Posts Tagged ‘Dance classes in New York City for Kids’

Hi all! I know there has been a huge amount of time since my last post. I am in my final year of graduate school and have been swamped with work. Well, last week was my last week of class for the fall semester. While I still have a few assignments to hand in, I am really happy about not having to run to class after having worked with my middle school students all day.  

I now feel like I can focus on Christmas, which is by far my favorite holiday! What is there not to love? the carols, the Christmas tree, family and friends. As a dance teacher I love working with my students around this time of year on a holiday dance. This year I focused on some of my middle school aged students. I taught them a tango piece using the jazzy music of Harry Connick, Jr. I am so proud of them all!      

The rehearsal process was a lot of work- to say the least. If you know anything about middle school children, then you are not surprised when I say that our rehearsals were full of drama (the good kind!), emotions and anxiety. They were excited yet really nervous about how they would look in front of their peers! Whenever my students have a performance, I am determined for them to perform well. More importantly, I want them to be proud of their hard work and accomplishments.

 The night of the show brought on even more anxiety and quite a bit of last minute changes. For example, I had dancers who had problems with their costumes, another dancer did not want to go on because, he was sure that he was going to forget the entire routine!! And, I had to replace one of my dancers at the last minute. The person who took that dancer’s place had to have a quick rehearsal. It just so happened that the new dancer sat in on many rehearsals, was attentive, and practically knew the dance. She got her moment to shine, and SHINE she did!! By the way, the fabulous christmas ornaments in the background were done by my friend and Visual Artist, Sean Council. They added that extra holiday flavor to an awesome performance!

IT’S SHOWTIME!

I think these two are ready for the prom! (Keith and Charity)

Despite my overwhelming schedule these days- working full time, last year of graduate school, a thesis paper that is nearly driving me insane- I am delighted that I will begin teaching at “Still Hip” in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.  What can I say, I love dance and I love teaching. It’s difficult for me to turn down what I think is a great opportunity.

I was introduced to Still Hip by a good friend of mine who occasionally takes her son to a music class at the facility. Actually, Still Hip is a clothing store that sells “hip” and “funky” apparel for kids. They also sell other items for babies and moms/ moms to be, such as, books and stretch mark oil.

Sectioned off in the back of the store is an open space where local families bring their kids for classes in Art, Music, and Dance. I am teaching Creative Movement for Kids for an 8 weeks session most Saturdays beginning November 21st until January 30th. I am going to focus on ages 3 and 4 for this particular class, because that was the age range of kids that attended my demo class a few weeks ago. Do stay tuned with me however, there is bound to be dance classes for older kids opening up soon with urban plie!