dancer

Best Of The Web: Dancers To Watch

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A web round up of amazing dancers from around the world! Perfect to follow on social media to get some inspiration!

If you haven’t guessed by now, dance is kinda our thing at Prestige Dance Studio hehe. We love performing, taking class, choreographing, talking about pieces, and of course watching it. It is so exciting to get a front-row seat watching our very own young students transform into amazing dancers! To get some inspiration and to keep moving forward, it is always fun to go outside of our Prestige family and check out what other dancers are doing.

Lucky for us, social media makes it SO easy to see what other dancers are up to! We thought we would share with you, our favorite dancers to watch right now. You and your dancers can watch their videos or follow them on Instagram to be AMAZED! It is one of the best places to look when your dancer is needing a little motivation or just needs some distraction.

  • Eva Igo – Have you seen The World Of Dance yet?! This 14-year-old is phenomenal! Her passion and dedication are undeniable. Fingers crossed she goes far in this competition!
  • 25 To Watch From Dance Magazine– This list is packed FULL of amazing dancers from all over the world. We love how they included emerging dancers from so many different disciplines: ballet, jazz, modern, musical theater, hip-hop, and more. There is something for everyone here. Be sure to check out your favorites on social media!
  • 5 Dancers To Follow On Instagram From Dance Spirit– This is another great list. It is heavy on choreographers but they post videos and photos like CRAZY and it is awesome! Some of these dancers will get you out of your comfort zone in an amazing way.

So what are you waiting for!? Go get your inspiration on with these beyond talented dancers and choreographers! We know you and your dancer will enjoy watching them grow and transform along the way, we certainly do!

An Introduction To Dance Class Etiquette

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Dance Class Etiquette for dance studios. Perfect for new dance parents!

With our summer session well under way, we are busy in the classroom learning new skills and having a blast! Our Fall Session is approaching quickly and with it comes a handful of new dancers. In our latest post, we gave you a few hints on how to make your child’s first dance class a success. This week we thought it would be helpful to get an introduction to dance class etiquette.

Before your dancer’s first class every year, it is a great idea to talk about the classroom customs and rules. Not only will it make for a more pleasant experience for YOUR dancer, it enhances the experience for the OTHER dancers in class as well. Each teacher may have specific rules depending on the kind of dance class and the age of the dancers. However, you can assume the following class etiquette guidelines will be expected in any dance class.

  • Respect yourself, your dance friends, and your teacher. This one is SO important! We talk about it even with our littlest dancers. In our classes at Prestige, we want to respect ourselves by trying our hardest and working toward our goals. We respect our dance friends by being kind, keeping our hands to ourselves, and waiting our turn. Finally, we respect our teacher by listening, following directions, and being kind.
  • Go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, and blow your nose before class starts. Asking to do one of these things in the middle of class is not the worst thing in the world and sometimes it cannot be avoided (especially with little ones). But it can be a distraction and often starts a waterfall of kids leaving the classroom. Try your best to keep these requests at bay by asking your dancer to take care of it before class starts.
  • Keep the chatting to a minimum. We totally understand that dance class is FUN and is a reason to see all your best dance friends. Whispers during short breaks are OK but make sure your dancer knows that it is not OK to talk when the teacher is talking and that most conversations should wait until after class.

That isn’t so bad right!? Our top priority is to make sure that your dancer has an amazing time in whatever class they take. These etiquette rules help make that happen and keep the focus on what is important- DANCE!

Fostering Your Child’s Passion For Dance

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Fostering your child's passion for dance can be tough! This is great advice on HOW to do it when dance may not be your thing!

If your child won’t stop making up dances, performing for friends and family, or is constantly practicing steps in their room, they may have caught the dance “bug.” Don’t panic hehe! Although this may be a little unfamiliar to you, this “bug” can be an AMAZING thing! Finding a passion for dance is exciting and will do great things for them now and in the future. They will learn how to work hard, set and achieve goals, and have an emotional outlet when things get tough. Sound too good to be true? It isn’t! Dance can do all of those things for your child and much much more so it is time to join them in this excitement! You may be wondering how to support your dancer in this new journey and make sure you are truly fostering your child’s passion for dance, and we are here to help!

The first thing to consider is that every child is unique. Not every child is going to want the same type of support. Some will want to share every moment along the way with you and others will want you to wait outside while they rock it out in dance class. Luckily, you know your child better than anyone so try to respect their “style” and give them the space they need to flourish.

The second way you can foster your child’s passion is by finding a program that they can connect with. Really try to identify your child’s goals. Do they want to just have fun with their friends? Do they want to become a professional ballerina? Do they want to master their hip hop skills? How many hours at the studio can they handle? What sort of environment is good for their personality?  Find a program that compliments who they are and one that will help get them where they want to go. At Prestige, we try to identify what ignites each dancer’s passion and tailor our program to match, you can learn more about our program here.

Another great way to support your dancer is to be positive. Be excited when they share a new mastered step with you. Make a big deal when they perform or sign up for a new class. Even if you are not personally into the dance thing, be happy that is THEIR thing. Think about it, isn’t it so much better when you can share your passion with the people you love? Don’t let them figure out that you would rather have them doing what YOU are into. Instead, be happy they are into an amazing activity that will help them grow and prosper.

We may be a little biased but dance is a pretty great thing to get into and we are so happy your little dancer has chosen to share their passion with us! We know that with your support, they will grow into not only talented dancers but well rounded young adults!

Need help finding the perfect class schedule for your dancer?? Let us know! We would love to help get your dancer off on the right foot this Fall!

Why We LOVE Dance Competitions

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Dance Competitions

Here at Prestige Dance Studio, we have just started our competition season and we couldn’t be having more fun! Although we love to bring home ribbons, medals, and sometimes even titles, that is NOT why we do competitions. Dancers gain so much from putting themselves out there and challenging themselves competition after competition. We have found that this practice gives our dancers boosted self- confidence, helps them roll with the punches, allows them to deal with disappointment, and to top it all off, teaches them to become more open-minded.

For each competition, our dancers challenge each other to improve. We set specific goals and work hard to accomplish them. Each time we do, it teaches us that we CAN do what we set our minds to. It also takes guts to get out there and perform for an audience full of other dancers. Not to mention in front of a panel of judges (like we mean FEET away) who will examine our technique and performance abilities right in front of our eyes! Every time a dancer goes on stage, their confidence will get a good healthy boost, we love that!

If you have ever attended a competition you know that they can be unpredictable. They may run early, late, skip around, you just never know until you are there. Of course, this is NOT our favorite thing about competitions. It does, however, teach our dancers a valuable lesson: being flexible (with their MINDS) and being able to roll with the punches is a good thing. Getting flustered will do nothing but ruin the experience and jeopardize the performance. Like any skill, practice makes perfect and lucky for us we get lots of practice at this skill! hehe.

At some competitions, we get special awards, titles,  and 1st place trophies. At others, we just do OK with no special recognition. That can be tough to swallow, even for me! But knowing how to win and lose gracefully takes practice. I am so happy that our dancers at Prestige know (or are at least learning) how to not let disappointment crush their hopes and dreams all in one swoop.

Finally, during competitions, we are surrounded by other dancers. These dancers come from different places, dance different styles, and have different perspectives on dance. Being exposed to this time and time again helps our dancers learn to appreciate things and people who are different than them. I am so proud that our dancers here at Prestige can see the value in any type of performance and are becoming open-minded young adults.

As you can see, dance competitions are about so much more than trophies and titles. The skills that are learned there will last not only for a season but for their whole life! We are so excited for the rest of our competition season and cannot wait to see the great things our dancers will accomplish, on and off the stage.

For updates on our next performances, make sure to check our Facebook Page.