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.
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Dance floors are tricky animals to work with. If you take care of them, they're sure to last you a long time and be worth all the money you invest them. If you don't keep them up, they'll fall apart quickly and become a hazard for your students.
We've put together a list of five tips for cleaning your studio's floors to help you keep them looking shiny and new. They may seem a bit obvious, but trust us, this is a SUPER-important reminder!
You're welcome!
In our not-so-humble opinion, correcting pirouettes can be one of the most challenging parts of a dance teacher's job.
It's the moment in the day you start questioning every decision you've ever made 🤷.
Don't agree? Hear us out!
Here are five reasons correcting pirouettes is a....special challenge.
Jessica Scheitler is that rare breed who fully understands both creative and business-minded people. She grew up at Central Dance Academy, a competition studio in Le Mars, Iowa, and studied dance at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. She worked as an independent choreographer after college and learned how to effectively make money through dance. With arts in her DNA and finances at the forefront of her mind, she minored in arts administration and mathematics and ultimately became an enrolled agent (a federally licensed tax practitioner). Now she owns her own business, Financial Groove, which offers accounting help for performers and studio owners all over the world.
Here at Dance Teacher, we are WELL-aware of how much y'all love your black athleisure. Seriously. At every photo shoot we have to BEG you not to wear all black (unfortunately it doesn't photograph well—sorry, guys).
Today, we thought we would give an ode to dance teachers and their black athleisure. We know it stole your hearts a long time ago.
"I totally manipulate the energy in the room with my warm-up music. I start with something really calm and then build to something energetic. I go with sweet songs for pliés, so people soften and are vulnerable. Then I go aggressive with high-energy music for abs, and soothing music for stretches on the floor.
"I finish warm-up with step-touches to a fun song that feels like a party, so everyone can feel good. I couldn't do my splits growing up, and that was always the last thing we did before center, so I would feel bad about myself. When I started teaching, I thought, "Wouldn't it be fun if we ended warm-up with a party instead?"
Alright, people. Summer is officially over, and fall is upon us. What a ride it's been! From intensives to Nationals to workshops, you teachers have been FABULOUS!
To recap, we thought we would share three of our favorite class videos that came from summer 2018.
They're just so good.
Enjoy!
