Who has used catalogues for recital costumes before Covid? I took a few years off from teaching due to COVID, having kids, and moving. I remember beautiful ballet/lyrical costumes made from chiffon and crepe being the norm. Now 99% of the dresses are spandex or “power mesh”. What happened?! Do these materials flow and twirl as nicely as chiffon? I have been avoiding them the past few years by sticking to tulle costumes, but I need to change it up this year. Maybe I’m just a curmudgeonly old ballet teacher now… but back in my day we wore chiffon!

I (M25) have been playing for classes for about 6 years now. I had roughly 5 years of experience in my undergrad before I was picked up by one of the major US ballet companies a little over a year ago. I love this job so much. I love the people, the city (moved 800 miles for this job), but I feel so stuck and uninspired during classes. I am an avid improviser and can sight read like hell, but I feel like I’m lacking more material and repertoire. I play plenty of jazz and broadway standards as well as some classical rep thrown in every now and then, but with how fast paced classes are, I often just improvise on some themes or make up my own material and go from there.

Today a dancer approached me and asked, somewhat condescendingly, if she needed to buy me more books so they (her and the rest of the dancers) could hear more music that they’re familiar with. This is not the first time this specific dancer has approached me or reached out to me. She’s DM’d me, unprompted, on social medias sending posts of other pianists saying something like “this guy is great.” While I do appreciate her actually voicing her opinions with me and trying to share useful material, it’s gotten to a point that it just feels disrespectful and like my music is unappreciated.

Rant aside, what music do you all enjoy hearing in class? Classical, modern, jazz / show tunes, anything. Obviously, no one piece of music will work perfectly for any given combination, but that’s just the beauty of my job lol.

I am kind of confused about music licensing for dance studios and dance companies. Can anyone please explain how this works?

Is it a similar process for both studios and companies? Do most studios not actually license their music? I'm planning on opening a studio in the future and would also like to do public performances.

In my experience, most studios have teachers use streaming services for class and I don't understand the legality of that.

Thank you for the suggestions. I sent an email saying I wouldn’t be moving forward with the interview process. I thanked them and wished them the best on finding a teacher.

A local theater group reached out to me about teaching jazz. I checked with my studio owner to make sure it doesn’t go against our competition clause and got the thumbs up. I talked with the directors on Thursday, but something really did not feel right. They requested videos of my choreography, but I do not want to move forward with the process. I’m not sure how to tell them considering I wasn’t offered anything.

Hey just wanted to get some opinions on this, the studio I’m with verbally agreed that I’d be paid for my choreography now that I start in 2 days she has decided that my choreography pay will only be $180 instead of the full $300 for groups. Is there anything I can say or do here? I am an independent contractor and never signed any form of contract.

Hi, my daughter is 10 years old and does a lot of dancing contemporary, jazz, lyrical and ballet. She also has private lessons and is getting very good now.

I was just wondering if there are certain things she should be doing at home every day to help improve her dancing? For example, are there particular exercises, stretches, strength work, flexibility work or technique drills that would be beneficial for her to practise regularly?

I’d love to know if there’s a simple daily routine that would complement what she’s already doing in her classes and privates.

Thanks in advance for your help

What milestones/skills do you expect/hope/teach towards for your students to learn?

My studio does teacher reports but there’s no set requirement for any but ballet so I was curious what yall look for to say “yes this is a met skill” for ages and styles

Hope this made sense! Been up all night trying to work this out myself lol

does anyone in the south seattle area offer private pole dancing lessons? i’m a complete beginner but genuinely interested in learning and would love to work with someone patient and experienced. ♡

My students are ages 7-9, there are six of them. We've had a pretty bad issue this week of interrupting in the middle of class. I teach ballet, and while they insist they're excited for the class, when it comes time to actually do ballet, they're constantly interrupting me while I'm teaching. It's not with questions, either. I'll be explaining an exercise and they'll blurt out "did you know that..." or "one time I..." or "can I tell you that..." and start on a tangent that has nothing to do with class. I know they're kids, I love working with kids and I love teaching ballet, but I've had a long week and no matter how many times I try to talk to them about it, they will not stop. Any tips?

Has anyone got any good/fun/interesting dance ideas for a recital that is nature themed? Corresponding music too if anyone has done something that is a real crowd pleaser. We have a mixture of ages, youngest is two and oldest is 16.

Are there top tier dance studios in PacNW?
Maybe Seattle or Portland Area?

Trying to see what’s available that would be comparable to Project21 or Mather in Orange County California. That’s sounds like a stretch when typed out but just trying to see what’s out there.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone! I hope this post doesn't turn into an argument or draw out nasty comments...can you please comment with what you teach, how many years experience you have, your location and what hourly pay rate (use a range if you want) you're requesting this season?

I'll start! 15 yrs experience, teach all age groups, and 5 subjects in Houston, TX...requesting $45-55/hr.

Let's hear it!

I’m pretty new to twerking and don’t have much of a dance background at all. I do really wanna learn how to twerk, sometimes it feels like I’m doing the right movements but it’s hard to put it all together.

I’ve watched some videos but don’t really seem to get the tips down that they give. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for a very new beginner or any good videos to start with, anything helps!! 🙏

I am looking for recommendations on resources for male ballet instruction (books, videos, websites, social media, whatever). I have a teenage male student for the first time in an intermediate/advanced level ballet class and I want to be sure I am not neglecting traditional male steps/artistry. Note: it is not a partnering class and I don’t plan to cover partnering but I am still interested in resources for that as well.

My oldest child currently goes to a competition-heavy studio and is on the team. "Studio A". She loves it.

My younger child plays several sports and is in Girl Scouts. She has no interest in being a competitive dancer.

My younger child wants to take a tap class, but doesn't want to go to Studio A (it's very serious; it's farther away, and it would conflict with her other activities). So I found another studio that is closer to our house, cheaper, and recommended by people we know. She started last week and loves it. She is only taking one tap class a week at "Studio B".

Studio A knows we are going to Studio B, and they don't care.

I've never said anything to Studio B, or even that I have another kid that dances. When I registered, there were no questions about attending other studios; there's no dance contract.

I'm not the kind of asshole that would ever wear Studio A merch to Studio B, talk about Studio A to parents, or recruit other families. Studio A and Studio B have never competed against one another- they go to different types of comps. I think it's unlikely that they would compete against one another, but I suppose it's not impossible.

Do I need to tell Studio B that we have a kid at Studio A? How would I even bring it up? If I don't need to say anything, I'm content not to. But if it's rude not to mention it, I'll tell them.

Hi everyone! My dance studio’s recital theme this year is birthday/celebration. I’m looking for songs that would be for my 3/4 year old classes.😄

Hi! I am my studio’s primary tap teacher and tldr: I need help making tap class more fun for my little ones

Since my studio moved elementary tap classes to their own time instead of being a part of combo classes, I have very very few tappers 1st-8th grade. Most kids choose to take just a ballet/jazz combo class and not tap. When I teach younger (5-6 year old) ballet/tap combo classes, the kids love ballet and hate tap because there are more creative movement/game opportunities in ballet. Whenever I look for tap class games, everything I find is more geared towards older kids. I’ve had some success with rhythm games pulled from music teachers, but the second I say let’s try it with our feet, they lose all interest. What are some ways I can help make tap class more fun for my little ones so that they’ll want to stick with it as they get older?

What are y'all wearing for jazz/hip hop sneakers? I've been wearing Capezio Fierce, but either they're not made to last very long or I'm harder on them than normal. The pleather cracks at the arch and the soles come unglued, and I end up blowing through a pair a season. I like a split sole and a box: got any favorites?