While judging dance competitions in cities throughout the country, I get the pleasure of meeting studio owners and directors everywhere I go. Many things vary from region to region, but one constant truth from Chicago to L.A, in Arkansas and Michigan, is that there are only two things dance studio owners really need from parents. A Denver owner said it best when she told me the story of one of her former students who grew up to become a meddlesome dance mom, “Listen,” she told the mom, “You danced all your life, so you know better. There’s truly only two things I really need from you. One, I need you to love your daughter unconditionally. And two, I need you to pay your studio bills as soon as they’re due. That’s honestly it.”Read More
When I dance, I know exactly who I am. The chaotic world orders itself, and I know where I fit. There will be no auditions or rejections. I’m not in training anymore. In my genres, I’m a master now. So when I step into the studio every week, my heavy invisible backpack slides off my back and gets dropped at the door. I am fully alive, wide awake and comfortable in the present moment. I am ready to create.Read More
Misty Copeland, one of America’s most celebrated ballerinas of modern times, has recently released a third book. This time she steps into the Health and Wellness arena with Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger and More Graceful You. When many people think of a “ballerina body,” often what comes to mind is a waif-like supermodel shape. However, Copeland defies many conventional norms of what a ballerina looks like. Besides the fact that she is strong and toned, she is African-American. In fact, in 2015, she became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s Company. According to Copeland, skinny is over. In her book, she asserts “Standards have changed: what women do want is a long, toned, powerful body with excellent posture.” Read More
