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.
Explore
Oh, dance teachers, you are a talented, organized and slightly insane bunch, and we ABSOLUTELY love you for it! Here are 12 things only dance teachers will relate to. Check 'em out!
The Royal Ballet, under the artistic direction of Kevin O'Hare, will be screening the company's Bernstein Celebration as a part of the Royal Opera House's 2017–18 cinema season April 20–May 20. The program celebrates American composer Leonard Bernstein with work from the company's three associate choreographers, including Liam Scarlett's The Age of Anxiety and new works from Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor. The screenings will be held in movie theaters around the world, with nearly 50 in the United States and Canada.
When dance teacher Tiffany Taylor decided it was time to go back to her job after having her baby, 14-month-old Skyler, she knew she needed to find a way to bring her little one to work with her. At Maria Priadka School of Dance in South Orange, New Jersey, where she teaches, students can't begin taking lessons until they are 2 1/2 years old, so putting Skyler in class while she taught was out of the question. To solve the problem, she decided it was time to create a dance class that both caregivers and babies (from 6 months to 2 years old) could enjoy. Shortly after, Boogie Woogie Babies was born.
During a Boogie Woogie Babies class, moms, dads, nannies and caregivers have the opportunity to bust a move while carrying their snuggly babe on their hip. Taylor says classes are generally based in hip hop and always incorporate fun and lively music for everyone to enjoy.
"We start class sitting in a circle, where we sing songs," Taylor says. "We use scarves and other props while playing games like Ring Around the Rosie to get our bodies moving. Then, everyone will get up and either hold their babies or let them run free if they want to, while I teach the choreography, which is built around their kids. We do a new routine every week with different songs and formations to keep things fun for the 45 minutes I have them in class."
While Taylor teaches Boogie Woogie Babies at Maria Priadka School of Dance every Sunday, she's also traveling to different locations around New Jersey to expand her classes into an entire movement that everyone can experience. "Everyone really enjoys these classes," she says. "We recently had one where 40 students showed up to a class at a local library. The kids were jumping around and loving it!"
If you're interested in learning more about Boogie Woogie Babies, you can follow them on Instagram at @boogiewoogiebabies or Facebook at Boogie Woogie Babies.
Joy Bauer, New York City Ballet nutritionist and founder of Nourish Snacks—a snack brand that combines healthy foods and yummy flavors—gives one of her favorite dessert recipes for dancers: two-ingredient PB-banana freeze bites.
"If you're craving something sweet for dessert, cut a banana in half lengthwise, spread on natural peanut butter, sandwich the halves together, freeze, and slice into one-inch wheels. This treat is full of potassium (which can help prevent muscle cramps), protein and heart-healthy fats—dig in!"
Anyone planning to take a contemporary jazz class from Sabrina Phillip at Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles better be ready to sweat—pushing physical limits is this teacher's specialty. "I want dancers in my class to work really hard," says Phillip. "I want them to be inspired to push their boundaries and become well-rounded students so that they can have long careers."
Postmodern dance pioneer Anna Halprin will be teaching a Tamalpa Institute–sponsored special workshop at her mountain home studio in Kentfield, California, April 14. Halprin is best known for defying traditional notions of dance, along with dancers such as Trisha Brown and Simone Forti. Halprin magnified the artform's potential to address social issues and facilitate healing through an ongoing Planetary Dance, which promotes peace among people and with the earth. For 35 years the dance has been performed in more than 50 countries, including Germany to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, and in Israel to bring people together amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ballet Hispánico dancer Gabrielle Sprauve understands firsthand the major impact teachers of color can have on a young black dancer's career. Over the course of her training, she had two teachers in particular who left a lifelong impression on her dancing. Here, she shares some of her experiences.
