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Are we as humans getting less committed or are we just ruled by automations that we become subconsciously more lazy? This has very little to do with dance. But it crosses over to those of us who run dance studios. I was speaking to a teacher the other day and she was worried that only x amount of students had signed up to and replied to their upcoming exam invitation. I asked how many times she’d sent it or followed up? And the answer was ‘I’ve sent it once, the original emai

This isn't an article about dancing in socks, I don't really mind that in all honesty! This is about the importance of being barefoot, not just for dancers, but kids and parents too. I love summer purely because I only wear shoes when I really have to, I encourage my daughters to be barefoot as much as possible. This is always how i've felt most comfortable, I remember my grand-ma always exclaiming I was going to get something in my feet but I feel most grounded this way. Sam

Now this isn’t about what you think this is about. IYKYK. However, cancel culture is rife in our world, it usually refers to public pressure, criticism, boycotts, or social consequences aimed at someone for something they said or did. The most valid forms of cancelling someone are assault, racism etc but it seems now it’s become a word in the celebrity world… it’s seeping into the rest of the world too. I hear teens say it, I hear students say it, I mean I might even say it i

As we acclimatise to what might be the hottest May half term I can actually remember … what’s the deal with missing class to head to the beach? A family bbq? Is it okay? Is it not? I’m all for commitment (see article 1/30!) but sometimes something has to give. There’s some big events and competitions happening this week and there have been some soloist drop outs - and I’d say a lot of them are due to heatwave. If you’re a dance teacher it’s sometimes hard to relate to people

I’ve been asked to debunk a few ‘commercial dancer myths’… Being a commercial dancer does not specifically mean you need to be good at street, hiphop, jazz funk etc. Commerical isn’t a style of dancer either- popping that there right at the start of this article. In advertising and media the word Commerical - is a noun which means ‘a paid advertisement broadcast on television, radio, or streaming platforms’ And that is pretty much what a commercial dancer does, it’s anything

This question was posted on my question box on Instagram and I felt I needed to address it. It was ‘sent in’ by someone who has just started his professional career, a beautiful dancer but also one over thinks and analyses a lot. The dance school scene, the competition circuit and also the convention circuit is a HIGH standard these days. Yes, it varies across the country and across different dance schools, but the very top has definitely sky rocketed. It’s still impressive

Adding integrity and authenticity to your lyrical and contemporary dances. So you’ve stretched every night, you’ve been to extra conditioning classes, you’ve rehearsed your routines over and over and your costume has more diamantes on it than Cartier at Christmas… I often get asked as a dance coach and also a judge what makes a dancer stand out from the crowd. For everyone this answer will be different as we all know that dance is subjective to personal choice, however f

How long its going to take isn't ‘how long is a bit of string’ . Instead it’s how many strands does that one bit of string have? How intertwined and connected is it? If one part frays, which bit takes the tension? My best advice - strengthen the string. Don’t measure it.

There is way more to getting your splits than pure flexibility.

Associate Programs; are they the death of the traditional dance school? Simply put, no. they re not the en of the traditional dance school butthey may spell a change in dance childrens industry.

So the next time you think that missing that extra ballet class ‘wont really matter' maybe this will make you think again.

Saying the right thing is at the forefront of all our minds when we’re teaching the younger generation in fear of getting it ‘wrong’, being accused by parents or at worst being ‘cancelled’! Often we follow behaviours that have been passed down the generations. I was lucky enough to have this conversation with Julie Lowe, a Human Givens approved Dance and Talk Psychotherapist and Head of the Dance Psychotherapy Department at a large dance and theatre arts school with over 600

As we grow older, life gets filled with responsibilities, deadlines, and expectations. For teens navigating school pressures and adults...

Starting school is a big milestone for young children, full of new routines, environments, and expectations. An after-school dance class...

It isn’t often that we connect CB with dance teaching however CB bias can lead to a stagnant learning environment, one in which new learning is halted. Similarly if we are only looking at information that confirms our existing beliefs, objective thinking will be hard to practice.

Social media is part of our lives now. However much we say life was better without it in ‘the good old days’, those days are over and we have to embrace the changes that technology has bought.

Ten things enrolling in a dance class can enhance that you hadn’t even thought about! (and I’m not talking about all the really obvious positives, such as body strength and flexibility, balance, heart health, bone strength, minimised stress, good posture…the list goes on!)

As dance becomes more athletic; to keep up and keep our bodies safe we need to train like athletes. A style of training that is often used with athletes is cross training and as dancers we can do this too.

Attention span is a very talked about trait and something we hear a lot about as dance teachers; either from parents telling us that their children can’t focus for very long, or we see that our students have lost attention, or even as dancers and teachers we begin to feel our own mind begin to wander somewhere else during a class.

I often get asked as a top dance coach and also a judge what makes a dancer stand out from the crowd. For everyone this answer will be different as we all know that dance is subjective to personal choice, however for me the there are two answers integrity and authenticity.