This is the second part of  Young Children and Advancement.  If you are looking for the first post click here. Just to quickly recap… Sometimes parents have a hard time seeing the advancement in their young dancers, these posts help parents, and teachers, understand what advancement looks like in a young dancer, specifically a dancer under 7.  Advancement is not just being taught the “hard steps” there is so much more growth that happens that you may not know about or always

Dear ECPAC and Boogie Babies Dancing School dance families, As Thanksgiving draws nearer, we wanted to take a moment to express our thanks to YOU, for trusting us with your child’s dance education and allowing us to be a positive light in your child’s life.  We are grateful that you’ve chosen us for your studio home. Dance, to so many of our students, is about so much more than learning new steps or practicing choreography.  It is a place where they can make friends and share

We don’t teach kids to be great dancers, we teach dance to make great kids! This single sentence is the core of the studio; it is what we base every single one of our classes on. When children come to dance class they are learning so much more than dance steps.  The skills these dancers are learning go way beyond the dance floor.  We are helping to shape these children into confident, ambitious, poised, determined young adults. Creating Opportunities Being in a smaller commun

Dance isn’t easy, it can be quite challenging, especially for a beginner.  But when a child is encouraged and coached through practice and he or she masters what was challenging their confidence grows; so does their pride in the hard work they committed to. It feels good to move and stretch.  When children are physically active they have a better chance of growing up valuing fitness and how they feel when they exercise.  When we physically feel good we respect ourselves more,

Being ambitious my entire life I find myself getting wrapped up in what I produce or accomplish. I think a lot of entrepreneurs get in this trap. Right now I am in a building season and I am having a hard time not falling into a slump. In business (and in life really) there are different seasons.  I have been running a successful business for 17 years and the ebbs and flows of the seasons are sometimes hard for me to take. Right now I’m in a season of building.  new systems,

I recently had the opportunity to read Bella Bunny to an elementary school, which is becoming one of my favorite things to do.  I usually read to first graders and younger, then we have a question and answer session, which is completely adorable! It was right before winter break and I could not help but notice how tired the teachers were. After the readings, I was having a nice conversation with Mary the librarian and I said to her,  “wow this must be a rough week on teachers

If I was going to rate my level of busy from 1-10 I would for sure say 12.  With 3 kids, spread out in ages and multiple businesses to run I find myself ran down, often. After my son was born I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease, essentially what it is, is my immune system is killing my thyroid.  Up until recently, I have only been treating my illness with medication.  My symptoms have been progressing and getting pretty bad.  Pr

Soccer is coming to an end and it is time to sign up for another activity to keep our kiddos busy!  Choosing dance classes can make a huge, positive, lifelong impact on your child.  We are very fortunate, in our small city there are multiple studios to choose from and they are all great! Here are some of the life lessons your child will learn from our local studios: Dance is one of the only after-school activity that nurtures athleticism and artistry. Dance is hard and as you

I hear it all the time, in the studio, on the baseball team, and at school; parents and kids thinking they are not in the “Circle of Favorites”. Even though it happens in EVERY activity involving kids I can only speak from my own experiences within my studio walls. I will be honest, I do have a favorite.  There is one dancer who I enjoy watching the most, who I support the most, who I worry about the most… my own daughter.  I only have one favorite and it is my own child. Whe

The teenagers who have grown up at my studio are different than other teens.  They have a strong work ethic, they are respectful, team players and driven.  Now, I am not saying they are the only teens in the world that are exceptional, but I coach a dance team at a local high school and I can tell you from experience…my teenagers are different. I have thought a lot about what we do that makes such a difference and I have come up with 2 theories. 1.  My teachers and I lead by

These days dance moms, specifically competitive dance moms, have gotten a bad rap. My dance moms are awesome, and I am sure I am not the only studio owner who has great dance moms. This is just a short list… The top 5 reasons why I love my ECPAC competitive dance moms! 1. If a dancer needs lashes, shoes, hair ties someone always jumps in to help. Need help with hair, costume malfunction, forget shoes? Everyone has each others back! More importantly I know my daughter has a to

Dear Dance Parents, Being a dance parent is hard. It is hard to really trust someone else with your child’s growth. It is hard to trust that another person has your child’s best interest in mind and at heart. It is especially hard to keep that in mind when, maybe, your child is not placed on a team or in a position in a dance that you expected or wanted. I want you to know that we, your teachers, are invested in each one of these kids. When we go through placement, level plac