Dance studios are run by creative people with busy schedules, who have a love-hate relationship with props and sequins. The results of all this glitter and glam? General mass chaos in every drawer, costume closet and prop corner of the studio. Let’s be honest, not many dance teachers are particularly known for their tidiness. The ability to get 21 dancers to spot in total synchronization? Absolutely! The stamina to run 10 solos, 5 group numbers, 2 ballet classes and 1 jazz class in one day? Of course! The emotional maturity to navigate a minefield of angry parents and hormonal teenagers? You know it!
Keeping the studio tidy? Well…that’s another story.
So is it time for all of us to jump on the Marie Kondo train that the rest of the world has embraced, especially as recital season comes to a close?
Here are five ways to know if it’s time to start asking your props if they, “bring you joy.”
1. The walls of two or more of your studios are lined with 8-year-old props that you will likely never use again.
2. Each stereo has 17 different cords that include a decade’s worth of changing technologies.
3. Your drawers are full of old attendance rolls, competition-fee charts and recital call-times.
4. You have an entire closet full of costumes that haven’t been worn since your very first recital.
5. There are so many trophies lining your windows and hallways, you’re positively bursting at the seams.
Yeah…it sounds like everyone of us needs to get started on Marie Kondo-ing our lives. May the tidying odds be ever in our favor.
