like being stuck between a rock and a hard place -- how can you assess each student on their own, without making them feel singled out? How can you make every student comfortable with this process? The NUMBER ONE thing that works for me? It's a little game I call Pass It On -- here's how it works: The dancers stand in a straight line, or in a circle, with the teacher as the starting point. Everyone practices the specific skill, demonstrated first by the teacher, and then each dancer gets to Pass It On to the person next to them, with any type of flair that they want! For example, after doing a clean shuffle hop step the dancer could do some jazz hands to pass it on, or a cross turn, or anything else that they want! Thinking about the fun way they can pass it on helps my students to feel more at ease when it is their turn to do the step by themselves. If I need to make a correction, I'll first point out what I liked about how they executed the step ("your rhythm was right on!") and then offer what they need to fix ("can you try it one more time for me, making sure to use only your toe taps?"). Bonus - they get to pass it on again! Pass It On makes individual assessments into a game and immediately takes the performance pressure off! I use this game most often in my tap classes for elementary age dancers, but it could be used in any style class. I love sharing ideas that work for me -- join my TAP LIST today, to get even more tap class teaching tidbits emailed to you each week, for free! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
Here's 3 no-cost ways that you can sprinkle some magic into your children's dance classes, using imagination to fuel technique and skills! RAINBOWS You need colorful sheer scarves OR pieces of construction paper in red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple Give each dancer a scarf or piece of paper, and ask them to practice drawing a rainbow shape with it, in an arc over their heads. You can ask them to lean or lunge side to side. Older dancers can use an overcurve motion with their rainbow prop, or an undercurve motion while making an upside-down rainbow. Then, create some rainbow art on the floor! Call out the colors in rainbow order and ask the dancers holding those colors to build a rainbow on the floor. MAGIC DANCING DUST All you need for this one is a little bit of imagination and a whole lot of silly! Pretend that you have a big bag of imaginary "magic dancing dust" -- like fairy dust, but instead of making us fly, it makes us MAGICALLY dance! Give every child an imaginary handful and POOF! They're ready to dance and try something new with ease! If you are going to practice plie', sprinkle some magic dance dust on your knees first; to practice heel drops in tap class, be sure to sprinkle the dust on your heel taps for extra clear sounds! UNICORNS Roll up a piece of white paper, beginning at the corner, so that is becomes a skinny cone. Add a few pieces of tape, and presto -- you have a unicorn horn! Make a bunch for your class to use, or just make one for them to take turns with. Here is a unicorn-themed preschool ballet exercise, from my Hooray For Dance Magical Things Notebook, that is perfect for the paper unicorn horn! Click the picture below to save this combo and see a 60-second video demo! I hope these ideas encourage some extra exploration during your already magical dance classes this week! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
For me, one of the best things about being a dance teacher of preschool and kindergarten age students is this -- for 30 or 45 minutes at a time, I get to PLAY and PRETEND, right there with them! I like to use a broad range of themes and ideas to dance about because, honestly, changing it up (beyond princesses and unicorns) is WAY more fun for me, as well as for them. ANIMALS are a sure-fire theme that gets my students excited, and there are many different ways to explore this broad category. Want to try out some animal ideas in your dance classes? Click the picture below to get a FREE copy of my top 4 animal themes, with more than 10 ideas to jumpstart your own animal lesson plan! Teaching this age group also allows me to bring two of my favorite things together - DANCE & READING! When possible, I like to read a short book to my students to help them conceptualize and connect with our dance class theme. Click the picture below for a list of 5 wonderful books about animals that dance & move, with links of where to purchase them or find them at your local library. I have more ANIMAL themed resources for you too! My Animal Theme Hooray for Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool ballet and jazz combos, with song lists, detailed combos, short video clips, and visual aids for your class. Little Wild Ones has class exercises for parent-tot dance & young preschoolers. Check out the Animal Feet Tap Lesson Plan for ages 3-5! In it, the students will dance their way through the book Dancing Feet, as they make tap sounds like the animals in the book. The Giraffes That Dance Tap Lesson Plan for ages 5-7 will capture the attention of your tap students, as they find their own musical voice just like Gerald the giraffe. Animal Rhythms is a tap skill game for elementary age tap classes, and Animal Actions is a great game to build strength and work on motor tools for preschool & elementary age students. Mixed Up Menagerie is a choreography & warm-up game that asks the students to create their own wacky and wild animal moves. Musical Mud Puddles & Piggy & Friends Freeze Dance are perfect for class, a dance camp, or even a dance birthday party, and are a big hit for kids who love Peppa Pig! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
ddh_animal_roll-a-step_warm-up.pdfHere my 3 favorite ways to explore ANIMALS and the WAY THEY MOVE, in my dance classes for all ages! ANIMAL WARM-UP - JAZZ & CREATIVE MOVEMENT COLLABORATION Together with your students, make a quick list of the first 5 animals they can think of, and write them on your white board, or tape a paper to your mirror. Brainstorm the movements that each animal does, or a characteristic of that animal, and collaborate with your students to create a fun warm-up! For example: Kangaroos jump, box, and have long tails! Our Kangaroo warm-up could include sways or hip isolations side to side (moving our long tails!), and then progress into kangaroo jumps in place 4X, with alternating air-punches RLRL. Then repeat! Or, use this Animal Roll-A-Step sheet for some done-for-you animal warm-up activities! Just click the picture for your free printable download! BALLET ANIMALS TRIVIA For your older students, you could challenge their ballet terminology and dance history knowledge. Ask them to list as many steps as they can think of that relate directly to animals, or use this as an opportunity to introduce a new step to the class. Here is a quick list of 5 ballet steps named after animals, pulled from this article on dance-teacher.com.
Or, you could also ask them to list any famous ballets that use animals as the characters -- here are some out-of-the-box ideas, with clips to watch, from pointemagazine.com! ANIMAL EXPLORATION & IMPROVISATION Our imaginations can take us on a wild ride through the jungle, out for a day on the farm, or even under the sea -- and music can be the catalyst for animal-inspired movement! For your older students, you could play a guessing game, using the music from The Carnival of the Animals by composer Camille Saint-Saens. Play a clip from each movement, and see if they can guess which animal each section is representing, based on how the music sounds and feels. Then, ask them to create their own animal inspired movement sequence! For preschool & early elementary age students, teach them how music can tell a story and give us cues on how to move by using the follow-along action song, Butterfly, Elephant, or Mouse? by Andrew Holdsworth. Do you love to use animal-inspired movement too? Let me know your tried-and-true ideas, in the comments! I have more ANIMAL themed resources for you too! My Animal Theme Hooray for Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool ballet, tap, and jazz combos, with song lists, detailed combos, short video clips, and visual aids for your class. Little Wild Ones has class exercises for parent-tot dance & young preschoolers. Check out the Animal Feet Tap Lesson Plan for ages 3-5! In it, the students will dance their way through the book Dancing Feet, as they make tap sounds like the animals in the book. The Giraffes That Dance Tap Lesson Plan for ages 5-7 will capture the attention of your tap students, as they find their own musical voice just like Gerald the giraffe. Animal Rhythms is a tap skill game for elementary age tap classes, and Animal Actions is a great game to build strength and work on motor tools for preschool & elementary age students. Mixed Up Menagerie is a choreography & warm-up game that asks the students to create their own wacky and wild animal moves. Musical Mud Puddles & Piggy & Friends Freeze Dance are perfect for class, a dance camp, or even a dance birthday party, and are a big hit for kids who love Peppa Pig! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
There are SO many great props that can be used in dance class, to enhance the learning process, engage the students, and promote creativity. Maybe you've used ribbons, sheer scarves, bean bags and hula hoops........ But have you ever used BALLOONS as a part of your lessons? I use plain, old birthday party balloons that I just blow up myself or with a small hand pump. (I usually buy the mixed packs from Target, Walmart, or Party City). Are you thinking, "Corey, there is NO way I can use balloons in my class! The kids would go wild and it would be a free-for-all!!"? But I am here to tell you -- it CAN be done! (and it is super fun!) I will admit -- as with some other super fun dance props -- you DO have to prep your students in advance about your expectations, so that fun and learning can be had by all. But, even my youngest 2.5 year old dancers are able to cooperate and dance nicely with their balloons, with the right amount of set-up. Let's start with some great ways to use the balloons, and then we'll go over some ways that have worked for me, when setting up the balloon expectations. WAYS TO USE BALLOONS IN PRESCHOOL & ELEMENTARY DANCE CLASSES
BALLOON EXPECTATIONS Self-control with something so enticing, like a balloon, is TOUGH for little kids! But it can be done -- they can handle it, with the proper set-up and with practice. In fact, you have probably practiced it with them, every time you pass out a scarf or hula hoop in class. Here's the gist of what I say to get them ready! "Ok dancers! Do you see what I have here? Yes! Balloons! So that we can have fun with the balloons, we have to follow some rules. Uh-oh......if we can't all follow our balloon rules, we'll have to put them away and try again another day. That would be sad! I think you can do it, don't you?!" #1 - Hold onto your balloon!! First we're going to dance with it MY WAY, and then I promise, you will get time to dance with it YOUR WAY! #2 -- Can you be SO gentle with my balloons? Thank you! That way the dancers in other classes can use them too! Then, I might ask the dancers to "stand like a statue" in a position of my choice, like 1st position, while I pass out the balloons. We then go through the exercise I want them to work on, while holding the balloons. Then comes REWARD time! Depending on your group, and what you think they can handle, you could have them freestyle dance with their balloons, in any way they want, all at the same time OR you could have them wait at the side of the room, and dance across the floor, keeping the balloon in the air, 2-3 dancers at a time. Here is the main BALLOON REWARD TIME EXPECTATIONS I like to set up, before we go into the freestyle balloon dancing: I ask them this question -- "Dancers, what if I let go of my balloon, and somebody picks it up instead?? Should I get really mad? Should I start crying or fight over the balloon?". I do this with a silly, pouty face, and they always answer me right away with an enthusiastic, "NO! Just pick up a different balloon!!". Then, I say, "Oh yes, GOOD IDEA!!". Then, before I press play on the music, I put a few extra balloons on the ground, so there is always an extra one at the ready. CLEAN UP TIME I keep a few large mesh laundry bags at my studio, specifically for balloon days. I will tell my dancers that the freestyle dancing will end in 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1! Then I say, "Can you please bring me your balloon? Let's see if they all fit in this bag!" These methods may seem like A LOT, but talking to the kids about what is expected and what might possibly happen, really helps my classes to run smoothly, with our without props. It allows us to have fun with all different kinds of props or manipulatives. I hope this works for you, and you give balloon fun a try! Oh, wait -- here's one more BALLOON BONUS! If you host dance birthday parties, then you'll want to keep reading. Balloons are my go-to icebreaker for dance birthday parties! Dance birthday party guests are often not dance students. For them, walking into the dance studio can feel intimidating or scary. Balloons to the rescue!!! I like to begin each party with balloons scattered all over the floor of my space, with a fun kid-friendly pop playlist playing. As the guests arrive, they can play with the balloons, trying to keep them in the air or volleying them to each other. Once everyone is there, we begin the main part of the party. If the party guests are elementary age, I might do balloon relay races. If the party guests are preschool age, I like to do a balloon freeze dance, where they have to grab their balloon and freeze it when the music stops. I use the same set-up, expectations, and clean-up methods that I use in class. Other resources that might interest you! My Love & Friendship Themed Hooray For Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool dance combos, and this particular pack has a section using BALLOONS! Want some other dance birthday party resources to keep your party on track, to keep your guests having fun, and to make your birthday dancer feel special? Check out my Best Birthday Ever planner packs! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
"Who can tell me something about ________?" This simple phrase is one of my favorite ways to help my students be a part of their own learning process. When they're a part of the process, they're more engaged with their minds and bodies. When they're more engaged, they're more likely to remember what they've learned. When they remember what they've learned, that leads to progress! In short, being part of the process in dance class leads to progress in the student's dance education. Bonus? Excited and engaged students make teaching so enjoyable for the teacher too! In a 30-minute class, I usually spend only a couple of minutes with a "Who Can Tell Me" type question. Too much talking can lead to a loss of focus (as I'm sure you have experienced too), but I've found that just the right amount of conversation and student involvement can have the opposite effect - an increase in focus! Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and over the next two weeks, I like to do a Love & Friendship theme in my classes. I wanted to share some examples of Love & Friendship themed ways I use "Who can tell me" to ignite the imaginations in class, in case you wanted to give them a try too! The Who Can Tell Me Conversations often look something like this: In a tap class: Who can tell me how many sounds are in the words "I Love You!"? Yes, 3! Now, can you think of a tap step that has 3 sounds? Right, shuffle step has 3 sounds! Great, let's all do 8 shuffle steps changing feet, and our toe taps will say "I Love You!" each time. Here we go! In a ballet or creative movement class: Who can tell me something about a heart shape? (Hold up an image for them to see). Yes, this one is red - I love red too! Ah, yes it is round on each side of the top and pointy at the bottom! Hmmmmm...I wonder if we have a dance position that is pointy.......what about first position? Yes!! Now, keeping your heels together and toes apart, can you draw the rest of the heart shape with your finger on the floor? In a jazz or modern class: Who can think of a motion or gesture that would show that you care for someone? Giving a hug? Blowing a kiss? Cool! Great ideas! Now, do you think you could take that gesture and add it to a step we know? What would a turn with a hug look like? If you have ever purchased one of my games or lesson resources before, then you may have seen that they're all designed with making students part of the process - elements of this are already built in! Use a game in the last 5 minutes of your class to get their creativity rolling, and as a way to connect even more deeply with them! What's your favorite way to connect with your dancers? Reply in the comments and share! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
Dance teachers are amazing humans! We connect physical concepts with intellectual learning, and we teach our students to feel the emotion inherent in movement. We break down complex patterns into simple elements. We demonstrate, we count, and we explain. We listen, we comfort, and we encourage. But even with all of that, one of those days can happen -- do you know the kind I mean? One where you're ready to pull your hair out because no one seems to be able to focus and the concept or choreography you are trying to share is just not working? On days like that, my natural teacher instincts just are not enough. (and it is so frustrating!!) On days like that, I first have to remember to cut myself some slack......then, I take a step back, and figure out what I'm missing. Think about it -- It's always easier to grab something that is out of reach if you use a step stool or a ladder, right? When I think about teaching in this same way, I'm often able to come up with a new strategy. What can I do to give my students the step up they need? When I provide a "step stool", or a new strategy for learning, it:
After years of experimenting, there are 5 questions that help me most. I start by asking myself, can they SAY IT, SEE IT, HEAR IT, FEEL IT? Did I get SLOW & SILLY with it? Creating (or adjusting) a lesson plan with this filter helps me to think outside of the box and to make new connections too. How do I mean? Let's take a basic jazz square as an example -- imagine that you demonstrate the foot pattern and say "front, cross, back, open". For some kids, that is enough! They can pick up this new step, just like that (snap!). But for others, they might need more -- they need a few "step stools" in place before they can climb the jazz square ladder. When I think about those 5 questions, or a Step Up Strategy, I come up with these other ways to teach a jazz square: SAY IT/HEAR IT -- do 4 marches in place, shifting weight, and saying RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT (or opposite!) so they really feel how each step changes feet FEEL IT/BE A PART OF IT -- draw a square in the air with their fingers and trace a square shape on the floor, then explain how each step touches a corner of the square SLOW & SILLY - step forward, then step cross & freeze! Can you pick up your back foot and balance? Whoaa!! Now step back with that one. Yes! Now open with the other foot! We did it! SEE IT -- using footprint mats or pages, have the dancers physically step on the footprints to get the pattern Once the dancers begin to master it, I can then expand on the step or concept, by varying the speed, adding arms, changing facings & more, which feeds the needs of the quick-learners too. Every teacher is unique -- we all have creative and clever ways that we use to break down information for our dancers! Want a free downloadable worksheet that you can use to the 5 questions to brainstorm and troubleshoot your own teaching challenges? Click here! All of the dance dance HOORAY resources have one or more of these elements built in! The print-and-play tools use the step-up style of learning, through play....and play keeps them involved and excited! I'd love to hear your ideas! How do YOU give your students a STEP UP in the dance classroom? Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
Whenever I see a penguin, my mind automatically goes to Mumble, the tap dancing penguin from the animated movie, Happy Feet! Using penguins as a theme in my preschool & early elementary age tap classes is something I look forward to every year. I usually do this theme in the winter, but it could easily be used at any time of year. When I am able to, I show my students a quick clip from the movie at the top of class -- this is my favorite one to show since it is short, sweet, and features tap dance as the hero: Happy Feet Trailer If you would like to show your dancers a little bit of behind-the-scenes footage of how the animators created Mumble, based on Savion Glover, these two clips are great! Happy Feet Behind The Scenes Savion Glover & Mumble After that, we're inspired and ready to start tapping like a penguin! In the link below, I've listed some of the tap activities that I use for my preschool age tappers as well as for my early elementary age tap dancers. I hope that these are a launching point for all of the penguin ideas that you can come up with! Click here to get a printable version of my full Penguin tap lesson plan for ages 4-5 and 6-8, with activity sheets & personal penguins too! Adding a fun theme, like penguins, to my classes helps my students to happily review and reframe steps they already know as well as make connections on new steps. You can start your class with a simple question -- "Who can tell me something about a penguin?". Your students' hands will quickly shoot into the air! By adding their ideas, they will feel included and a part of the lesson! Here's some additional tap resources you will like! Crack The Ice Tap Game for ages 6-9 Snowflake Tap Terms & Choreography Game for ages 10 & up Tap Dance Chocolates, a tap sound & step matching game Tap Spell-A-Dance Game for review & warm-up for ages 8 & up Audio Haunted House Halloween Tap Game for ages 8 & up BOO! Rhythm Activity for preschool & early elementary Tap Tally Checklist for Tap Skills for ages 2-7 Join my TAP LIST to receive personalized tap tricks & tips direct to your email inbox. Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
Tap. It's my favorite -- to do and to teach! But even if it is not your favorite, did you know that tap dance has so many *amazing* benefits for your dancers, which they can apply to all styles? Here's just a few! Tap dance:
All dancers can benefit from tap dance training, even starting with students as young as preschool age. Are you interested in getting tap dance teaching tips & tricks, straight to your inbox? Just click HERE to see Tip #1, waking up our tap shoes! Join my Tap List! You'll get tap teaching tips, ideas & tricks delivered straight to your email inbox, as well as the first chance to get in on my tap products & games to support your dance classroom. Just click the icon below! Here's some additional tap resources you will like! Crack The Ice Tap Game for ages 6-9 Snowflake Tap Terms & Choreography Game for ages 10 & up Tap Dance Chocolates, a tap sound & step matching game Tap Spell-A-Dance Game for review & warm-up for ages 8 & up Audio Haunted House Halloween Tap Game for ages 8 & up BOO! Rhythm Activity for preschool & early elementary Tap Tally Checklist for Tap Skills for ages 2-7 Cookie Choreography Dance game for ages 7-12 Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
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