Ballet Shoes

A few days ago I purchased new ballet shoes and I just had to share them with you! My other ones kept coming up in class, as the little ones would say "Miss Maria, your ballet shoes are falling apart" (haha) I guess that means it was time to get a new pair. I got a new style that I am so excited about! Well, at least I think they are new style. Have you seen them? I have worn them to teach for the past few days, and they have been amazing. They allow the foot to breath with mesh on the bottom and sides, really allow room for the arch and just all around look super cool! The girls of course noticed I got new ones and could not wait to touch them!

On another note, does anyone ever feel like they spend their entire class tying ballet slippers? I have for the past few weeks. My friend, Dena who is also a dance teacher told me about a little trick. She told me to have them tie the string in a knot (only single) and then cut the string off so there is just a little bit left over. Then once the girls get to class and have them on, tuck them inside the shoe. No bows needed! Has anyone ever tried this trick? Or do you have another trick that you do to keep the shoes tied? I would love to hear!

Twins

Do you have twins in your dance class? Oh my goodness. This summer I have 2 sets of twins in my ballet class. It is quite the challenge for me because both sets are identical. It's hard for me to tell who's who without thinking really hard about it first and it's especially hard to tell who is who from the back! I will get the hang of it, hopefully next week I can call them out without thinking about it to much.

From what I have observed so far, twins like to stick together. Literally. Like glue. I try to say, "Miss Maria would love to see your very own dance" but it has not worked yet. I can imagine it's easy to get "stuck" to your sibling, especially if you look just like them. I can also imagine it's not easy to separate from them. I would just love the challenge of giving them some independence. Even though they are in the same class there has to be a way to separate them. Don't you think? At every new transition I always ask if one of them wants to come and sit by me. The answer, "I want to be with my sister."

Have you faced this challenge at all? I wonder if any of you fabulous teachers out there have any special tricks for getting twins to separate? Not separate like in another room, but separate as in "detach" from one another.

Oh, and if you have a trick to help with telling them apart, I would love to hear that too! Today I studied them closely and observed the detail of their features. That should help, right?

Egg Shakers

Usually before my ballet class starts families show up early. I try really hard to keep the dancers waiting outside the room. This way they don't get all wound up before I need to try to get them organized to start class. But this week, I had a 18-24 month ballet class (so much fun and a new experience for sure!). They just could not wait to come in and explore the room in their tiny pink tutus! So I let them in while we waited for everyone to show up. To give them something to do, I put out egg shakers. I turned on ballet music and we danced around the room with the shakers. Of course they put them in their mouth too (that's how they tell the shape of things when they are that little) but they absolutely loved them. I think I will continue to do this every week!

Do you let the students explore the room before class? Do you put something out for them to explore? Or do you let them in right when class starts? I would love to hear!

Cones

The other day I was in target, and found these in the dollar section! Yahoooo! They have the neatest stuff in that section. Don't you think? I find a lot of stuff there! Anyway, I am planning summer classes today that will be in full swing next week. Here are some ideas I thought we could do with cones:

1) Make pathways to explore locomotor movements in. (ex: straight line, or curvey snake)

2) Leap over them, of course

3) Weaving (with a little prep and practice, I think 3 year olds could do it!)

4) Ice cream cones!

5) Funny shoes...

6) Microphones (I like to sing yeah... yeah... yeah!)

7) Very tall shape statues, use it as the base.

What about you? Do you use cones in your classes? I would love to hear your creative ideas!

Maria's Movers Ballet

More photos from ballet class...

Ribbon Dancing...
Partners...
Star hats...
My handy dandy spy glasses, looking for 1st position...
Our pretty ballerina dance, complete with roses and kisses

Arabesque Love

I think that whenever these ballerinas hold flowers they will forever do an arabesque! Remember my post on using roses to teach arabesque? That's exactly what they are doing, and I didn't even prompt it, they just love to do them! This is a picture of our farewell class before summer. We had a really great class! Each of them wore their special tutus and we shared so many ideas and smiles. This picture just proves that I have the best job in the world!

Hello and Goodbye Songs

I'm looking for exceptional"hello" and "goodbye" songs for movement and ballet class! Do you sing acapella in your classes or do you like to sing along with music? I will do either! Have any recommendations? I am teaching the smallest of age groups (starting at 18 months!) this summer, and it's important that I can sign one that I like and they will love too!

Please share your songs in the comments! I bet other readers would love new beginning and ending songs too! :)

Creative Dance Music

Have you ever used these CD's from Eric Chappelle, Music for Creative Dance? I just ordered two of the volumes. I have a feeling I might need them this summer, since I will be teaching creative dance without a live pianist. Eeek! I think these CD's are fabulous, and always offer what I am looking for. I love them especially because, it's all instrumental and gives the students opportunity to see and feel the movement!

I also just ordered A Fantasy Garden Ballet Class I and II from Kimbo Educational. I was looking for some new music for ballet and this came highly recommended! I can't wait to start using it!

Have you found any great music lately? What is your favorite music to use?

Pantomime: I Love To Dance

Today at New York City Ballet's Ballet for Young People I learned something amazing. One of the dancers in the company taught the audience pantomime! I learned a Pantomime for "I love to dance." Perfect, right? I am so excited because I was looking for something to "spice" up the reverence I teach to the littles. Actually, you could use this in every dance class.

Here is what it looks like:

I...

Love (palms together out front)
Then place them on your heart...
To Dance (roll your arms, starting at your waist)
all the way over your head!
Optional: you can add bows or curtseys at the end to signify the end of class. I'm so excited to try it! I know the kids will just love it!

Do you practice pantomime with your students? I would love to hear!

Ballet Celebrations

Today, I had two parents days during ballet class. It went pretty well, but I am learning the more I do parents days that they are such a challenge. I don't get nervous anymore, which I think is a good sign of growth but sometimes I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Sometimes I feel like it's so unpredictable, that it's scary. And sometimes I feel like I should just have fun. I did have a lot of fun, but with parents buzzing in the background and siblings crying on the side, it's hard to have full control as usual. The students get so distracted, and if you are 3, it's hard to focus to begin with. I tried many of my calming techniques, little quiet moments, mostly because I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I just couldn't seem to gain everyone's attention and engage them. I know I am not alone on this!

I would love to hear what you all do. If the kids are to little to be on a stage (2's and 3's) Do you have a parents day on the last day of class? Do you invite the parents in to see just a portion of the class? I prepped the students for the day, and no one freaked out (yay!), but I am thinking you can help me. I am sure my brilliant readers have creative ideas that I have never thought of!

Please share what you did this year for celebrations of dance. Did you have a parents day? A recital? A showing? Tell us the story of how it went, and if you learned anything from it. I can't wait to hear!

P.S. the photo are the pink carnations I gave the girls after class today. They are in the bag because it was a surprise and I was trying to be sneaky and make sure they didn't see them!

Thank You Notes

Next week and the week after I am bombarded with parents days and end of the year celebrations. Woohoo! I like to give the kids something on the last day to remember me by. Since I have SO many students, it would get expensive to buy something for all of them. This is what I came up with! Thank you notes for a great year! It's just something little, but I know it will mean a lot to them. I did one for movement and one for tap. I am still working on the ballet ones since those are a little more special to me. I will post them next week!

Do you make or give anything to your students at the end of the year? I am sure you all have amazing ideas!

Little Helpers

Today in ballet, my 3 year olds became super helpful! It was all their idea. I am sure they get the idea from school. Every time we used a props or star spots, they offered to help me collect them! What a great idea, and a great lesson to incorporate into class. I will add it in from now on. I love when they come up with ideas that enrich the class! I love when they teach me things!

Now I must keep a rotating list of who collected what, when. I am happy to do it, all because they are happy to help!

Do you have little helpers? Star helpers, maybe? I would love to help, ... oh, I mean hear!

Milkshake!

I found a milkshakes song from the CD, Songs for Wiggleworms and it's so fantastic! We pour milk, we pour cream (stretches to the side), we stir it all up (spin), and then we shake it up! Of course, we all pick our flavors, including the flavor "pink chocolate" (haha) Doesn't that sound delicious?! I love when we can make a dance with just about anything!

Do you do any silly songs that your students just LOVE? What do you make dances about? I would love to hear?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Coloring pages giveaway from DanceStudioOwner.com!

Purple

Purple, (2nd to pink) the color that 3 year old little girls NEED to have! Yesterday, I taught an important lesson about using different colors. I usually allow the dancers to pick the colors that they want. If I run out of a certain color then they have to pick a color I have. I tell them that sometimes we don't always get the color we want. I find this works for me better than, "you get what you get, and you don't get upset." I always seem to have more upset children with that saying than just picking colors. So, I do it this way.

Yesterday I only had four purple ribbons, and they ALL wanted purple. Usually we can work it out, someone will share their purple and pick another color, but yesterday it was not the case. So we eliminated the purple. Then they wanted pink, the ribbons do not come in pink, so I said "what about red, it's close to pink" (haha) They looked at me like I was crazy!

It all worked out fine in the end, I told them we can still have the same amount of fun no matter what color we dance with. And we did, it was really supper fun! I am pretty sure they will forget about this lesson and want purple all over again next week, but at least I feel like I taught a life lesson with something as simple (big deal for them) as the color purple!

What about you? How do you handle colors? What works best for you? I would love to hear!

Why Dance Matters: Thoughts from a Students Mommy

The other day, I asked a mom of one of my ballet students why she thinks dance matters. I asked her why she signed her daughter up for dance? Why does she think it is important for her daughter to experience it? These are her thoughts-

"I enrolled my daughter in dance because I wanted her to learn poise, confidence, and discipline. I want her to experience many things in life and the opportunity to experience dance at such a young age is such an advantage. I love that she will have bragging rights about starting dance when she was 2 years old. I love that her ballet class teaches other things, not only ballet. I see her using what she learns in class in her daily life, and that is pretty special!"

Check out my other Why Dance Matters Interviews

Kindergarten Performance: A Story Ballet

One of my favorite things about being a teaching artist with New York City Ballet, is offering the students a chance to perform on stage for their family and friends. They get so excited and are so proud! I took a few pictures in between all the performances. I hope you enjoy!

The scenery...

We had narrators... (one of the 9 stories)

Pirates...

Animals... This was a lion, but there was every animal you could think of...
Trees...

We also had pumpkins, princesses, flowers, seals and much more! I loved the K's stories this year. I love to be a part of their creative thinking and confidence building! Do you feel the same way about kids performances? What is your favorite part?

Sneaky

One of my favorite words to explore in dance class with the young ones is the word sneak! Yesterday, we practiced sneaking across the floor. I asked the dancers where we could imagine being sneaky. They said "I think we could sneak into the kitchen and get a cookie!" "Maybe we could sneak in between the trees!" All great ideas! I also told them to imagine there was someone looking in the mirror or the window, and to try to sneak by without that person seeing them! So fun! We practiced sneaking a bunch of different ways. Backwards, down low, slow, quick, turns, bounce, and on and on!

Have you ever done the word sneak with your dancers? If your looking for something to bring a smile to you and your students faces, try this!

Until Next Time...

I have been thinking a lot lately about the way I end my dance classes. For ballet, I sing a song or we do our reverence nice and slow. For creative movement, we become a bear or rabbit or dance our way out with a prop. For tap, we talk about what we are going to practice over the week. I wonder what other creative ways I can explore ending a dance class?

What about you? How do you end your class? Do you have something special you do? Say names, do solos? I would love to hear!

Muddy Water Puddle Place

The muddy water puddle place is so much fun! I use this place to teach borree and saute to my 3 year old ballerinas. We tip- toe through the puddles, we jump in the puddles and splash our friends, and we even roll in the puddles and get all muddy. I think this place really encompasses imagination, movement qualities, ballet vocabulary, and movement that is good for the brain and the body. I try to incorporate all of these into every part of the class. After we have rolled in the mud, we take a pretend shower to wash off all the mud. It is a great way to review body parts. "wash your elbows, wash your neck!"

Since doing this dance, I have found a few dancers not want to do this dance because they don't want to get all muddy! They want to stay clean! So soo cute!

Want to do a dance that will put a smile on your face? Do this dance today! Do you do any dances about rain or mud or puddles? I would love to hear!

(photo via the blasphemous bicycler)

Young Artists

I like to think of the young dancers I teach as artists. Just like writers and painters, they are dancers that love to create. I am always so touched when one of them (or many of them) bring me a drawing they made just for me. I love to see that they are using their creative thinking and artistic license to create amazing pictures. I know that this dancer was thinking of me when she made this. Isn't it beautiful?

What about you? What have you received from your young artists?