Dance Classes at The Legacy Dance Studio

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Friday and Saturday Classes still available!!   386-295-9298

http://thelegacydancestudio.com

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Tip of The Day: The Importance of Flexibility in Dance

Q:  Why is it important for dancers to build flexibility?

Choreographer, Dance Instructor Shannon Thomas

A: Flexibility is an important part of overall health.  Dancing requires a large amount of flexibility in the major muscles groups to create a broader range of motion.  Most dance classes start with a warm up of cardio and stretching to prepare the muscles for movement.  Flexibility is in order to even be able to attempt certain techniques or moves.  It is important that dancers work to achieve overall flexibility in the torso, back, neck, shoulders, legs and feet.  Having a broad range of motion allows dancers to jump high into the air and lift the legs effortlessly as if they were moving in water.

Tip of the Day: How to strengthen abdominal muscles on younger dancers?

Q:  How to strengthen abdominal muscles on younger dancers?

A: When working on strength for younger dancers in dance class, it is important that you don't bombard them with crunches and the go-to ab work outs for older dancers.  Younger dancer's muscles are smaller and developing still, so it is important to do exercises that benefit their abdominal muscles but do not overwhelm their muscles either.

For my dancers ages 5 and 6,  I encourage them to take a Hip Hop/Acro class where they do a little bit of tumbling the last half of the class.  The tumbling portion is the strengthening portion.  For their abdominal muscles, I start them with tuck rolls.  At the beginning of the year, usually none of them can do it.  Once they get stronger, I have them lift their rear off of the ground and reach forward.  Then, eventually stand all the way up every time.  That usually happens at the end of the year. ;)

I do the following exercise with my 7 to 9 year old dancers.  I like to do bicycles with them and go on different "Trips."  Start by having them lay on their backs on their elbows and lift the legs into the air as low to the floor as possible, while pressing the belly button in.  Start by peddling forward and declaring "we are going on a trip, where would you guys like to go?"  Let the dancers call out different places they would like to go, and as a class we all keep peddling until we have made all of our stops/  Maybe we go to a concert or a theme park or to the ballet. Then make the trip back by reversing the bicycle movements until you end up back home to the dance studio.  Increase the length of the "trips" as the dancers get stronger and you start to see results.  This is a fun way to help younger dancers build strength and use their imaginations in a fun way.


Written by Shannon Thomas

Tip of the Day: Benefits of Hip Hop Dance For Technical Dancers

Dancers at Daytona Dance Studio, Amanda's Dance Center

Q: How does taking hip-hop class benefit a technical dancer?

A:  Hip hop dance class utilizes high impact and low impact footwork, isolations, and musicality.  It can help to improve overall general movement, free range of motion, body control and awareness, musicality, and most importantly a fun healthy workout.  This type of grounded movement can give a dancer a sense of freedom that can sometimes get lost in classical disciplines of dance. Studying various forms of dance can benefit the dancer to be as well rounded as possible and more employable.  Especially when training for a dancing career or teaching and choreography career.



Written by Shannon Thomas

Tip of the Day: Dance Technique and Alignment, How to Fix Open Ribcage

Q:  How do I get my  students to start keeping their ribcage closed when working on body alignment and dance technique? 

A: An open rib cage is a common dance technique problem many dancers face when learning advanced and more mature movement.  Here are 2 tips that will hopefully get your dancer on the track to improvement


1.  Alignment Exercises: Have your dancer lay on the ground, face down with legs straight and together.  Let the fore-head rest on the hands while looking straight into the floor, keeping the natural alignment of the spine.  To start the exercise, have the dancer relax and just let her body lay in a natural state.  Next have the dancer rotate the hips from the glutes and inner thighs, while scooping out the abdominal muscles to create space between the floor and their stomach. Also, have them think about pulling up the front of the hips.   Hold this exercise for about 10 seconds at a time and repeat many times to get the feeling of total alignment.

2.  Simple Corrections: Sometimes the problem can be fixed by simple corrections.  One of my favorite and common corrections I give is to concentrate on holding the arms from your back by keeping them slightly in front of you, especially when in 2nd or 5th position.  Keep the shoulders down and open by engaging the abdominal muscles. I imagine as if I have wings in the back of my shoulders and I am trying to show the audience the wings from the front.  "Show me your back."

I hope these tips give you and your dancer ideas to work towards improvement and body alignment to enhance dance technique.


Written by Shannon Thomas

Tip of the Day: How to relieve sore muscles from dance class

Q: My hamstring muscles are really sore from dance class, what advice to you give to relieve the pain of sore muscles or tendons?

A:  I always stick to the RICE Method. RICE= Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  Rest to prevent any further injury to the sore muscle.  Ice provides short term pain relief and wards off swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area.  Compression also helps limit and reduce swelling.  Lastly, Elevation can also help control swelling.  Click here for more information.

Around Here -Counting Crows Improvisation

Tip of the Day: Do I have to take ballet?

Q:  Do I have to take ballet? 

The answer is YES!  Why?  Classical ballet provides the technical foundation for all other dance forms. It is the most demanding, most disciplined of all dance forms; but also the most rewarding. With a solid ballet foundation, classically trained dancers can transfer their skills into jazz, tap, modern dance, or any other dance form or dance class they might decide to pursue. Accomplishing that solid ballet foundation is crucial to becoming an outstanding dancer in any dance form.

I would encourage dancers to try all forms of dance.  Training in all different forms gives a dancer more versatility if they ever decide to pursue a professional dancing career or teaching career.


Written by Shannon Thomas

Atlantic Center for the Arts NSB Winter Dance Workshop with Surfscape January 2012

Dance in the New Year with Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre!

SCDT's Winter Dance Intensive January 28 and 29 from 9am-3:30pm at Atlantic Center for the Arts. Tuition $85. 

To register or for more information, please contact SCDT at 386-233-4885 or email: register@surfscapedance.org

Surfscape Dancers

Dance Instruction for the New Year Port Orange, Daytona, and Ormond Beach

Dancebrought2u 

 http://www.dancebrought2u.com

Looking forward to teaching and choreographing  for the new dance year!   

Now booking private lessons, technique classes, and choreography!  Email:Shannon@dancebrought2u.com

Set Fire Improvisation Shannon Thomas Dance Daytona Beach

Favorite Dance Quotes

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”~ Robert Frost"

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good.  ~Edwin Denby

You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart.  ~Author Unknown


You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart. ~Author Unknown

“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” - Martha Graham

Our profession creates illusions. It is not a matter of having a perfect body, but of dancing in such a way as to look perfect. ~ Wilheim Burmann

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music.  ~William Stafford


Dancing: the vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music. ~George Bernard Shaw


Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen? ~Friedrich Nietzsche


Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. ~Ted Shawn, Time, 25 July 1955


Dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays. ~George Balanchine


There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. ~Vicki Baum


To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. ~Agnes De Mille


It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer. ~Shanna LaFleur

"You have to think big to be big." - Claude M. Bristol


“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein

http://www.dancebrought2u.com

Keep Breathing Improvisation Shannon Thomas

Dance Lessons and Choreography Daytona Beach

Sway Bic Runga Contemporary Dance

Make you feel my love improvisation

 

http://www.dancebrought2u.com

How To Find Dance Shoes Online

Everyone has a hobby or a passion. Sometimes we find these when we are young. For some people, these only appear to them at a much later time in life. The bottom line is that everyone is different and so are the hobbies that they are interested in. Dance is one passion that many are drawn to because they can express themselves with the style they like to the music they adore. Having said that, it is important to learn how to find shoes for dance class online.

Of course, anyone can take a trip to a local store that specializes in costumes, outfits and shoes for dance lessons. The problem is that they can be quite limited to what they can offer consumers. More often than not, they are small stores that serve a specific clientele. That means that these retailers will only deal with certain distributors and makes.

So, you have huge limitations with what's available to you. Furthermore, because they are specialty stores, they usually charge a hefty price for everything they carry. That means that not only will you pay much more for these items, you may end up with something you are not particularly fond of.

Thankfully, today we have the internet and all the possibilities that this incredible tool brings consumers. Not only can we have access to valuable information, we also have access to a world of goods and services that we can take advantage of. In other words, you may live in the United States and choose dance shoes online that are designed and developed in Italy.

Just with finding a site, clicking on a few choices, you can purchase shoes and other items that you like and at a price that you are comfortable with. Without the internet, you would be stuck either going to a department store that has cheaper versions or paying high end prices for something that isn't the correct brand or type of material.

This doesn't have to happen anymore. If you want to find dance shoes online, all you have to do is log on to the internet and enter the key phrase in the search bar. Before you even blink, you will have a list populated that could include millions of results.

So, whether your dancing has to do with ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, ball room or any other type of dance, you can be sure that you will find the size, the style and the color you are looking for. And the best part is that you could end up with a great deal that you would otherwise never have happen to you in a conventional retail specialty store.

Furthermore, you won't have to trek across town to do it either. Instead, no matter where you order your shoes from, they will be sent to your front door within days or as specified in the details of your order. Be sure you are dealing with a reputable store that will accept returns should the size not be right. Even better, try to order from one that might even fully refund you if you aren't entirely satisfied. Usually, you won't be refunded the shipping and handling charges, however.

Increase Dance Student Registration With a New Website

This is the age of the internet. Most people around the world are now using this tool for just about anything you can think of. This includes buying and selling services , paying bills, banking, social networking, doing research, marketing, and using it as an educational platform. The internet is popular with people of all ages and this is why it is important for business owners to use it to their advantage. Having a great dance web design is an important part of spreading the word if you own or manage a dance studio.

The first thing to realize is that a website can literally reach millions of people on a daily basis. Not that you really need that if you run a local studio , but this gives you a good idea of the power of online marketing. Building a dance studio website can help you advertise the business and increase new student registration .

You can basically use the website for all types of promotions and advertising as well as posting articles, blogs, photographs, and videos, to let potential clients and current students know about all of the studio happenings. However, if you want the site to be noticed and successful, there are a few things you will want to be aware of.

Remember the website should represent professionalism. This means it should be well written, edited, and proofread. There should be no spelling or grammatical errors if possible. The images should be crisp and sharp and all of your links should be in perfect working order.

It is also important that your dance studio website design is attractive, pleasing to the eye, and is easy to navigate. Many people will lose patience with a website that is complicated to use and there is a good chance they will leave the site and look elsewhere. If you keep it simple and attractive then you will have the best chance of converting the visit into a sale!!

Now that you have built a website, you will need to attract visitors to it. You may want to advertise it on other sites or join an affiliate program and have others advertise it for you. You can also write blogs and articles on various websites and then link them back to your site. You can also do this by joining various social media sites and advertising and linking to your site.

If you do a little bit of research about search engine optimization (SEO), you will learn how you can get your website ranked higher in  local search engines. This means when somebody searches for a dance studio, yours will be one of the first ones they see on the list, this will definitely increase dance registration.

A new website design can do wonders for your business if it's done properly. It will let people know that you exist and what exactly you have to offer the community. It's a good idea to put some relevant information to the art of dancing on the site and not just marketing and advertising material. This will attract more visitors to the site who want to learn about dancing.

The right balance of nutrition

Just as a car runs best with a full tank of gas, your body needs the right kind of "nutritional fuel" for peak performance. Eating well for your sport can be very simple. You do not need special foods or supplements. It is important to fuel your body with a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, and water.

Carbohydrates or "carbs" (found in pasta, bread, cereal, rice, potatoes, fruits, milk, yogurt, etc.) are especially important for athletes because they supply the body with glucose (blood sugar) for energy. Extra glucose is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen, your energy reserve. During short bursts of exercise such as sprinting, basketball, gymnastics, or soccer, your body primarily uses glycogen for energy. If you don't have enough glycogen you can feel very tired, which will affect your athletic performance. During longer exercise, your body uses the glycogen stores first and then uses fats stored in your body to fuel performance.

Fat is an important source of energy used to fuel longer exercise and endurance activities, such as hiking, cycling, and long-distance running. Eating a diet that is too low in dietary fat may decrease athletic performance and cause other health problems.

Protein is needed for your body to build and repair muscles. Small amounts of protein may also be used for energy.

Vitamins and minerals are not sources of energy, but they have many important functions in the body. For example, vitamin D and calcium are needed for strong bones, and iron is needed for blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body. Certain minerals, like potassium, calcium, and sodium are called electrolytes. They are important during exercise because they affect the amount of water in your body and muscle activity. Athletes should eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods to make sure they get enough vitamins and minerals. It is fine to take a regular multivitamin, but supplements with high doses of vitamins and minerals do not improve performance and may actually be harmful.

Water is essential to keep you hydrated (when your body has enough fluids). Dehydration (when you don't have enough fluids) can cause muscle cramps and keep you from performing your best.

Healthy Eating Tips for Athletes

• Eat a variety of foods. Because different foods have different nutrients, you should eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need to stay in peak condition. For example, oranges provide vitamin C and carbohydrates, but not iron or protein. A steak provides iron and protein, but not vitamin C or carbohydrates.
• Eat regular meals and snacks. Skipping meals will weaken your performance. Eating regular meals and healthy snacks is the best way to fuel your body for athletic events.
• Eat enough calories. Calories fuel your body for exercise and replace energy that is used up during competition. Cutting calories keeps you from performing your best. Exercise and athletic training demands extra energy, and it is essential to meet your body's energy needs if you want to compete at full strength.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Athletes need more fluids than non-athletes. Do not wait until you are thirsty to start drinking water, because thirst means that you are already dehydrated. Remember to drink even more in hot and humid weather.

What fluids should I drink and how much do I need?

Before exercise: The goal of drinking fluids before exercise is to be well hydrated before you are physically active. If you have rested for at least 8-12 hours before activity and eat and drink regularly, extra hydration may not be needed. If you have lost fluids from sweating prior to exercise, have not been regularly drinking, or have dark, concentrated urine, then you may need 1-2 cups four hours before you begin exercising and another ½ - 1 cup two hours before.

During exercise: Fluid needs during exercise depend on how intense and long your workout is, weather conditions, and how much you sweat. If you are going to be exercising for more than one hour, then it is recommended that you drink 2-4 cups of water per hour. If you are not exercising for more than one hour, then replace fluids according to your thirst and the weather (more fluid is needed in hotter, more humid climates). Sports drinks, such as Gatorade® or Powerade® help replace water, carbs, and electrolytes. Avoid sodas and drinks that contain caffeine, because they can actually dehydrate you.

After exercise: After exercise, drink 16 ounces (2 cups) and return to normal eating and drinking patterns. Calorie containing drinks (like juice or a sports drink) can replace water and glucose. You can figure out if you are well hydrated by looking at the color of your urine. A clear color is a sign of good hydration. However, if you see a darker yellow color, this means that you need to drink more fluids.

What should I eat to fuel my exercise?

Fueling - Before Exercise:
The food you eat before you exercise greatly affects the quality of your athletic performance. These tips will help you plan your pre-exercise meals to prevent low blood sugar, to keep you from feeling hungry, and to fuel your muscles for training and competition.

• Eat a larger meal if you have 3-6 hours before you begin your exercise. Smaller "mini" meals are better if have 2-3 hours before your workout begins. Meals that are high in complex carbohydrates (foods rich in carbohydrates that have long lasting energy power) are best because they fuel your muscles. Pasta, bagels, baked potatoes, rice, and fresh fruit are all good sources of complex carbohydrates.
• Avoid high-bulk (high-fiber) foods such as broccoli, baked beans, or bran cereal right before exercise. These foods may cause stomach pains during exercise. High-fiber foods are loaded with good nutrition though, so be sure to include them at other times of the day.
• Avoid sugars and sweets, especially soda and candy, less than 1 hour before training. High-sugar foods will give you quick energy, but won't last long enough.
• Limit foods that are high in dietary fat such as fast food, eggs, meat, and cheese that you eat for your pre-exercise meal. These foods take much longer to digest and may make you feel sluggish and tired if you eat too much of them.
• Do not try new foods before a competition. You may have trouble digesting a food you have never eaten before. Choose foods that are familiar to you.

Fueling - After Exercise:

It is very important to refuel your body after a hard workout. Because your body replaces glycogen stores in your muscle within the first few hours after exercise, it is important to eat carbohydrates and some protein soon after your workout. Follow these tips when planning your post (after)-exercise meal.

• Even if you aren't hungry, you should eat a snack that contains carbohydrates within 30 minutes after your workout (such as a yogurt or half a sandwich). This will help your body recover quickly.
• You should eat a larger meal that is high in carbohydrates and has some protein within the next 2 hours to replace your muscle glycogen stores that were used up during exercise.

What is carbohydrate loading?

Carbohydrate loading is a technique used to increase the amount of glycogen in muscles. It involves eating extra carbohydrates during the week before a competition, while at the same time cutting back on your training. Carbohydrate loading is intended for marathon runners and other elite athletes.

Should I eat extra protein or use protein supplements?

Although some extra protein is needed to build muscle, most people get plenty of protein from food. Getting extra protein from supplements will not have any added benefit. Eating enough calories is actually more important for building muscle. Without enough calories, your body can't build new muscle.

Should I eat energy bars?

It depends. There are many different energy bars you can buy. Some are high in carbohydrates and others are high in protein. They do not contain any magic ingredients that will help your athletic performance. Regular foods that have some carbohydrate and protein in them like yogurt, cheese and crackers, or cereal bars are just as good and usually cost less. However, energy bars are convenient and may taste good. Energy bars are usually pretty dense and low in moisture, so make sure you drink plenty of fluids when you eat them.

**Remember: Athletes and dancers need more food and fluids than non-athletes. Regular meals and healthy snacks will help fuel your body before and after exercise. It is important to give your body enough of the right fuel in order to feel good and have the energy you need to be the best athlete you can be.

Article found at http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/nutrition-sports.html  

Staying grounded in the ever changing world of dance...

I am now in my mid twenties, danced professionally, trained at OCU and have been teaching for the past 2 and a half years.  As I am working with my students I notice how they seem to always wait for me to tell them to fix their abdominal or to tell them to keep their weight forward on their supporting leg.  These corrections are given to them on a daily basis in hopes they will start to do these things on their own.  Yet, I still feel as if I am waiting around for them to take the initiative.  If you keep doing the same thing over and over again the wrong way, eventually you will get really good at it wrong.  But, if you practice some thing the right way, it will feel good right and you will see improvement. 

I hope I can inspire my dancers to want to get better, to not take their plies or tendus for granted, to really use their body and muscles to develop the strength necessary to be a really good dancer.  I can only try to instill these things...but at least I am encouraging to learn to really dance versus just learning steps.  Anyone can battement or pirouette, but not anyone can do it with the right alignment and body placement designed to protect the body and create the most aesthetically pleasing line possible.  It is much harder to get your dancers to do a correct grand jete then to just let them flick it and wack it out....

I say this because in the dance world (ie. competition world of dance) it seems as if dancers are learning steps and choreography that appears to be done correctly however, they have no body placement or any idea that they are lacking it.  The core training of the dancers is gone and yet the steps are getting harder, more turns, higher leaps, insane tricks that cause injuries in 13 year olds.  A 13 year old should not have a reoccurring injury.  At this rate these kids will be cripple by the time they are in their mid twenties.  Let's not forget the true technique of dance, the body placement, the conditioning and training of the muscles.  This cannot be forgotten or missed....it is an injustice to the dancers and the art form it self.