Haley Hilton graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in News Media. She is from Salt Lake City, Utah, where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. Haley taught at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio for four years, and has danced professionally with Odyssey Dance Theater. She interned for Dance Spirit summer of 2017. Haley covers the What my Teacher taught me, Chatroom, Face to Face, Teachers' Tools, Technology, List and Recommended beats. Haley also edits Ask the Experts and Ask Deb.
It's February! The month of love (and by extension, the month of pink) is upon us. We are major fans of a good class theme, and dressing lovey-dovey is one of our very favorites! So this month, to keep you on brand, we have a list of our favorite pink leos on the market right now. They're all kinds of wonderful.
Check them out and let us know your favorite in the comments!
It's the day after Valentine's Day, and every single one of us is in a chocolate coma scrolling through endless love posts on social media. It's both the best and the worst day of the year 😂. Obnoxiously mushy Instagram captions aside, whether you have a significant other or not, we all know that your studio co-workers are the actual loves of your life.
Check out our five reasons why, and let us know over in our comments if we got 'em right!
Show your significant other how much you love them through dance! Send them one of your favorite romantic dance videos that best describes your feelings, and they're sure to swoon!
Here are four of our favorites that depict a range of emotions along the spectrum of true love. Let us know over on our Facebook page which one best represents your relationship!
The best way to celebrate a holiday in the dance teacher world is to create a class combo that fits the theme! It's a sure-fire way to get you and your kiddos into the spirit of the day! So, Valentine's Day, we recommend some mushy, cheesy, oh-so-wonderful love songs!
Check out these six songs for potential class combo ideas. They're sure to be a hit.
Debbi Dee took her first tap class at age 5 from vaudevillian hoofer and rhythm tapper Curly Fisher, in Rochester, New York. She studied tirelessly with him in the garage he had turned into a small, makeshift dance studio until she was 13 years old, when he claimed he had taken her as far as he could, and she needed to find herself a new teacher. Instead, she jumped feet first into her professional career, tapping with the Lawrence Welk and Count Basie orchestras on the traveling state fair circuit, on the Bob Hope USO shows, and in nightclubs in Vegas and the Catskills.
We've all had times when we've failed miserably while trying our best to communicate important concepts and ideas to our students. We are all well-meaning with hopes that our dancers will achieve their dreams and become kind humans along the way. Unfortunately, our delivery may need some honing in order to help them without causing some damage,
Here are four common phrases dance teachers often say, and four ways we can adjust them to make them constructive and productive.
Let us know over on our Facebook page what phrases you try to avoid as a dance teacher!
We always love a chance to celebrate women—especially when they're dancing women. Female artists are powerful, strong, delicate, caring, thoughtful, complex, emotional and compelling. They captivate us with their storytelling and technique. We are so thankful for their willingness to share their gifts with the world!
Here's a list of women (that is in no way even close to comprehensive) who we feel should be celebrated on this holiday. Check them out, and, over on our Facebook page, tag a woman in dance who you feel should be celebrated today.
We recently learned that there is such a thing as "National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day," and we have been over the moon with delight ever since. What a tremendous idea to celebrate how art strikes our hearts with inspiration and awe. Today, thankfully, is the day, and we couldn't let it go by without sharing three dance performances that have touched us. We're pretty confident they'll inspire your hearts, too!
In our comments, let us know what dances you've connected with lately. We are dying to hear what's out there that you can't stop buzzing about!
