A small adjustment can make a huge difference. —TaraMarie Perri
The fall back-to-school season can be an exhilarating fresh start—and it can be stressful. It seems we could all benefit from a bit of yoga practice. Yoga’s calming attention to breath and meditation is fundamental to TaraMarie Perri’s Mind Body Dancer program. But as Perri says in “How I Teach Yoga for Dancers,” “We don’t teach bliss and rainbows.” Her practice grew from her interest in alignment and anatomical awareness. Simply put, yoga helped her become a better dancer. We’re excited to share her advice about poses used (and misused!) frequently by dancers.
One of Arvin Cheng Arjona’s first tasks of the new school year is to organize an annual spring trip to either the Regional or National High School Dance Festival. He says the festivals are a good ego reality check for his students, many of whom study at local studios outside his class. “They’re all well-trained,” he says. “But I tell them there’s always someone better. They don’t believe me until they go to the festival.” Read about Arjona’s engaging approach to college prep dance in Millburn, New Jersey, in “Boundless Energy.”
Technology is a wonderful tool that can support the way you teach. But with the frequency of new offerings and upgrades, it’s not easy to keep up. That’s why editor (and dancer) Kristin Schwab makes a suggestion in every issue of Dance Teacher. (See Technology here.) Also, “Ask the Experts” columnist Barry Blumenfeld offers great tips that are targeted to those working in the K–12 setting. Note: Did you know you can now get your monthly Dance Teacher magazine on your iPad or other tablet, via the iTunes or Nook newsstand?
While you may sometimes want to hide your head in the sand when it comes to electronic technology, that’s not an option with new advances in pointe shoes. So this month, we asked Amy Brandt to give us a “Pointe Shoe Primer” reviewing all the latest innovations from noted manufacturers. Brandt knows what she’s talking about: A dancer with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, she also manages pointe shoes for the company. After reading the primer, head to your local dancewear store, where the master fitter will make sure your students spend their money well.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
