Last night we had our most advanced dancers (not just graduating seniors but all of the advanced dancers) in the studio for a game that has become a last-day-of-dance-tradition at Premier. It’s called “INDSHIMLBWIFA” (I’ve Never Danced So Hard In My Life, But WOW! I Feel Awesome!). Basically, the dancers do their recital dances non-stop for three hours. They cheer for each other, they sweat, they challenge each other to do better, and above all, they have FUN! Miss Zebbie and I give awards at the end of the night to dancers for things like showmanship, hard work, and reliability.

Last night at INDSHIMLBWIFA I looked around the dance room and realized that we’ve known most of these girls since they were little. I told them I’d give anything to go back in time and find the little girl they were when they started at Premier. If I could do that, I’d tell them and their parents what neat young adults they would become. I am truly blessed to have these dancers at our studio.

This year at the recital, when I watch the little girls and smile with pride at their beautiful dancing, I’m going to remind myself that at least some of those little girls will some day be in our dance room playing INDSHIMLBWIFA on the last day of dance.

Goodbye Graduating Seniors. I love each of you and wish you success in all that you do! Thank you for dancing at Premier! You will be missed.

Most of you probably heard the radio commercials a few weeks ago asking if your child wants to be a Disney star. I’m guessing most of you are like me; when Brecken heard the commercial and told me he would like to be a Disney star, I just smiled and nodded.

Well, Noah told his mom he wants to be a Disney star, and she decided to let him give it a try! So on a Saturday afternoon she took Noah to the audition. At the end of the audition they told Noah that he got a callback! He was asked to return on Sunday for a second audition. On Sunday, among other things, Noah was asked to sing something for the judges. His mom said she sat in the audience thinking “just sing ANYTHING. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. That would be better than nothing!”. So Noah sang. They loved him!

Now Noah is preparing to go to Disney World in July (just a week after our Premier Company dancers perform there). He will film a short commercial and perform a monologue for top industry professionals. Noah has already begun working on his monologue; a short sketch about a boy attending dance lessons for the first time!

We wish Noah the best of luck in Orlando! We’re looking forward to hearing all about his experience and hopefully we will see him in a commercial someday – or better yet, on a TV show!

Becca is a dance major at The University of Arizona in Tuscon. She grew up dancing at Premier, and spent her summer vacations studying at ballet intensive schools like Pacific Northwest and San Fransisco Ballet. And, making the perfect segue between my last blog post and this one, Becca performed in Disney World with Premier in 2006.

Becca is among 13 female dancers, and 13 male dancers who have been selected to tour China in the summer of 2012. The performance group Artifact Dance Project will tour China from May 16 to June 22. Becca has already attended a photo shoot for the tour and started rehearsing for their performances.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime that only a select few will ever experience! But it proves to us again, that dance can lead us to so many exciting places and open so many doors for us. I look forward to visiting with Becca and hearing about her amazing experience when she returns.

Congratulations Becca! May this be one of many opportunities that the world of dance will offer you! You have worked hard and everyone at Premier Dance Academy is proud of you!

Six years ago Premier dancers performed at Disney World too. In 2005 we were noticed at a dance competition in Milwaukee (presented by an organization based in Florida). Our studio name was passed along to a travel group in Orlando that invites dance studios, high school bands, show choirs, etc. to perform at Disney World. They don’t just invite “any old” performing group and they don’t just accept “any old” performing group who is invited – after the invitation arrives, you are asked to send in a video of your performance and photos of your group. We sent in the required material and then in the summer of 2006 Premier performed in Disney World!

This past summer that invitation came again. Now we are approaching summer 2012 (I know, I’m being a little optimistic considering it’s January and we’ve only had one real snowfall), and we are once again Disney Bound! The dancers are learning their routines for the performance and the costumes have been ordered.

For most of the dancers, it will be the biggest, most exciting performance of their life! And for their parents, one of the proudest “dance moments” as they watch their dancer perform on stage at Disney World!

And this trip is not just a dance trip. It’s also a family vacation for more than 35 families at Premier! We have over 100 family members traveling to Disney World this summer – for some families it is their first trip to Disney World, while other families have been there several times. Either way, we are building memories of a lifetime, combining dance and family time – and really, what could possibly be better than that?

In the spring we invited all of our Top Dancers to participate in a photo shoot. We have since made a calendar using the photos taken of the Top Dancers (who were able to fit the photo shoot into their already busy schedule). The pictures are beautiful and the calendars look amazing! Take a look at the calendar hanging on the wall in the waiting area at the studio.

The calendars are available for purchase ($17.50 each). They would make a great Christmas gift! You could even get yours autographed!

Get your calendar before they sell out!

My hopes for our dance parents:

I hope that the parents at Premier will encourage their children to do their best in dance class. I hope that they will accept that their child may not be the best in her class, and still encourage her to continue doing what she loves. I hope that parents will enjoy watching their dancer learn in class and perform on stage, even when she might not be perfect. If a dancer decides that she wants to be more serious in dance class, possibly aspiring to be a professional dancer, I hope that her parents will accept her decision, encourage her to follow her dreams, and enjoy the ups and downs of pursuing a dance career. And if a dancer decides that she no longer wants to dance (oh no!), I hope that her parents will, again, be accepting of the decision and will encourage and enjoy whatever new path their child chooses.

As far as “Dance Moms” goes… well, I think the dance teacher provokes the moms to behave the way they do. If the dance teacher would treat the dancers and the moms with more respect, then maybe the moms would, in turn, encourage their dancers with more positive behavior. Like the parents at Premier!

Over the years, I have talked to our dancers a lot about what is expected of them. My expectation is that our dancers put an effort into their dancing. That really is not asking too much. I tell our dancers that if they are going to be in an activity they should try to be good at it. Parents spend a lot of money on dance and spend a lot of time driving their dancer(s) to and from class. Not only do we owe it to our parents to put forth our best effort, we owe it to ourselves.

Here is an example I have used in class: If I decide I am going to take tennis lessons, I don’t plan to just go there and hit the ball around a little. I will go to class and actually try to understand the game and try to be the best tennis player that I can be. Now, that does not necessarily mean that I want to be a professional tennis player, nor does it mean that I think I will be the best tennis player in the class. What it DOES mean, is that I will put forth my best effort because I chose tennis as my extra activity, I spent the money on the class and I am there.

Dancers at Premier are asked to approach their dance training in the same manner. They have chosen dance as their extra activity. Putting forth their best effort in class is expected of them. Our teachers don’t scream and yell. Our dancers work hard because they want to be good at their chosen activity. They will be good at it because they understand it, not because they are afraid of their teacher screaming.

Tomorrow: Premier’s Hopes For Parents…

The first thing that I would like to comment on is the dancing. Those little girls are beautiful dancers. They have obviously put in countless hours at the dance studio, enduring blisters, sore muscles and bruised egos. And the result is that at their young age, they are pretty amazing dancers.

But at what cost? My brother-in-law works in Hollywood, and I have heard enough stories about “reality” shows to know that discussing the happiness of those little girls is not worth my time (the truth? there is nothing “real” about a reality show). I am not going to try to guess at whether or not they truly enjoy what they are doing, or whether or not they ever actually have fun in dance class. The reality is, they ARE dancing, they ARE amazing dancers for their age, and yes, they ARE (I assume) making money.

Premier has had dancers who have gone on to professional careers in dance. We know how to teach recreational dancers and serious dancers. We know how to do it right. You absolutely CAN have it all – a successful dance career AND enjoyable, positive dance training.

Tomorrow: Premier’s Expectations of Our Dancers