Choosing a Dance School

There are numerous reasons why a parent will search for a new dance studio but whatever the reason what to look for in a school of dance depends almost entirely on your ultimate dance goals for your child.  Dance studios are as varied and dancers themselves and it is important to find one whose environment and style match those of your dancer.  Whether you are looking for instruction in ballet, jazz, or hiphop, competition opportunities, rigorous academic training or a fun after school activity, I strongly urge you to consider the following:

The Teacher (Know who will be teaching your child)

·        Teaching Style – Observe the class your dancer would be joining and the interaction the students get with the teacher.  Does the teacher sit back and simply observe the combinations?  Do they demonstrate the correct and incorrect technique?  Are they able to rephrase the correction for students who are struggling?  Is mutual respect shown by the teacher and students?  Does the teacher have patience when dealing with young children?  Does the teacher work with each student individually?  Do they have a working knowledge of anatomy?  It is important to find a teacher with a teaching style that works well for your child.  Young children are especially difficult to teach and require a teacher who has patience and a sense of humor.

·        Qualifications – Just as not all dancers are made equally neither are all dance instructors.  It is important to obtain high quality instruction even from an early age.  Bad habits are hard to break even for a motivated student.  Ask what type of specific training the teacher has in the area they are teaching?  Does the teacher perform professionally or still take classes to stay current on styles and teaching methods and maintain or improve their own dancing skills?  Notice if they have younger students trying the same turns and jumps that are being performed by the older dancers or are they being taught to master the basic movements that will create a strong foundation for the fancy tricks when they are ready?  Remember that great dancers do not always make great teachers and great teachers may not have been great performers.  It is ideal to find a good dance teacher who is also a good performer. 

·        Age and Experience Level – If your child will be at this studio for five –ten years it is important they have the opportunity to learn from a number of different teachers with different teaching styles.  Teachers both young and old can offer a lot to your child.  Young teachers may bring enthusiasm and drive but they may also lack in technique and knowledge of teaching.  Older teachers can have a wealth of knowledge but might not be able to relate to their students or be well versed the latest styles.  It is important to determine if the teachers are able to work in a complementary fashion to each other that will allow your dancer to grow in all areas they study. 

The Studio (Understand the environment your child will be in)

·        Studio Philosophy – Does the studio offer technique classes throughout the majority of the year? Or does the studio start working on recital and competition pieces early?  Studios that stress the importance of technique will develop more talented dancers.  Performing experience is valuable but studios that spend the majority of their time rehearsing will have students who can only perform the tricks that are put in their routines and will lack the supported technique that will allow them to be well rounded employable dancers.  Does the studio have a logical progression from one class level to the next?  Are the class lengths appropriate for age groups and abilities?  Try to get a feel for the studio atmosphere.  Does it have a competitive atmosphere or a more supportive nurturing environment?  Neither one is wrong but you need to find the environment your dancer can thrive in and will be eager to be a part of. 

·        Facility – Ensure that the studio space is appropriately large and that the dance floor is sprung and the surface is finished appropriately.  Never allow your child to attend a class with a concrete or tile floor.  The floors must be able to give and absorb the impact of jumps so that your child’s joints can be protected.  Most studios have sprung wood floors which may be covered in a special vinyl designed to be non-slip.  Dancers need to feel a secure connection to the floor so that they can move without fear of slipping and falling.  Are there high ceilings and enough surface area for the dancers to move freely?  Is there a viewing area for you to easily watch classes without distracting the students? 

·        Classes – Note the maximum and average class size.  The fewer students in a class, the more individual attention your child will receive.  Large classes cannot be focused on to the needs of each individual dancer.  Note how students are placed in classes.  Is it done solely on age or by ability?  When children are first introduced to a dance style being placed in class by age is appropriate but as they develop they need to be placed in classes that best match their abilities.  Is your child at the level of her age group or decidedly above them?  If they are decidedly better than the dancers of their own age, they will plateau early and it will prevent them from reaching their true potential. 

·        Other disciplines – Does the studio offer classes in all the areas of study you want your child to be exposed to?  Do they offer additional classes and programs that focus on the dancer as whole such as fitness, Pilates, nutrition, dance history, or summer programs?

·        Studio Standards – Is there a defined curriculum that helps teachers work together to advance students from level to level?  Are there clear written requirements for attending class i.e. requirements that students be well groomed, neatly dressed, on time, and comport themselves with proper dance etiquette?  High standards produce successful people as well as accomplished dancers. 

·        Make-up Classes – What is the policy for missing classes?  It is a fact of life, your dancer will be sick or heaven forbid injured at some point or your family will go on vacation.  Find out what happens to the missed classes you are paying for.  Are there opportunities and/or expectations that your child will attend a makeup class?  Is there an expectation that your child will came and observe class even if they are unable to dance? 

Other Concerns

·        Location – The location of the school should not be overlooked.  Is it located in a safe part of town?  Will you feel comfortable dropping your dancer off?  The school also needs to be reasonably located so that your child may attend classes regularly.  Convenience is nice but balancing the quality of the education with respect towards your long term goal is what is most important.

·        Hours – Are the classes you want your child to take available at times that work for you?  Make a note of how many hours of dance the average dancer puts in at your child’s age.  Some schools push private lessons and extra rehearsal times for competition teams.  Make sure this is the level of commitment that you are looking for. 

·        Financial Cost – You should ask for a written breakdown of the tuition costs and fees you will encounter during the year.  Most studios have annual recitals which will require you to purchase costumes and recital tickets.  What are the ticket prices and the average costume price?  Is there a participation fee?  Find out if there is a limit on the number of tickets available to you and where the performance is located.  If you are interested in competitions, ask about the rehearsal fees and prices of costumes, travel, and the competitions themselves. 

·        Alumni and Students – Ask about the studio’s track record for producing students that have gone on to the future you and your child are interested in.  Have the students entered professional schools or companies?  Have alumni gone on to careers in performing, teaching, choreography, or other dance related areas?  Do any current students perform in other venues outside of the annual recital for example Nutcracker productions or other professional  performances? 

Remember there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.  It is important to invest some time to determine the right fit for your dancer and their ultimate goals.  If you child is serious about a career in dance then a formal and disciplined studio is right for you.  If your child simply wants to have a fun outlet for their excess energy then a relaxed studio with an emphasis on public performances maybe the right choice.  The studio you choose is an important decision.  Good training is essential for a dancer who dreams of being a professional and rewarding for a child who just loves to move.  Investigate your options so that you can make the right choice for your child. 

Ballet History 101, Part II: Louis XIV and Romanticism

Ballet blossomed as a performance art form in France during the reign of Louis XIV, whose passion for dance was encouraged while he was a young child.  The king’s crowning glory came in 1653 when he performed in Le Ballet de la Nuit.  It was because of his costume as Apollo, gold colored classical clothing with golden streams radiating out from his form, that he became known to history as the Sun King. 

The king did not just perform in the Ballet du Cour, he was a great patron of the arts.  In 1661, Louis XIV established the world’s first ballet academy.  It was called the Academie Royale de Danse.  Ballet at this time was still heavily linked to opera and traditional storytelling.  Great playwrights, composers, and choreographers would collaborate to create one all-encompassing story.  The comic playwright, Moliere, and the king’s own ballet teacher, Giovanni Lully formed one of the most famous collaborations.  Around this time the great ballet master, Pierre Beauchamps, was gaining prominence.  He was eventually named as the head of the Academie Royale de Danse, where he codified the standard five foot positions of ballet.

Louis XIV retired from dancing when he was 32 but continued to be an active sponsor of the art form.  He established the Academie Royale de Musique and gave it to Lully to run.  The dance company that Lully established as part of the school still exists today.  It is known today as the Paris Opera Ballet.  This dance company was the first establishment that exclusively employed professional dancers.   At this time ballet was dominated by men.  Women’s roles were few and the female dancers were encumbered by wearing hoop skirts, corsets, wigs, masks and high heels.  It was only when ballet began gaining popularity over the opera and playing a larger role in these combined performances, that women’s roles increased and the length of their skirts were shortened.

At the beginning of the 18th century, ballet styles differed dramatically from country to country.  Italian dancing consisted of athletic leaps and virtuoso feats with little care given to the large story the dance was part of, while French dancing was characterized by grace and a haughty elegance designed to further the story development.  It was during this period, that ballet took a dramatic break from the court dances that it previously used.  Turnout, the basic stance of ballet, was adopted into ballet technique.  Female dancers, while still playing secondary characters, began to emerge as stars in their own right.  Male dancers made names for themselves through their virtuosity while female dancers, due to the continued encumbrance of their costumes, made their mark through their portrayal of character.  Marie Salle, a prominent dancer of the time, may have been responsible for the shortening of the female dancer’s skirt to a scandalous height, one which exposed the ankle.  With this costume advancement a few female dancers began to gain recognition for their technical skill in performing small beated steps.

A scandalously short women’s costume from the 1700s

Interest in ballet began to spread across Europe, and it was in the 1730s that England’s ballet master John Weaver created the first stand-alone ballets that relied solely on dance and pantomime to tell the story.  This became known as ballet d’action.  This new form of storytelling removed most of the remnants of court dancing.  This also opened the dance world to the idea that the art form should imitate nature, which would eventually lead to more liberating costumes and a fuller use of expression and range of movement.  The Frenchman, Jean Georges Noverre, while pursuing ballet d’action, had his dancers remove their masks allowing the audience to see their full expressions.  It was also during this time that dancers abandoned the stiff shoes worn by courtiers and adopted more flexible footwear that would evolve into today’s ballet slippers.  An important move in ballet education (possibly the most important) came in 1738, when the Russian Tsar established the world’s second oldest ballet academy in St. Petersburg.  This academy exists today as the Vaganova School associated with the Kirov or Mariinsky Ballet. 

In 1789, La Fille Mal Gardee was first performed.  It was staged in Bordeaux and was the first ballet to depict average people.  The story is centered around a mother trying to find a suitable husband for her daughter.  Though it has undergone numerous changes over the years, even its name changed (it was even originally called Le Ballet de la Paille), it is still in essence the same ballet that we can see performed today. 

In the 19th century, our modern concept of ballet began to take shape.  Romanticism swept all art forms and was a reaction to the formal constraints and the mechanics of industrialization.  Choreographers crafted romantic ballets that appeared light and airy and that would act as a contract to the science that was changing their view of the world.  Many of the works of the Romantic ballet focused on the conflict between man and nature, society and the supernatural.  These ‘unreal” ballets portrayed women as fragile unearthly beings; ethereal creatures who could be lifted effortlessly and almost seemed to float in the air.  Ballerinas began to wear costumes with pastel, flowing skirts that bared their shins.  To emphasis this airiness, women began dancing en pointe (on their toes).  Who the first dancer was to ever wear pointe shoes is up for debate, but Marie Taglioni is widely credited with the feat.  Her father was a famous ballet master and in 1832 he choreographed the first Romantic ballet, La Sylphide.  It was her costume of a bell shaped skirt and fitted corset that became the standard costuming for Romantic female attire.  The costume for the Romantic ballerina, even today is the Romantic tutu. This is a full, white, multi-layered skirt made of tulle worn with a white bodice.

Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide

    Romantic tutu of today

It was in the romantic period that the female stars completely eclipsed the male dancers.  With the new costuming came a rise in technical standards and the new stories emphasized lyricism in their movements.  The most famous display of female dominance occurred in London on July 12, 1845 when Pas de Quatre (dance for four) was staged.  At a command performance for Queen Victoria, four of greatest ballerinas of the nineteenth century: Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito, and Lucile Grahn, appeared together.  The piece was choreographed by Jules Perrot to the music of Pugni.  The order of appearance was done by age, from youngest to oldest, to squelch the confrontations arising among them as to who was the greatest ballerina.  Due to performances like this, the Cult of the Ballerina was born.  The role of the male dancer would diminish to the point where he was almost a statue, a moving prop appearing only to lift the ballerina.  This would remain the state of male dancing until Nijinsky revitalized male roles in the early 20th century. 

During Romanticism, ballet began to wane in Paris but it flourished elsewhere.  August Bournonville was a Danish born dancer who went to Paris to study under Noverre.  Upon returning to Denmark he danced as a soloist for the Royal Danish Ballet but he was to truly make his mark on ballet when he assumed the role of choreographer for the company.  From 1830 to 1877, he choreographed more than 50 works and pioneered his own style of ballet called the Bournonville School.  This style of ballet is still taught today in Denmark.  Bournonville's work remains an important link with earlier traditions. While the role of men in ballet was diminishing, he gave equal emphasis to both male and female dancers. While many of his contemporaries explored the extremes of human emotion, Bournonville, using enthusiastic footwork and fluid phrases in his work, portrayed a more balanced human nature.  Most of his works were not exported from Denmark until after WWII, but as such they have remained intact with choreography and staging almost exactly the way he imagined it. 

The period of Romanticism is generally considered to end with the 1870 ballet of Coppelia but in reality it had less of a decline and more of a subtle morphing into the ideals of the Classical period.  In the Classical period, ballet would reach new heights under the keen and brilliant tutelage of Marius Petipa and Russia would establish their dominance of the dance world by redefining the limits of virtuosity. 

Next Week - Part III: The Classical Period

Dance Moms... They Do Exisit

The Lifetime network show, Dance Moms, is raising eyebrows and becoming the show you love to hate and there is a lot to dislike.  The little girls are paraded around in revealing costumes and dancing to mature themes.  Abby Lee, the dance studio owner resembles a rabid dog barking at students and parents alike.  The reality is this show does little to reveal the world of dance, dance moms, or even dance competitions.  It is like most in the reality shows, a demonstration of women behaving poorly with no one calling them on it.  These scenes could be played out on any of the Real Housewives programs.  The difference here is that the children are caught in the crossfire and suffering all of the consequences. 

(For thoughts on the dehumanizing effect of reality TV – read this opinion written by Dr. Keith Ablow: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/31/reality-tv-short-circuits-human-empathy/)

I am not saying “dance moms” (or more accurately “stage parents”) do not exist, they do.  The reality of most of them is quite different.  The women featured on this show are probably more common than the rest of would like to acknowledge, but the average stage mom you will encounter sabotages their child’s dance education in a much more subtle way…  They want to see their children advanced to levels beyond their actual ability. 

Attention All Stage Moms and Dads:

It is wonderful that that you are taking an active interest in your children’s education.  You are paying good money for this and you should take the time to research the important aspects of the craft.  BUT you need to trust that your child’s teacher is making a correct and unbiased assessment of their abilities.  If you think that the teacher is incapable of this, you need to find a new teacher or studio.  Strong arming your child’s teacher into higher level placement does nothing for your child’s education.  If your child is progressed while he/she are lacking in the fundamentals of body placement, meaning muscle strength, and the awareness of engagement, they will forever be trying to catch up.  These may not be apparently obvious to the untrained eye (ie – you).  Most parents see the joy and performance quality of their child and not the subtleties of technique. 

Your child needs the opportunity to grow and advance.  You may think it is a status symbol to have them placed far above other children their age but it is not to their ultimate benefit.  If at young age they have excelled to the point where they are matching or exceeding the advanced dancers at a studio, they will never have the opportunity to progress further.  If you truly feel that is level your child has attained then you need to find a new school that can offer that level of dance in a class geared toward their age group. 
Having your child in a class that matches their age group benefits them in two ways.  One: they are allowed to spend time with children with whom they can form friendships.  Dance requires the performers to interact on stage and have a connected bond and this is much harder to form between children possessing a wide age gap.  Two: children learn in different ways at different periods in their development.  For a teacher, it is important to class made of children who are in the same place developmentally so that the information can be transmitted them in a way that best allows them to understand it.   
Ultimately you should find a teacher that you trust and allow them to exercise their own judgment when it comes to placing and advancing your child in class levels. 

One last thought on Dance Moms - It seemed to me that every mom when out of earshot of Abby Lee, expressed legitimate concerns about the suitability of choreography and her behavior yet none of them take their business elsewhere.  I am positive that Abby Lee and her students succeed and the level of technical ability I witnessed in the hour that I gave to the show was quite impressive for that age group, but I am not sure that this environment is giving their children any real advantage in their future careers as dancers.  I am not a proponent of competitions but they are obviously a feature of the dance world that is here to stay and I see nothing ultimately wrong with them as long as parents and dancers maintain a balanced life.  In reality, the only real competition in dance exists over auditioning for jobs and I am convinced that a studio that offers strong technique and a reasonable performance schedule will produce dancers that are just as competitive in the real world and will be just as valued by employers.